Best Café
A great cup of coffee is topped off by a stellar location and great amenities
along with a unique atmosphere and design. The ambiance is as good as it gets
when it comes to kicking back for a quick bite. On the right night, you might
hear live music or poetry readings. There's free wireless internet access and
plenty of electrical outlets. This café is the one that is always packed
with groups of people and individual computer users working on the next big idea.
Cafés are great travel destinations to get a first look at the
people and trends of the neighborhood.
*Best of City
Does your French restaurant provide an all-inclusive taste of
France's distinguished regional cuisine? Does your restaurant
have the finest fish & chips in the UK, or the best California
cusine in Los Angeles? IRHA recognizes local favorites that reflect
traditional cultural tastes in cities and regions. All participating
restaurants are automatically considered for the Best of City &
Country program.
*Only select 'Best of City' if you do NOT want to submit into any
other subcategory.
Best Specialty Item
The Best Specialty Item Award goes to experimental chefs who have
created a unique signature dish that customers discovered and have
not stopped demanding. If there is a line out the door, IRHA wants to
know. If it tops patron’s “Three things I would take to a
deserted isle” list, IRHA wants to know.
Best Ethnic Cuisine
Innovative, multicultural, or unique juxtapositions of different cuisines
will earn your restaurant the title of Best Ethnic Cuisine. Mixing the
aromas from one country with regional accents from another makes for
unusual new tastes that deserves recognition. Tell IRHA how your ethnic
cuisine stands out away from its home region.
Most Organic/Sustainable
History is in the making. We are taking a closer look at where
we get our food, the energy it takes to provide meals for guests
and what is being put into our bodies. IRHA wants to see restaurants
inspiring innovative change. Whether your restaurant rejects produce
exposed to pesticides, radiation and sewage, or your ingredients come
from local organic farmers, IRHA wants to know. If your restaurant
considers the earth during phases of preparation, from the building
of your estabishment to conservation, recycling, saving energy or clean
products, IRHA wants to celebrate your achievements. Show IRHA how
your restaurant refreshes the mind and body of guests with nutritious,
eco conscious meals.
Best Dessert
Temptation. Restaurants with a spectacular dessert that cannot
be avoided deserve recognition. Best Dessert goes to the eatery
that has a heavenly dish that can’t escape a salivating,
sweet-toothed customer.
Best Wine List
Crisp, smooth, creamy, rich, concentrated, vibrant, dried, fresh,
intense, refreshing, velvety, fruity, rustic or woody. The coveted
Best Wine List Award goes to the restaurant that caters to wine
aficionados and includes all of the above. A balanced selection
from around the world, an excellent seasonal program and knowledgeable
wine stewards or staff to help with recipe pairings round off a
fantastic wine list. IRHA requests current wine lists (large &
half bottles, and by the glass), information on stemware, breadth
& depth of inventory, storage facilities and any special
opportunities provided to guests to promote the appreciation of wine.
Best Hotel Restaurant
The Best Hotel Restaurant Award is an award that recognizes the
incredible one-stop experience. For the frequent traveler, the
best restaurant is usually just a short walk from the hotel room
or an elevator ride away. The recipients of this award have taken
the ordinary dining experience and transformed it into an extraordinary
travel destination with exceptional food, lodging, impeccable service
and elegant surroundings.
Best New Restaurant of the Year
Buzz generates before the debut, energy surrounds the restaurant
name before the signage is up, the Best New Restaurants of the
Year were ready for success before burners were installed. These
packed restaurants and coveted tables are famous for impeccable
service, extraordinary food, and a sensationally long wait for a
reservation. IRHA wants to know how your new, high demand addition
to the culinary world makes everyone’s must-taste list.
Restaurants open for business as of January 1st, 2007 qualify
for the 2009 Best New Restaurant of the Year.
Starting with the 2009 awards season, all participating restaurants will be listed in the online Traveler's Directory. All participating hotels are considered for citywide, countrywide & worldwide consideration.
International Restaurant of the Year
All restaurant submissions will get a chance to receive the Grand Award of International Restaurant of the Year. Once all first, second and third place restaurants are announced in each subcategory, the panel will choose the restaurant that is set apart from the rest. The Jury will consider the first place subcategory recipients and the top scoring establishments in the Best of City & Country program. The International Restaurant of the Year demonstrates an unmistakeable, unique approach to its cuisine and creates a one-of-a-kind experience for patrons. Food enthusiasts from around the world will travel miles to taste this phenominal culinary star establishment.
IRHA Grand Award restaurants receive the coveted title of International Restaurant of the Year, two tickets to The 2008 Irhas gala ceremony in November 2009 in Beverly Hills, an IRHA statue, certificate of achievement and maximum exposure to the hospitality industry and public for a year on the IRHA website, at the gala, in promotional marketing and in the International Restaurant & Hotel Awards Book.
