Best “Don’t Call it a Comeback” reincarnation (2025)

Monterey Skates

Best Way to See Your Sign (2025)

Attend a MIRA Star Party

Best Use of Freshly-Picked Herbs And Other Garden Produce (2025)

Colleen Kelly

Best Prix Fixe Menu That Is So Good That You Ignore The Ocean View (2025)

Coastal Kitchen

Best Thing That A Lot Of Restaurants Are Doing These Days (2025)

Smashburgers

Best place for others to admire what they think is your childlike innocence while you are actually Day drinking (2025)

Turn 12 Bar & Grill

Best place for Quesabirria On Wheels (2025)

Tacos Mariscos Los Cristaleros Food Truck

Best Way to Get Into A New York State Of Mind (2025)

The Oven

Best Local band that plays original music but you hardly ever see them on stage (2025)

Pleasure Nature

Best Comeback from Federal Funding Mayhem (2025)

Continuing Monterey County Preschool Service Corps

Best Way To Bring Things To An End – Next Year (2025)

IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Monterey

Best Way to See the Future Now (2025)

Joby Aviation

Best Reuse of Former Agricultural Land (2025)

Ensen Community Park

Best Breakfast/Lunch Spot You have Probably Driven Past Without Noticing (2025)

Rocky’s Cafe

Best Example of People Power (2025)

Protect Salinas Renters’ Referendum Campaign

Best Mural Wrapped Around a Movie Theater (2025)

Signs by Van’s Ocean Mural

Best Flashy Ag Tech (2025)

The LaserWeeder

Best Post-Fire Recovery (2025)

The Power Plant Cafe

Best transformation in making parks inclusive for all (2025)

Tatum’s Garden Foundation

Best Safety Trend in North County (2025)

District 2 Eucalyptus Removal Program

Best Place to Trot Out the Phrase “For All the Tea in China” (2025)

Gold Leaf Spice & Teas

Best nighttime commute companion (2025)

Alice Cooper

Best Public Records Disclosure (2025)

Monterey City Attorney Releasing Pete Hegseth’s Alleged Rape Police Report

Best menu that actually offers something for everyone (2025)

Lighthouse Bistro Global Cuisine

Best place for real men (and anybody) to eat quiche (2025)

East Village Cafe

Best Opportunity to see a Storytelling Songwriter Spin Yarns on Stage (2025)

Charlie Crockett

Best Cocktail to enjoy in a newly remodeled hotel overlooking the bay (2025)

French 75

Best New Scholarship (2025)

Rancho Cielo RIDE Program

Best Place to Rest in a Hammock And order empanadas because they come with Chimichurri (2025)

Café Guaraní

Best new way to make friends and get in your steps at the same time (2025)

Walk Every Street PG

Best big game Blowout (2025)

Carmel High Beats Lakeside 48-7 To Win Championship