Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2018)
FEBRUARY 15, 2018 // 3 Readers’ Choice Awards SCRATCHPAD 2017 And the Readers’ Choice winners are... runners-up and honorable mentions.) More than 2,000 people voted online, while dozens upon dozens of folks turned in paper ballots. A handful of first-place winners held onto their titles. Some victories, however, were utterly unexpected. Reach Break Brewing, for example, was voted Best Bar — and the Astoria watering hole opened in early 2017! In our two new categories, the Illahee Apartments won By ERICK BENGEL COAST WEEKEND M an alive, this is a big Coast Weekend! Thirty-two pages!? Full color!? Jeepers! In this special issue, we reveal the results of the 2017 Readers’ Choice Awards, our annual contest honoring ex- cellence in Columbia-Pacific business, dining and activi- ties — as chosen by you, our discerning readers. (Turn the page for a full list of winners, coast INSIDE THIS ISSUE weekend arts & entertainment BUSINESS BEST APARTMENT COMPLEX ..... 12 BEST ART GALLERY ........................ 10 BEST BARBERSHOP ........................ 11 BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE ..............8 BEST DANCE STUDIO .................... 10 BEST FLORIST ................................... 13 BEST GARDEN CENTER ................. 13 BEST GIFT SHOP .................................9 BEST HAIR SALON ........................... 11 BEST LOCAL PHYSICIAN ............... 15 BEST REAL ESTATE .......................... 12 DINING BEST BAR ...............................................6 BEST BARISTA ......................................5 BEST BARTENDER ..............................6 BEST BREAKFAST SPOT ....................8 BEST BREWPUB ...................................7 BEST BURGER ................................... 16 BEST CATERING ..................................8 BEST CHEF ......................................... 16 BEST CLAM CHOWDER ................. 16 BEST DESSERT .....................................8 BEST FINE DINING .......................... 16 BEST PIZZA ...........................................7 BEST RESTAURANT FOR KIDS........9 BEST SERVER ........................................5 BEST WINE SHOP................................7 ACTIVITIES BEST GOLF COURSE ....................... 14 BEST HIKING TRAIL ......................... 14 BEST LIVE THEATER ........................ 17 BEST LOCAL SPORTS TEAM ........ 15 BEST MUSIC VENUE ....................... 17 ON THE COVER Photos by Dwight Caswell, Robert Hilson, Colin Murphey, Patrick Webb FURTHER ENJOYMENT FULL LIST OF WINNERS .......... 4 CW MARKETPLACE..........24, 25 MUSIC CALENDAR ..................26 CROSSWORD ............................27 SEE + DO .............................28, 29 Find it all online! CoastWeekend.com features full calendar listings, keyword search and easy sharing on social media. Best Apartment Complex, and Dr. Angela Stock Narin, of Pacific Family Medicine, won Best Local Physician. Although our online ballot drew a lot of eyeballs, sometimes the paper ballots made the biggest difference (and justified our decision not to go online-only this year). The people who took the time to cut out and mail in their ballots broke ties and, in several categories, flipped around first-, second- and third-place winners. They COAST WEEKEND EDITOR ERICK BENGEL CALENDAR COORDINATOR REBECCA HERREN CONTRIBUTORS DWIGHT CASWELL KATIE FRANKOWICZ JACK HEFFERNAN GARY HENLEY RYAN HUME KATHERINE LACAZE EDWARD STRATTON BRENNA VISSER PATRICK WEBB To advertise in Coast Weekend, call 503-325-3211 or contact your local sales representative. © 2018 COAST WEEKEND New items for publication consideration must be submitted by 10 a.m. Tuesday, one week and two days before publication. TO SUBMIT AN ITEM Phone: 503.325.3211 Ext. 217 or 800.781.3211 Fax: 503.325.6573 E-mail: editor@coastweekend.com Address: P.O.Box 210 • 949 Exchange St. Astoria, OR 97103 Coast Weekend is published every Thursday by the EO Media Group, all rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without consent of the publisher. Coast Weekend appears weekly in The Daily Astorian and the Chinook Observer. were a powerful force in this year’s Readers’ Choice. While we celebrate the winners’ achievements, let’s keep in mind that such con- tests are inherently subjective, and that they frequently de- pend on voters’ routines and peer groups — factors that influence our tastes and voting habits. What does it mean, really, to say that one business or restaurant “beat” another, especially when so many nominees landed but a few votes apart? If a handful of people had chosen to vote, or not, we’d be looking at a very different list of winners. Any- one who finds the strength in this wackadoo world to get out of bed and put in a good- faith effort at improving their community … those people are winners, straight-up. But, though Readers’ Choice participants cast their votes for personal reasons, these votes are not arbitrary. In the aggregate, they offer an objective look at what our region happens to prize at this moment in history. Like elections, these contests are snapshots of our values — social, economic, aesthetic, even spiritual. And these Readers’ Choice special issues are time capsules, bearing out the journalist’s imperative to gather news and report it to those who can use the information. Here’s to the contest winners, the voters and our readers, who take first place in our hearts. CW
