For three years, we’ve held Munch Madness, our annual restaurants tournament modeled after the NCAA March Madness basketball bracket, and in each of those years, one establishment has always appeared in the championship round: Hungry Mother in Kendall Square.
In 2010, the first year, the Southern-style staple was knocked off by the seafood and spice of Inman Square’s East Coast Grill. Both restaurants climbed back to the finals the following year, with Hungry Mother exacting revenge and winning.
Last year, our readers crowned Hungry Mother the champion once again, voting out its nearby neighbor Craigie on Main. Three years, three finalists from Cambridge. As we set the field for this year’s tournament, will there be a new challenger to stick a fork in the competition?
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Check out our bracket of 64 restaurants, divided roughly between contestants from the previous year and new entrants. Make your picks, then log on to www.boston.com/munchmadness to cast your vote. You’ll find information about each restaurant to help you decide, and a chance to sound off on why your favorites deserve to move on.
Voting for Round 1 starts March 20 and goes through March 21. For Round 2, vote March 22-23. Round 3 takes place March 24-25, and Round 4 on March 26-27. That leads us to the Final Four, March 28-29. Voting for the championship will be March 30-31. We’ll tally the results and announce them online April 1.
This year, the restaurants that previously have made the finals are all on the same side of the bracket, ensuring some fresh blood in the championship round.
Glenn Yoder can be reached at gyoder@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @glennyoder.