Posted by Bob, a resident of another community, on Aug 28, 2009 at 12:53 am

How does Chef Chu's win Best of Mountain View when it's in LOS ALTOS???

Posted by Max, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Aug 28, 2009 at 12:40 pm

This "Chef Chu's" anomaly (a "best of MV" restaurant located in Los Altos) raised eyebrows in 2008 when it first happened. It even caused speculation about why (especially since this survey had a history of rejecting efforts to vote for restaurants outside MV, including Estrellita, adjacent to Chu's). Until 2008, the Best MV Chinese Restaurant award went regularly to Cafe Yulong, squarely in downtown MV.

I raised this issue with the Voice's publisher this year during the survey period. He remarked to the effect that the survey has grown to contain several candidate businesses outside MV, with an intent to open it to greater MV-area businesses, including those outside but near MV. (Note that Chu's is near the borders of MV, Los Altos, and Palo Alto. "We are a tri-city restaurant!" quipped Lawrence Chu when I asked him about the same issue.)

If such is the Voice's intent, I think it could be made clearer in the survey and in the published results -- "Best of Greater MV" or something like that. Otherwise, reasonable questions will continue to arise about "Best of MV" businesses outside MV (whether or not they are advertisers).

Posted by Zeke, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Aug 30, 2009 at 10:03 am

I totally agree with Bob with regards to why Chef Chu, and even other "non-Mountain View" establishments like Watercourse Way should NOT be among the "Best of MV". Larry Chu's comment of "We are a tri-city restaurant" is not applicable here. Aren't all establishments "tri-city", and in fact "ALL-city"? We should be recognizing establishments in our city. This list should be for MOUNTAIN VIEW ONLY.