by The Inlander

THE ARTS

BEST LOCAL PLAY OR MUSICAL

SINGIN, IN THE RAIN

(SPOKANE CIVIC THEATRE)

Director Kathie Doyle-Lipe's revival of singin' in the rain at the Civic in October is best remembered for several emblematic moments: Cameron Lewis, in the Donald O'Connor sidekick role of Cosmo Brown, slapping on a Viking helmet, tumbling out of a cart and convincing us that he had rubberized limbs in "Make 'em Laugh"; Alyssa Calder-Day's combination of an impressive voice with girl-next-door approachability in "You Are My Lucky Star"; and, of course, Andrew Ware-Lewis swirling around a lamppost (with actual rain falling out of the rafters!), just as Gene Kelly does in our dreams and all those Oscar montages.

With all the rain and old-timey silent movies and large-scale tap numbers and trunks full of costumes, Peter Hardie (technical director), David Baker (scenic and lighting design) and everyone at the Civic deserves much credit for taking on the challenge of recreating movie icons. (MB)

2nd Place: Bus Stop (Interplayers); 3rd Place: Peter Pan (Coeur d'Alene Summer Theater)

BEST TOURING MUSICAL

ANNIE

In the 30 years since its Broadway premiere, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin's musicalized ANNIE has asked the big questions: Where do I come from? How are families created and sustained? How can our nation rebound from bad circumstances? How can we snag optimism out of bleakness? Annie's no philosophical tract, but its adaptability explains its continuing success: We've all felt lonely and overwhelmed — but with a trusty dog, a chipper president and a sugar daddy, the answers to your problems will just be, always, a day away.

The highlights of the touring version that danced through the INB Center in February included Ming Cho Lee's off-kilter orphanage interior and grandly curved staircase for the billionaire's mansion; theater veteran Conrad John Schuck's gruff egghead take on Oliver Warbucks; Alene Robertson's dowdy, irritable orphanage director, Miss Hannigan; the non-curly-headed gumption of Marissa O'Donnell in the title role; and of course, the aw-shucks obedience of a dog named Lola in the role of Annie's trusted canine companion. Just as Annie the girl finds a home to live in, Sandy the dog also finds someone to love. And that's why folks keep flocking back to Annie. (MB)

2nd Place: Hairspray; 3rd Place: Chicago

BEST COMMUNITY EVENT

PIG OUT IN THE PARK

Here's what the week leading up to Labor Day means around here: Strolling up to a food booth in Riverfront Park with $7 in your pocket and stepping away with some gourmet food. (On a stick!) Middle-aged guys back-slapping and chugging beers in a beverage garden before whooping it up during a blues musician's set. Kids clinging to Mom with one hand while using the other one to smear their faces with cotton candy. People dressed in comfy, wispy clothes for the September heat.

Funnel cakes and tank tops, spring rolls and roller blades, tacos and tattoos, chicken fried steaks and sun visors, elephant ears and beer bellies — Pig Out presents an array of aromas, a cornucopia of comestibles. You start browsing, and next thing you know, you've sampled the Italian and the Mexican and the Chinese and the Thai. Your wallet may be lighter, but your stomach is full. And while summer may be drawing to a close, at least PIG OUT IN THE PARK has helped you in the process of storing up for winter. (MB)

2nd Place: Hoopfest; 3rd Place: Bloomsday

Best North Idaho Community Event: Ironman

BEST CHARITY EVENT

COACHES VS. CANCER GALA

COACHES VS. CANCER is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The idea is to use the celebrity of big-time college basketball coaches to turn golf tournaments and black-tie dinners into fundraising efforts in the fight against cancer. Here in Spokane, Gonzaga's Mark Few has been the spearhead of an effort that, in just five years, has raised more than $1.5 million for the ACS. The August golf tournaments at Spokane Country Club and Indian Canyon have attracted coaches like Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, and while Few's wife Marcy has hosted the "BasketBall Gala" at the Davenport Hotel; next summer's gala is at Northern Quest. (MB)

2nd Place: Orange County Choppers for Boys & Girls Club; 3rd Place: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

BEST ART GALLERY

The MAC

Part of what makes the MAC's art gallery experience artful is the gallery itself: the entrance at ground level, that taste of contemporary art in the In Focus space, the descent to the fluid, versatile cluster of galleries that branch to the left after you cross the ramp with its view of the enormous main gallery below.

