2013 favorite restaurants northern part of the lake

[phoenix]

well here is the 8th annual poll of your favorite restaurants on the northern part of the lake. As usual I have dropped the lowest score from 2012 and have added the wolfeboro Inn and Lavinia's based on posts during the year.

[Greene's Basin Girl]

George's is my favorite. It is not on the list.

[beaner]

I would vote for Mis en Place in Wolfeboro, not on the list.

[phoenix]

Mise en place finished last in 2012 poll so were replaced . Can be added back next year. Only restaurants from Wolfeboro, Center Harbor, Moultonboro and Center Sandwich were included

[BroadHopper]

A number of establishments are new or under new management. I rate an establishment on consistence service. New restuarants or new management may be excellent when opening, it does not mean they will be consistence. I would have voted the Wolfeboro Inn is the past but I need a year or more to consider them top of the list. So my vote went to a more established restuarant.

[sau]

Dont forget the Mug by the Bay guys hint hint

[Newbiesaukee]

As usual, tough to choose when you have to compare breakfasts with fine dining. Lemon Grass remains my favorite, Lavinia's is definitely up and coming and I've always liked the Woodshed. I think this year, I'll have to vote for the Village Kitchen for its consistency, all around good food, good value and great staff. The one place that my guests always want to go to when they visit.

[Way Out There 2]

Why not Tuftonboro (Pine Cone)?

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I also enjoy the Pinecone very much.

[Sunrise Point]

George's in Meredith is also our favorite. Could it be included?

[camp guy]

If phoenix is running the poll, then phoenix "owns the football" and can decide which Towns are in the zone. Personally, I like George's and Pinecone, but in the Towns listed I'll go with Garwoods in Wolfeboro.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to ALL Forum members and readers.

[Senter Cove Guy]

Great ribs.

[hilltopper]

Originally Posted by camp guy

If phoenix is running the poll, then phoenix "owns the football" and can decide which Towns are in the zone. Personally, I like George's and Pinecone, but in the Towns listed I'll go with Garwoods in Wolfeboro.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to ALL Forum members and readers.

I agree he "owns the football" but how the heck do you do a poll about the "northern part of the lake" and:

1. Include Wolfeboro
2. Not include Meredith

At the moment my favorite food stop on the northen part of the lake is the Lakeside Deli and Grille in Meredith.

[BroadHopper]

Technically From Moultonboro to Wolfeboro is on the east side of the lake. Meredith and Center Harbor is on the North, Laconia to Alton is the west side, Alton being the South side of the lake.

I will take FLL advise, The 'Walmart side' of the lake should be from Alton to Meredith. The 'other side of the pond' should be from Moultonboro to Wolfeboro.

I would compose a 'Walmart' list and an 'other side' list.

I would include only watering holes advertised in the 'Boating Secrets' magazine.

Fair enough?

[upthesaukee]

Take part in the poll, or not.

If you disagree with the listing, and feel that strongly that other restaurants should be included, take the time to set up your own poll.

phoenix has taken the time to do his.

Participate, or chose not to.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

Technically From Moultonboro to Wolfeboro is on the east side of the lake. Meredith and Center Harbor is on the North, Laconia to Alton is the west side, Alton being the South side of the lake.

I will take FLL advise, The 'Walmart side' of the lake should be from Alton to Meredith. The 'other side of the pond' should be from Moultonboro to Wolfeboro.

I would compose a 'Walmart' list and an 'other side' list.

I would include only watering holes advertised in the 'Boating Secrets' magazine.

Fair enough?

If you take FLL's advice you'll want list Walmart as a place to eat too. Can't beat the industrial sized plastic barrel of fake cheese balls and a two liter bottle of Walmart branded soda!

[fpartri497]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

If you take FLL's advice you'll want list Walmart as a place to eat too. Can't beat the industrial sized plastic barrel of fake cheese balls and a two liter bottle of Walmart branded soda!

and you probally can return the emptys for a refund

[Irish Choppers]

Why would you exclude the Lakeside Deli, Lago, Lakehouse Grille, Harts, Mames, The Camp, or the Waterfalls cafe? Meredith has the best dining in the region for all budgets and tastes.

[KPW]

Best restaurant on the boro side of the lake.

[Resident 2B]

I like these polls, regardless of the name or geographic location.

