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TOP Picks 2008: We asked. You answered.
Results for more than 150 reader and staff picks
FOOD & DRINK
Best Asian:
China Dynasty won our readers’ hearts, but two voters made sure we knew they only liked the one on Lane Avenue.
Best Brunch:
You gotta love a place that leaves a whole pot of coffee at your table. First Watch also offers a lineup of breakfast, lunch and brunch in a friendly environment.
Best Wine List:
The Burgundy Room apparently was a no-brainer for our readers, with two separate voters commenting, “Duh.”
Best Greek:
The Happy Greek, easily.
Best Italian:
In a close race, the boisterous, garlicky, family-style eatery Buca di Beppo wins the crown. Bring a mint.
Best Mexican:
The only competition for El Vaquero seems to be with itself, with voters casting their ballots for specific locations.
Best French:
How Le Chatelaine, a casual French bakery, beat out the pricey, but vaunted, Refectory may be more an indication of the economy.
Best Indian:
A voter said of Indian Oven, “There is NO competition here.” After earning more votes than second and third place combined, it’s hard to argue with that logic.
Best Vegetarian:
Do you find it interesting that the city’s favorite vegetarian restaurant, Dragonfly, is named after an animal? Discuss.
Best Steakhouse:
With long red curtains, rich mahogany furniture and dimmed lights, Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse leaves no luxurious touch to subtlety.
Best Seafood:
Columbus is a long way from the ocean, but Columbus Fish Market manages to overcome geography.
Best BBQ:
In one of the biggest blowouts in this year’s poll, City Barbeque smoked the competition.
Best Farmer’s market: Says one reader, the North Market is “the largest, the oldest and the best.” The Clintonville market, where apparently there lives a “free hog dog lady” comes recommended as runner-up.
Best Pizza:
It’s a lot easier to love a chain when its roots are in your hometown, and Donatos still flings a unique, tasty pie loaded with toppings and light on dough ring.
Best 2 a.m. food:
With its low prices, wonderfully greasy two-bite Slyders, and a cult following, White Castle probably does more business between midnight and 4 a.m. than other burger joints do all day.
Best Deli:
Katzinger’s in German Village is a delicatessen institution.
Best Bakery:
Don’t like eggs, butter or milk in your baked goods? Then stop by Pattycake for its line-up of vegan treats.
Best Wings:
Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants have been springing up n recent years, thanks to a simple focus on the essentials: wings, beer and sports.
Best Subs:
The New Jersey-based Jersey Mike’s edged Donatos by a single vote.
Best Dessert:
Here in the bratwurst belt, we like big food, including our hunks of cheesecake. Go ahead, break your mother’s rule and start with dessert at the Cheesecake Factory.
Best Ice Cream:
The ultra-premium ice cream outlet Graeter’s annihilated the competition.
Best Burger:
The venerable, two-fisted slab of beef from the Thurman Cafe won easily, though our leaner readers managed to vote the veggie burger from Northstar Café into a runner-up spot.
Best French Fries:
So McDonald’s wins. Are you really going to argue that hard?
Best Pub Grub:
With its legendary fish ’n chips and sandwich line-up, Old Bag of Nails was an easy choice in this category.
Best Greasy Spoon:
There might have been a revolt by Columbus’s tragically hip had the Blue Danube not won.
Best Beer Selection:
The chic Short North hangout Bodega beat out its blue-collar competitors.
Best Sushi:
Haiku has long been a favorite in Columbus, and this year is no exception.
Best Place to Lunch:
With a location in the Short North and another in Clintonville, Northstar Café won over the lunch crowd.
Best Coffeehouse:
The local gang at Cup O’ Joe beat out the national powerhouse Starbucks.
Best Small Plates/Appetizers:
In addition to dominating the wine list votes, the Burgundy Room, with its extensive tapas menu, owned this category.
Best New Restaurant:
People can’t seem to get enough of local restaurateur Liz Lessner, and her new Downtown joint Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails, which beat out Cameron Mitchell’s new Italian restaurant, Marcella’s.
Best Overall Eats/Drinks:
For a hip Short North locale, one reader liked Bodega for its cheapness, citing the “$1 grilled cheese!”
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Best Festival:
Running away with the title was Comfest.
Best Art Gallery:
The Mahan Gallery barely beat out its Short North neighbor, Roy G. Biv.
Best Place to Hear Poetry:
TOP’s readers give the snaps to Kafé Kerouac, named after one of the Beat’s founding fathers.
Best Place to See Comedy:
Funny Bone is Columbus’s side-splitorium of choice.
