Belltown Bravo Aw@rds

Time once again to announce the winners of our annual citations for bravery in the face of adversity, also known as the Belltown Bravo Aw@rds.

• Best efforts (promotions, service, etc), tie: Taberna del Alabardero. From paella to cochinillo, Paco Pena and his crew try harder than anyone. Steelhead Diner Kevin Davis does it all, from Bristol Bay sockeye to an all-local wine list.
• Best new restaurants (3-way tie): Mistral Kitchen (Westlake), Toulouse Petit (Lower Queen Anne), Cicchetti (Eastlake)
• Best bar: Tini Bigs, open literally every day for the past 13 years.
• Best new bar: Bathtub Gin. No website; that would spoil it.
• Most courageous new bar: Clever Bottle. No food, no hard liquor, rowdy neighbors.
• Worst opening: Ventana. Empty as a drum.(Help is on the way, however; Tamara Wilson's PR firm is starting to put butts into Ventana's seats.)
• Worst pizza joint: Vela. Look, we know it's really a nightclub, not a pizzeria, but that's what the liquor license says.
• Worst name for a restaurant: Blush, where Whym (previous worst name) used to be
• Best news: Dave Meinert & Mandy Park buying the 5-Point.
• Worst news: Carolin Messier and Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez getting a divorce. Will Txori survive?
• Places we'll miss: Saito.
• Places we wouldn't mind missing: Wann Izakaya, Wasabi Bistro, Kushibar, Bambino's.