More than 600 attended the recent Taste of Gainesville, where 34 local restaurants offered signature dishes.
The following restaurants won Best Of awards, voted on by the crowd who attended.
- Entree: First, Grapes & Hops Bar and Bistro, Seafood Etoufee; second, Biba's Italian, Blackened Chicken Penne; third, Blonde, Cheese Ravioli
- Dessert: First, Longstreet Café, Banana Pudding; second (tie), Just Desserts Made From Scratch and Bruster's, Chocolate Raspberry Truffle; third, Celebration Cakes & Confections, White Cake and Strawberry
- Side dish: First, Yahoola Creek Grill, Hoppin John; second (tie), Jake's Cafeteria, Ranch Potatoes and Tropical Breeze, Sweet Plantains; third, El Maguey, Rice
- Appetizer: First, Lakehouse Bar & Grille, Crab Cakes; second, Smoothie King, Carribbean Way; third, Mestizo Southwest Grill, Chicken Tacos
- Soup and salad: First, Scott's on the Square, Clam Chowder; second, Lanier Diner, Greek Salad; third (tie) Lanier Diner, Spinach & Bacon and Locos Deli, Pasta Salad
The following awards were given to artists at the recent Art in the Square event in Gainesville. The event was judged by Amanda Kroll, executive director of the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville.
- First place: John B. Guernsey, paintings
- Second place: Mary Frances Hull, mosaics
- Third place: Phil Fontaine, handmade banjos
- Honorable mention: Jeann Blankenship, oil painting "Beloved"
- Honorable mention: Marcia Price, fish prints
- Honorable mention: Ingrid Bolton, frog painting "Kiss Me"
- Honorable mention: Jill Eden, hand-sculptured door knobs
- Honorable mention: Elaine Howard, pastel "Airboat Ride"
- People's Choice Award: Pamela Keene, photography.
Also, more than $3,000 was raised for Challenged Child and Friends from the silent auction of small paintings in Frames You-Nique.