Austin Chronicle 2004 Restaurant Poll

It's that time of the year again -- the time when interested Austinites get together and stuff the ballot box for the 2004 Austin Chronicle Restaurant Poll. And, some underpaid stoners get to pimp their favorite venues in the Chronicle's Critics' Poll. The good news this year is that I kinda agree with some of the results.

Uchi swept both the people's and critics' polls, garnering best sushi and best Japanese in both polls, and registering seventh in the people's top 35 favorites restaurant category (and the only sushi bar to make any of the 35 slots). Uchi also topped the critics' list of best seafood dish (watermelon and tuna sashimi), and best new restaurant in 2003.

Musashino still has great sushi, of course, but maybe Smokey (the owner) will get a clue and upgrade his Trader Vic-esque decor to something that complements his sushi a bit more. (If you're not getting the Trader Vic's reference, have a look around their web site (http://www.tradervics.com ))

Other placings of note include Finn and Porter's $1 sushi happy hour as a Critic's Bargain Dish; Korea Garden for Reader's Happy Hour/Cheap or Free Deal; Oishi Sushi House for Critic's Buffet; Origami for Critic's Sushi; and Suzi's China Grill and Sushi Bar for Critic's Sushi.

Click Here For Full Restaurant Poll Results (http://www.austinchronicle.com/gbase/Awards/RestaurantPoll?Year=2004 )

And speaking of ballot stuffing, there's still time to m*sturbate --er, I mean mouse-click your vote for best sushi bar in the much more pointless Best Of Citysearch 2004 (http://austin.citysearch.com/bestof/results/50 ).