Half of Steamboat’s population can’t be wrong.
That’s how many people turned out for this year’s Best of the Boat contest, which lured more than 6,000 voters to the polls to express their opinions about all things Steamboat. Voters cast nearly 75,000 votes across more than 100 categories, ranging from best cocktail and carpet shop to best margarita and mustache.
The annual contest takes our community’s pulse on what businesses, people and food rise to the surface as Steamboat’s best. Dining again proved most popular, drawing more responses than all other categories combined.
COMPLETE RESULTS
Business & Community • Drinks • Food • Health • Home & Garden • Professionals • Shopping • Lighter Side
Business & Community
No matter the category, it’s the people who live here who make Steamboat so great. That’s where our Business & Community category comes in, acknowledging everyone from artists and teachers to veterinarians, fishing guides and even pet groomers who call the Yampa Valley home. These are people doing what they do best while giving back to the community we all love. And it’s their peers who voted them onto this year’s podium.
Best Auto Repair Shop
1. Bob’s Downtown Conoco
2. Doc’s Auto Clinic
3. Westside Automotive
Best Bank
1. Yampa Valley Bank
2. Alpine Bank
3. Wells Fargo
Best Cellular Phone Company
1. GoWireless, Verizon Authorized Dealer
2. Ensignal, Verizon Authorized Retailer
3. Union Wireless
Best Fishing Outfitter
1. Steamboat Flyfisher
2. Straightline Sports
3. Bucking Rainbow Outfitters
Best Golf Course
1. Haymaker Golf Course
2. Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club
3. Steamboat Golf Club
Best Guest Ranch
1. The Home Ranch
2. Saddleback Ranch
3. Vista Verde Guest Ranch
Best Hair Salon
1. 10th Street Barbershop
2. hair on earth
3. Sorella Salon & Boutique
Best Horseback Outfitter
1. Del’s Triangle 3 Ranch
2. Saddleback Ranch
3. Lucky 8 Ranch
Best Indoor Music Venue
1. Strings Music Festival
2. Chief Theater
3. Old Town Pub & Restaurant
Best Insurance Agency
1. Debbie Aragon, State Farm
2. Dax Mattox, State Farm
3. Steamboat Select Insurance Group
Best Outdoor Activity Company
1. Ski Haus
2. BAP Inc.
3. Backdoor Sports
Best Pet Groomer
1. Powder Hounds Grooming Salon
2. Steamboat Dog Grooming Spa
3. Doggy Style Mobile Pet Grooming
Best Radio Station
1. KBCR
2. KUNC-KRNC
3. KFMU
Best Spa
1. Life Essentials Day Spa
2. Rocky Mountain Day Spa, Boutique & Salon
3. Waterside Day Spa & Salon
Best Veterinary Office
1. Steamboat Veterinary Hospital
2. Pet Kare Clinic
3. Ski Town Animal Hospital (formerly Mt. Werner Veterinary Hospital)
Drinks
Let’s face it, for a lot of people, there’s no better way to celebrate a great day outside in a town like Steamboat than by heading out for a quick life-is-great libation. Fortunately, Steamboat has a wealth of watering holes for whatever your pleasure, be it a quick post-ride beer, slopeside après, fancy cocktail or sommelier-worthy bottle of wine. Following are the winners that rose to the top like bubbles in a glass of Champagne in this year’s voting.
Best Apres Ski
1. T Bar Steamboat
2. Slopeside Grill
3. Truffle Pig Restaurant
Best Bar
1. Laundry
1. The Barley Tap and Tavern
3. Sunpie’s Bistro
Best Bartender
1. Tod “JJ” Johnson
2. Mark Stanford
3. Jack Doyle
Best Bloody Mary
1. Creekside Cafe
2. Four Points Lodge
3. Rex’s American Grill & Bar
Best Brewery
1. Storm Peak Brewing Co.
2. Mountain Tap Brewery
3. Butcherknife Brewing Co.
Best Coffee Shop
1. MountainBrew
2. Off the Beaten Path
3. Starbucks
Best Craft Cocktail
1. Laundry, Fiery Margarita
2. Sunpie’s Bistro, Hurricane
3. Low Country Kitchen, Old Fashioned
Best Happy Hour
1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill
2. Aurum Food & Wine
3. Back Door Grill
Best Locally Brewed Beer
1. Butcherknife Brewing Co., Amputator
2. Storm Peak Brewing Co., Maestro
3. Mountain Tap Brewery, Passionate Pedal
Best Margarita
1. Salt & Lime
2. Fiesta Jalisco
3. Laundry
3. Vaqueros Mexican Restaurant & Taqueria
Best Place to Watch the Game
1. Dude & Dan’s Bar and Grill
2. Back Door Grill
2. Carl’s Tavern
Food
Drawing more responses than nearly all of our other categories combined, Food remains Best of the Boat’s most hotly contested category. Among this year’s findings: upsets in Best Burrito, a return to power for Best Wings and a new king of catering. “People are pretty opinionated about where they like to eat out here,” survey overseer Julia Hebard said. “Luckily, Steamboat is blessed with a lot of great restaurants.”
Best Asian Food
1. Noodles & More Saigon Cafe
2. Talay Thai
3. Sambi Canton Restaurant
Best Bakery
1. Smell That Bread Bakery
2. MountainBrew
3. Winona’s Restaurant
Best BBQ
1. Double Z Bar & Bar BQ
2. Moe’s Original Bar B Que
3. Steamboat Smokehouse
Best Breakfast Spot
1. Creekside Cafe
2. Freshies Restaurant
3. Winona’s Restaurant & Bakery
Best Burrito
1. Taco Cabo
2. Azteca Taqueria
3. Fiesta Jalisco
Best Catering Service
1. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co.
2. Drunken Onion
3. Taco Cabo
Best Dessert
1. Cafe Diva
2. Ciao Gelato
3. Laundry
Best Fine Dining
1. Cafe Diva
2. Laundry
3. Cloverdale Restaurant
Best Food Truck
1. Skull Creek Greek
2. On the Hook Fish and Chips
3. Clyde’s Pies
Best Hamburger
1. Back Door Grill
2. Big House Burgers
3. Rex’s American Grill & Bar
Best Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt
1. Ciao Gelato
2. Lyon Corner Drug & Soda Fountain
3. Johnny B Good’s Diner
Best Italian Food
1. Mambo Italiano
2. Mazzola’s Italian Restaurant
3. Cuginos Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant
Best Lunch Spot
1. Freshies Restaurant
2. Cruisers Sub Shop
3. Backcountry Delicatessen
Best Mexican Food
1. Fiesta Jalisco
2. Taco Cabo
3. Salt & Lime
Best Outdoor Dining
1. Aurum Food & Wine
2. Creekside Cafe
3. E3 Chophouse
Best Pizza
1. Blue Sage Pizza
2. Mambo Italiano
3. Brooklynn’s Pizzeria
Best Ribs
1. Double Z Bar & BBQ
2. Moe’s Original Bar B Que
3. Steamboat Smokehouse
Best Sandwich
1. Backcountry Delicatessen
2. Cruisers Sub Shop
3. Back Door Grill
Best Steak
1. Ore House at the Pine Grove
2. E3 Chophouse
3. Cafe Diva
Best Sushi
1. Noodles & More Saigon Cafe
2. Yama
3. Sake2U
Best Vegetarian
1. Rootz
2. Freshies Restaurant
3. Seedz
Best Wings
1 Tap House Sports Bar & Grill
2 Moe’s Original Bar B Que
3 Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill
Health
Steamboat Springs is full of high-quality health care providers who love to call the Yampa Valley home and help residents and visitors enjoy everything it has to offer. Whether you need a yoga workout, fitness class, dental work or physical therapy, there’s an expert willing and able to help you.