Best Local Band:
In the category that had the most nominations, Reagonomics beat out a looooooong list of contenders.
Best Local Record Label
Weightless Recordings edged out Sunken Treasure by one vote.
Best Local Dance Company:
TOP’s readers apparently don’t appreciate the majesty of dance, as this category garnered the fewest total votes, with BalletMet taking top honors.
Best Museum:
This was one of several wins for COSI this year. The Columbus Museum of Art finished a distant second.
Best Cinema:
The smallish Arena Grand beat out its two indie Drexel brethren and the megaplexes.
Best Charity Event:
Compassion for breast cancer research beat out supporting poor children as Race for the Cure edged out the Andyman-a-Thon.
Best Theater/Performance Space:
The stunning Spanish-Baroque design of the Ohio Theatre beat the Parisian elegance of the Palace Theatre by a 3-to-1 margin.
Best Theater Company:
The plucky bunch at the Contemporary American Theatre Co. beat out other local faves Shadowbox and MadLab.
SPORTS/ FITNESS
Best Local Sports Team:
Buckeyes. Readers largely were appalled we even had to ask.
Best Sports Arena: Nationwide Arena beats the ’Shoe by a healthy margin. Must be all those high school graduations?
Best Martial Arts Studio:
Gracie Jujitsu Academy in Westerville prevails.
Best Yoga:
Yoga on High won the spousal vote. “This is what my wife would say,” one reader replied.
Best 5K/ Marathon Event:
Race for the Cure takes the 5K, with the Columbus Marathon in second.
Best Place to Jog:
It’s not just for pedal pushers. Olentangy Bike Trail beat out Antrim Park.
Best Bowling Lanes:
Columbus Square Bowling Palace easily prevailed. “I want to have my wedding there,” said one questionably devoted reader.
Best Gym/ Sports Facility:
Life Time Fitness won by one vote over the similarly named Lifestyle Fitness.
Best Bike Shop:
Readers suffered no loss of words while describing Trek. “They have inspired me to take biking to that next level,” wrote one.
Best Bike Path:
The Olentangy Bike Path dominates.
Best Public Golf Course:
Municipalities do it best: The City of Columbus’s Raymond Memorial Golf Course comes in first place.
PEOPLE
Best Local Politician:
Mayor Mike Coleman wins with some functional praise: “We need public transportation,” says one reader. A dissenting fan of Mary Jo Kilroy says Coleman “needs to tip better. I know from experience.”
Best Local Artist:
Heather Allen wins the category and a sophisticated review: “She is to art what Roto Rooter is to modern indoor plumbing—a necessity unless you want to be surrounded by shit.”
Best Self-Promoter:
Zachery Allan Starkey. “Love him or hate him – you know him.”
Best Coach:
Give you a guess: rhymes with Tim Jressel.
Best Buckeye:
Another huge surprise here. OSU football coach Jim Tressel is our favorite Buckeye, with James Laurinaitis, or “the Laurinaitis boy” securing second.
Best Blue Jacket:
Rick Nash wins, or at least looks like someone who does. “They all look the same,” says one reader.
Best Crew Member:
It’s been, like, five years since Brian McBride left the Crew to collect his paycheck in Euros, but we’re not quite over him yet.
Best Clipper:
The OG of Clippers, longtime general manager Ken Schnacke, wins, though a reader still gives a nod to Yankees captain Derek Jeter as “the last good one to come through.”
Best Local Actor:
Bexley native Josh Radnor won hearts as the sensitive frontman Ted Mosby in CBS’s How I Met Your Mother—unless readers were recognizing him for his 2001 cameo in Not Another Teen Movie.
Best Local Actress:
MadLab’s Traci Weaver reigns supreme. With one overarching vote going for, “all of them, Yes ALL of them.”
Best Local Comedian:
Sunny 95’s Dino Tripodis says funny things to TOP’s readers.
Best Sound Guy:
Now hear this: sound man Sean Gannon wins in a landslide.
Best Local Columnist:
My Dear Nephew Mike: Retired Dispatch columnist Mike Harden wins over paper-mate Joe Blundo and former TOP political columnist Dan Williamson. We can’t even win our own poll.
Best Sports Reporter:
Channel 10’s Dom Tiberi won in a landslide, with “Whoever is not Dom Tiberi,” receiving one vote.
Best TV Weatherman:
The loveable Jym Ganahl won handily, though one TOP reader raved that runner-up. Chris Bradley was “ours of entertainment on a stormy night.”
Best Overall Local Celeb:
Nobody knows his way around a hissing cockroach like the Columbus Zoo’s Jack Hanna—not even runner-up Channel 10 anchorwoman Andrea Cambern.
