(45 entries)

Judge: Leigh Behrens, dining editor, Chicago Tribune
Behrens is dining editor for the Chicago Tribune and Metromix.com, the Tribune's online entertainment guide. She is a winner of a 1999 first-place award for Excellece in Feature Writing from the American Association of Sunday and Feature Writers.

First Place
NIKKI BUCHANAN
Phoenix Magazine
"Must Desserts"
"From fancy to no-frills, the reviewer takes us on a deliciously written tour of indulgences well worth the risk to waistline and wallet."

Second Place
MARK MOORHEAD
Phoenix New Times
"Midnight Chow Boy"
"Great imagery and sense of place. And I loved the declaration that if "society may be judged on how it treats its most vulnerable members, so too a restaurant may be judged on how it treats its tuna fish."

Third Place
BARBARA YOST
The Arizona Republic
"No-Miss Steaks -- Fleming's Does Right By Beef"
"The reviewer's personality percolates through the piece, transporting readers to the table to share in the carnivorous conviviality."

Honorable Mention
ROBBIE SHERWOOD and CHRIS FISCUS
"Fat Bombs Away! Costco Hangar Stores a Cheap, Filling Payload"
"This is a review to relish, and a well-written and clever reminder that dining isn't something that occurs only at dimly-lit destinations with white tablecloths and snooty wine lists."