Downtown Madness Score Central Update - March 10

It's halftime of the Opening Round of Downtown Madness 2012: Downtown vs. Crosstown. Time for some teams to make a few critical halftime adjustments and come out strong in the second half.

Here are the Downtown Madness voting results thru Saturday, March 10 at 11AM (actual voting totals will be released after Round 1 is completed on Monday, March 12 at 5PM):

DOWNTOWN:

Elgin Public House Turkey Avocado BLT leads Toom Toom Thai Restaurant Nam Tok

Buckinghams Steakhouse Grand Tomahawk leads Villa Verone Gamberi e Casspesante Scampi

Ravenheart Coffee Macadamia Nut White Mocha leads Prairie Rock Bar and Grill Prairie Rock Cuban

Prime Burgerhouse Drunken Bull Burger leads Al's Cafe Roasted Salmon Mediterranean

CROSSTOWN:

Herb's Bakery German Pretzel Roll leads In the Neighborhood Deli Garlic Dijon Chicken Sandwich

Walnut Speakeasy Ribs leads Danny's Pizza Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza

Paul's Family Restaurant Apple Bacon Cheddar Sandwich leads Colonial Cafe Ultimate Grilled Mac and Cheese Melt

Nick's Pizza and Pub Nick's Special leads Big Apple Bagels Big Apple Club

It's gut check time people! Time to bust the brackets and get behind your Elgin alma mater! If you want to see your teams advance to the second round, tell everyone to get in the game and VOTE NOW!

Round 1 voting concludes Monday, March 12 at 5PM.

Our next Downtown Madness Score Central Update will be Sunday, March 11 at 1PM.

Be sure to take the Downtown Madness Pick 'Em Challenge this weekend. Correctly predict the winners of ALL 15 Downtown Madness match-ups round-by-round for your shot at $100 in Downtown Elgin Gift Certificates. Download your Pick 'Em Challenge brackets at www.DowntownElgin.com and submit your picks to DNA, 2 Douglas Avenue, Elgin, IL 60120 by Tuesday, March 13.

And don't forget to pick up your Elgin "Eat 16" punch card at any participating Downtown Madness venue. Visit all 16 and receive punches for trying each "signature dish" in the bracket. Collect all 16 punches to claim your Downtown Madness t-shirt and a chance to score even bigger prizes - including gift certificates to each participating establishment and other great prizes! To qualify, return your completed punch card ticket to DNA, 2 Douglas Avenue, Elgin, IL 60120 by April 4.

Downtown Madness Score Central Update - March 9

We're nearly through the halfway point of the Opening Round of Downtown Madness 2012: Downtown vs. Crosstown. The first half competition has been intense across the board. Many teams have had strong performances thus far and get your glass dancing slippers ready because Cinderella stories are taking shape!

Here are the results thru Friday, March 9 at 4PM (actual voting totals will be released after Round 1 is completed on Monday, March 12 at 5PM):

DOWNTOWN:

Elgin Public House Turkey Avocado BLT leads Toom Toom Thai Restaurant Nam Tok

Buckinghams Steakhouse Grand Tomahawk leads Villa Verone Gamberi e Casspesante Scampi

Ravenheart Coffee Macadamia Nut White Mocha leads Prairie Rock Grill Prairie Rock Cuban

Prime Burgerhouse Drunken Bull Burger leads Als Cafe Roasted Salmon Mediterranean

CROSSTOWN:

Herb's Bakery German Pretzel Roll leads In the Neighborhood Deli Garlic Dijon Chicken Sandwich

Danny's Pizza Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza leads Walnut Speakeasy Ribs

Paul's Family Restaurant Apple Bacon Cheddar Sandwich leads Colonial Cafe Ultimate Grilled Mac & Cheese Melt

Nick's Pizza Nick's Special leads Big Apple Bagels Big Apple Club

This is where the rubber meets the road folks!

If your favorite team is trailing, time to rally the support from friends and family (and their friends and family) to get out and rock the vote.

If your team is leading, don't let off the gas now as no lead is safe in this Big Dance. Empty the bench by telling 10 friends to vote for your team now...and then tell each of them to tell 10 more friends to vote as well!

Bust the brackets and support your favorite Elgin eateries! Round 1 voting concludes Monday, March 12 at 5PM.

Our next Downtown Madness Score Central Update will be Saturday, March 10 at 12PM.

Be sure to take the Downtown Madness Pick 'Em Challenge this weekend. Correctly predict the winners of ALL 15 Downtown Madness match-ups round-by-round for your shot at $100 in Downtown Elgin Gift Certificates. Download your Pick 'Em Challenge brackets at http://www.DowntownElgin.com and submit your picks to DNA by Tuesday, March 13.

And don't forget to pick up your Elgin "Eat 16" punch card at any participating Downtown Madness venue. Visit all 16 and receive punches for trying each "signature dish" in the bracket. Collect all 16 punches to claim your Downtown Madness t-shirt and a chance to score even bigger prizes - including gift certificates to each participating establishment and other great prizes! To qualify, return your completed punch card ticket to DNA by April 4.

