By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published Oct 30, 2017 at 12:01 PM

Season's eatings! The weather may be getting colder, but Dining Month on OnMilwaukee is just cooking up, dishing out your winning picks in this year's Best of Dining poll. Dining Month is brought to you by Fein Brothers, your premier food service equipment and supply dealer in Wisconsin since 1929. Congratulations to all of the winners, and happy eating for all those who voted! See all the winners for the month so far here. 

Maxie's

Last year, the Cajun and Creole restaurants were mixed in with the Southern and soul food nominees – and Maxie's culinary brand of Southern comfort came out victorious. For 2017, however, we split the category, giving Southern and soul food its own part of the poll, and joining Cajun and Creole with the typically pretty scant French nominees. 

No matter for this West Side eatery, however, as Maxie's just went ahead and still won both categories, taking the crown yet again in best Southern/soul food as well as now nabbing the title of best French/Cajun/Creole.

It was a fairly tight race, however, for the top spot, with less than 100 votes dividing the top three finishers. French food favorites Lake Park Bistro and Le Rêve came up just a bit short in our poll, but never come up short on the plate (that's why the OnMilwaukee editors picked the latter for their selection). Meanwhile, Crawdaddy's and Coquette Cafe wrapped up the top five. 

Runners up:
2. Lake Park Bistro
3. Le Rêve
4. Crawdaddy's
5. Coquette Cafe

OnMilwaukee editors' pick: Le Rêve

Lori Fredrich's pick: Le Rêve
If there’s a place in town that captures the feel of a casual Parisian bistro in Milwaukee, it’s Le Rêve Patisserie & Cafe, a bustling spot where casual fare is treated with elegance and prepared with deft technique by chef Andrew Schneider and chef de cuisine Sarah O'Bear. Whether it’s a croque monsieur for lunch or a red wine braised duck leg, Alsatian salmon or steak-frites for dinner, you’ll find well-executed seasonal fare along with petite desserts that are as beautiful as they are delicious.