Eleven writers for alternative newsweeklies placed in the Association of Food Journalists’ 2003 awards competition.

For newspapers with circulation of less than 150,000, Greg Hugunin of SF Weekly in San Francisco placed first and Jonathan Kauffman of East Bay Express in Emeryville, Calif., placed second in restaurant criticism. Caryn B. Brooks of Willamette Week in Portland, Ore., placed second in the food columns category for smaller newspapers.

For newspapers with circulation between 150,001 and 350,000, Michelle Huneven of L.A. Weekly placed first in restaurant criticism.The L.A. Weekly team of Gendy Alimurung, Anna Thomas, Phranc, Michelle Huneven, Lou Amdur, Nancy Silverton and Jonathan Gold placed third in the category of series, special sections and special projects.

Awards were announced Nov. 1 in Boston, Mass. A full list of winners and links to winning articles can be found at the Association of Food Journalist’s Web site.