For me, it is not just the four places that are on top. They deserve to be where they are. What I also look at is where the restaurants were last year and where they are this year. Without getting into names, one place really stands out as having slipped rapidly to the bottom.

I have always believed the way the guests (customers) are treated goes a long, long way and for the restaurant that has slipped the most, it is starting to show. Those on the top of the poll treat their guests in a respectable manner. Glad to see this is being noticed by the masses.

R2B

[Merrymeeting]

Many of us (myself included) would draw a line through the long axis of the lake and talk about "south" and "north" in that context.

In that context, Meredith is south.

As others have pointed out, anyone can start a poll. If you have an issue with this one, start another.

The value is in the discussion and viewpoints, not necessarily who "wins" and "loses".

[Lakesrider]

It should have read.....From this list....If you put every place on the list it would be pages long......

VK...for me. Always good food.

[camp guy]

I have a question...what criteria do YOU use in determining your favorite restaurant?

Personally, my first impression with respect to cleanliness makes a big impact on me, and this includes walking up to the entrance door, the coat room area, and restrooms. Nothing, absolutely nothing, turns me off more quickly than having to navigate through a group of smokers standing outside a restaurant. This is a real deal breaker for me.

Secondly, a pleasant greeter who seems to be glad we are there, followed by an equally pleasant server who makes us feel comfortable.

After these two, any number of issues can come into play - atmosphere, noise level, waiting times. etc.

So, what does it for you, or, doesn't do it for you?

[Happy Gourmand]

Originally Posted by camp guy

I have a question...what criteria do YOU use in determining your favorite restaurant?

Personally, my first impression with respect to cleanliness makes a big impact on me, and this includes walking up to the entrance door, the coat room area, and restrooms. Nothing, absolutely nothing, turns me off more quickly than having to navigate through a group of smokers standing outside a restaurant. This is a real deal breaker for me.

Secondly, a pleasant greeter who seems to be glad we are there, followed by an equally pleasant server who makes us feel comfortable.

After these two, any number of issues can come into play - atmosphere, noise level, waiting times. etc.

So, what does it for you, or, doesn't do it for you?

A great meal usually works for me. I can overlook a lot of other stuff if the actual meal meets or beats expectations.

[BroadHopper]

Many new restuarants are super when they open, then falls on their knees. So, if a reatuarant give consistence good service and food, they make my list. Any good establishment can have a bad day.

Any establishment that can own up to their mistake(s) and honor it is the key to customer satisfaction. The days of 'forgetaboutit' are long gone.

[lovetheforum]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

I like these polls, regardless of the name or geographic location.

For me, it is not just the four places that are on top. They deserve to be where they are. What I also look at is where the restaurants were last year and where they are this year. Without getting into names, one place really stands out as having slipped rapidly to the bottom.

I have always believed the way the guests (customers) are treated goes a long, long way and for the restaurant that has slipped the most, it is starting to show. Those on the top of the poll treat their guests in a respectable manner. Glad to see this is being noticed by the masses.

R2B

I never thought of it that way. But as I read your post it makes perfect sense. Thank you for your post!

[phoenix]

I am starting to wonder the accuracy of this poll as some restaurants seem to get a large jump within a few hours. This has happened more than once

[Rusty]

As of right now there has been a total of 1883 votes casts in this poll. Where did all these votes come from?

Evidently there isn't too much control on who can vote other than you can't vote twice with the same IP address (and I'm not 100% sure about that).

IMO this poll would mean a whole lot more if only registered members could vote.

For example a guest under a dynamic IP votes once then refreshes it's IP and votes for the second time.

[patman]

These are far from scientific/bulletproof polls.

This poll does not limit votes by IP address. Logged in users can only vote once, and that's recorded on the site end of things based on userid. Log out of the site and you can vote again as a guest...which is recorded as a cookie on your browser since there's no userid to associate it with. And oh-by-the-way, those guest cookies are cleared when you log in and out. In fact, any time you log in to the site and then back out again you can vote again as a guest.

But that would be wrong.

[WakeboardMom]

Originally Posted by patman

These are far from scientific/bulletproof polls.

This poll does not limit votes by IP address. Logged in users can only vote once, and that's recorded on the site end of things based on userid. Log out of the site and you can vote again as a guest...which is recorded as a cookie on your browser since there's no userid to associate it with. And oh-by-the-way, those guest cookies are cleared when you log in and out. In fact, any time you log in to the site and then back out again you can vote again as a guest.

