It was the winter of 2017. The cold wind as unrelenting as steel, the sidewalks corrugated with packed snow and ice.
Members of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce peered out of their conference room and across the river. Vacant-eyed residents crawled from cars shadowed grey with salt onto the frozen asphalt of Parker Harding to do some light shopping.
“Our people…” murmured the COC president. He slammed his fist on the conference table, startling the attending COC members. “We must do something to bring a ray of sunshine into their winter-weary lives.”
All nodded and sat.
“It’s a brainstorm,” he explained. “No bad ideas.”
“How about a ‘Funny Hat’ day?” a member suggested.
Everyone winced.
A small voice said, “The Great Westport Pizza Contest?”
Heads slowly turned. The president encouraged, “Go on…”
“Well,” said the COC member, “we ask everyone in town to vote on their favorite pizza. We could have, you know, categories like Best Slice, Best Gluten Free, Best Plain…” the member’s voice stammered. “…people like pizza?”
Soon everyone was smiling and laughing and, on March 1 of 2018, the COC kicked off their first pizza contest. So great was the response that other categories soon followed: Great Burgers and Great Salads.
All was well in Westport that winter.
Most recent Best of Westport:
Best Salads
Best Caesar Salad – Romanacci
Best Chef Salad – Joe’s Pizza
Best Cobb Salad – La Plage
Best Deli Salad – A&S Fine Foods
Best Greens Salad – The Porch
Best Make Your Own Salad – Parker Mansion
Best Mediterranean Salad – Manna Toast
Best Unique Salad – Capuli
Honorable Mention - Calise's
Best Sandwiches
Best Chicken Sandwich – Stiles Market
Best Steak Sandwich – JR’s Grille
Best Vegetarian Sandwich – Manna Toast
Best Combo Sandwich – Stiles Market
Best Club Sandwich – Joe’s Pizza
Best Wrap – Layla’s Falafel
Best Breakfast Sandwich – JR’s Grille
Best Pressed Sandwich – Mystic Market
Best Fish/Seafood Sandwich – Rizzuto’s
Best Burgers
Best Classic Burger - Viva Zapata
Best Cheeseburger - Match Burger Lobster
Best Goumet Burger - Match
Best Veggie Burger - Little Barn
Best Non-Beef Burger (Fish, Turkey, Lamb....) - Little Barn
Best Fast Food Burger - Shake Shack
Best Slider - Dunville's
Honorable Mention - Parker Mansion
And, finally, Best Pizzas
Best Slice – Westport Pizzeria (now closed)
Beat Plain Pizza – Westport Pizzeria (now closed)
Best Meat Pizza – Joe’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant
Best Gluten Free Pizza – Joe’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant
Best Veggie Pizza – Tuttis Ristorante
Best Delivered Pizza – Jordan’s Restaurant and Pizza of Westport
Best Personal Pizza – Rizzuto’s Oyster Bar and Restaurant and Toscano Pizzeria
Honorable Mentions - Romanacci Pizza Bar and Planet Pizza
For winners and information on how to vote, visit WestportWestonChamber.com