2006 Eat Out Awards

WHOLE FOODS Brooklyn Fish Camp won the vote for that borough’s best new eatery.

Photo: Steve Cohen

Plus:

• Readers’ choices
• Critics’ picks
• Side Dish

Dining trends in this town change as often as the menu of a seasonally obsessed chef. Fancy Japanese joints have given way to upscale Chinese spots; noodle bars keep popping up, while barbecue pits have fizzled. But one thing remains the same: Each April, we digest the past year and recognize those chefs, owners, designers and sommeliers who created meals worth remembering—not an easy feat, considering that New York has 20,000 or so eateries competing for attention. Among the Readers’ Choices—voted on by more than 7,500 of you (a record!)—is your favorite new Peter Luger offshoot, preferred “secret” location, coolest new hotel restaurant and tastiest breakfast (not brunch). Our critics, meanwhile, divulge where you’ll find the best palate cleanser, the most comforting comfort food, the spiffiest snack and, for the fifth year running, the best-tasting dare (let’s just say it involves weird animal body parts). But the process never ends; starting this week, we’ll begin chewing our way toward next year’s nominees. Hey, a guy’s gotta eat.—James Oliver Cury, Eat Out editor