For many, when it comes to thoughts of food in November, the first thing that would come to mind is Turkey. But here in Westford, you all showed last year that pizza is beloved first and foremost.

In 2011, you crowned Papa Gino's as the best pizza in Westford. One year later, we're giving them, and Westford's other pizzerias a chance to see if that still holds true, but the rules are a little different this year.

How It Will Work

Each week, we'll have an article up for the contest, starting with this one here.

Voters can support their favorite pizza joint in one of the following ways.

• Commenting on the article in support of your of your favorite pizza place
• Uploading a photo of the food or something else from your favorite pizza place.
• Voting in a poll attached to the article
• Writing a blog post (100 words minimum with picture) in support of your favorite pizza place.

The first three are worth one point a piece while writing a blog post is worth a whopping 50 points.

The Schedule

Week 1: The Prelims (Nov. 2 to 8)

This week, we determine the seeding for the tournament, with the restaurants getting the most points facing off against the ones with the least.

Here are the contestants, if we left out anyone, let us know!

• Papa Gino's
• Pizzeria Presti
• DiNapoli
• The Willows
• Silver Palate
• Domino's
• Sandrino's
• Nashoba Pizza
• Westford House of Pizza
• British Beer Company
• Mangia Mangia

Tiebreaker Round (Nov. 9 to 15)

We had a few ties, so in order to make sure there are eight finalists, we held this tiebreaker round.

Week 2: The Quarterfinals (Nov. 16 to 22)

The top 8  advance, #1. vs. #8., #2. vs. #7 and so on. Scores are reset, winners from this week move on.

Week 3: The Semifinals (Nov. 23 to 30)

The top remaining seed from Week 2 faces the lowest rank seed in one match, with the other two survivors facing off in the other. Scores again are reset.

Week 4: The Finals (Dec. 1 to 7)

The last two restaurants face off for all the marbles.

Other Things to Keep in Mind

• We will close out voting for each week at 5 p.m. on the final day of the week (Thursdays)
• Constructive criticism of the pizzerias is allowed, but any negative comment directed at the opinions of other users is strictly prohibited. This is a friendly contest, and we want to make sure everyone's views are welcome.
• Employees and family members of the businesses are allowed to pitch in and vote for their own pizzerias, but they need to disclose their affiliations. We'll deduct 50 points for each time we find this rule has been violated. 

Good luck to all, and may the best pizza win!

UPDATE 11/8: We'll be pushing back each round one week due to ties in the preliminary round.