Nominations are open for the all-new Foodie Awards

The Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards are, pun intended, a lot to swallow.

Fifty categories. Critic’s and reader picks, three apiece. That’s

300 restaurants. A lot of reading. A lot of potential spots to put on your list for a whole year of dining goals. And we wonder (OK,

wonder) how many of these amazing places get lost in the shuffle.

And so, this year, we’re going to try something new. We’re breaking things out into four digestible sections that will show up on a quarterly basis and turn the discussion (and yes, debate!) into a fourcourse foodie meal that keeps the conversation going all year long. It’s a way to get excited and focus on each quarter’s contenders and winners.

The new Foodies will make it much easier for you to show up again and again to nominate, vote for and ultimately decide which Central Florida restaurants deserve top honors.

In this first round, we’re calling for nominations for Best Barbecue, Brewery, Burger, Cheap Eats, Doughnuts, Food Truck, Pizza, Sandwich, Sushi, Tacos, Takeout and Vegan/ Vegetarian and 2023 Restaurant of Year.

QUICK OVERVIEW

The nomination process will be open until 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 14. The top three restaurants in each category — those with the most nominations — will then move on to the voting round on Feb. 15. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 26.

Award winners will be announced online and in the Orlando Sentinel’s Cooking & Eating section on March 7.

Nominate your favorites once a day — make your picks at OrlandoSentinel. com/foodieawards — to give them the best shot at making it to the top three spots.

Restaurants: Tell your followers.

Foodies: Tell your friends. Most nominations = Moving to the next round and a guaranteed Top 3 spot!

Thanks in advance for your participation in making this newfangled Foodie Awards into a party that lasts all year — and helping to ensure that none of our amazing eateries gets lost in the sauce.