One is that the restaurant industry appears to be in a holding pattern. The hottest new restaurant on the scene is a barbecue joint. Old favorites continue to hold death grips on certain categories, but you'll see shifts in a number of them. Also, despite our best efforts, we still haven't come up with a satisfactory way to deal with chains. The Dixie Cafe, for example, is a perennial favorite in several categories.
Standardization is one of the local chain's hallmarks.
We decided not to do that. As is our custom, we've tried to spice up the list of winners with some articles on restaurant topics. This year's winner is Bill Fitzgerald of Little Rock. The see-saw battle in Little Rock returns Trio's to the top by a whisker over Peter Brave, about to move to dramatic new surroundings. No contest, again, in the rest of the state.