Over 2,200 people voted in Visit Hot Springs' second annual Feast Month Visitors' Choice Awards, which saw 152 food establishments receive votes across 12 categories.
Visit Hot Springs had nearly "1,000 more votes this year than we had last year, which is really great," Bill Solleder, VHS marketing director, said. "We're really happy with that."
Out of the 12 categories, all but one of the winners from the 2021 voting retained their titles for a second year.
Smokin' In Style garnered 34.28% of the votes for Best BBQ to beat out last year's winner, McClard's BBQ. Stubby's BBQ finished third in the category, with a total of six nominees.
"It feels good," Joe Johnson, owner of Smokin' In Style, said. "I mean, we're blessed. I'm just blessed every day that my doors are open, and that's where I'm always at."
Johnson and his late brother, Daniel, grew up eating McClard's BBQ, and the pair did not open their restaurant as a way to compete with the 2021 Visitors' Choice winner.
"They're just too different," he said. "You either like McClard's or you like Smokin' In Style. You've occasionally got people that like both. You know, they like certain menu items" at each restaurant.
Solleder said the biggest surprise for him was that the voting results were mostly the same as the previous year.
"I think the biggest surprise is that, with the exception of Smokin' In Style surpassing McClard's who won last year, all of last year's winners won again this year," he said. "That's the biggest surprise to me, and it's something where it's not a landslide victory in most cases. They're really close races. The fight for Best Pizza between Rocky's, SQZBX, Deluca's, and Grateful Head was really close and went back and forth."
SQZBX drew 21.79% of the votes for the pizza category for the win with Rocky's Corner and Deluca's rounding out the top three of 13 nominees. The Best Sweets category was taken by Fat Bottomed Girl's Cupcakes with 19.65% of 1,500 votes divided among 20 contenders in the category.
"We're super honored," Mackenzie Simon, owner of Fat Bottomed Girl's Cupcakes, said.
Simon, who also owns Pour Some Sugar on Me Sweet Shoppe, said she feels the shop's expanded hours may have helped push them over the edge in the competition.
"We always keep 150 flavors of cupcakes in-shop, and now we're open until midnight (Thursday through Sunday)," she said, noting the cupcake shop is open until 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
"So maybe that had something to do with it."
The highest percentage of votes for a winner was in the Best Breakfast category with The Pancake Shop taking 39.70% of the votes. Best Cafe and Bar and English Muffin rounded out the top three of 18 in the category.
In the Best Burger category, Ohio Club (21.15%) beat out 17 with Sam's Pizza Pub and Superior Bathhouse Brewery rounding out the top three. Capo's Tacos (20.66%) held off Taco Mama, Diablo's Tacos & Mezcal and 20 other nominees to retain the Best Tacos title while 501 Prime (27.69%), Texas Roadhouse and Back Porch Grill led the 16 restaurants in the Best Steak category.
Mama Vee's Southern Homestyle Cuisine took 27.56% of the votes to win the Best Southern-Style Food division with Phil's Family Restaurant and Best Cafe and Bar finishing out the top three of 10 nominees, but the food truck was third behind Rock N Roll Hibachi (36.13%) and Morrison's Fried Pies out of 11 in the Best Food Truck category.
Cafe 1217 retained the Best Vegetarian title with 28.58% of the votes while The Pho House and Taco Mama rounded out the top three of 12 nominees. The Pho House (33.09%) won Best Asian Cuisine ahead of Osaka Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar, Wok Express and five other nominees in the category.
Via Roma Italian Restaurant garnered 33.79% of the votes for Best Italian Cuisine with J&S Italian Villa and Mama's Little Italy finishing out the top three of eight nominees.