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Don Jones, owner of Jones & Associates, Inc., was voted best accountant in the Craig Daily Press’ 2011 Best of Moffat County contest. A Craig native, Jones said he’s known since high school that he wanted to be an accountant.

Photo by Michelle Balleck

Craig Daily Press readers voted Carelli’s Pizzeria & Pasta, 465 Yampa Ave., as the restaurant with Moffat County’s best sandwich, best pizza and best Italian food. Pictured, from left, are co-owners Brett Etzler and his fiancée, Stephanie Perez, and waitress Jasmine Higgins. The food, from left, is the D.C. (or Dick Cheney) sandwich, margarita pizza, Sicilian-style widow-maker pizza and sausage lasagna. Perez said the keys to the restaurant’s success are good recipes passed on from the previous owners, as well as handmade and fresh, not frozen, ingredients. “It’s a lot of labor and a lot of prep, but, man, it’s so worth it,” Perez said.

Photo by Michelle Balleck

Becky Jackson, a waitress at J.W. Snack’s Bar & Grill, 210 E. Victory Way, shows off the restaurant’s ribs, baked beans and potato salad plate and hot wings with celery and ranch dressing. Craig Daily Press readers voted J.W. Snack’s the best lunch restaurant and the place with the best chicken wings in the 2011 Best of Moffat County contest. “We’re one of the few restaurants in town you can go and have an hour lunch, and get in and out and get back to work on time,” J.W. Snack’s owner Danny Griffith said. “It’s nothing fancy. It’s just good food. And I think people can respond to that.” Griffith said he’s not giving up any secrets to his restaurant’s style of cooking. “I would love to answer that question, but I read in a barbecue book years ago, ‘You don’t share your wife and you don’t share your barbecue secrets because nothing good comes out of either one.’”

Photo by Michelle Balleck

Cook Nick Moyer displays a steak on the back patio of the Tin Cup Grill. Craig Daily Press readers voted the restaurant, located at Yampa Valley Golf Course, the best in Moffat County in two categories — best restaurant for dinner and best steak. Moyer said the secret to a good steak is getting the temperature right, not overcooking and not pressing too hard. The Tin Cup offers six varieties of steak – ribeye, T-bone, filet mignon, New York strip, buffalo New York strip and a two-pound porterhouse. Steaks range in price from $18.95 to $38.95.

Photo by Ben McCanna

Sabrina Zachary, a server at the O.P. Bar & Grill, 534 E. Victory Way, delivers the restaurant’s double burger to a customer in the outdoor seating area. The O.P. took top honors for the best hamburger in Moffat County in the Craig Daily Press’ 2011 Best of Moffat County contest. The double burger features a full pound of charbroiled Angus beef, a slice of ham, bacon, barbecue sauce and Swiss and cheddar cheeses. It sells for $10 with a choice of a side.

Photo by Ben McCanna

Nurse Dave Higgins has helped patch up patients in the emergency department at The Memorial Hospital in Craig for 15 years. Readers voted Higgins the best nurse in the 2011 Best of Moffat County contest.

Photo by Ben McCanna

Dennis Kinder, an internist at The Memorial Hospital Medical Clinic, has practiced medicine in Craig for 16 years. He’s developed a base of supporters in that time as well. Craig Daily Press readers voted Kinder the best doctor in Moffat County in the newspaper’s 2011 Best of Moffat County contest.

Photo by Ben McCanna

Eileen Kunkle takes a break during her shift at Village Inn, 1103 W. Victory Way. Kunkle was voted best waitress in the Craig Daily Press’ 2011 Best of Moffat County contest. Having worked at the restaurant since 1979, Kunkle has waited on hundreds of Craig residents, as well as out-of-town visitors.

Photo by Ben McCanna

Dixie Osmun, owner of Mudd Shack, displays a turtle latte at the drive-up coffee shop, in the Centennial Mall parking lot, 1111 W. Victory Way. Craig Daily Press readers voted Mudd Shack as having the best cup of coffee in the 2011 Best of Moffat County contest. Osmun said the key to a delicious cup of coffee is organic coffee and espresso as well as purified water. She said Mudd Shack won the title of best coffee by having quick and friendly service and having relationships with customers.

Photo by Michelle Balleck

Brian Garcia, a bartender at Popular Bar, 24 W. Victory Way, prepares drinks for thirsty customers. Craig Daily Press readers voted Popular Bar as the best bar in the 2011 Best of Moffat County contest. Garcia said the bar is a fun watering hole because customers are always treated with respect and people feel comfortable. “It’s a clean, safe place,” Gacia said. “There are no fights, no drama.” Dena Garcia, of Craig, has owned the bar for 28 years.

Photo by Ben McCanna

Steam rises from an order of steak fajitas at Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant, located inside the Centennial Mall, 1111 W. Victory Way. Vallarta’s was picked for best in Moffat County in two categories — best margarita and best Mexican food. The restaurant offers seven different styles of margaritas with eight tequila options. Margaritas range in price from $5.75 of $7.75.

Photo by Ben McCanna

Michelle Jones raises a cherry limeade behind the bar at J.W. Snack’s Bar & Grill, 210 E. Victory Way. Jones won the best bartender award in the Craig Daily Press’ 2011 Best of Moffat County contest. Jones, 28, started bartending almost immediately after her 21st birthday and has worked at J.W. Snack’s for four years.

Photo by Michelle Balleck

The second Craig Duathlon will take place at 8 a.m. Sunday at Loudy-Simpson Park, 500 S. Ranney St. Race director Jim Gregoire said he expects about 50 athletes to compete in the duathlon, which consists of a 5K run, 30K bike ride, and another 5K run.

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