But that would be wrong.

I tried this. I have now voted once with my user ID and then twice as a guest(from the same computer), because I was curious. This now makes this poll completely invalid in my (humble) opinion.

[webmaster]

I have removed the ability for guests to vote in the polls. The polls were never meant to be scientific and guests were originally included to increase participation (guests online usually outnumber members by 10-1). Until this thread I never noticed guests flooding a poll with votes but it appears to be time to restrict the voting to registered members.

[BroadHopper]

It looks the the polling software does not capture IP addresses and store it on the server. If it did, multiple votes from one IP address shouldn't exist. The problem with this setup is that if more than one person tries to vote from the same IP address they could not.

I think limiting the polls to members makes sense. This will eliminate 'stuffing' the polls and family members with with different accounts can vote from the same IP address or computer.

In all fairness, I will in a later date, established a poll of all restuarants who advertised here on the forum and those who advertised in the 'Boater's Secret' publication to determined 'Winnipesaukee.com' best of the best. If I can't poll all restuarants in one poll, I will established two polls, 'The 'boros' and the 'non 'boros'. With Don limiting members only, we should have a fair representation of what the members like.

[diz]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

It looks the the polling software does not capture IP addresses and store it on the server. If it did, multiple votes from one IP address shouldn't exist. The problem with this setup is that if more than one person tries to vote from the same IP address they could not.

I think limiting the polls to members makes sense. This will eliminate 'stuffing' the polls and family members with with different accounts can vote from the same IP address or computer.

In all fairness, I will in a later date, established a poll of all restuarants who advertised here on the forum and those who advertised in the 'Boater's Secret' publication to determined 'Winnipesaukee.com' best of the best. If I can't poll all restuarants in one poll, I will established two polls, 'The 'boros' and the 'non 'boros'. With Don limiting members only, we should have a fair representation of what the members like.

If you limit one vote to one IP aren't you essentially limiting people voting at work or a couple at home behind a cheap Linksys router? Their 'real' IPs aren't the source IPs.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by diz

If you limit one vote to one IP aren't you essentially limiting people voting at work or a couple at home behind a cheap Linksys router? Their 'real' IPs aren't the source IPs.

The webmaster has now set it up so that only registered forum members can vote. That means it won't use the IP address in the equation. It will use the forum members qualitative identity (a numerical ID).

If you vote at work it really doesn't matter. When you get home and log in you won't be able to vote again.

[lovetheforum]

I find this amusing. It does give people something to complain about, which I believe is what members want more than the results of a poll!

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by lovetheforum

I find this amusing. It does give people something to complain about, which I believe is what members want more than the results of a poll!

That's an unfair statement. My only concern is that the restaurants in the poll (or any poll) can be assured that it is as accurate as possible.

However I do agree that sometimes we all complain too much.

[RailroadJoe]

Its about as accurate as "Dewey beats Truman" Live with it folks.

[phoenix]

This poll has been done for eight years and this is the first time there has been stuffing of the ballot boxes. the good news is the owners and advocates of the restaurants listed view this poll and are concerned about the results. I of course never intented this to be a controversial topic so I will leave it to others in the future. In closing we have many fine restaurants in the lakes region and i urge us all to visit the establishments we like

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by phoenix

This poll has been done for eight years and this is the first time there has been stuffing of the ballot boxes. the good news is the owners and advocates of the restaurants listed view this poll and are concerned about the results. I of course never intented this to be a controversial topic so I will leave it to others in the future. In closing we have many fine restaurants in the lakes region and i urge us all to visit the establishments we like

Don't throw in the towel phoenix, this had nothing to do with you.

Some hack got playing around and messed up this poll.

I would suggest that this poll be deleted and another one started with the same restaurants as before. I say this because if anyone knows which ones should be there it is you.

Now that only registered members can vote the accuracy should be pretty darn close.

Thank you for doing this poll for the last eight or so years.

[NoBozo]

I suggest that Only Members that have already posted ..Lets say 25 posts on whatever topic..be allowed to post Restaurant Critiques.

Lets take my favorite PAIR: Canoe..and BenzGuy.......just as an example. Neither of them had ..maybe SIX posts on this forum before they posted on with Strong Opinions.....in defence of Their restaurant. ..I gave them a hard time at the time. They have since maintained a Very LOW profile.... Just Sayin... NB

I am just a light hearted comentator...with no skin in the game...other than being a Forum Member..........