MEDIA
Best Blog:
Walker Evans and his ilk from Columbus Underground edge out Robert Duffy’s Donewaiting by a few votes. There’s at least one vote up for grabs next year, as one reader quips, “They are all hogwash.”
Best Radio:
CD101 dominates this category. One reader mourns the format change of 99.7—formerly The Blitz, asking, “does any station in this town play Korn anymore?”
Best Local Newscast:
NBC4 edges WBNS-10TV by a vote.
DAYLIFE
Best Park:
Goodale wins. “Comfest!” says one reader.
Best Neighborhood:
The bohemian Clintonville beats out Grandview by a healthy margin, though apparently, some still fail to recognize the difference between neighborhood and city.
Best Boating/Watersports:
A lack of corpse obstacles gave Alum Creek an edge. It has “less dead bodies than Hoover,” explained one.
Best Employer:
COSI employees are almost twice as happy as those suckers who work at runner-up Nationwide Insurance. Plus they get to put their hands on that metal ball thing that makes your hair stand up.
Best House of Worship:
First Unitarian Universalist Church beat out the Methodists on King Avenue in a spirited race.
Best Zoo Exhibit:
Manatees. “The cows of the sea are fun to look at,” one reader says, though quickly adding the koala “has some serious street cred.”
Best Salon:
Don’t be fooled by the skull and crossbones. Lucky 13 wins, with the slightly more sophisticated Charles Penzone coming in second.
Best Spa:
Charles Penzone wins this one, prompting one devoted fan to ask, “Kenneth who?”
Best Waterpark:
Spell it any way you want it—there were at least eight variations—Zoombezi Bay ran away with the victory.
Best Car Wash:
Sax Fifth Avenue waxes the competition.
NIGHTLIFE
Best Nightclub/Dancing:
BoMA won easily. No penciled in comments required.
Best Live Music Club:
Newport wins. But Carabar came in a close second for thrifty club-goers. “No cover … ’nuff said.”
Best Sports Bar:
Buffalo Wild Wings beats King Avenue 5 for top honors.
Best Gay Bar:
Union Station accommodates all sexual preferences. “A great balance,” of gays and straights.
Best Pub:
Brazenhead edges out Byrne’s and Old Bag of Nails.
Best Singles Bar:
Spice Bar wins handily, although “Indie chicks are hot,” at the Bodega.
Best Campus Bar:
Ugly Tuna Saloona wins.
Best German Village Bar:
High Beck Tavern wins with an impressive number of spelling variations. Club 185 finishes second.
Best Grandview Bar:
Grandview Café. It’s right there in the name.
Best Downtown Bar:
Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails.
Best Clintonville Bar:
Ravari Room wins a dispassionate race.
Best Short North Bar:
Short North Tavern. For some reason, when we’re thinking of taverns in the Short North, we can’t help but be reminded of this bar.
Best Happy Hour:
Bodega. We heard those indie chicks were hot. Ravari Room, “had the crown until they did away with those $5 pies.”
Best Billiards:
Suzi Cue wins, and not just for the name.
Best Jukebox:
Throw some electronic coin into the one at the Ravari Room.
Best Showbar:
Get your minds in the gutter, Columbus! Shadowbox wins the category, according to pure TOP readers. Kahoots and the Dollhouse finish behind.
Best Patio:
Barcelona
Best DJ:
John Yoder, or DJ Suspense, prompted the most ALL CAPS prose from readers. “HE IS A KEWL GUY,” wrote one. “THE BEST OF THE BEST,” ventured another.
Best Open Mike:
Thirsty Ear Tavern
Best Comedy Night:
Surly Girl Saloon.
Best Dive Bar:
You don’t have to feel pretty at Johnnie’s Glenn Avenue Grill. Bier Stube comes in second.
Best Blues Club:
Thirsty Ear Tavern barely wins versus “N/A,” and “We have one?” But the Tavern “is still not as good as the Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis,” suggests one blues fan.
Best Jazz Bar:
Dick’s Den.
Best Country Bar:
It doesn’t take a cowboy to recognize the authenticity of NYOH’s Buckeye Bar.
Best Karaoke Night:
Havana wins, but MoMo2 is hot on their trail.
Best New Bar:
Liquid
Best Overall Bar:
Liz Lessner’s Short North creation, Surly Girl Saloon, is tops. Not to be confused with Tip Top, which can be found Downtown.
COMMERCE/ TRADE
Best Mall:
Easton. As if.
Best Boutique for men:
Dr. MoJoe squeezes in a snug victory over Measure of a Man.
