Keely Richter here. It’s that time again—Best Of Monterey County® is upon us. We’re currently in an open casting call for 275 categories throughout every aspect of life in Monterey County. From eye doctors to bakeries, there are categories for everyone.
Categories go through some evolution over time. For instance, during the pandemic we began awarding the Best Parklet. As time has gone on, those parklets have been replaced by more permanent outdoor dining settings. We’ve always had Best Outdoor Dining on the ballot, so in 2025 we have retired Best Parklet.
We’ve also amended the category Best Place to Read the Weekly. It is always fun to realize how many people read our work while on the commode, or how many people love to fight with the pages of the paper on a windy beach, but this year we’re asking what is the Best Place to Pick Up the Weekly. Do you grab it when you grocery shop? Check your mail? At a Thursday evening happy hour at your favorite bar? Let us know.
We also welcome several new categories this year. Podcasts are on the rise across the country and Monterey County is no exception, so we introduced Best Local Podcast. My colleague Dave Faries pointed out recently that steak frites are turning up on menus everywhere. Who in Monterey County has the Best Steak Frites? The local calendar is rife with food festivals and cultural gourmet showcases. What is the Best Food Event? New houses and businesses are built each year and homeowners across the county improve, repair and beautify their homes. We want to honor the Best General Contractor.
Get in there and nominate the people, places and businesses who are the best at what they do. The top nominees will advance to the final round of voting when we’ll ask you to return and select the very best from a drop-down menu.
The results will be announced in a special glossy-wrapped keepsake edition of Monterey County Weekly. Those dates are as follow:
Nominations: Today (!) July 3-Sunday, July 20.
Finals: Thursday, Aug. 7-Friday, Aug. 29.
Winners announced: Thursday, Oct. 9.
Thank you for reading and thank you for voting.
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