2009 Winners of Best of Richmond Readers' Poll

by Dave Davis
(Steveston, BC Canada)

The Richmond Review recently tallied the winners of their Best of Richmond Readers' Poll. Congratulations to all winners and particularly our Steveston winners. As usual, Steveston fared well for both individuals and businesses. I'm sorry if missed highlighting any local individuals, but unfortunately, I only know a few, and thus, was unable with data provided to know all who were local.

Of the business winners there were a few standouts. Tops in the standings with seven categories was Tapenade Bistro. Second up was the recently opened Gudrun Tasting Room with five mentions. There's a lot of buzz around the village and online about this funky place, having won other awards, as well. Keep an eye on Gudrun. Another newcomer, Blue Canoe Waterfront Restaurant, pulling in four categories. Old standbys like The Buck and O'Hare's clinching three and two respectively. A dozen or so other Steveston eateries, shops, organizations and individuals made it into the poll.

Here are the wiinners of the 2009 Best of Richmond Readers' Poll:

Best Local Artist
1 - Alexandria Beck
2 - Margaret Dragu (tie)
2 - Colin Foo (tie)
2 - Carmen Keitch (tie)
2 - Cherelle Jardine (tie)
2 - Trevor Lai (tie)

Best Place to go Dancing
1 - The Buck and Ear
2 - Urban Dance co.
3 - Grand Ballroom

Best Music Teacher
1 - Garth Bowen - Hugh Boyd
2 - David Fromager - Palmer
3 - Len Kay

Best Stage Actor
1 - Jayme Armstrong
2 - Alexandria Beck
3 - Erik Ioanidis

Best Performance Space
1 - Gateway Theatre
2 - River Rock Theatre
3 - South Arm Community Centre

Best High School Band
1 - McMath
2 - Richmond High
3 - Steveston-London

Best Coach
1 - Pasha Bains
2 - Bill Disbrow
3 - Al Wozney

Most Difficult Golf Course
1 - Mayfair Lakes
2 - Richmond Country Club
3 - Quilchena

Best Golf Course
1 - Mayfair Lakes
2 - Country Meadows
3 - Quilchena

Best Richmond Player of All Time
1 - Pasha Bains
2 - Harry Sandhu
3 - Katie Miyazaki

Best Sporting Event
1 - Dolphin Park Basketball
2 - Nations Cup
3 - Jimmy Ng Memorial Hockey Tournament

Best Sports Field
1 - Hugh Boyd Turf
2 - Minoru Park
3 - Richmond High Turf

Best Team Name
1 - Richmond Sockeyes
2 - Richmond Colts
3 - McNair Marlins

Best Team Uniform
1 - Richmond Sockeyes
2 - Richmond Colts
3 - Seafair Minor Hockey

Best High School Uniform
1 - Richmond Colts
2 - Steveston Packers
3 - McRoberts Strikers

Best Place to Workout
1 - Drive Fitness
2 - Steveston Community Centre
3 - Thompson Community Centre

Best Personal Trainer
1 - Isaac Payne (Drive Fitness)
2 - Sharon Taylor
3 - Lisa Carpenter (Buc Fitness)

Best High School Athlete
1 - Anmol (Rocky) Mattu
2 - Chelsea Flintoff

Best Beer Selection
1 - Fogg N Suds
2 - Gudrun Tasting Room
3 - O'Hare's

Best Bread
1 - Cobbs
2 - Romania Country Bread
3 - Steveston Bakery

Best Brunch
1 - Tapenade Bistro
2 - River Rock
3 - Globe @ YVR (tie)
3 - Milestones (tie)

Best Burger
1 - White Spot
2 - McDonald's
3 - Pajo's

Best Place to go on a Cheap Date
1 - McDonald's
2 - Garry Point Park
3 - Steveston Village

Best Chef
1 - Alex Tung - Tapenade
2 - Jon Lim Hing - Correllis
3 - Ken Iaci - Papi's