Ben Mitchell, the MAC's curator of art, has only been on the job for six months, so he emphasizes that he can't crow about the museum's last year of art shows, including Kathryn Glowen's "Petland" (objects assembled from the life of a Spokane pet store owner) and Scott Fife's "Big Trouble" (oversize cardboard sculptures of 1905 Idahoans).

"The Gaylen Hansen show makes the case," says Mitchell, referring to the WSU professor's paintings that are on display through Aug. 5. "But these are all one-person shows."

Eventually, Mitchell intends to bring "conceptual" shows involving the work of several artists to the galleries in Browne's Addition. He emphasizes, moreover, that other curators in the area — whether at academic, municipal or for-profit institutions — do such a fine job that, he says, "I was almost surprised that the MAC won" in this category. (MB)

2nd Place: Lorinda Knight; 3rd Place: Tinman

Best North Idaho Art Gallery: The Art Spirit

BEST ARTS FESTIVAL

ART ON THE GREEN

We think it's the resort and the restaurants and the lake. Plus all those grassy areas. Last August, for the 38th time, Art on the Green brought more than 130 visual artists and crafts makers to the campus of North Idaho College. The jewelry and the paintings, the strolling crowds, the musical flavors — everything from jazz to New Age, from bluegrass to East Indian and folk — all contribute to a highly anticipated, bucolic-yet-highbrow event. Organizers are obviously doing something right: They're getting 50,000 people to show up on a college campus — during the summer.

Sometimes the best musical and artistic education is the one you seek out voluntarily. And while wearing flip-flops.

But Art of the Green's outlying attractions — the fact that it takes place so near parks and historic neighborhoods and beaches — really seal the festival's deal. It's the coolest way to combine summer frolicking with serious-minded art-hunting, and it truly provides Coeur d'Alene's best summertime "marketplace, performance space and gathering place." (MB)

2nd Place: Artfest; 3rd Place: Farm Chicks

BEST LOCAL MUSICIAN

SAMMY EUBANKS

Though most of the superstars he's opened for play country music (Collin Raye, Kenny Chesney, Merle Haggard, etc.), SAMMY EUBANKS is the proud recipient of the Inland Empire Blues Society's Best Male Blues Vocalist award. "I swing both ways," he says, insisting that people will dance to anything, so long as you package it right.

"We're at the Slab [Inn] this weekend, which is pretty darn country," he says, "but they get filled up on dancin' fluid, though, and they want some rockin' blues." Conversely, "At those blues gigs you can play a country-based song so long as you don't let anybody know," he says dryly. "You'll get them tapping their toes."

"I like to pattern myself after Delbert McClinton," says Eubanks. He plays both without differentiation and it works for him, he says, concluding simply, "It's all entertainment." He's certainly right about that. (LB)

2nd Place: Cary Fly; 3rd Place: Cory Howard

BEST CONCERT

BROOKS & DUNN

THE SPOKANE ARENA

Here's how you know that, in addition to being country music superstars, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks are also just regular guys. During their Spokane Arena concert last October, the duo noticed a man in the front row talking on his cell phone and called him on it. I mean, come on, in the middle of a concert? But the guy's response was surprising: "My brother couldn't take in the concert tonight, so..." B&D waded into the crowd, talked to the brother on the phone for a bit, then planted the cell right on top of the grand piano and let the brother listen all night long.

It's that kind of common touch that has made this singer-songwriter duo so popular. Most associated with the country line-dancing craze of the early '90s and with the campaign theme songs of George W. Bush, BROOKS & DUNN truly are "hillbillies deluxe." You've gotta "Believe" in the power of "Boot Scootin' Boogie." (MB)

2nd Place: Tom Petty (Spokane Arena);

3rd Place: Nickelback (Spokane Arena)

BEST LOCAL BAND

BEST LOCAL BAND NAME

INTERMISSION / THE LET UP

Every day at 11 am, on the second floor of a tiny house near Rochester Heights Park in northeast Spokane, the band formerly known as INTERMISSION bangs out alt-rock that echoes through the neighborhood. It's an inauspicious location for Spokane's favorite band to play, but they've been trying to keep a low profile.

