Best Appetizer, Not Cheese Curds (location and item) As much as we love cheese curds here in Wisconsin, you can’t deny these apps give ’em some competition!... read more » 1 Chips, salsa, and queso from Cancun Mexican Grill 2 Egg Roll Plus Egg Rolls 3 Mogie's Pub Spuds O'Plenty
Best Bakery Sue’s Deluxe Bake Shop (1319 Birch St., Eau Claire), with a wide array of homemade cookies, cinnamon rolls, and... read more » 1 Sue’s Deluxe Bake Shop 2 The Nostalgic Bean 3 Great Harvest Bread Company
Best Barbecue We are very serious about our barbecue in the Chippewa Valley, and it doesn’t get any more serious than at Red... read more » 1 Red Coal BBQ 2 Famous Dave's 3 Karl’s Bar-B-Q Express
Best Baristas From espresso making to latte art, it takes more skill than meets the eye to brew a good cup of coffee. When it comes to... read more » 1 Shift Cyclery & Coffee Bar 2 Cabin Coffee 3 ECDC
Best Breakfast Spot The Nucleus Café (405 Water St., Eau Claire), is the place to go to get your breakfast fix. The Nucleus’... read more » 1 The Nucleus Café 2 Altoona Family Restaurant 3 Randy's Family Restaurant
Best Brunch (includes drinks) Again, a round of applause for The Nucleus Café (405 Water St., Eau Claire) for just having darn good food and... read more » 1 The Nucleus Café 2 44 North Gastropub 3 The Informalist
Best Buffet Though COVID-19 put a temporary stop to them, the Valley’s foodies can’t wait to return to their favorite... read more » 1 Pizza Del Re 2 Pizza Ranch 3 Buffet spread on my kitchen counter
Best Burger Girolamo’s Court’n House (113 W. Grand Ave., Eau Claire) has proven for years that they make incredibly good... read more » 1 Court n' House Bar and Grill 2 Milwaukee Burger Company 3 Amber Inn
Best Burritos Cancun Mexican Grill (with a whoppin’ four Chippewa Valley locations) saved our burrito-loving souls this year... read more » 1 Cancun Mexican Grill 2 Burrito Xpress 3 Silly Serrano Mexican Restaurant
Best Café / Coffeehouse Coffee may be grown far away, but our readers think local when it comes to their morning pick-me-ups. SHIFT Cyclery... read more » 1 SHIFT Cyclery & Coffee Bar 2 Cabin Coffee Company 3 The Nostalgic Bean
Best Chef Chef Shawn Wamsley of Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse (4751 Owen Ayers Court, Eau Claire) is the man cooking up... read more » 1 Shawn Wamsley (Johnny's Italian Steakhouse) 2 Jason Shafer (Stella Blues) 3 Séverine Stein (The Nostalgic Bean)
Best Chicken Wings Wings are part of the motto at Northern Tap House (5020 Keystone Crossing, Eau Claire) and they are everything they are... read more » 1 Northern Tap House 2 River Inn Bar 3 Buffalo Wild Wings
Best Comfort Food There’s nothing quite like stepping into Altoona Family Restaurant (2000 N. Hillcrest Parkway, Altoona) for a... read more » 1 Altoona Family Restaurant 2 Randy's Family Restaurant 3 Culver’s
Best Donuts Looking for the best donuts ’round? Or the best round donuts? Whichever it is, search no further: The... read more » 1 Sue’s Deluxe Bake Shop 2 Holy Donuts (Food Truck) 3 Festival Foods
Best Egg Rolls Egg Roll Plus (1611 Bellinger St., Eau Claire) is a hidden gem that offers only the freshest ingredients for their... read more » 1 Egg Roll Plus 2 Rice Palace 3 Thai Orchid Restaurant
Best Food Event Chippewa Valley gourmands got to celebrate this year, which is probably why there was a tie in this category... read more » 1 Together Farms Burger Nights 2 Farm to Fork Retreat - Pizza Night 3 Covizza Pop-up Pizzeria 3 CVTC Culinary Pop-Ups
Best Food Truck When it comes to your favorite food trucks to stop by for a bite to eat, Dhimiters is No. 1 with its assortment of Greek... read more » 1 Dhimiters 2 Rosy's Texas Outpost 3 Live Great Food Truck
Best Fried Cheese/Curds Nothing screams “Wisconsin” quite like a plate of pipin’ hot cheese curds, and Milwaukee Burger Co... read more » 1 Milwaukee Burger Company 2 Dooley's Pub 3 Anderson's Chick-n-Fish (Chippewa Falls)
Best Hangover Cure Restaurant Milwaukee Burger Co. (2620 E. Clairemont Ave., Eau Claire) soothes our aching, hungover heads with a staggering array of... read more » 1 Milwaukee Burger Company 2 The District Pub & Grill 3 Altoona Family Restaurant