Best Chinese Food
1 - #9 Resturant
2 - Danny's Wun tun House
3 - Hon's

Best Curry
1 - Curry Express
2 - La Tandoor
3 - Pisces Fish and Chips

Best Dim Sum
1 - Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
2 - Kirin Restaurant
3 - Continental Seafood Restaurant

Best Fine Dining
1 - Tapenade Bistro
2 - Chop
3 - Steveston Seafood House

Best New Restaurant
1 - Chop
2 - Blue Canoe Waterfront Restaurant
3 - Gudrun Tasting Room

Best Place to go for Drinks
1 - Flying Beaver
2 - Gudrun Tasting Room
3 - The Buck and Ear

Best Dessert
1 - Diplomat Bakery
2 - Tapenade Bistro
3 - Blue Canoe Waterfront Restaurant

Best Late Night Munchies
1 - No. 9 Restaurant
2 - Gudrun Tasting Room
3 - Boston Pizza

Best Italian
1 - Papi's Ristorante
2 - Paesano's
3 - Italian Tomato

Best Greek Food
1 - The Mad Greek
2 - Kisamos Greek Taverna
3 - Felico's

Best Food Court
1 - Richmond Centre
2 - Lansdowne Centre
3 - Aberdeen centre

Best Place to go on a First Date
1 - Steveston Village
2 - Tapenade Bistro
3 - Blue Canoe Waterfront Restaurant

Best Pho
1 - Pho Hoa
2 - Pho Lan
3 - Hue Cafe

Best Pizza
1 - Steveston Pizza Co.
2 - Pizza Hut
3 - Panago

Best Pub Grub
1 - O'Hare's
2 - The Flying Beaver
3 - The Buck and Ear

Best Southeast Asian
1 - Kari House
2 - Thai House
3 - Tropika

Best Sushi
1 - Richmond Sushi
2 - Ichiro Japanese Restaurant
3 - Seto Sushi

Best Wine Selection
1 - Gudrun Tasting Room
2 - SIP Wines
3 - Tapenade Bistro

Best Fish & Chips
1 - Pajo's Fish and Chips
2 - Dave's Fish and Chips
3 - Pisces Fish and Chips

Best Kid Friendly Restaurant
1 - White Spot
2 - McDonald's
3 - Boston Pizza

Best Place to Take Out of Town Guests
1 - Steveston Village
2 - Tapenade Bistro
3 - Blue Canoe Waterfront Restaurant

Best Men's Fashion Store
1 - Moores
2 - Mexx
3 - The Bay

Best Music Store
1 - HMV
2 - Tom Lee Music
3 - Long and Mcquade

Best Notary
1 - Nancy Schick Skinner
2 - Tammy Morin Nakashima
3 - Gail Maida

Best Pet Supply Store
1 - Bosleys
2 - Tisol
3 - Petcetra

Best Produce Stand
1 - Kin's Farm Market
2 - Richmond Country Farms
3 - Langley Farm Market

Best Realtor
1 - Daniel John
2 - Bob Schmitz
3 - Lynda Terborg (tie)
3 - Macey ter Borg (tie)
3 - Shafik (tie)

Best Auto Body Shop
1 - Craftsman Collision
2 - Richmond Auto body
3 - Advance Automotive (tie)
3 - South Seas Auto body (tie)

Best Place to buy Second-hand Clothing
1 - Value Village
2 - Kid Supply Clothing
3 - Salvation Army Thrift Store

Best Sport Store
1 - Sport Chek
2 - Ice Level Sports
3 - Foot Locker

Best Tattoo Parlour
1 - Dermagraphic Osmosis
2 - Floating World

Best Toy Store
1 - Splash Toys
2 - Toys R Us
3 - Imperial Hobbies

Best Vet
1 - Dr. Terry Grise - Companion Animal Clinic
2 - Richmond Animal Hospital
3 - Steveston Veterinary

Best Women's Fashion Store
1 - Flamingo Row
2 - Anna Kristina Boutique
3 - Lauras