[BroadHopper]

find a list of sponsors of this site? I'm looking for restuarants that advertised here.

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

find a list of sponsors of this site? I'm looking for restuarants that advertised here.

No restaurants currently advertise on this site.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by webmaster

No restaurants currently advertise on this site.

They don't have to, we do it for them. Doesn't cost them a penny.

Although I would think that some would donate a few dollars once in a while.

[Ross_t]

Originally Posted by Green's Basin Girl

George's is my favorite. It is not on the list.

Georges is a hit (and a few misses for me,) but always fun eating there. Good diner food.

[Lucy Goose]

Not only me but I know a lot of folks who love the Pine Cone!

LG

[NoBozo]

I would like to see ALL the restaurants around the lake considered in this poll. If others... (not mentioned in this poll) were mediocre..and don't deserve mention..OK...BUT How about the Lyons Den..?? In commentary about The Lyons Den, they have been rated At The Top in threads about that restaurant. NB

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by NoBozo

I would like to see ALL the restaurants around the lake considered in this poll. If others... (not mentioned in this poll) were mediocre..and don't deserve mention..OK...BUT How about the Lyons Den..?? In commentary about The Lyons Den, they have been rated At The Top in threads about that restaurant. NB

NB, the poll is concerning the northern part of the lake. Lyon's Den, while well worthy of consideration and would without a doubt do extremely well, is not located on the northern half of the lake.

I would guess that is why it is not listed.

[Bear Islander]

After reading some of the posts I went to Google Earth to see if there is any way I could consider Wolfeboro north of Meredith. Sorry, can't do it!

[upthesaukee]

...but in my humble and oft times considered incorrect opinion, I take a line and go from Alton Bay to Merideth.

Anything that is on the New York City side of that line is on the South Side of the Lake.*

Anything that is on the Prince Edward Island side of that line is on the North Side of the Lake.*

* there are times when the line may have to be relocated so as not to cause problems with inhabitants of said sides of line. In such cases, it is whatever floats your boat!

For me, it is "Much Ado About Nothing" (thanks to Willie for using his title.).

[phoenix]

well the 8th annual poll is over so let me comment first I started this poll to get some interest in the restaurant section of the forum during the winter months. By default polls are limited to 10 entries so adding a whole bunch of restaurants is not possible and I don't want to try to be Nate Silver( so this is not scientific) and choose for you so i restricted it to towns near me where i could be as inclusive as possible and let the voters decide so i picked the arc from center Harbor to Wolfeboro( notice i said arc so i don't upset the cartographers on the forum). Each year i add at least one and subtract the prior lowest score or two. So now let me get into the results. We had 2110 votes( notice not voters) and hard to figure out when the ballot boxes started to get stuffed but seems to me there were three restaurants that started and ended above the rest . so we have three winners. first Woodshed as it has the last few years again comes out on top. Second Lavinia's who also as a new restaurant gets rookie of the year. And third the Wolfeboro Inn and Congratulations to George for turning this around so you also get comback of the year. regarding 2013 since the webmaster has limited the dupicate voting i will likely come back for a 9th year. Again this will cover Center Harbor to Wolfeboro and will add Pine Cone inn as readers requested. in summary go visit all these places over the winter and see you in the summer -- Phoenix

[BroadHopper]

Wolfeboro Inn and Woodshed are under new management. I would not vote for an estabishment unless they show seasonal consistency. Because they were successful before the new management does not mean they will continue.

I took a look at the number of restaurants advertised in the Boater's Secret booklet. There are definitely more than 20. ('boros poll and non 'boros poll.) I am thinking of listing only the year round businesses. But that will leave out many good seasonal businesses. I am only talking about businesses that have dining rooms, not the drive ins.

If anyone has any suggestions to how I should select restuarants for a poll, fire away!

Maybe limit the restuarants that are within walking distance of a public dock? Or provide shuttle from a public dock?

[Merrymeeting]

Can't help but feel that something is strange here.

The Resturant is consistently mentioned by most I know, and me, as one of their favorite places in Wolfeboro. Yet it ended up with the lowest point total?

