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Fore Street: outstanding in its field.

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They’re No. 1: Michelle Taylor and Dave Winsor of WTHT, the country station known as “The Wolf,” were voted Best Local Radio Personality for the sixth time.

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Payson Park is tops with the sledding set, beating out No. 2 Riverside Golf Course.

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In the swim: Best Athlete Ian Crocker

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Don Campbell finished No. 1 in the Singer-Songwriter category.

Just when you think you've heard all you want to hear about stimulus packages, here comes one you'll actually care about:

The Maine Entertainment and Recreation Stimulus Package. You might know it by its more common name, the 23rd Annual Audience Readers' Poll.

Every year, our poll asks readers to vote for their favorite restaurants, pizza, beer, dance clubs, bands, ski hills, lobster roll, coffee, and more. In all, we have 20 categories of food and fun.

Then, after we compile the results, we print the top two vote-getters in each category (sometimes more). These results serve as a guide for Mainers looking for new eateries to try, new scenic places to visit, new experiences to experience.

So it's our aim to have these results stimulate your entertainment and recreational activities.

We had a lot of help this year, with 1,809 people voting either online or by paper ballot.

We had some perennial Portland-area winners, including Ricetta's in the pizza category, which faced stiff competition from Portland Pie Co. and Flatbread.

We also have some names not everyone will recognize right away, such as Club Texas in Auburn, a popular country dance joint complete with mechanical bull.

Besides using the results as a guide, it's also fun just to see if your personal favorites are winners. The poll is meant to let people vote for their favorite Maine people, places and businesses. In this economy, thinking locally is more important than ever.

We also tried to provide some direct stimulus to people who helped us by voting. So we picked at random the names of three voters as winners of cash prizes. They are: $100, Janice Knight of Bath; $50, Denise Sensenig of Greene; and $25, Wanda Storey of Yarmouth.

• DISHIN' IT OUT

BEST RESTAURANT

Fore Street, Portland: 125

DiMillo's, Portland: 59

Fore Street has been piling up accolades since it opened in the Old Port in 1996, including making No. 16 on Gourmet magazine's 2002 list of the top 50 restaurants in the country. And while a lot of restaurants say they are on the water, local legend DiMillo's is one that truly is. It's housed in a converted car ferry, visible from Commercial Street, floating on Portland Harbor.

BEST CHEAP EATS

McDonald's: 62

Becky's Diner, Portland: 55

When I'm on the road, I love McDonald's. I can always find one, I know what to expect, and I know I can fill up for just a little money. But when I want inexpensive food in a one-of-kind setting, I go to bustling Becky's on Commercial Street, where the fishermen eat.

BEST LOBSTER ROLL

Lobster Shack, Cape Elizabeth: 134

Red's Eats, Wiscasset: 94

Here's some good timing: The Lobster Shack, overlooking some spectacular rock-bound coastline, opened for the season Saturday. The place has been in Jeff Porch's family since 1969, and Porch says the lobster roll is popular because it's simple. It's the freshest lobster meat they can find, in a butter-grilled hot dog bun, with mayonnaise and drawn butter on the side.

BEST COFFEE

Dunkin Donuts: 453

Coffee By Design: 188

People like a good cup of joe. Period. So despite the popularity of mochacino lattes and other not-quite-coffee drinks, Dunkin Donuts has stayed a perennial favorite. It's worth noting that the 59-year-old company is a New England outfit headquartered in Canton, Mass. Coffee By Design, a Portland company whose owners are very involved in the local community and the arts, has locations on Congress Street, India Street and Washington Avenue in Portland and at L.L....