The fact that Aja beat out Ming's for best noodles is a travesty. Aja is terrible.

Moe's south west grill has the best meaxcian food in rochester.

Sheesh....what a poor representation of "Rochester's Best."... "Best Known [insert most ubiquitous establishment name here]". So many of Rochester's TRULY GREAT establishments always get shafted on these silly popularity contests. For example:
~California Rollin' may be the most well-known sushi joint in town, but Pirhana's creations are way-tastier....by far
~2 Vine hit its zenith years ago & jumped the shark with the parking lot expansion; can you say "Rocco", anyone? Definitely [one of] the best local culinary experiences going these days...
~The Pizza Stop has the best slice by far and City's own writers can attest to this based on their own review.

Keep voting for mediocrity, Rochester. But what do I care...I'd prefer that my favorite restaurants remain a secret anyway...

Please don't get me wrong as I do like Wegmans but with 1000 other choices, they won best take out? Really?

I agree with Adam about Aja. Ming is superior and much more authentic. I don't know what Aja is but fake.

2vine is the best? Really? I suppose if you like an owner who treats people like crap and unimaginative food, yes. Jeez, just when I thought we were getting somewhere.

I will also point out that Joe Bean is by far the best coffee shop in Rochester

Best vegetarian options DIDN'T go to Owl House? Really? And the best bar food went to Distillery?? What about Tap & Mallet? What about Hogan's Hideaway? Old Toad?

I and I know of a LOT more places to get take-out than Wegmans. I smell shenanigans. These results are as shady as a 2000 presidential election...too soon?

Chris: There are no shenanigans. I'll clarify this again, since there always seems to be confusion about this. The readers' poll results are determined exclusively by popular vote. City Newspaper has zero say in the matter. The Final 4 choices were determined by the open-ended Primary Ballot, which ran online in September and received thousands of responses; people could write in whatever they pleased in the 100 categories. The top local choices from the Primary Ballot became the Final Ballot, which ran in print and online during most of October and received more than double the number of votes as the Primary Ballot. All we do is tally up the votes, and we watch for ballot stuffing and suspect ballots very closely.

City realizes that people don't always agree with some of the decisions (frankly, WE don't always agree with them). But this is simply how the people who took the survey voted. I'm glad that people are taking the opportunity to put their thoughts on the best of Rochester in the comments on these articles. But please do not allege some kind of conspiracy or shenanigans. We work very hard to make sure the balloting is as ethical as possible.

After having followed the "Rochester's Best" for more than a decade, it seems that getting the coveted 'best' in your catagory is an indication that you are sinking into the abyss of mediocrity. Aside from 2 or 3 businesses listed that are at least halfway decent, none of these are anywhere near being the best in their catagory, and several are probably the WORST to be found locally. Take a look at who won the 'best' awards from 10 years ago; almost NONE of them are in business today (and, a few even won AFTER they had closed).

Sorry, City, this contest just confirms my worst suspicions about Rochesterian values. We wouldn't know a diamond if we held it in our hand. The things we think are precious, I can't undertstand.

Maybe this popularity contest will play out and the D&C can have it to themselves. I've ignored the voting and had lots of fun reading the Critic's Choices for many years. If the advertising (Vote Us #1) helps pay the bills, that's fine - but expand the Critic's Choices. The D&C still hasn't added that category, and that is where the interesting writing can be found. Bring in more critics, have a contest for the best Critic's Choice, add Amateur Hour for those future writers, just please consider hanging the focus. If someone comes to Rochester, reads the Best Of voting, and goes to Aja & Pontillo's, well - they probably won't be impressed with "the best" we have to offer. I just hope they will read these comments and head to Ming's and The Pizza Stop or Nino's. For 2012, I hope City staff will consider more creative writing and less voting!

Brian,
"2 Vine hit its zenith years ago & jumped the shark with the parking lot expansion"

Where is the parking lot expansion? I can never find a parking spot down there. As far as zenith years ago, are you kidding? Its packed every night and the food is better than ever. Rocco's is great too!

Soups? MAGNOLIA'S BY Far. Also...the best pizza is a crappy chain-pontillo's are you kidding me? The Pizza Stop wins best pizza hands down. The problem is not many people probably get to that part of downtown to try it. Trust me, it is worth it. ANYTHING is better than Pontillo's. Acme, Salvatore's etc are all superior to that crappy slice. 2 Vine is Very good, but there are so many more choices...Tapas 177 is not on this list? Max's? The fact that none of these are on here and Wegman's is, just makes me sad. The Distillery for best bar food? That place is cheap and has a lot of options, but it all tastes like left overs that came from a microwave. There are so many other options for this one, so many local pubs that do it MUCH better.