Familiarity? Votes for newer places? Ballot stuffing? Not sure, but it doesn't make sense based on my circle of contacts.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

Can't help but feel that something is strange here.

The Resturant is consistently mentioned by most I know, and me, as one of their favorite places in Wolfeboro. Yet it ended up with the lowest point total?

Familiarity? Votes for newer places? Ballot stuffing? Not sure, but it doesn't make sense based on my circle of contacts.

I think the problem with the poll is the larger, more well known restaurants benefit from much bigger voter pools since more patrons naturally have visited these establishments. Also, Phoenix made reference to the fact that there were 2110 votes, not voters. I am not sure if you can vote multiple times a day, week, etc? Was the survey impacted by ballot box stuffing?

While clearly not statistically robust, the poll does give some indications of trends. For example, the Wolfeboro Inn was historically poorly received and it has made a comeback under the new restaurant supervisor, George but is the experience there now better that at the Restaurant or Corner house Inn? I have a hard time believing that is the case but I may be wrong.

I am not sure if a poll could be structured in the following manner but if it could I think the results would be more statistically relevant. Put up a selection of 10-restauranats and allow each voter to cast a favorable or un-favorable vote for the establishments he she/has attended. Then each restaurant would have a favorable/unfavorable percentage ratio which would neutralize the advantage of the bigger, well known restaurants.

[Happy Gourmand]

Rather than listing local restaurants, what if you were able to vote for your favorite restaurant? Open the poll for a given amount of time, then, at the end, compile the list according to number of votes. I don't think it would be possible to restrict the votes to forum members only and/or only allow one vote per user, but you could only count one vote from each user. This is all unofficial anyways and I think the results would give us all a sense of the favorite eateries around the lake.

[patman]

The thing I had trouble with is picking one favorite. I see it as the right restaurant for the occasion. Sometimes VK...sometimes Lavinia's...sometimes Pine Cone. Categories maybe?

[dpg]

My mothers spaghetti and meatballs. OK when she makes it up at the lake...Happy now?

[Bonnie W]

Love, Love Rob and the Restaurant in Wolfboro.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by Bonnie W

Love, Love Rob and the Restaurant in Wolfboro.

Bonnie W, I just noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.

[Grant]

Another non-ballot vote for Pine Cone Cafe.

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by Bonnie W

Love, Love Rob and the Restaurant in Wolfboro.

Unfortunately Rob and the chef Siobhan (sic?) have both left. The Restaurant has been one of our favs as well, hope they do OK.

[gokart-mozart]

Originally Posted by Bonnie W

Love, Love Rob and the Restaurant in Wolfboro.

Rob has left, and the chef (Siobhan) has been gone for a few months.

In my opinion, the "atmosphere" at the Restaurant was mostly Rob's doing, and the food was mostly Siobhan's. They are facing a very difficult transition at this point.

We've been back to the Tavern (Wolfeboro Inn) a few times lately, and it's been great.

Best of luck to the Restaurant - but I'm worried.

[BrownstoneNorth]

Originally Posted by gokart-mozart

Rob has left, and the chef (Siobhan) has been gone for a few months.

In my opinion, the "atmosphere" at the Restaurant was mostly Rob's doing, and the food was mostly Siobhan's. They are facing a very difficult transition at this point.

We've been back to the Tavern (Wolfeboro Inn) a few times lately, and it's been great.

Best of luck to the Restaurant - but I'm worried.

Totally agree that it was Rob who made The Restaurant so good, just as he had done for Garwood's.

I'm really taken aback by this news, especially since I thought he had become a part owner as well as manager at some point. Does anyone know where Rob has gone??

[gokart-mozart]

Originally Posted by BrownstoneNorth

Totally agree that it was Rob who made The Restaurant so good, just as he had done for Garwood's.

I'm really taken aback by this news, especially since I thought he had become a part owner as well as manager at some point. Does anyone know where Rob has gone??

My understanding is that the buy-in fell through and they could not make nice afterwards. I don't know where Rob is but I will try to find out.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by gokart-mozart

My understanding is that the buy-in fell through and they could not make nice afterwards. I don't know where Rob is but I will try to find out.

Is Rob the tall, bald funny guy?

[gokart-mozart]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Is Rob the tall, bald funny guy?

I think that would be Gary.

[WakeboardMom]

Originally Posted by gokart-mozart

I think that would be Gary.

The singing waiter?