Fare game

The year: 2009. Our Best New Restaurant winner: Chester's.: It didn't take long for Chester's, which opened last March [2008] in the Shops at University Square, to become a downtown hotspot.

The year: 2008. Our Best New Restaurant winner: Avocados.: Rochesterite David Van Eijl opened Avocados World Bistro with the goal of creating a restaurant that is 'fresh and fun and exciting.'

The year: 2007. Our Best New Restarant Winner: Green Mill: What started with the Green Mill Inn, a St. Paul soda fountain in the 1930s, has grown into 30-plus pizza-focused locations across the Midwest.

The year: 2006. Our Best New Restaurant winner: Metro: There are a couple of things that Metro is not. Though it's located adjacent to the Radisson (in what used to be McCormick's), Metro is not a 'hotel restaurant.' And though it's dotted with 11 television screens, it's not a sports bar. ...

The year: 2005. Our Best New Restaurant winner: Romano�s Macaroni Grill: All we can do is walk into a place like Macaroni Grill, forget there's a busy mall instead of an ocean next door, and soak up the indoor ambiance.

The year: 2004. Our Best New Restaurant winner: Olive Garden.: "I'm not sure what to say about this-it's the Olive Garden-it's safe, dependable, you know what to expect," says Matt Russell, current P-B reporter and former P-B food guru.

The year: 2003. Our Best New Restaurant winner (it was a tie): The Hangar Bar & Grill & Noodles: The Hangar: During the day, it's lunch and Sunday brunch time inside the aviation-themed environment... Noodles: While the menu is simple, with only ten main noodle bowls, there is nothing lacking in the fresh ingredients...

The year: 2002. Our Best New Restaurant winner: Golden Corral.: Golden Corral has separate buffet plazas, beginning with a 'Fresh Produce' market offering an abundance of freshly made salads and soups.

The year: 2001. Our Best New Restaurant winner: Las Margaritas: Though the restaurant is named for the margarita, that tangy and salty drink that goes down oh-so-easily, visit for the awe-inspiring fajitas.