The deadline is fast approaching to vote Wilmington as the top place in the country to take in some outdoor dining.
Monday, Aug. 17, is the last day to cast a ballot in an online poll for for “Best Al Fresco Dining” neighborhood in the country.
The downtown Wilmington scene–particularly Front and Water streets–quickly rose through the ranks last month in the list of 20 nominees for the hottest spot for open-air dining. It has held the number one slot for weeks, ahead of some ultra-hip and sought-after locales like the French Quarter of New Orleans and the Meatpacking District of New York City.
As of late last week, those two locales were at 12 and 13, respectively. Two other southern cities–Naples, Florida, and Greenville, South Carolina, held the number two and three positions.
The poll comes from USA Today’s 10best.com, the same site where Wilmington found itself the top winner in the “Best American Riverfront” list last year.
For this most recent poll, 10best.com teamed up with “traveling foodies” to compile the list of 20, which also includes Georgetown and Dupont Circle in Washington D.C., Peachtree Road in Atlanta and Chicago’s Riverwalk area.
“Many of the restaurants here do double duty and offer outside seating both on the sidewalk along Front Street and out back on patios overlooking the river,” the website wrote of downtown Wilmington’s outdoor food offerings.
The site gave a nod specifically to Reel Cafe as a “triple threat,” with its added rooftop option, and noted the “beach town weather” as being ideal, almost year-round, for taking in lunch and dinner outside.
Voting continues through 11:59 a.m. on Monday. Click here to cast a vote and to read descriptions of each of the finalists.
Hilary Snow is a reporter at Port City Daily. Reach her at (910) 772-6341 orhilary.s@portcitydaily.com.
