Best of Bellevue 2012 or BOB was a smashing success this year with over 400 qualifying votes online and with paper ballots. (We required at least 50 percent of the ballot be filled out to qualify; this helps keep people from “stuffing” the ballot box.) We also appreciated comments on the ballots and a few of them even made us chuckle.

We have three winners from our random drawing from the ballots. Kim Peterson received a $100 gift certificate to John Howie, Connie Lemmon received a $100 gift certificate to SeaStar and Christi Bert received a $100 gift certificate to Tuscan Stone Wood Fired Pizza. Congratulations to our winners!

So, here are the results. You might want to check out some of these businesses yourself to see if you agree that they are the Best of Bellevue.

Best Bellevue Public Figure goes to our mayor, Conrad Lee. Second place is awarded to Kemper Freeman and John Chelminiak comes in third. We had some really unusual phonetic spelling attempts for Kemper Freeman and John Chelminiak. We thought Freeman Camper was the best!

Our voters feel the Best Place for Diversity in Bellevue is Crossroads Mall. Second place goes to Bellevue Square and King County Library receives third place.

Bellevue loves its pets and Bellevue Animal Hospital receives Best Veterinarian Clinic. Second place goes to Cat & Dog Clinic and Aerowood Animal Hospital comes in third.

Is your pet looking a little rough around the ears? Bellevue voted Best Friends Grooming Salon as the Best Place to get Your Pet Groomed. Second place goes to PetSmart and third is given to Der Pet Haus.

And finally for pets, Best Pet Store goes to Petco, second place to PetSmart and third place goes to Mud Bay.

Starbucks was voted The Best Place for Coffee & Conversation with Tully’s coming in second and Crossroads Mall taking third place.

Nordstrom is still considered the Best Store for Customer Service. GrendelSweets came in second and Fred Meyer came in third.

The Best Day Spa in Bellevue goes to Gene Juarez. Second place goes to Red Door Spa and third place goes to In Spa.

Bellevue loves to garden and our voters choose Bellevue Nursery as Best Plant Nursery. Wells Medina came in second with Home Depot coming in third.

Need new furniture? Greenbaum Home Furnishings was voted Best Place for Furniture. Masins Fine Furnishings came in second and Scan Design came in third.

Best Retirement Community is awarded to Silver Glen Independent Living. The Garden Club is awarded second place and third place goes to Crossroads Retirement.

Our voters said KidsQuest is the Best Place for Kids Activities. Voters give Bellevue Downtown Park second place and third place goes to Crossroads Park.

Bellevue voters believe Bakkers is the Best Dry Cleaner. Bellevue Way Dry Cleaners comes in second and Aloha Cleaners is awarded third place.

Bellevue residents love the consignment and thrift stores we have here. We have a tie for first, second and third place this year. First place Best Consignment/Thrift Store is awarded to both Goodwill and the ReDress Shop. Your Sister’s Closet and the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop take second place and Bellevue Lifespring Thrift Shop and Heart & Home are awarded third place.

Best Place to Buy Jewelry is Alvin Goldfarb. NaHuko comes in second and Macy’s takes third place.

Best Car Dealership in Bellevue goes to Michael’s Toyota. Lexus of Bellevue takes second and Honda Auto Center of Bellevue comes in third.

How about car repair and maintenance? Best Automotive Service Shop is Len’s Automotive. AutoLogic takes second and Greg’s Japanese Auto comes in third place.

Best Camera Store in Bellevue is Omega Photo. Camera West takes second place and Kits Camera comes in third.

It’s probably a good idea to replace your tires BEFORE it snows this year. Best Place to Buy Tires goes to Les Schwab. Discount Tire takes second place and Costco comes in third.

Bellevue believes the Best Place to Buy a Gift is Bellevue Square. Fireworks comes in second and Macy’s and Nordstrom are tied for third place.

Suzanne Singleton of Realogics Sotheby’s is considered Best Real Estate Agent. Beth Billington of Coldwell Banker Bain takes second place and Dave Wahl of Windermere takes third place.

Best Dentist goes to Tigran Khachatryan at A Smiling Heart Dentistry. William Peterson comes in second and third place is awarded to Cooley and Cooley.

Pediatric Associates comes in first place for Best Pediatrician. Dr. Shiner takes second place and Dr. Flowers comes in third.

Best Chiropractic Clinic is Bellevue Center for Health. Second place goes to Tetuan Innovative Chiropractic Care and Advanced Spinal Rehab is third.

If you prefer alternative medicine, Best Alternative Health Clinic is given to Bellevue Center for Health. Creekside Center for Integrative Medicine takes second and Advanced Holistic Health takes third.

Cupcakes, Bakery and Fitness & Health Clubs received the most votes over every category. Guess you go to the gym after eating all the good stuff, Bellevue!

Best Fitness & Health Club is the Bellevue Club. Second place is 24 Hour Fitness and third place is the YMCA.

Best Bakery is the French Bakery. Old Country Bakery is second and Belle Pastry is third.

Best Place for a Cupcake is Trophy Cupcakes. Cupcake Royale is second and New York Cupcakes is third.

Bellevue doesn’t lack for places to go for happy hour. Best Happy Hour is Ruth’s Chris. Second place is Daniel’s Broiler. We have a tie for third place: Mustard Seed Grill and John Howie Steak take third place.

Best Breakfast is awarded to Chace’s Pancake Corral; second place is Denny’s and Lil’ Jons comes in third.

Best Restaurant in Bellevue goes to Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar. Second place is Firenze Ristorante and third place goes to Maggiano’s Little Italy.

Voters said the Food Court at Crossroads Mall has the Best Ethnic Food. Second place goes to Tokyo Japanese Restaurant and third place is awarded to Chantanee Thai.

If you like a spicy meatball, then Pagliacci Pizza is the Best Place for Pizza. Pizzeria Guido takes second place and Tuscan Stone Wood Fired Pizza comes in third.

Our voters said Amoré Chocolates on Main is the Best Chocolate Store. Coming is second is See’s Candies and third place goes to GrendelSweets.

We also discovered some other things that Bellevue voters like. Voters prefer briefs over boxers and coffee over tea. We feel Smart Cars make more sense to drive and would rather visit the beach than the mountains. We favor brunettes over blondes, chicken over beef and Target over Wal-Mart. When asked which leading man is desired, Sean Connery won by two votes over George Clooney!!

Thanks to all who voted this year. As you frequent all the great businesses Bellevue has to offer, make a note on who you think is best so when next year comes around and it’s time to vote, you’ll know who the Best of Bellevue is.