Downtown Madness 2012: Downtown vs. Crosstown

Downtown Madness, the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin's award-winning, social media driven restaurant promotion tips off Wednesday, March 7. This year's encore edition pits eight downtown Elgin eateries and their signature dishes against eight of their "crosstown" rivals' in an epicurean battle for Elgin bragging rights, where the public's votes determine the winners round-by-round until a champion is crowned.

The brackets for this year's field of 16 sweet Elgin dishes are set. Here are the opening round match-ups:

DOWNTOWN

Elgin Public House (219 E. Chicago Street) Turkey Avocado BLT vs.
Toom Toom Thai Restaurant (23 S. Grove Avenue) Nam Tok

Villa Verone (13 Douglas Avenue) Gamberi e Cappesante Scampi vs.
Buckingham's Steakhouse (250 S. Grove Avenue inside Grand Victoria Casino) Grand Tomahawk

Prairie Rock Grill (127 S. Grove Avenue) Prairie Rock Cuban vs.
Ravenheart Coffee (176 E. Chicago Street) Macadamia Nut White Mocha

Prime BurgerHouse (250 S. Grove Avenue) Drunken Bull Burger vs.
Al's Cafe (43 DuPage Court) Roasted Salmon Mediterranean

CROSSTOWN

In the Neighborhood Deli (185 Edison Street) Garlic Dijon Chicken Sandwich vs.
Herb's Bakery (1020 Larkin Avenue) German Pretzel Roll

The Walnut Speakeasy (214 Walnut Avenue) Ribs vs.
Danny's Pizza (302 S. McLean Blvd) Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza

Paul's Family Restaurant (1300 Lawrence Avenue) Apple Bacon Cheddar Sandwich vs.
Colonial Cafe (600 S. McLean Blvd) Ultimate Grilled Mac and Cheese Melt

Nick's Pizza & Pub (990 S. Randall Road) Nick's Special vs.
Big Apple Bagels (561 N. McLean Blvd) Big Apple Club

Voters choose their favorites in each of the eight opening round match-ups via the Downtown Madness online voting form, which can be found at http://www.DowntownElgin.com beginning Wednesday, March 7 at Noon. All voters must provide a first and last name and a valid e-mail address. LIMIT ONE ballot per person, per round.

Opening Round voting closes on Monday, March 12 at 5PM. Voters can follow the results with daily updates via Downtown Madness Score Central updates on the DNA Blog at http://downtownelgin.blogspot.com.

The establishments receiving the higher vote totals in each match-up advance to Round 2, which takes place from Friday, March 16 at Noon thru Monday, March 19 at 5PM. Third round voting occurs Friday, March 23 at Noon thru Monday, March 26 at 5PM. The winners of both the Downtown bracket and Crosstown bracket face-off against one another in the Championship Round which takes place between Friday, March 30 at Noon and Monday, April 2 at 11:59PM.

ELGIN "EAT 16" PUNCH CARD PROMOTION

While Downtown Madness voters can pick the winners, they can also punch their "big dance" ticket and to eat, play and win big with a new Downtown Madness punch card promotion known as the Elgin "Eat 16". Thru April 4, individuals can pick up their Elgin "Eat 16" punch card ticket at the DNA office, 2 Douglas Avenue in downtown Elgin, or at any participating venue and receive punches for trying each of the Downtown Madness signature dishes. After collecting all 16 required punches, participants can return their completed punch card ticket to the DNA to score a Downtown Madness t-shirt. They will also be entered into a drawing for a chance to win other great prizes.

DOWNTOWN MADNESS PICK 'EM CHALLENGE

Participants can also take a winning shot at $100 in Downtown Elgin Gift Certificates with the Downtown Madness Pick 'Em Challenge. Participants who Download the Downtown Madness Pick 'Em Brackets and correctly predict the winners of ALL 15 match-ups can score big. Pick 'Em Challenge brackets must be completed and received by the DNA no later than Tuesday, March 13. Submissions can be mailed to DNA, 2 Douglas Ave, Elgin, IL 60120, faxed to (847) 488-1449 or e-mailed to downtownelgin@gmail.com.

In addition to being awarded the Downtown Madness traveling trophy for 2012, the winning establishment will also receive a free "Blue" Level Sponsorship in the City of Elgin's 2012 Fourth of July Parade.

Links to the Downtown Madness online voting form are also available via the DNA's Facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/DowntownElgin or by signing up for their Downtown Neighborhood News Top 10 e-blast. Participating establishments will also have links to the voting form through their individual web sites and social media pages.

During last year's promotion, Elgin Public House's Pulled Pork Sandwich captured the Downtown Madness hardware after holding off Bangkok House and Shanghai Restaurant's Pa-Naeng in a hotly contested Championship Round of voting.

This past October, Downtown Madness was honored with a Lt. Governor's Award for Main Street Revitalization Promotion at the Illinois Main Street Conference and Awards Dinner in Galesburg, Illinois.