Tag Archives: Best of Montreal

What do I have to do to get you to stop honouring me?

May 14, 2009 – 10:47 am| Posted in Media, Navel-gazing, Opinion
The Mirror, May 14, 2009, Page 14

The Mirror, May 14, 2009, Page 14

I give up.

Last year, I asked you specifically not to vote for me in the Mirror's Best of Montreal poll. You (or at least some of you) wilfully disobeyed me and I placed eighth on the list of best blogs.

This year, I decided to avoid the reverse psychology and say absolutely nothing about the annual readers' survey when it came out. That failed miserably, because this year I placed No. 2 (behind Midnight Poutine, who are again humble about taking the top spot) and the paper has an interview and picture for all my friends to see (it's at the bottom, below the giant head of Ted Bird).

The article by Lorraine Carpenter is complimentary (though "Fagstein" wasn't a schoolyard taunt - they really didn't need to invent a new name to make fun of me), and Rachel Granofsky's photo - well let's just say she took about a hundred shots of me and that was probably the best one (the best photos of me are the ones where part of my face is hidden).

The full list of most popular local blogs, for those interested:

  1. Midnight Poutine
  2. Fagstein
  3. ThriftyTable.com
  4. Mike Ward (*cough*)
  5. Pregnant Goldfish
  6. Said the Gramophone (*cough*)
  7. Nouveau Queer (*cough*)
  8. Spacing Montreal
  9. Black Sheep Reviews (*cough*)
  10. Bitchin Lifestyle (*cough*)

Honourable mentions:

It's sad that in order to place on this list you essentially have to whore yourself out to your readers (half of the top 10 asked their readers to vote for them in this poll, though some tried to remove the evidence after the fact - I'm looking at you Mike Ward). Two others - Spacing Montreal and Pregnant Goldfish - pimped themselves last year but not this year and subsequently fell in the standings.

But hey, it's a popularity contest, and that means Céline Dion is on the list for "Most desirable woman", Jean Charest is on "best politician", Global on "best TV station", Metro on "best newspaper", 3 Amigos tops "best Mexican" and McDonald's places in multiple food categories.

Unfortunately, that means many high-quality candidates are left off the list. Among them Montreal City Weblog, Coolpolis, Patrick Lagacé, Dominic Arpin, Indyish and Urbania (feel free to nominate your favourite unhonoured blog below).

All that said, I'd still like to thank those who think so highly of this blog and voted for me (which, in the interests of full disclosure, I should admit includes myself - but only once!)

If you'll excuse me, I have to go pick up a few extra copies for my mom.

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I’m very disappointed in all of you

May 15, 2008 – 4:59 pm| Posted in Blogosphere, Media, Montreal, Navel-gazing

My request was simple: Don't vote for me in the sad popularity contest that is the Mirror's Best of Montreal readers' poll. Instead, it appears, someone did do exactly that because I came in eighth.

I'd say I was honoured, but I placed just below Drunken Stepfather. That doesn't exactly fill me with pride.

Still, congrats to those who did end up on the list, especially those who didn't use their blogs to inflate their votes (Montreal City Weblog, Spacing Montreal, Pregnant Goldfish).

I should also point out some other blogs on that list, which I've never frequented because they aren't about the city, but are still interesting:

I also think Coolopolis should have been there somewhere, as well as some francophone blogs. But this is about popularity, not quality, right?

No news here

As for the rest of the poll, nothing is particularly surprising for anyone who's seen BOM results before. Chain restaurants still dominate the best eats categories (McDonald's is there twice).

In the media categories:

  • CKUT won best radio station
  • CFCF best TV station (with Mutsumi Takahashi and Todd van der Heyden best news anchors, though the Mirror seems to think the later is the evening news guy, when last time I checked it was 8th-placed Brian Britt)
  • K103's Don Smooth best radio host (the Mirror has a profile)
  • Mix and CHOM's morning shows as best radio shows
  • Nightlife Magazine won best magazine
  • The Mirror, shockingly, came in first for Best Newspaper, again. The Gazette was second, which I think says something, followed by the three franco dailies, Voir, Hour, The Link, Metro and the McGill Daily.
  • The Gazette's Aislin won for Best Cartoonist, beating ballot-stuffing Radomsky and La Presse's Serge Chapleau

And Boustan, who also mounted a self-promotion campaign to improve its standing, maintained its dominance in the Middle Eastern categories, improved in others and added two new ones:

  • Best Middle-Eastern (still 1st)
  • Best Falafel (still 1st)
  • Best Late-Night Eats (2nd from 3rd)
  • Best Delivery (2nd from 4th)
  • Best Cheap Eats (3rd)
  • Best Sandwich (5th)

However, people weren't convinced enough to vote for it as Best Fries or Best Vegetarian.

Elsewhere in the bragosphere:

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Best of Montreal: Don’t vote for me

April 13, 2008 – 5:42 pm| Posted in Blogosphere, Media, Montreal

It's that time of year again, when the city's wannabe-next-hot-things measure their penis sizes and get all their friends to vote for them in the Mirror's Best of Montreal poll.

It's not just the bloggers this year that are shamefully pimping themselves and their friends. As I stopped by Boustan this week for my garlic-sauce fix, I was handed a card encouraging me to vote for them in every category they could think of (except, perhaps, best celebrity or Montrealer closest to sainthood). They were also stapled to all deliveries.

Boustan BOM flyer

Boustan actually does pretty good in the BOM poll without the effort. Their proximity to Concordia puts them in touch with the Mirror's key demo (young anglos), and the delicious food and friendly service makes them a favourite of everyone who's been there. Last year, they came in third in Best Late-Night Eats, fourth in Best Delivery, and first in Best Middle-Eastern and Best Falafel. Unsatisfied with a mere two first-place finishes, they're looking to expand, making the case for the Best Sandwich, Best Fries, Best Cheap-Eats and Best Vegetarian categories.

As for Best Blog, a category I was sadly shut out of last year, I'll buck the trend and encourage my readers not to vote for me. Instead, I'll point to some better Montreal-based blogs that are more deserving of your votes and who (so far) have shown the class to not beg readers to stuff ballots for them. And if I don't see my blog on that list when the results come out, I'll know my campaign was successful.

So for Best Blog, vote for (in no particular order):

Remember, The Mirror is not a fan of ballot-stuffers. Be sure to fill out the entire survey with suggestions and not just one category. (And do some research for those please, no Céline Dion or McDonald's)

Go vote.

UPDATE: I see that within hours of my having congratulated them for not pimping themselves on their blogs, Montreal City Weblog and Spacing Montreal have done exactly that. Therefore, I will encourage you not to vote for them.

*Full disclosure: I work for The Gazette, which produces Habs Inside/Out. So take my praise with a grain of salt.

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