Vote Now, Vote Local: Saveur’s 2011 Best Food Blog Awards

I know, Michael Solomonov has already grabbed the headlines today by walking away with a win in the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic category at last night’s James Beard Awards ceremony. But you know what? He’s not the only local guy with some skin in the food awards game.

No, ’tis the season for medals, plaques and certificates, after all. As a matter of fact,  right now, Saveur magazine is in the final days of their 2011 Best Food Blog Awards. As with Solomonov in Manhattan last night, Philly has got a couple locals in the running, and guess what?

They could use a little love from the hometown fans.

First off, our own Jason Varney (who shoots like crazy for us here at Philly Mag) has been nominated in the Best Food Photo category–that shot of the roast chicken from Dandelion that heads this post is the one that put him in running.

Second, local food blogger and canning enthusiast Marisa McClellan (who writes the excellent Food In Jars blog) has been tagged in the category Best Kitchen Tools and Hardware Coverage.

And that’s all well and good, right? I mean, they got picked as being among the best from out of something like 45,000 potential competitors. But the thing is, neither of them will really be happy until they get named as being the actual best–and the trick there is that the awards are based solely on votes cast at the Saveur website.

So what you have to do now is go there, register, find your favorites and vote for ’em. I’m not saying you have to cast yours for Varney or McClellan or anything. I am a fan of democracy, after all. But wouldn’t it be nice if we were able to put another victory in Philly’s column this year?

I’m just sayin’…