The Washington Blade’s “Best of Gay D.C. 2011” winners were announced last Thursday. (Luis Gomez Photos)
Local businesses, organizations and people in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area dominated the voting in this year’s reader poll of Washington Blade‘s Best of Gay D.C. 2011 DC awards.
Not surprisingly, businesses on the 14th Street, 17th Street and U Street corridors brought home the most prizes, with representation from P Street and 9th Street NW as well.
- Dining: 8 winners in the area
- Nightlife: 7 winners in the area
- Community: 12 winners in the area
- People: 8 winners in the area
- Double Winners: Level One restaurant, JR’s Bar and Grill
- All-time Leaders: Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse and JR’s Bar and Grill, both on 17th Street NW, are the leaders for most wins in the Blade reader poll, 2001-2011.
Below is the list of local winners by category.
Dining
There were 12 different DC sub-categories in Dining. Local establishments brought home eight of them: the 17th Street corridor brought home four awards, while 14th Street got three and 9th Street had one.
- Best Late Night: Annie’s Paramount Steak House, 17th Street NW
- Best Coffee Shop: Caribou Coffee, 14th and Rhode Island NW
- Best Date Restaurant: Floriana, 17th Street NW
- Best Wine Bar: Cork, 14th Street NW
- Best Chef: Allan Javery, Level One, 17th Street NW
- Best Brunch: Level One, 17th Street NW
- Best New Restaurant: El Centro, D.F. Taquileria and Taqueria, 14th Street NW
- Best Ethnic Restaurant: Etete, 9th Street NW
- Best Vegetarian Restaurant: Busboys & Poets, 14th Street NW
Nightlife
There were eight different DC sub-categories in Nightlife category. Local establishments brought home seven of them: the 17th Street corridor brought home three awards, while U Street corridor/area won three and 18th Street NW had one winner.
- Best Place to Meet Women: Lure/Bare at Cobalt, 17th Street NW
- Best Dance Club: Town Danceboutique, 8th Street NW
- Best Happy Hour: JR’s Bar and Grill, 17th Street NW
- Best Neighborhood Bar: JR’s Bar and Grill, 17th Street NW
- Best Place to Meet Men: Nellie’s Sports Bar, U Street NW
- Best Live Music: 9:30 Club, V Street NW
- Best Cocktail: Lemon Squeeze at Duplex Diner, 18th Street NW
Community
There were 16 different DC sub-categories in the Community section of the awards. Local establishments brought home 12 of them; one is on 9th Street NW, two are on 14th Street NW, three are on 15th Street NW, one on 16th Street NW, and one on P Street NW.
- Best Gym: VIDA Fitness, four locations (with a fifth to open) including U Street and 15th Street NW
- Best Home Furnishings: Room and Board, 14th Street NW
- Best Art Gallery: Long View Art Gallery, 9th Street NW
- Best Home Improvement (tie): Logan Hardware/Sparrow Construction (Logan Hardware has five DC locations including P Street in Logan Circle)
- Best Place of Worship: Foundry United Methodist Church, 16th Street NW
- Best Local Blog: Borderstan (covers Dupont-Logan-U Street areas)
- Best Sports Team (tie): Stonewall Kickball and the Washington Nationals (Stonewall Kickball plays at Stead Park Field on P Street NW)
- Best Place to Get Married: Meridian Hill Park, 15th/16th Streets NW
- Best Gay-Owned Business: D.C. MetroVet (housecalls)
- Best Hotel: Hotel Palomar, P Street NW
- Best Salon/Spa: Bang Salon, three locations including U Street and 15th Street NW
- Best Clothing Store: Universal Gear, 14th Street NW
People
People from the Dupont-Logan-U Street area brought home a total of eight awards in the People category.
- Best Actor (tie): Jeffrey Johnson and Neil Patrick Harris
- Best Bartender: Liz Warner-Osborne of Cobalt, 17th Street NW
- Best Musician: Tom Goss
- Best Personal Trainer (tie): Ryan Stitt and Liz Warner-Osborne, both at VIDA Fitness
- Best Businessperson: Mark Rutstein (manger of Cobalt/Level One and owner, The Rutstein Group)
- Best Drag Show/Best Drag Queen: Ladies of Town and Ba’Naka
- Local Hero: Frank Kameny (posthumous); note that 17th Street NW between Q and R Streets NW is co-named Frank Kameny Way.
Click for more photos: Borderstan wins Washington Blade’ reader poll for Best Local Blog. The awards party was Thursday evening at Hotel Helix on Rhode Island Avenue NW. (Luis Gomez Photos).
From the editors:
The Borderstan Team extends a huge thank you to our readers and the Washington Blade. We were honored to be voted “Best Local Blog” in the Blade’s “Best of Gay DC 2011” reader poll. The results were announced Thursday evening at a party at Hotel Helix.
As we told the Blade about our team of writers and editors who cover the Dupont-Logan-U Street area, “They are key to what we do and we are very fortunate to work with some talented, dedicated people.”
We will bring you a list next week of the numerous individuals and businesses in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area who were winners in the Blade’s annual reader poll. The Washington Blade was founded in 1969 and covers not only Washington’s LGBT community, but national and regional news of importance. They are located here in the neighborhood on 14th Street NW.
