Who's got the best wings in town? All Stars? Coop de Ville? Jefferson's? Struts?
The Anniston Star is asking readers to pick the Best of Calhoun County, everything from food and drink to entertainment and businesses.
Through Thursday morning, you can vote online for best chicken wings, hamburger, takeout, chicken tenders, lunch and kids' menu.
Nominating and voting in different categories will continue for the next three months, and winners will be published in the Escapes section in August.
To vote, visit www.annistonstar.com and click on the "Best Of" banner.
The Victoria for Mother's Day
Not normally open on Sundays, the Victoria Restaurant makes an exception for Mother's Day, opening for lunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.
Menu items include asparagus soup, the Vic's artisan mac-and-cheese, smoked salmon pizza, the Vic's signature shrimp and grits, chicken salad, pork tenderloin, leg of lamb, trout and beef sirloin.
Call 256-236-0503 for reservations.
Chef of the year
Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio passed a quickfire challenge of his own Monday when he was named the nation's top chef by the James Beard Foundation.
Colicchio, whose numerous restaurants include Craft, Craftsteak and the recently opened Colicchio & Sons in New York, was named outstanding chef during an awards ceremony that is considered the Oscars of the food world.
The award for outstanding restaurant went to an equally epic name — Daniel Boulud's Daniel restaurant in New York, one of only a handful to get four stars from The New York Times.
Rising star chef of the year went to Timothy Hollingsworth at Yountville, Calif.'s much-lauded The French Laundry.
The Beard Foundation also named its top regional chefs around the country, including Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami (South) and Sean Brock of McCrady's in Charleston, S.C. (Southeast).
Cookbooks of the year
In other awards from the James Beard Foundation, cookbook of the year went to The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews.
Donald Link's Real Cajun was named the top cookbook in the American category, which this year was dominated by Southern cuisine.
Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home, based on the chef's family-style fare at his Ad Hoc restaurant in Yountville, Calif., took top honors in the general cooking category.
Chow.com was named the top food-focused website. The top blog was New Yorker Ed Levine's site, SeriousEats.com.