Intermission is dead for all intents and purposes. Its members have been spending months retooling into something they can be more proud of. Even the name was abhorrent to them. "I think Intermission is the most terrible name," says frontman/mastermind Cory Howard with spite. Ironic, then, that they'd also win for best band name.

It's a testament to past success that, despite not playing any gigs for months at a time last year, Intermission came out well ahead in the bands race. Or maybe, it's a testament to a clever marketing stunt aimed at clearing out tons of now-useless Intermission merchandise. Trying to get rid of a hundred T-shirts and other items, Howard and company set off to the STA Plaza on a free ride day to play and hawk their wares. In the end, tons of people heard and liked them, from band accounts, but they didn't sell a single piece of merch. "I guess people riding the bus for free aren't looking to spend money," Howard concludes.

So they're left considering taking three crates of merch to Goodwill en masse. Howard wonders, "Is that a tax write-off?"

Probably, though the band might think about keeping the shirts, at least in the short term. As they start again on the long road of getting their new band, THE LET UP, out there, it would be beneficial to connect it with an older band that was, for a time, Spokane's favorite. (LB)

Best Local Band

2nd Place: Fat Tones;

3rd Place: The Trailer Park Girls

Best Local Band Name

2nd Place: Fat Tones; 3rd Place: The Trailer Park Girls

FOOD & DRINK

BEST MEXICAN FOOD

AZTECA

Azteca has won our readers poll for best Mexican food so often that it's hard to remember it all began with the vision of four brothers from Cuautla, Mexico. They brought recipes for their mother's luscious tamales, quesadillas and chiles rellenos north to the Seattle area where they established their first AZTECA restaurant in the mid-'70s. Since 1991, Spokane diners have enjoyed Azteca's dizzying array of Mexican-American dishes, featuring freshly made tortillas and salsas. From more traditional flautas and borregos to award-winning nachos and fajitas, Azteca has Mexican-American cuisine covered — not to mention the zesty margaritas. And not only is the food great, but portions are muy grande. The comfortable, colorful, hacienda-style atmosphere makes diners think they've taken a trip south of the border. Service at the family-owned restaurants is friendly, efficient and accommodating without being overbearing. With locations in downtown Spokane, at Northpointe and in the Valley, diners don't have to go far to satisfy their hankering for something spicy. (SH)

2nd Place: Rancho Chico; 3rd Place: Casa de Oro

BEST ITALIAN FOOD

LUIGI,S

With the tried-and-true formula of good food and good service, LUIGI'S once again takes the crown for Best Italian Food.

"We have a great staff, great recipes — and unlike a lot of chain restaurants, we're locally owned and serve homemade food," says owner and general manager Marty Hogberg. "Very little of what we use is processed or frozen or pre-made. It shows in our quality and makes a big difference."

Hogberg also thinks the upscale menu of veal and seafood items has contributed to Luigi's success. They proudly boast their signature smoked salmon lasagne as having been written up in Gourmet magazine, and they're the only restaurant in town to offer the popular gnocchi Alfredo. Spaghetti with the works also sells well, as does the soup and salad bar for lunch.

Hogberg says he is asked all the time about expansion to new locations, but his immediate priority is finishing the development of his current building, which will include an outdoor café on the west side. (MLO)

2nd Place: The Olive Garden; 3rd Place: The Italian Kitchen

BEST FINE DINING

BEST ROMANTIC RESTAURANT

BEST SERVICE

CLINKERDAGGER

CLINKERDAGGER is one romantic restaurant, just not (necessarily) when you're dining with kin. The 33-year-old Spokane institution has raked in the Best Of awards over the years, and '07 is no different. The Dag (as I call it) won for 1) fine dining, 2) romantic atmosphere and 3) service. Sitting across from Shane, my little brother, with a gorgeous view of the Flour Mill parking lot, I decided to test them out only on categories one and three. For the middle category, I'd need to rely on memory.

