Readers’ Choice Winners 2021
It's time to see the winners.
Readers submitted 12,000 nominations and more than 40,000 votes for businesses in Litchfield, Berkshires, Dutchess, and Columbia counties. The results are not only enlightening; they are also a guide to everything regional. That includes everything from where to eat, drink and shop; who to hire for wedding, home and financial services, to which organizations to consider supporting or to taking a class from. Thank you to everyone who participated — readers and nominees alike — and a big RI hug to all the winners.
Click an image below for results in each category.
The results are in!
Readers have always come to Rural Intelligence for our suggestions on where to go, what to see and do, and who the movers and shakers are in the Berkshires, NW Connecticut and Hudson Valley. But if you’ve ever driven from Williamstown to Poughkeepsie, or Litchfield to Kinderhook, you know it’s a huge region to keep track of. That’s why we created the Rural Intelligence Readers’ Choice Awards — so that we could include readers in our mission to recommend the people, places, services and organizations that make our region such an outstanding place to live or visit. And readers stepped up, nominating more than 1,300 businesses, places, and people. In the final round, readers cast more than 50,000 votes and nominations to determine the winners.
Our readers have good taste (pun intended) when it comes to food and drink. One of our most popular stories this year was Dan Shaw’s (one of RI’s co-founders) discovery of Kelly’s Creamery and Kelly’s Husband’s Truck in Dover Plains. Kelly’s was a four-time runner-up, in the Al Fresco Dining, Burger, Wait Staff and Service, and (of course) Ice Cream categories. A recent visit validated that not only is the ice cream dreamily creamy and creative in its presentations, but also that the fabulous wait staff is having almost too much fun: the outdoor seating area was practically an open-air Halloween house of horrors, and the mini golf facility was haunted by animatronic ghouls, ghosts and goblins complete with spine-tingling sound effects.
Similarly, our intrepid reporter Jamie Larson spotted Zinnia’s Dinette in Craryville when it first opened. “Sometimes you don’t know how much you are missing something until you get it,” he wrote. Readers confirmed this, making it a runner-up in the New Restaurant category. They also gave many thumbs up to CRUST, a new pizzeria in Pittsfield that introduced itself smack dab in the middle of the pandemic last September and is still going strong. As for the Drink category, we caught up with the winner of the Local Wine category, Balderdash Cellars, when they’d just moved from inner city Pittsfield to a more bucolic setting in Richmond. Since then, the owners have not only expanded their facilities, but they’ve found a way for wine drinkers to imbibe while taking in the view of Richmond Pond and live music on weekends.
The number of nominations and votes in the Shelter category reflects our readers’ interest in all types of accommodations. That’s why we’re on it whenever a new hotel or inn comes to our attention. We toured Miraval, the winner in the Resort category, at its pandemic-timed opening (Miraval also received the most votes in the Day Spa category and was runner up in the Hotel Spa group). We included WM Farmer & Sons (runner up in the B&B category) and The Maker (runner up in the Hotel/Inn category) in our roundup of places to stay during a Hudson getaway. You don’t have to come from away to be curious about the interiors of a new inn.
And shopping, did someone mention shopping? Especially food shopping? We’ve written about Guido’s Fresh Marketplace (locations in Pittsfield and Great Barrington) countless times. Guido’s is a beloved institution, and our coverage of it reflects what our readers know; they voted it into first place finishes in Gourmet Food, Grocery, and Health Food. It’s not just us: everyone has a Guido’s story. This is our latest.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the Rural Intelligence region without cultural arts, and the categories within Arts & Entertainment were among the most nominated and voted upon, not surprising given the region’s world-class offerings of art and entertainment. Our events calendar is chock full of art gallery exhibitions, and we find the gallerists and artists (like runner-up Ferrin Contemporary) to be worthy of profiles and features. Ditto with Barrington Stage Company, winner in the Live Theater Venue (also runner up in Performance Space). When there’s someone new at the helm of one of these organizations, that’s always newsworthy, and we tell our readers about it, such as when The Moviehouse in Millerton (runner up in Cinema) changed hands. Readers appreciate the region’s many historical sites and museums. These facilities, including runners-up Hancock Shaker Village and The Mount, are constantly adding inventive programming, and we’re always happy to write about them.
Pre-pandemic, our Parties pages were among the most popular each week, and we hope to return to a robust section as soon as possible. The reason is not just because we know readers love looking at who’s attending these fundraisers and galas (and what they’re wearing), but because we do it in support of the many nonprofits and the good works they do. Readers voted Volunteers in Medicine as their favorite nonprofit organization, and we’ve covered enough of their fundraisers to concur. It’s fitting that Liana Toscanini, founder and director of the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, which helps nonprofits connect, learn and grow, was a runner-up in the “Person who has contributed most to the Rural Intelligence Region.”
One more thing: We realize that although our lineup of categories was extensive, it wasn’t comprehensive enough. That was by design. The RI Readers’ Choice was a new venture for us, and we thought an engaging one, but we needed to test the waters this first year out. Readers validated our conviction. You can be sure we’ll be adding categories in next year’s Readers’ Choice Awards. If there are any in particular you’d like us to include, please let us know! Email editor@ruralintelligence.com
--Lisa Green