Floor Now Open for Eater Awards Nominees—Have At It

Yesterday, Eater announced the existence of the Eater Awards, a new yearly celebration of all that's made America's restaurant world run—and run wild—in the past twelve months. Award winners will be announced and toasted at a gala on November 8, but first there is the matter of nominations and voting. Let's begin explaining this thing, shall we?

Winners will be selected on both the local and national levels in four major categories. Your brave local editors will be making initial local nominations. Readers will then be asked to vote to narrow the field to a final three, with a final winner in each category chosen by the Eater editorial team. We'll also be selecting an overall national winner for each category, for which no glory will be too great. Without further ado, the categories are:

· Restaurant of the Year, to the restaurant, old or new, which had the single greatest impact on the city's dining scene in 2010;
· So Hot Right Now, given to a restaurant that opened in 2010 that best captured the city's dining buzz;
· Chef of the Year, to the city's chef of the year, as you define it; and
· Shaker of the Year, awarded to the city's top cocktail creator.

This being Eater and not a nap, the above doesn't encompass all the Eater Awards; fresh details about additional awards will be revealed here over the next two weeks. Will there be a Shitshow of the Year? Yes. Will there be an Internet Champion of the Year? Certainly. Will Keith McNally win something? Obviously. Will there be something in this for Terrance Brennan? Obviously not.

So, to the comments, friends. Let us know which award(s) you are nominating which restaurants, chefs, or shakers for, and why. The more persuasive you can be, the better for your favored nominees. It's winning time.

The Eater Awards 2010 would not be possible without presenting sponsor GREY GOOSE Vodka and the event's other sponsors: Starbucks Flavored VIA, Whole Foods Market, USA Pears, and Forever Cheese. We salute them.