Best International Cuisine With COVID-19 grounding most (if not all) travel plans, international cuisine hits the spot just a little more this... read more » 1 Cancun Mexican Grill 2 Olympic Flame 3 Egg Roll Plus
Best Local Beer (Specific Brew) Beers from Eau Claire’s Brewing Projekt took up five of the top 10 spots in this poll, and Chippewa Valley voters... read more » 1 The Brewing Projekt Gunpowder IPA 2 Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy 3 Lucette Farmer's Daughter
Best Local Brewery With plenty of local breweries to choose from, the top three are just the tip of the iceberg! For the fifth year in a... read more » 1 The Brewing Projekt 2 Leinenkugel's 3 Lazy Monk Brewing
Best Local French Fries The only thing more French than french fries is the name “Eau Claire,” and the popular side dish deserves a... read more » 1 The Classic Garage 2 Together Farms 3 Northern Tap House
Best Locally Produced Foodstuff From their array of flavored bacon and burger patties to fresh steaks, if you're lookin’ for good cookin’... read more » 1 Rump's Butcher Shoppe's meats 2 Silver Spring Foods, Mustards and Horseradish 3 Chip Magnet Salsa
Best New Restaurant Tired of your dining routine? Here are readers’ top picks for restaurants you may not have tried yet! Jay... read more » 1 Jay Ray's Deli 2 Anderson's Chic-n-fish 3 Josef’s Cheesecake Cupcakes
Best Online Food Ordering Service Ordering food online was always a convenient way to save time, but it’s been a necessity this past year. Silly... read more » 1 Silly Serrano Mexican Restaurant 2 Milwaukee Burger Company 3 Burrito Xpress
Best Pad Thai Where’s the Valley’s tastiest pad thai? Egg Roll Plus (1611 Bellinger St., Eau Claire) comes first in the... read more » 1 Egg Roll Plus 2 Thai Orchid Restaurant 3 Mahli Thai
Best Pho Egg Roll Plus (1611 Bellinger St., Eau Claire) is the king of pho in the Chippewa Valley, plus they’ve also got... read more » 1 Egg Roll Plus 2 Rice Palace 3 Thai Orchid Restaurant
Best Quick Lunch If you’re looking for somewhere to meet a friend or get away from the office, Cancun Mexican Grill (four Chippewa... read more » 1 Cancun Mexican Grill 2 Eau Claire Cheese and Deli 3 Acoustic Cafe - Eau Claire
Best Restaurant Atmosphere Alongside the food, a restaurant’s atmosphere is a key element of the dining experience, and our readers say... read more » 1 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 2 Cowboy Jack's 3 The Livery
Best Restaurant for a Fish Fry The Wisconsin fish fry tradition thrives in the Chippewa Valley. Repeatedly voted Best Restaurant for a Fish Fry, 4 Mile... read more » 1 Four Mile (Formerly Smith’s on hwy 37) 2 Girolamo's Court 'n House Bar & Grill 3 Connell’s Supper Club
Best Restaurant for Asian Food If you’re looking for a fix of bold flavors, fresh recipes, and mouth-watering meals, look no further than locally... read more » 1 Egg Roll Plus 2 Shanghai Bistro 3 Ninja Japanese and Chinese Restaurant
Best Restaurant for Chicken Everyone loves a traditional chicken dinner, but Grizzly’s Wood-Fired Grill (4890 Golf Road, Eau Claire) ups the... read more » 1 Grizzly's Wood-Fired Grill 2 Bresina’s Carry Out 3 Pizza Ranch
Best Restaurant for Dessert (All-Around Dessert) Over the past year, many of us have taken solace in the simple pleasures in life – like dessert. Our readers... read more » 1 Ramone's Ice Cream Parlor 2 Olson’s Ice Cream and Deli 3 The Nostalgic Bean
Best Restaurant for Good Wait Staff Good service is essential to the experience of dining out, so it should be no surprise that the top restaurants in this... read more » 1 Altoona Family Restaurant 2 Randy's Family Restaurant 3 Cancun Mexican Grill
Best Restaurant for Italian Food While their menu encompasses flavors from around the Mediterranean, the question of “Where’s the best... read more » 1 Mona Lisa's Restaurant 2 Draganetti's Ristorante 3 Olive Garden
Best Restaurant for Late-night Noshing A long-time favorite among local night owls, Toppers Pizza (four Chippewa Valley locations) is always up for you with... read more » 1 Toppers Pizza 2 Perkins 3 Burrito Xpress
Best Restaurant for Mexican Food It’s no surprise that Cancun Mexican Restaurant (four Chippewa Valley locations) is at the top of this category... read more » 1 Cancun Mexican Restaurant 2 Silly Serrano Mexican Restaurant 3 Tacos Juanita
