Green Room in Downtown Fort Lauderdale had to deal with New Times shenanigans as we celebrated our first annual South Florida Web Awards Saturday night.
See also: New Times' South Florida Web Awards at Green Room slideshow
Nominees from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach gathered for drinks and performances by Boxwood and Panic Bomber. We've been building up the ante for the winners for the past week or so, but this morning we're officially announcing the winners to the public.
Without further ado, here are South Florida's Web Award winners:
Best App: These days, if you can dream it, there's an app that can do it. Other than teleportation, our smartphones can tackle just about any task. And we've got all kinds of apps that are making life easier on those of us in South Florida. From food trackers to texting tools, there are some of the best on-the-go tools going.
Winner: Miami Cheap Eats
As the concentration of food trucks keeps exponentially increasing, it's harder and harder to keep track of all those meals on wheels. But have no fear - Miami Cheap Eats helps you navigate the grilled cheese, cupcake and taco landscape. And they'll help you find other wallet-friendly edibles, to boot.
Best Twitter: The world had no idea of the beast that would become from Twitter when it rolled out back in 2006. "Tell us what's going on in 140 characters or less," they said. Well, hell, we bypassed the 140 count at "character," but the point is that Twitter is just as much of a communication tool these days as talking or texting. It's the new black. #NewBlack
Winner: @PepeBillete
Typically slinging profound profanities in every direction, Pepe Billete has a cult-like following that would impress any social media expert. And that's pretty awesome -- you know, given that he's just a puppet on Youtube videos. Tio Pepe, as he's often referred to as, is the ultimate [puppet] master of Cuban spanglish, local chisme, and chusmeria. His catchphrase, "PLP" resonates anywhere you turn. Pa la pinga!
Best Instagram: Professional photography? Pssshaw. Screw SLRs. These days all you need is a cell phone cam and a few key filters, and you can stake your claim as the next Ansel Adams. These accounts represent some of South Florida's finest assortment of snazzy snapshots. Kudos to them for repping our little piece of paradise.
Winner: @giginow
Midtown's favorite spot for late night noodles and fluffy buns is a master of stocking their stream with seductive visuals. From their daily special board to pork belly and donut sammys, their stream is filled with droolworthy creations and enticing updates.
Best Music Blog: Miami's got some impressively music-minded scribes, all hard at work chronicling our city's various scenes. From EDM to punk rock, Churchill's to WLRN - Miami runs the gamut. Some bloggers stick to local talent, others embrace the broad spectrum, but all educate us on the best, brightest (and sometimes worst) sounds to seek out on Spotify.
Winner: South Florida Music Obsessed
Covering music news in Miami and beyond, the site serves as a master music portal for South Floridians. Lauren Perlstein and team offer round ups of local events and new releases, a mind-boggling number of live show reviews, ticket giveaways and everything else for the musically inclined.
Best Food Blog: Given all the enthusiastic eaters across South Florida, the topic of best food blog is likely to be a contentious one. We've got folks sharing their two cents on everything from best burgers to bueno, bonito y barato breakfast joints - and they're all tops at making our stomachs rumble. These opinionated eaters do their best to keep us perpetually gluttonous and always on top of what's hot (or cold, whatevs).
Winner: Burger Beast
In his four years of burger blogging, Miami's own Sef Gonzalez has added substantial cred to our city's meat scene. Initially a bastion of burger reviews, he's expanded his topics du jour to include all kinds of unique food finds. His reach continues to spread: Burger Beast Approved stickers adorn Miami eateries - and the annual Burgie Awards have become kind of a big deal for local honorees.
Best News Blog: News makes the world go 'round. Without it, we would live in a dull, boring, eventless world. Think of every headline you read or heard this week. Obama's re-election. Rush Limbaugh's an asshole. Allen West is a dunce. Do you really think you could live your life without subconsciously hearing about these things? It doesn't matter if you're interested in news or not. It's a bigger beast than you, and it happens wether you want it or not. News bloggers get it.
Winner: Eye On Miami
Here's looking at you, kid. Eye on Miami has a constant eye on the news scene in South Florida and beyond. The blog was awarded one of New Times' Best Of awards in 2008, and it's written by two chaps who live in their mothers' basements. Haha. Just kidding. We all know Miami is short on basements.
Best Art & Culture Blog: As our arts and culture landscape heats up, we've got savvy scenesters reporting from the front lines about all the hotness hitting Miami. These folks do us a serious service and keep us informed about all the culturally significant stuff we're way too lazy to get into on our own.
Winner: Sex and the Beach
Not to be confused with the ill-fated expo by a similar name (the blog came first), this off-the-cuff look at Miami living covers lots more than its namesake topic. From adventures at sea and Hialeah history, Maria de los Angeles has been repping the 305 for seven years and counting through in-depth observations and spot-on humor. (Fun fact: in true alter ego style, Maria also lives on as Twitter's own @ViceQueenMaria.)
Best Sports Blog: Miamians are ravenous about their sports teams. Whether they're fans of the Dolphins, the Marlins, the Canes, or the Heat, people love to read their professional (or otherwise highly questionable) expertise from animated bloggers. Miami sports bloggers bore Giancarlo's monster dongs, LeBron's Cobradick, and Tannehill's promise of being the next Marino.
Winner: Marlins Diehards
The Miami Marlins may have run into some rough times lately, but Marlins Diehards are all over South Florida's ball club. A lot has happened in the off-season. And the Marlins Diehards have been there to offer topical commentary as well as a break-down to Giancarlo Stanton's latest monster dong.
Best Miami Blog
Winner: Beached Miami
In addition to news, art and transit talk, the popular Miami culture conglomerate takes a big bite out of the local music scene. They provide videos, snapshots, show reviews and other delectable goodies for anyone on the hunt for solid tunes.
Best Palm Beach Blog
Winner: Gossip Extra
Everyone loves a little gossip. Or a lot of gossip. The online home of former Palm Beach Post gossip columnist and Radar Online executive editor Jose Lambiet, Gossip Extra shovels all the dirt on South Florida's politicos, celebrities and notorious names.
Best Broward Blog
Winner: Broward Bulldog
Naturally, the big dog of the broward news scene, Broward Bulldog is a no bullshit kind of site. It specializes on politics, crime, and it's run by a handful of investigative reporters who've been in the biz since the dawn of time. Don't mess with the dogs.
--Hannah Sentenac and Alex Rodriguez
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