We were absolutely delighted to see a number of our clients receive recognition in the 2012 “Best of the Twin Cities” issue of City Pages magazine. In our business, we get to know our clients pretty well, and so we take a more-than-casual rooting interest in awards like these.

We’ve seen our clients sweat, worry and exult over their businesses (and done a few of those things ourselves). So it’s a sweet feeling to see their inspiration — and perspiration — recognized by the public and the media.

Congratulations to:

The Bachelor Farmer, Best Restaurant. “The talented team at the Bachelor Farmer, assembled by brothers and co-owners Eric and Andrew Dayton, is bringing the simple sophistication of clean flavors and complex textures — like sour and chewy dried cherries, creamy and earthy duck liver pâté, and ripe, salty pistachios — and making them a huge part of this re-imagined smorgasbord experience.”

Tilia, Best New Restaurant. “For a restaurant that feels as comfortable as a worn-in pair of clogs, the food is fantastically refined and a shoe-in for best new restaurant.”

Steven Joel Brown, Best Chef. “Brown radiates ideas, opinions, and stories, and fortunately that quality translates to each meticulously crafted plate of the new brand of comfort food he serves.”

Marvel Bar, Best Cocktails. “A good cocktail should be an experience. At Marvel Bar, it starts with an unmarked side entrance around the corner from its sister business, the Bachelor Farmer, followed by a basement hallway, and, finally, a purple door.”

The Olivetto (Marvel Bar), Best Contemporary Cocktail. “Nothing is more exciting than trying an entirely new cocktail concept for the first time. One of these firsts is the Olivetto at Marvel Bar, a cocktail unlike anything we’ve ever seen or heard of.”

Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 3, Best Local Music Compilation. “The last thing the world needs is another tired Beatles compilation. But right from the start, the Minnesota Beatle Project has been anything but a boring, predictable undertaking.”

And, finally:

Jana Shortal, Best TV Newscaster. OK, Jana’s not actually a client, but you’re damn right we’re claiming her. Not only did we bond with her during her recent, hilarious stint as emcee of the Minnesota PRSA Classics, she also did a classic report on one of our actual clients’ products, the fabulous SweeTango apple. As City Pages put it: “A September report she filed on Minnesota’s new SweeTango apple was rife with puns and bad jokes. Shortal described the apple as such: ‘For real, y’all, the SweeTango is an apple love child, born of a 20-year breeding between Papa Honeycrisp and Mama Zestar.’ The piece ends with Shortal taking a big messy bite and deadpanning flatly, mouth full of apple, ‘It’s like a tango in my mouth.’ ”