All this month, we revealed to you -- one by one -- the winners of the 2009 OnMilwaukee.com readers' poll for the best dining in Metro Milwaukee.

From ethnic restaurants to suburban hot spots, we've counted your votes and figured out your favorites.

We know the wait has been excruciating, but now that all is revealed, here's a tally of all the winners (as well as our editors' picks), in one handy list. Bon appétit!

Best appetizers: La Merenda
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Maxie's Southern Comfort
That's a pretty good summation of La Merenda, 125 E. National Ave., where the focus is small plates from around the world. If you crave the Italian specialty osso buco, Indonesian sambal goreng udang, Spanish patatas bravas or Colombian empanadas, you'll find something to nosh at La Merenda, which is literally translated in Italian as "snack."

Best bar food: Hooligan's
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Hooligan's
The East Side staple offers hardy burgers of all varieties -- including ostrich and veggie -- but also serves up catfish, shrimp, cod, perch, walleye, about 10 different chicken sandwiches, BLTs, a New Orleans muffuletta and even a few healthier items like wraps and salads.

Best burger: Sobelman's
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Kopp's
Operating since 1999 in a cozy Cream City brick building on low-key corner, Sobelman's serves Black Angus burgers on tasty buns with three cheeses, jalapenos and fried onions. The bar, which is meticulously clean (they even wipe down the salt shakers), also earns raves for its Bloody Marys.

Best breakfast: The Original Pancake House
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Penelope's
The Original Pancake House won first place in our readers' poll on the strength of its signature items like the apple pancake, melt-in-your-mouth crepes, fluffy omelets and sugary, air-filled Dutch Baby pastry.

Best brunch: Trocadero
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Pandl's in Bayside
With a year-round patio and a delicious weekend brunch that is served from 9 a.m., the French theme carries over to that wonderful meal between breakfast and lunch. Their menu contains specialties like crepes and quiches, but there are also sandwiches, nearly a dozen egg-fueled dishes, along with fruit plates, waffles, French toast and more. And don't forget Trocadero's extensive Bloody Mary selection, either.

Best chain: The Cheesecake Factory
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Bar Louie
Still crafting the Overton family cheesecake recipe, The Cheesecake Factory rotates over 50 flavors of cheesecake including the "original"; creamy plain cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and sour cream topping. Adorned with whimsical chandeliers and fairytale murals, the Cheesecake Factory staff complete the magical world wearing baker's white from head to toe.

Best chef: Sanford D'Amato, Sanford/ Coquette Cafe
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Jason Gorman Sandy D'Amato, who along with his wife, Angie, operates Sanford, 1547 N. Jackson St., and Coquette Cafe, 316 N. Milwaukee St., was named Milwaukee's best chef in a survey of OnMilwaukee.com readers. Sanford graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1974, worked a one-year fellowship in the Scoffier Room and spent the rest of the '70s at various New York restaurants before returning to Milwaukee in 1980.

Best Chinese: Emperor of China
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Yen Ching
When Chinese food is good, it's so very good, and the authentic dishes coming out of the Emperor of China, 1010 E. Brady St., are precisely that. Recognizing the specialization in Szechwan, Hunan, Shanghai, Peking or Cantonese cooking techniques, Emperor of China's menu celebrates the diversity in regional Chinese cooking.

Best coffee shop/cafe: Alterra
OnMilwaukee.com editors choice: Alterra
Stylistically, Alterra remains classy, edgy and still sophisticated, from its gorgeous facility on the Lake to its flagship store on Prospect to the Foundry to its mall locations throughout the area. With an obsessive attention to quality and detail, the Fowler brothers and Paul Miller have brewed a Milwaukee tradition.

Best comfort food: Kopp's Frozen Custard
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Comet Cafe
Kopp's has been a local custard staple since the classic '50s and, thankfully, it hasn't changed all that much over the decades. People love Kopp's for its traditional chocolate and vanilla, but also for its innovation -- it was the first custard stand to offer a special "flavor of the day." And the banana splits, fudge delights and turtle sundaes are absolutely unbeatable.

Best deli: Glorioso's Bros. Italian Foods
OnMilwaukee.com Editors' choice: Benji's
Opened in 1946, brothers Joe, Eddie and Ted Glorioso have managed to work side by side for over 60 years to run the most authentic and fully stocked Italian deli and grocery in town. While some stock up on ingredients for home cooking, it's the deli's prepared sandwiches that lure droves of hungry, drooling customers. Combinations like the Human Torch, Veggie Paesnao's and Milwaukee Muffalatta combine piles of fresh Italian meats, cheeses and combinations of peppers, olives and artichokes.

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