Best Chiropractic Office
1. Lifted Chiropractic
2. Thrival Mode Family Chiropractic Health
3. Rinn Chiropractic Center
Best Dental Office
1. Sunshine Dentistry
2. Pine Grove Dental Arts
3. Avant Garde Dental
Best Fitness Center/Gym
1. Old Town Hot Springs
2. Anytime Fitness
3. Steamboat Pilates Yoga & Fitness Studio
Best Medical Clinic
1. Steamboat Medical
2. Yampa Valley Medical Associates
3. Pediatrics of Steamboat
Best Optometry Office
1. Mountain Eyeworks
2. Helm Eye Center
3. Steamboat Vision Clinic
Best Pharmacy
1. Lyon Corner Drug & Soda Fountain
2. Walgreens
3. City Market
Best Physical Therapy Practice
1. Johnson & Johnson Physical Therapy
2. UCHealth SportsMed Clinic
3. Kinetic Energy Physical Therapy
Best Yoga Studio
1. Rakta Hot Yoga
2. Out Here Yoga
3. Yoga Center of Steamboat
Home & Garden
Our Home & Garden category is a nod to everyone who helps put roofs over our heads, furnishings inside, yards outside and builds or manages offices for our hardworking locals. The people and businesses serving this niche anchor this all-important section, which runs the gamut from real estate and mortgage brokers to architects, plumbers, landscapers and more. What they all share is doing their best to ensure we all have a home and workspace we can be proud of in Ski Town, USA.
Best Flooring Store
1. Carpets Plus
2. Affordable Flooring Warehouse
3. The Carpet Shoppe
Best Furniture Store
1. Annie’s Home Consignments
2. Moxie Home Consign and Design
3. Into the West
Best General Contractor/Home Builder
1. Timberline Contracting
2. Gerber Berend Design + Build
3. Fox Construction
Best Interior Designer
1. Michele McCarthy, Vertical Arts Architecture
2. Valerie Stafford, Rumor Design + reDesign
3. Michael Buccino, Steamboat Interiors
Best Landscaping Service
1. Gecko Landscape & Design
2. Kinnikinnick Lawn & Garden
3. Nature’s Design
Best Mortgage Broker
1. Kathryn Pedersen, Fidelity Mortgage
2. Josh Kagan, Cornerstone Home Lending
3. Whitney Fortna, Yampa Valley Bank
Best Nursery/Gardening Supplier
1. Windemere Garden Center
2. Gecko Landscape & Design
3. Snow Country Nursery
Best Painter
1. Lawton Painting Co.
2. Sloop Painting
3. Good People Painting
Best Plumber
1. Perfect Slope Plumbing & Heating
2. Taber Plumbing & Heating
3. Peak Mechanical Services
Best Property Management Company
1. Central Park Management
2. Moving Mountains
3. Resort Lodging Co.
3. Rising Sun Management
Best Real Estate Agent
1. Jon Wade, The Steamboat Group
2. Matt Eidt, Colorado Group Realty
3. Martin Dragnev, Colorado Group Realty
Best Real Estate Firm
1. The Steamboat Group
2. Colorado Group Realty
3. Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty
Best Roofing Company
1. Revelation Roofing of the Rockies
2. Berlet Roofing
3. High Point Roofing
Best Title Company
1. Land Title Guarantee Company
2. Heritage Title Co.
3. Title Company of the Rockies
Professionals
Our Professionals category is where we put the people behind town’s great services and businesses. These are the bike tuners, fishing guides, ski instructors, fitness trainers, hair stylists, eye doctors and more who put their best foot forward to make sure we can all do the same. While everyone in this listing deserves recognition, the top three in each category, and especially those occupying the catbird’s seat, are worthy of extra praise as voted by our readers.
