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Gulfport is one of six small towns in the running for "Best for Food" in the 2011 Rand McNally USA Today "Best of the Road" competition.From Cuban, Italian, Jamaican, French, Greek, American and more, Gulfport restaurants had plenty to offer during the Rand McNally USA Today "Best of the Road" contest. Gulfport was a finalist in the "Best for Food" category. Lafayette, LA won for "Best for Food" on Thursday, July 21, 2011. As part of the competition, 15 local restaurants offered sampler plates of their best bites from June 23 to July 23, 2011. If you tried one, please vote! Need a reminder? Check out our photo gallery of all the plates.
The winning cities for the USA Today-Rand McNally "Best of the Road" Rally are: Lafayette, LA: Best for Food Walla Walla, WA: Friendliest Small Town Sandpoint, ID: Most Beautiful Glenwood Spring, CO: Most Fun Rapid City, SD: Most Patriotic Destination The winning towns will be featured in the 2013 Rand McNally Road Atlas and on BestOfTheRoad.com, as well as highlighted on USA Today’s Travel page. The winners were announced at the Destination Marketing Association International Conference in New Orleans on Thursday. As for the winning road rally team, St. Petersburg couple The Fun Finders did …
Last week, Bonnie and Jim Parr of St. Petersburg visited Gulfport. No big deal, St. Petersburg residents come to Gulfport all the time, right? But this was much different. The couple was part of the Best of the Road series sponsored by Rand McNally and USA Today to find the best small towns in the nation. Specifically, the Parrs searched for the best small town in America with the best food. The timing couldn't have been better for the Parrs: Fourth of July Weekend. The City of Gulfport welcomed the Parrs with wide open arms and the couple was treated like royalty from the moment their …
The Fun Finders are leaving today. Bonnie and Jim Parr, one of five teams searching the country for the best small towns in America, picked the perfect weekend to land in Gulfport. Their search for fun proved fruitful. The Parrs are part of BestoftheRoad.com, a project co-sponsored by USA Today and Rand McNally. For the Parrs, their nationwide search is single-minded: to find the best small town with the best food. Reading between the lines from what Bonnie Parr had to say about Gulfport, it just may have an edge with three more towns left, and Parr had yet to sample today's weekly fresh …
Cities throughout the country are celebrating Uncle Sam's 235th birthday today. Gulfport had a bit more to celebrate. In fact, the city is trying to be one of the best hosts in the country this weekend, impressing a couple from the Tampa Bay area in hopes that Gulfport will be known as the best small town for food in America. Bonnie and Jim Parr are part of the Best of the Road competition sponsored by USA Today and Rand McNally. Five couples are zigzagging across America this summer in the search of the best small towns in various categories and the Parrs are searching for the best small …
The Fun Finders are bringing their taste buds to Gulfport. Gulfport is one of six finalists in the 2011 Rand McNally USA TODAY "Best of the Road" contest. Now, the judging is up to the road rally team The Fun Finders. Jim and Bonnie Parr of St. Petersburg are expected to visit Gulfport on the 4th of July. Jim, 67, is a retired mechanic and Bonnie is a retired high school teacher. The couple perform as clowns, volunteer at local organizations and travel around the country. The team is competing for a grand prize of $10,000. The team that does the best job submitting content about their cross-…
Bring your game faces – or should I say taste buds – to Gulfport, road rally team! The 2011 Rand McNally USA Today "Best of the Road" competition kicks off today in New York. You voted, and now it's up to the road rally team. Here's how it works. A two-person team will leave from New York and travel across the country judging the top six online voter picks for Best for Food. Gulfport was named one of the finalists. But, since it's a road trip, we don't know when the team will get here. Local restaurants are gearing up for their arrival and giving all of us a taste of their signature dishes by…
Do we have the best food around? Log onto "Best of the Road 2011" write a review and vote for Gulfport as best small town in America for food. You can even add photos! You can also nominate "Best Places" such as Best BBQ, Best Pizza, Best Coffee Shop, ect. The prize . . . the top towns will be featured in the USA TODAY and Rand McNally's "Best of the Road" cross country rally this summer and will have a spot in the 2013 Rand McNally Atlas next year and appear on USA TODAY's travel website. You can also apply to get even more involved in the USA TODAY and Rand McNally's "Best of the Road 2011…