Best Yoga Studio
1 - Bikram Yoga
2 - Yyoga
3 - Steveston Village Yoga

Best Community Awards Gala
1 - Volunteers are Stars
2 - Ethel Tibbits Awards
3 - U-ROC

Best ESL Teacher
1 - Troy Yoshida
2 - Naomi Hazon (tie)
2 - Phyllis Lightfoot (tie)

Best Place to Bird Watch
1 - West Dyke
2 - Garry Point
3 - Richmond Nature Park

Best Building
1 - The Olympic Oval
2 - City Hall
3 - BCIT Aerospace Campus

Best City Employee
1 - Dave Semple
2 - Jennifer Luce
3 - Ted Townsend

Best Community Activist
1 - Arzeena Hamir
2 - Harold Steves
3 - Mary Gazetas (tie)
3 - Michael Wolfe (tie)

Best Community Centre
1 - South Arm
2 - Thompson
3 - Steveston

Best Firefighter
1 - Kirby Graeme
2 - Fred Klomp
3 - Scott Duncan

Best Elementary School Teacher
1 - Mrs. Ticinovic
2 - Mrs. Long
3 - Ellen Cronk (tie)
3 - Lisa Samashima (tie)

Best High School Teacher
1 - Ryan Ververgaert
2 - Mr. Howlett
3 - Jeffery Mah

Best Endangered Piece of Richmond History
1 - Steveston
2 - Steveston Museum
3 - Garden City Lands

Best Community Event
1 - Steveston Salmon Festival
2 - Nibbles & Bites
3 - WinterFest

Best Eyesore
1 - Canada Line
2 - No. 3 Road
3 - Richmond oval net art

Best Person you would like to see in office
1 - Cynthia Chen
2 - Matt Pitcairn
3 - John Dubeau

Best Local Hero
1 - Rick Hansen
2 - Pasha Bains
3 - Kirby Graeme

Best Local Politician
1 - Mayor Malcolm Brodie
2 - Coun. Harold Steeves
3 - John Yap MLA

Best Politician You Would Like to see Out of Office
1 - Mayor Malcolm Brodie
2 - Coun. Bill McNulty
3 - Alice Wong MP

Best Dressed Female
1 - Mary Kemmis
2 - Alexandria Beck
3 - Judy May

Best Dressed Male
1 - Sunny Dhillon
2 - Dalbir Rai
3 - Michael McCoy

Best Youth Most Likely to be Mayor in the Future
1 - Michael Wolfe
2 - Braeden Caley
3 - Iris Ilano

Best Volunteer
1 - Jim Kojima (tie)
1 - John Dubeau (tie)
2 - Julie Halfnights

Best Place to take a Stroll
1 - Dyke
2 - Steveston
3 - Garry Point

Best Reason to Live Here
1 - Steveston
2 - Location
3 - Multiculturalism/The people

Best Reason to Move
1 - The traffic
2 - Too crowded
3 - It’s below sea level / Flooding / Earthquake Scare

Best Shortcut
1 - River Road
2 - Not Telling!
3 - Minoru Blvd

Best Part of the Steveston SalmonFest
1 - The parade
2 - Salmon bake
3 - The food

Best Richmond Street Name
1 - Richmond Street
2 - Garden City
3 - Sexsmith

Best Picnic Spot
1 - Garry Point Park
2 - South Arm Park
3 - Minoru Park

Best Playground
1 - Steveston Community Centre
2 - South Arm Park
3 - Garden City Park

Best Intersection to Avoid
1 - No 3 Road & Westminster Highway
2 - Granville Ave & Garden City Road
3 - No. 3 Road & Alderbridge Way

Best Place to Propose
1 - Garry Point Park
2 - Steveston
3 - Minoru Park

Best Trail
1 - Gary Point Park
2 - West Dyke Trail
3 - Shell Road

Best Nurse
1 - Andrea Jung
2 - Judy Tarnow
3 - Judy Passmore

All-in-all, a pretty decent showing for little ole Steveston, congrats!