Just how powerful is the Jewish vote? Congress may still be up for grabs, but when it comes to the best of the Bay Area, j.’s Jewish readers hold the cards. It’s our version of democracy in action.
Naturally, after last year’s awards debut, successful as it was, we knew there was room for improvement. So we sent our top people back to the proverbial drawing board to see what could be done to make this year’s selection process even better.
For one thing, we renamed it “Readers’ Choice Awards,” to better reflect what it’s all about. For another, we significantly reduced the number of categories. Gone are best major appliances, best cab company and best oncologist. Also dropped is best mohel because, honestly, who would want to come in second in that category?
Last year, some readers told us they didn’t like the idea of pitting rabbi against rabbi, or cantor against cantor, so that type of category vanished.
But the most important innovation was expanding the balloting by region. Last year, every corner of the Bay Area had to duke it out collectively, which wasn’t really fair. After all, each region in our nine-county wonderland has its own unique treasures.
So, this time around, we established separate balloting for the East Bay, Marin/Sonoma, South Bay/Peninsula and San Francisco: four divisions, four winners. More of a level playing field.
The new format did bring its quirks, of course. Not every category lent itself to four-part balloting (South Bay-based chuppah-makers do not say no to prospective East Bay customers, for example). And this year’s winner for best JCC in San Francisco is … (drum roll, please) … the JCC of San Francisco. Similarly, the JCC winner in Marin is the Osher Marin JCC, the only JCC in that county. (It’s OK, guys, you still deserve it.)
But overall, regional balloting resulted in more winners and, we hope, more fun for readers.
For example, in the Jewish Life section, local synagogues, federations and agencies now had a better chance to strut their stuff. In fact, despite fewer categories, far more Jewish institutions won Reader’s Choice awards than last year.
Multiple winners — and there were more than a few — included large synagogues such as Congregation Emanu-El (10 first place wins) and Congregation Beth Am (6 wins), as well as smaller institutions such as the Jewish Chaplaincy at Stanford University Medical Center.
Last year the arts section included categories like Best Actor and Best Actress. With apologies to Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman, we decided to forgo that kind of thing this year. But we did have one repeat winner: Traveling Jewish Theatre (in the best Jewish theater category, naturally).
We had a few second-time winners in the food section as well. So we send a “mazel tov” to Holy Land Restaurant, Shangri-La Chinese Vegetarian, Scott’s Seafood, Berkeley’s Bar Ristorante Raphael, Saul’s Deli, Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers and Grand Bakery, all of whom are back-to-back top vote-getters in various categories.
Then there are the new kids in town. For instance, in the best chocolate category last year, the first and second place winners were Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt Confections. Since then, Hershey Chocolate bought out both companies — and no, we don’t claim any credit for that. But all that shifting of the boardrooms left space for start-up Charles Chocolates to make a move, taking first place in the category in three out of four regions.
And another thing. That cultural cliché about Jews and Chinese food? Well, it’s true. We received more votes for best Chinese restaurant and best sushi than any other two categories, though best hamburger and best breakfast/ brunch weren’t far behind.
So, as we close the books on the 2006 Readers’ Choice Awards, we want to thank our readers for voting — and thank all the individuals, institutions, retailers and professionals who earned those votes. No, this ballot wasn’t a life-or-death matter, and we may have had a hanging chad or two to deal with in putting it together, but Bay Area Jews obviously love life and care about their community. Sharing a little bit of that sense is what the Readers’ Choice is all about.