Editor’s Note: Guest Columnist Greg Fowlkes explores the process and ritual of ordering wine in restaurants. In his previous columns, Greg wrote about The Five Rules of Wine Lists, What Makes A good Wine List, and Three Stand Out Madison Wine Lists.

Madison Dining Online winds down the year by presenting the winers of the 2008 Mad Diner Awards!

The Mad Diner Award for Favorite Overall Restaurant goes to the same winner two years running. The second and third place restaurants were not in the finals last year, but have consistently made appearances in multiple categories, two years straight!

While the title of this award may be awkward, the “Mad Diner Award for Best Ethnic Cuisine - Other” covered a lot of ground.

We have to admit, there aren’t all that many Sushi restaurants in Madison. Having said that, there are some very good Sushi testaurants in Madison!

Madison is full of Asian restaurant, and this category always sees active participation as we gather the votes for the Mad Diner Award.

The 2008 Mad Diner Awards for the Best Middle Eastern Restaurant goes to…

The top vote-getters for the Mad Diner Best Hispanic Restaurants of 2008 are…

While Madison is not a hotbed of Italian cuisine, there are some terrific Italian restaurants in the area. Some have been here for years, others are new and are making their own name for themselves.