Late last week, our pals at Time Out Chicago went live with the ballot for the readers’ choice portions of their annual Eat Out Awards. And maybe it was the inclusion of the new-for-this-year “Best Indie Restaurant Blog” category (for which, thanks to those shiny ads you see to the right, we do not qualify, a fact we fully understand and about which we only wept openly for, like, a minute, we swear), but suddenly there’s a war on. All four nominees are going to the walls to get out the vote.
Carly over at the Chicago Brunch Blog issued a call to action, as did Audarshia at 312DD, but it’s the Chicago Gluttons who really raised the ante by promising to consume a White Castle slider for each vote cast in their favor. And sweet-seeming Mike Gebert may have appeared aw-shucksy and we’re-all-in-this-togethery over on Sky Full of Bacon, but his Twitter stream tells another story: “312 Dining Diva bought a house with the help of Tony Rezko,” he claimed, in the next breath declaring that “Chicago Brunch Blog turns up on the FBI’s calls from Rod Blagojevich.”
At the very least, Gebert’s mudslinging has worked its magic on Chicagoist, who recommend a vote for SFoB in their mock ballot. As for us, we’re staying way the hell out of this one in public — sure, we voted. Early and often, like a good citizen. But we’ll never, ever tell.
Time Out Chicago Eat Out Awards Ballot [TOC; voting ends March 15]