Best Boutique for women:
Intimate apparel enthusiasts rallied for Undone.
Best Jewelry:
Ye old humble goldsmiths and gemologists at Diamond Cellar took the top honors.
Best Bookstore:
We’ll probably never grow tired of getting lost in Book Loft’s 32 rooms.
Best Grocery:
Giant Eagle triumphs with its “Fuel Perks.” Whole Foods finishes second.
Best Lingerie:
Underwear behemoth Victoria’s Secret lost by a wide margin to Undone, the small boutique in Grandview.
Best Wine Shop:
Buy your spirits at Hausfrau Haven.
Best Record Shop:
Used Kids is “full of unexpected and amazing finds,” says a TOP reader.
Best Accessories:
The hip, urban boutique What the Rock? beat, err … The Garden.
Best Dance Studio:
BalletMet won without much of a throwdown.
Best Electronics:
With a name like Best Buy, it has to be good.
Best Organic Food Store:
Whole Foods
Best Place to Buy Buckeye Gear:
Buckeye Corner beats out the Internet and the dumpster after an OSU-Michigan game.
Best Car Dealership:
Everybody remembered Germain.
Best Mechanic/Garage:
Motorkars are “honest and good.”
Best Adult Store:
The Garden. Readers liked it best because “it’s colorful.”
Best Garden Store:
Speaking of colors, Oakland Nursery took top honors.
Best Sporting Goods:
Dick’s
Best Head Shop:
Import House, “not that I know anything about that kind of stuff anyway.”
Best Home/Garden:
The Big Box charm of Lowe’s wins over Oakland Nursery.
Best Furniture Store:
Crate & Barrel.
Best Shoe Store:
DSW. Undone came in second, if you can peel your eyes off the panties.
Best Place to Buy Jeans:
Another victory for Dr. MoJoe.
Best Dry Cleaners:
Swan
Best Apartment Complex:
Arena Crossing edges the Quarry.
Best Bank Credit Union:
Huntington wins with their sweet banking bennies for Huntington employees.
Best Green Company:
COSI. Green goes well with their big purple building.
Best Tattoo:
High Street Tattoo got praise all the way from Dayton. “These guys are amazing. They do everything freehand. Great deals as well.”
Best Thrift Shop:
Goodwill.
PLACES
Best Arts/Entertainment district:
Short North.” We only have ONE arts district,” says one reader, “Until the Discovery District sets up shop,” warns another.
Best Building Downtown:
LeVeque Tower is “the symbol of Downtown.”
Best View:
COSI: “The back of COSI has an amazing view of Downtown. Best place for a private event. Beautiful!”
Best Date Spot That’s not Dinner, a Movie or a Bar:
COSI. All things to all people.
Best Place for Couples:
The bedroom easily beat out the bedroom wink wink. COSI followed. Honest.
Best Place to Take Out-of-Towners:
COSI. We’ve heard the back of the building is lovely this time of year.
Best Place to Walk Your Dog:
Posh pooches will be seen at Goodale Park.
Best Place to Say “I Do”:
Franklin Park Conservatory is perfect, if you can dig deep enough into your pockets. COSI was runner-up. We couldn’t make this up.
Best Place in Ohio for a Daytrip:
Hocking Hills
Best Place to Let Your Kids Run Wild:
COSI. Just be careful not to accidentally take home the mice basketball team.
MISCELLANEOUS
Best Scandal:
Marc Dann reins supreme in this category, although a vote for the lesser-known scandal, Mayor Coleman leaving the trolley meeting early, may hurt the Dems this fall.
Best Use of Taxpayer Money:
Bike paths earned a lot of exclamation points.
Best Waste of Taxpayer Money:
The costly desire for streetcars.
Best Kept Secret:
Shhhhhhh. Columbus itself.
Best Thing That Hasn’t Been Mentioned:
COSI. How embarrassing. They didn’t know they’d be mentioned so many times. Also, one reader wanted to make sure we mention the Dollar Tree on Bethel Road, where apparently “There is so much stuff in that place that is only $1 per item.”
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of theotherpaper.com.
Rufus Blundo Joes dog wrote on Aug 15, 2008 12:07 PM:
" Seriously, old man Harden beats out my owner/best friend and he isn't even writing regular columns anymore? What gives, Columbus. I thought you were cool ...
Blundo is quite angry, let me tell you. He has a quirky-yet-sensible column on the way that'll make you regret this choice! "
Blundo is quite angry, let me tell you. He has a quirky-yet-sensible column on the way that'll make you regret this choice! "
miller wrote on Aug 15, 2008 12:09 PM: