It's time for Dining Month, presented by Deer District and its spooky Halloween-themed alter ego, Fear District. Throughout the month of October, we'll be serving up fun and fascinating content about all things food. The signature dish, however, is our 2019 Best of Dining poll, who's winners we will dish out all month long. Get hungry, Milwaukee!

La Masa

It's not just the flavors that are hot in this category. Apparently the competition is as well, as the gap between the top three contenders for Best Central/South American restaurant were separated by less than 30 votes – with a mere 13 votes between first and second place.

For La Masa, it's a lucky number 13 as the Brady Street empanada bar scored its second straight win in the category. The restaurant can thank its menu of tasty pockets of explosive flavors – whether they're more classic fillings, like the Argentine beef or jamon y queso, or some Sconnie-centric snacks like an empanada stuffed with bacon and cheese curds. And best of all, La Masa offers orders of three (and even a dozen), so you mix up flavors and get the best of all worlds. 

C-Viche was on the heart-breaking end of a tight finish for the top spot; but second place is still great, and it comes with the honor of Lori Fredrich's pick. Meanwhile, Chef Paz, Antiqua and El Salvador – the OnMilwaukee editors' choice – filled out the rest of the flavorful top five. 

Runners-up:
2. C-Viche
3. Chef Paz
4. Antigua
5. El Salvador

OnMilwaukee editors' pick: El Salvador

Lori Fredrich's pick: C-Viche