Results from the Resident Favorite Dining Survey

Attention.  Attention Please.  Please direct your attention this way.  The results of the 2010 Resident Favorite Dining Survey are tabulated and the winners are....  But before the winners are announced, there are a few tidbits worth sharing; c'mon, there's got to be a little suspense, no? 

The survey is a popular vote contest for people who live and work in Durham.  There were no limits on what places could win.  Voting was conducted online through a survey on the Informz platform and was open for 12 days from November 1 through 12.  The survey was promoted largely over social media.

Participation was up 61% over last year.  That size jump clearly indicates a strong desire by those who live here to be supportive of their local businesses and to direct visitors to them.  That's a great thing.

Folks spent an average of 5:19 per response.  That is up 18% from last year and it indicates that respondents truly care about making sure they choose the places that they believe most exemplify excellence in a category. 

Some categories were too close to call a single winner; only one or two votes separated some of the top contenders.  In those instances, multiple winners were awarded.  "The objective of this survey is to provide a window on the local culinary zeigeist that others can use to guide their decisions, and this year we had a heck of a response," said Sam Poley, DCVB's Director of Marketing and Communications.  "We were especially excited to see voting be so close, and to have multiple establishments genuinely be easily discernable as true 'favorites' by popular votes," he added.

So, without further adoo, the 2010 Resident Favorites Dining Survey winners are:

Favorite Place in Durham for BBQ:
The Original Q-Shack

Favorite Place in Durham for Brunch:
Watts Grocery and Elmo's Diner

Favorite Place in Durham for a Burger:
Only Burger

Favorite Coffee House in Durham:
Bean Traders, Inc., Beyu Caffe, and Joe Van Gogh

Favorite Place for a Guilty Pleasure:
Francesca's Dessert Caffe, Mad Hatter Bakeshop and Cafe, Guglhupf Café, and Scratch Seasonal Artisan Baking

Favorite Place in Durham with a Kids' Menu:
Elmo's Diner

Favorite Restaurant with Live Entertainment:
Broad Street Café

Favorite Mobile Food Vendor in Durham:
Only Burger

Favorite Place in Durham for Late Night Food:
Cosmic Cantina

Favorite Place in Durham for Vegetarians:
Toast, Sitar India Palace, Dos Perros, and Saladelia Cafe

Favorite Restaurant in Durham for a Date:
Revolution and Watts Grocery

Favorite Restaurant Value in Durham:
Chubby's Tacos and The Federal

Favorite Restaurant Wine List in Durham:
Six Plates Wine Bar

Resident Favorites Survey Begins Today

Each year the folks at the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau like to gather a little ground-level research from residents to find out what they do and don't dig on the local dining scene.  Turns out that visitors are increasingly interested in the local chatter, too, as it relates to empirically-informed personal preferences upon which they can act when they visit. 



DCVB's annual Resident Favorites Survey is in
the field with voting going through 11/12/10.

Social media has emerged as a platform that drives the interest in this sort of information, and the need is growing.  Since Durhamites get so excited about things in the place where great things happen, this survey is a great way to formalize that data.  So, those with an opinion (research shows that opinions are strongly-held in Durham) should follow this link to complete the survey. 

That's right, TAKE THE SURVEY here.

"This short survey is dining focused - it will take most people less than 90 seconds to complete," according to Sam Poley, DCVB's Director of Marketing and Communications who hopes that residents will voice their opinions by the thousands.  "This survey is always fun for us.  We really get a kick out of seeing the responses and hope nominated restaurants will really promote this process and encourage votes through their social media as well," he added.

Winning establishments are presented with a framed award and are announced publicly by DCVB.  The questions change annually, so it is possible that a place may have consecutive wins in a category that are years apart.  Last year's winners are posted here.