Each year, one of our most popular articles here is the story introducing the "OnMilwaukee's Best: Bars and Clubs" survey. It gets people talking, arguing, praising and bashing our list of 50 questions.
Inevitably, we get a slew of calls and e-mails both from bars that are delighted to be included in our list ... and dismayed that they weren't included in a certain category.
On the readers' side, the poll instantly goes viral, with each year the vote tally increasing by a healthy percentage, but many complain that it's just a popularity contest and the real "best ofs" never win.
For a change, everyone is right.
Over the years -- and we've done this poll for eight of them-- we've tinkered and tweaked, and this January was no exception. We've found that if we include too many choices, the votes are so spread out that a winner might take the prize with only 5 percent of the tally.
Likewise, we've modified or deleted questions entirely that were either too similar, that too many people skipped answering, or are now passé or simply outdated (best smoke-free bar, for example).
The brainstorming session each year begins weeks in advance, when we print out last year's poll and painstakingly review each question and discuss new options. If certain respondents received very few votes last year -- even if they're our personal favorites -- we ditch them. Also, if we have to cut, we look at bars that are listed in several categories, as it's our goal to present as many unique and different choices as possible.
Our entire editorial staff participates in these meetings, and then we pass the list around to the non-writers, too, just to see if we've missed anything. In keeping with our company policy, bars that advertise with OnMilwaukee.com are not given special treatment.
Is the whole list just a popularity contest? Yes and no. We certainly encourage bars and clubs to tell their customers to vote, and over the years, some places have found ways to cheat the system (it's easy to find out, and we disqualify them). Also, in some cases, winners that repeat every year lead us to believe people only vote for who they've heard of, and not necessarily really the best. But only more participation can counteract that -- and for the sanctity of the survey, when revealing the winners in February, we also include an "editors' choice."
So, no, the "best of" poll isn't perfect, but we strive to make it better and better each year. And most importantly, it's fun. If you printed out the entire survey, you'd have your nightlife calendar packed with some great Milwaukee places, for a long, long time.
And if you haven't taken the time to vote, I encourage you to do so. The survey runs between now and Jan. 28. Share and root for your favorites using Facebook and Twitter.
Winning doesn't come with a prize other than a plaque and the priceless coverage on OnMilwaukee.com -- but for many of these businesses, it can have a real impact.
So pull up a bar stool and vote, Milwaukee. We'll all drink to that.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