Best Acupuncturist
1. Frank Turano-Cutler
2. Betsy Smith
3. Kari D. Pollert
3. Kelley B. McDaneld
Best Architectural Firm
1. Gerber Berend Design + Build
2. Vertical Arts
3. Joe Patrick Robbins & Associates
Best Bike Mechanic
1. Chris Johns
2. Brock Webster
3. Scott Tomaro
Best Car Salesperson
1. Stacey Rogers
2. Steve Dunklin
3. Ian “Wolf” Woelfel
Best Electrician
1. Don Kuntz, Current Electric
2. Jed Gibson, Central Electric
3. Geoff Coon, Coon Custom Electric
Best Fishing Guide
1. Johnny Spillane
2. Dave McAtee
3. Winston Vaughn
Best Fitness Instructor
1. Rebecca Williams
2. Brady Worster, Fhysical Elements
3. Becky Heath, Anytime Fitness
Best Hair Stylist
1. Cassandra Marinez
2. Kaitlyn Reed
3. Brooke Engeseth
Best Massage Therapist
1. Ali Boehm, Kneading Hands
2. Erica Olson, Heartfire Massage
3. Caitlyn Pitre, Aspenwood Salon & Spa
Best School Teacher (K-12)
1. Eric Nilsson
2. Meghan Hanson-Peters
3. Bennett Colvin
Best Youth Sports Coach
1. Trevor Mekelburg
2. Lisa Renee Tumminello
3. Erin Early
Shopping
From best gift shop to art gallery and ski shop to clothing store, Steamboat is as rife with shopping options as it is outdoor pursuits. While we might not have factory outlets, Cherry Creek malls or the glitzy boutiques of Aspen and Vail, our hamlet has shopping options to satisfy residents and visitors. This year’s contest yielded a few surprises as well as consistent showings, the latter reflected in top spots by such stalwarts as Central Park Liquor, Ski Haus and Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare. The best thing you can do? Visit and shop them for yourself.
Best Art Gallery
1. Pine Moon Fine Art
2. Steamboat Art Museum
3. Mangelsen, Images of Nature Gallery
Best Bike Shop
1. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare
2. Orange Peel Bicycle Service
3. Wheels Bike Shop
Best Boot Fitting Shop
1. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare
2. One Stop Ski Shop
3. Ski Haus
Best Candy/Sweets Store
1. Fuzziwig’s Candy Factory
2. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
3. Rocket Fizz Steamboat Springs
Best Floral Shop
1. The Tall Tulip
2. City Market
3. Steamboat Floral & Gifts
Best Liquor Store
1. Central Park Liquor
2. Arctic Liquors
3. Ski Haus Liquors
Best Marijuana Store
1. Golden Leaf
2. Rocky Mountain Remedies
3. Billo
Best Men’s Clothing Store
1. Allen’s Clothing
2. Urbane
3. Ski Haus
Best Pet Store
1. Paws ‘N Claws
2. Elk River Pet & Ranch
3. Outdoor K9
Best Shoe Store
1. Steamboat Shoe Market
2. Ski Haus
3. Urbane
Best Ski/Snowboard Tuning Shop
1. Ski Haus
2. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare
3. Christy Sports
Best Ski Shop
1. Ski Haus
2. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare
3. Christy Sports
Best Snowboard Shop
1. Powder Tools
2. Ski Haus
3. Powder Pursuits
Best Sporting Goods Store
1. Ski Haus
2. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare
3. Straightline Sports
Best Thrift/Consignment Store
1. Deja Vu Boutique
2. LiftUp of Routt County
3. Annie’s Home Consignments
Best Women’s Clothing Store
1. Deja Vu Boutique
2. Ruby Jane Boutique
3. Fringe Boutique
The Lighter Side
While most of our Best of the Boat categories acknowledge businesses, professionals and other people and aspects that make Steamboat great, this section is a little more lighthearted, offering voters’ views on everything from town’s best mullets and mustaches to place to go on a first date. Hundreds of votes poured in for this category, securing its popularity in the polls. Read on for the esteemed results.
Best Band
1. Buffalo Commons
2. Loose Change
3. Yer State Birds
Best Community Event
1. Steamboat Springs Free Summer Concert Series
2. Winter Carnival
3. Halloween Stroll
Best Cowboy
1. Ray Heid
2. Cookie Lockhart
3. Billy Kidd
Best Mountain Bike Trail
1. Flash of Gold
2. Morning Gloria
3. NPR
Best Mullet
1. Will Cheesebro
2. Jesse Kurk
3. Luke Kimmes
Best Mustache
1. Rob Peterson
2. Kit Callahan
3. Matt Richeda
Best Place For A First Date
1. Sunset Happy Hour
2. Fish Creek Falls
3. Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill
Best Place To Go Under $50
1. Hiking
2. Back Door Grill
3. Strawberry Park Hot Springs
