Food Awards

You voted for your favorite restaurants, and Diablo's judges rated them for food, ambience, and service - out of a possible 90 points. Find what the judges had to say about them, starting with our number one: Pizzaiolo. Visit all 17 of the top restaurants and be your own judge.

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Yankee Pier.Lafayette

Food: 26 points, Ambience: 21 points, Service: 24 points

FINAL SCORE: 71 points out of 90 points

What they’re doing right: Bringing East Coast tastes to the burbs. The Maine lobster, $65 elsewhere, was a deal at $45.

Defining moment: Finding the generous, large pieces of clam in the clam chowder.

Thanks for being green: Sustainable seafood.

Best thing we drank: The reasonably priced 2006 Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc, which went well with a majority of our choices.

Best dish: Scallops—beautiful hunks of shellfish, simply yet perfectly prepared to preserve their flavor and succulence, with a lemon-caper sauce on the side.

Detail we’re glad they attended to: The restaurant has a sandbox so children have something fun to keep them entertained while Mom and Dad linger over dessert and coffee.

Flavor we can’t forget: The great piece of lemon meringue pie, which is rarely on restaurant dessert menus unless you’re at a diner. Showstopper: The selection of oysters.

We’d go here: For chowder, lobster rolls, the seafood platter, and oysters.