Puerto Vallarta's finest establishments shared an intimate and festive evening at the gardens of Café des Artistes on November 1st to receive this year's VirtualVallarta.com Readers' Choice awards. Organized by Producciones Viva since 2002, this yearly poll allows Puerto Vallarta residents and visitors to cast their vote for what they consider to be Puerto Vallarta's finest restaurants, art galleries and artists in over forty different categories, such as Best Italian Restaurant or Best Wine List. The event, which originally focused only on restaurants now also incorporates art and music, both being important elements of the Puerto Vallarta experience. Producciones Viva director John Youden emphasized that winners are selected by the people who regularly attend these restaurants or galleries. "Their votes cannot be bought, they have to be earned, and we take special care and precautions to ensure that the results are fair to all," he commented. People in the United States, and specially in Europe, are very familiar with these type of polls and awards. They look for logos such as that of Readers' Choice when they travel to different cities because it is a mark of quality. These awards also help build a healthy, vibrant, competitive restaurant industry and arts community. The well-attended event also included local government representatives, such as Luis Cerda, Director of Municipal Tourism, Agustín Alvarez Valdivia, and Puerto Vallarta Tourism Director Ludwig Estrada. Youden also introduced the latest issue of Vallarta Lifestyles, the company's flagship publication, and encouraged everyone to begin voting for next year's award. To cast your vote for next year's awards please visit www.virtualvallarta.com/readerschoice. (Pictured above: Gallería Dante's Joe and Claire Guarniere, this year's recipients of the Best Art Gallery award.)

The complete list of VirtualVallarta.com Readers' Choice 2006 Award Recipients:
 

• Café des Artistes: Best Overall, Gourmet Restaurant, Best Service, Best Salad, Best Dessert, Best Wine List
• La Piazzetta: Best Italian, Best Pizza, Best Inexpensive Restaurant, Best Family Restaurant
• El Arrayán: Best Mexican, Best Tacos, Best Moderate Restaurant
• La Palapa: Most Romantic, Best Outdoor Dining, Best Sunset Dining
• Banana Cantina: Best New Restaurant Landslide Winner
• Tsunami: Best Sushi
• Archie's Wok: Best Asian Restaurant
• Outback Steakhouse: Best Burger
• Ernesto's Good Grub: Best Tortilla Soup
• Mariscos Tino's: Best Seafood
• Planeta Vegetariano: Best Vegetarian
• Daiquiri Dick's: Best Margarita
• Kit Kat: Best Martini
• Pie In The Sky: Best Bakery
• Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream: Best Ice Cream
• Dee’s Coffee House: Best Coffee
• Mark’s Bar & Grill: Best Out of Town
• Pancake House & LeBistro (Tie): Best Breakfast
• Pipi’s: Most Fun
• Vista Grill: Dining With a View
• Nikki Beach: Best Sunday Brunch
• Gourmet to Go: Best Takeout
• Brasil Steak House: All You Can Eat
• Gallería Dante: Best Art Gallery
• Guillermo Gómez: Best Visual Artist
• The River Café: Best Live Music Venue
• Los Bambinos: Best Local Musicians
• J&B: Best Dancing Place
• Acqua Day Spa: Best Health Club
• Los Muertos: Best Beach
• Malecón: Best Place to be Seen & Best Place to People Watch