You voted, and it worked. If you see the cover of the July/August edition of Mississippi Magazine you will see the results of your help.

This month&8217;s edition has the results of the poll for &8220;The Best of Mississippi&8221; and on the cover is picture of hot air balloons as they participate in the October balloon race in Natchez.

Beginning with dining out, the best fried chicken award went to the Carriage House I know, all of you are saying &8220;duh,&8221; but the rest of Mississippi needed to know.

Best dessert, again, where else but Mammy&8217;s Cupboard. Of course they cited the banana caramel pie.

Best restaurant with a view went to Cock of the Walk in Natchez and Ridgeland and those also took home the award for best kid-friendly restaurants.

And wrapping up our many wins in the dining out category the ever popular Castle restaurant won best fine dining and best romantic spot.

The next category was &8220;seeking out&8221; and again Natchez is on the list more than once.

Starting with the best place to find great antiques being awarded to Natchez Antiques.

Tying with Pine Cone in Jackson the winner of the best place to find new collectibles was Darby&8217;s. I was very pleased to see this next one, especially my oldest daughter has a love of shoes, the winner of the best place to find great shoes was Pampered Sole.

Wrapping up the poll was the section known as &8220;getting out.&8221;

Starting off the Natchez winnings in this category was one of my very favorite events in Natchez. The Great Mississippi River Balloon Race which won best annual event and believe me with all things that go on annually in Mississippi this is a real coup for us.

The best place to get married went to the favorite Dunleith Plantation while best bed and breakfast went to the perennial favorite Monmouth Plantation.

And with all of the above wins going for us it was a natural that Natchez was picked best place for a day trip.

Wow, that is 13 wins out of 79 categories I would say that definitely is some of the best advertisement we have had in some time.

It is also a testament to the proprietors of the many businesses in our town who have weathered many tough times. I hope this article brings all of our businesses in town lots of new and old visitors.

There were a couple of other hot spots on the list that are near and dear to my heart, if you haven&8217;t heard of them you should go and look them up.

I promise they are worth it. Starting with best pizza at the Old Venice Pizza Company, my family loves the one in Oxford but you can also try their tasty dishes in Starkville and Jackson.

Best ethnic food went to an old favorite of mine, Keifers in Jackson. If you haven&8217;t tasted a gyro from there you have no idea what you are missing.

Naturally, the best spot for tailgating went to my family&8217;s much-loved Grove at Ole Miss. Win or lose we Rebels know how to throw a party with style.

And I was thrilled to see the win for best garden or park go to Mynelle Gardens in Jackson, since this gorgeous place was the backdrop for my wedding many years ago.

Christina Hall

can be reached by e-mail at

christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com

.