General Mills And Andrew Zimmern Announce Winners Of Fourth Annual The Munchies: People's Choice Food Awards

MINNEAPOLIS, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The votes are in and the people have spoken. After more than 5 weeks of heated competition and hundreds of thousands of votes, Tablespoon.com reveals the 2015 winners of The Munchies: People's Choice Food Awards. The 2015 Munchies served up 20 categories of Terrific Tastemakers, Best Bites and Delicious Destinations, and fan favorites Anthony Bourdain, Bon Appetit Magazine and "Chopped" toasted the competition by taking home awards in the Best Food TV Personality, Best Food Magazine and Best Food Competition TV Show categories.

In its fourth year, The Munchies: People's Choice Food Awards was again hosted by Andrew Zimmern, chef and the 2013 winner of the James Beard Award for Outstanding TV Personality/Host. The list of nominees was put forth by Zimmern and a panel of 43 celebrity food experts. The nominees were announced in late February at the "Best of The Munchies" event during The Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival, then put to popular vote on Tablespoon.com/themunchies throughout the month of March.

"It's been exciting to ignite a passionate food debate and seeing all of us support our favorite restaurants, food media, and chefs by voting," says Zimmern. "These awards are a celebration of the best food experiences across America, and we send our congratulations to all the nominees and to each of the winners."

The people chose Chicago as Best Food City. Additionally, Chicago's Gibsons Steakhouse received The Munchies Award for Best Steak.

Also in the Midwest, Minneapolis boasts four winners: Pizzeria Lola for Best Pizza, Glam Doll Donuts for Best Donut, Surly Brewing Co. for Best Craft Brewery and Marvel Bar for Best Cocktail Bar. The Best Ice Cream award went to Graeter's, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Cities from coast to coast posted winners from New York's Katz's Delicatessen for Best Sandwich Spot to

Portland Oregon's Stumptown Coffee Roasters for Best Coffee Shop to New Orleans' The Company Burger for Best Burger.

Austin, Texas establishments Ramen Tatsu-ya and Franklin Barbecue took home the top prize for Best Ramen and Best BBQ. Mas Tacos Por Favor and Biscuit Love Truck, both in Nashville, Tenn., won for Best Tacos and Best Food Truck.

Other notable tastemakers include Dana Cowin for Best New Cookbook, "Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen," published by Ecco; Best Chef was awarded to Ashley Christensen of Raleigh, North Carolina hot spot Poole's Diner, and Serious Eats won for Best Food Blog or Site.

"We congratulate the winners of this year's Munchies Awards and were excited to see heated competition between both perennial favorites and up-and-coming talents," said Susan Klobuchar, Food Content Marketing Manager and Munchies program lead for General Mills.

The Munchies winners will receive their awards in the coming weeks, but they're not the only winners: a donation was made to Feeding America on behalf of the panelists and voters who participated in selecting the Terrific Tastemakers, Best Bites and Delicious Destinations that are being honored.

The List of 2015 Munchies Winners

Best Food Competition TV Show: "Chopped," Food Network
Best Food TV Personality: Anthony Bourdain, "Parts Unknown," CNN
Best Chef: Ashley Christensen, Poole's Diner, Raleigh, NC
Best Food Blog or Site: Serious Eats
Best New Cookbook: "Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen," Dana Cowin, Ecco
Best Food Magazine: Bon Appetit, Conde Nast
Best Pizza: Pizzeria Lola, Minneapolis, MN
Best Burger: The Company Burger, New Orleans, LA
Best BBQ: Franklin Barbecue, Austin, TX
Best Steak: Gibsons Steakhouse, Chicago, IL
Best Taco: Mas Tacos Por Favor, Nashville, TN
Best Ramen: Ramen Tatsu-ya, Austin, TX
Best Donut: Glam Doll Donuts, Minneapolis, MN
Best Ice Cream: Graeter's, Cincinnati, OH
Best Sandwich Spot: Katz's Delicatessen, New York, NY
Best Coffee Shop: Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR
Best Food Truck: Biscuit Love Truck, Nashville, TN
Best Craft Brewery: Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN
Best Cocktail Bar: Marvel Bar, Minneapolis, MN
Best Food City: Chicago, IL

The Munchies: People's Choice Food Awards celebrates the tastes and tastemakers that set the food world on fire. Awards host and TV personality Andrew Zimmern and a panel of chow hounds select five nominees in twenty food categories and then the nominees are put to a popular vote on General Mills' Tablespoon.com. Fans are encouraged to vote once per day for their favorites throughout the month of March. Annual winners are announced in early April. Since the creation of the awards program, 80 establishments and food media have been honored, hundreds of thousands of votes have been cast, more than 90 panelists have participated in determining the nominees and thousands of dollars have been donated to Feeding America. For more information visit Tablespoon.com/themunchies.

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SOURCE General Mills