Best Restaurant for Outdoor Dining Outdoor dining provides more than beautiful views and fresh air; this year, it was a way for restaurants to stay open... read more » 1 Cowboy Jack's 2 44 North 3 The Livery (aka Cowtown Saloon)
Best Restaurant for Pizza Eau Claire has long enjoyed palatial and kingly pizza offerings (“Del Re” means “of the king,”... read more » 1 Geno's Pizza 2 Pizza Del Re 3 Sammy's Pizza Palace
Best Restaurant for Steak The Chippewa Valley does more than meat expectations: It steaks a claim for the best food in western Wisconsin. Taking... read more » 1 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 2 Houligans Steak & Seafood Pub 3 Texas Roadhouse
Best Restaurant for Subs and Sandwiches It starts with bread – plain and simple. But in between lies a whole spectrum of flavor. And here in the Valley... read more » 1 Mancino's Grinders & Pizza 2 Eau Claire Cheese and Deli 3 Acoustic Café (Eau Claire)
Best Restaurant for the Whole Family Nothing says “family-friendly” quite like Altoona Family Restaurant (2000 N. Hillcrest Parkway, Altoona)... read more » 1 Altoona Family Restaurant 2 Randy’s Family Restaurant 3 Cancun Mexican Grill
Best Restaurant for Upscale Dining Few eateries suffered more in 2020 than the fancy kind, where ambiance matters (and if you need proof of that statement... read more » 1 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 2 Mona Lisa's Restaurant 3 Houligans Steak & Seafood Pub
Best Restaurant for Vegetarian Dining (vegetarian menu) The Informalist (205 S. Barstow St., Eau Claire) snatches up first place for vegetarian dining with animal product-free... read more » 1 The Informalist 2 Egg Roll Plus 3 Raw Deal
Best Restaurant in Chippewa Falls In Chippewa Falls, it’s about quality over quantity. The town is quietly becoming a culinary powerhouse with... read more » 1 Connell's Supper Club 2 Sheeley House Saloon 3 Chippewa Family Restaurant
Best Restaurant in Eau Claire Eau Claire’s food scene is growing and getting more and more tasty with new places and new flavors – but for... read more » 1 Mona Lisa's Restaurant 2 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 3 Houligans Steak & Seafood Pub
Best Restaurant in Menomonie Menomonie’s bustling food scene will surprise you with its depth of options and richness of flavors. Not only do... read more » 1 Lucette Wood Fired Eatery 2 Jake's Supper Club 3 Ted's Pizza
Best Server read more » 1 Cindy @ Chippewa Family Restaurant 2 Matt @ Informalist 3 John @ Northern Taphouse
Best Supper Club Nothing says the Midwest – or Wisconsin specifically – quite like an honest-to-goodness supper club... read more » 1 Connell’s Supper Club 2 Jake's Supper Club 3 Old Abe's Supper Club
Best Sushi You wouldn’t necessarily peg the Chippewa Valley as a hotspot for sushi, but if you know where to go, you can get... read more » 1 Ninja Japanese and Chinese Restaurant 2 Shanghai Bistro 3 Sakura Japanese Restaurant
Best Tacos A great taco contains multitudes. Nobody understands that better than Silly Serrano Mexican Restaurant (329 Riverfront... read more » 1 Silly Serrano Mexican Restaurant 2 Cancun Mexican Grill 3 Tacos Juanita Mexican Restaurant
Best Take Out Instead of going out, Chippewa Vallians have been ordering a lot of take-out lately, and there’s no place for that... read more » 1 Olympic Flame Restaurant 2 Bresina’s Carry Out 3 Silly Serrano Mexican Restaurant
Best Vegan Menu Though the Raw Deal (603 Broadway St. S, Menomonie) took third for its vegetarian menu, it leads the poll for its vegan... read more » 1 Raw Deal 2 The Informalist 3 Egg Roll Plus
Best Winemaker Stop by Bemis Bluff Winery (E2960 Hageness Road, Eleva) to try the custom fruit wines and take a peek at the gorgeous... read more » 1 Bemis Bluff Custom Fruit Wines (Eleva) 2 River Bend Winery & Distillery 3 Autumn Harvest Winery & Orchard (Chippewa Falls)
Kind of Eatery / Bar We Most Need Sometimes national chain restaurants are hyped up in the minds of western Wisconsinites to such an extent that they... read more » 1 Chick-fil-a 2 Waterfront Dining in downtown Eau Claire 3 An Indian restaurant that isn't in the mall