And lo, 1) the dining was fine indeed, and not as wallet-bustingly expensive as you might expect. For a mere 20 clams, I had a simple, delicious grilled salmon. Shane's steak, judging by how he tried to fit the whole thing in his mouth at once, was also good.

I had expected the exact opposite of 3) Best Of quality service, judging by the swankiness of the joint and the fact that Shane and I were dressed like plumbers and journalists respectively, which means we must have looked filthy, poor and shifty. The waitress, though, was very prompt and cordial, hopping around spryly and cracking the odd joke. The light in her eye dimmed, though, I noticed, when Shane changed his mind from the filet mignon to the top sirloin, a decision that would cost her $12 in tippable revenue. The waitress should take solace that the added cost of the filet, had he opted for it, probably would have come out of her tip. I'm a baller on a budget.

I won't trouble you with my gauzy recollections of 2) romantic atmosphere. Suffice it to say that Clinkerdagger is the classiest place in town that'd let a shlub like me entertain a lady. It deserves the considerable accolades it has amassed. (LB)

Best Fine Dining

2nd Place: Luna; 3rd Place: Spencer's

Best North Idaho Fine Dining: Beverly's

Best Romantic Restaurant

2nd Place: Luna; 3rd Place: Spencer's

Best North Idaho Romantic Restaurant: Beverly's

Best Service

2nd Place: Luna; 3rd Place: Downriver Grill

Best North Idaho Service: Beverly's

BEST MEAL FOR

LESS THAN $5

DICK'S

I feel like an imposter about to be discovered. How can I call myself a food writer if I don't know DICK'S? On a weekday at 12:15 pm, cars zip in and out of the parking lot, some of them nicer than mine and some looking like they've been rode hard and put away wet. I stand by the window for just a short wait before placing my order: a quarter-pound burger, fries and a shake. Now I can count myself among the converted — for $3.75, I got more food than I could eat in one sitting.

Lots of other people in Spokane know Dick's, though, as evidenced by the full parking lot — as well as the drive-in's stranglehold on our cheap eats category. Ever since 1960, Dick's has served up burgers and Whammys, fish and fries, shakes and sodas to generations of Spokanites, earning a reputation for selling good stuff cheap. The burgers are fresh, not frozen, and the fries are cut from real potatoes. The shakes come thick and smooth without being syrupy sweet. And you can't beat the view of the Division Street off-ramp — it's a slice of human drama, right beyond your windshield. (AC)

2nd Place: Taco Bell; 3rd Place: Zip's

BEST SANDWICHES

DOMINI,S

One fine day in the land beside the river, Mr. Pastrami Head had a wonderful idea: He would call his friends and they would all go have sandwiches for lunch!

In olden times, Mr. Pastrami Head would ask his secretary to call the secretaries of his friends. But now everybody has technology so the friends do texting and messaging all by themselves. It makes them happy because they see themselves as lords of the land beside the river, downtown power players who do mighty things — like texting — and who like to have big, meaty sandwiches and talk importantly to each other about "economic development" and "revitalizing the core."

They all have regular names of course (some even have titles) and they wear important businessman suits and shiny shoes, but when they walk into DOMINI'S SANDWICHES a magic thing happens — they are revealed for who they really are.

Look, it's Mr. Full Turkeyprovolonefrench with Ms. Halfhamcheddarwhite. Such is the powerful magic at Domini's that Mr. Pastrami Head and his friends never feel insulted.

"Hey, buddy. Hey, buddy," the Dominis sing when the door opens. The popcorn pops and the popcorn air makes everybody sigh. Mmmm. More people come in. "Hey, buddy. Hey, buddy." They are led across the popcorn floor to small tables where they talk importantly and make grand gestures. They try to fit lunch in their mouths. "Look at this sandwich," they say. "It's so big!" they exclaim.

Then one thinks out loud about becoming the next strong mayor of the land beside the river. Sez you, Mr. Pastrami Head, the others scoff.

(This true fairy tale brought to you by Smallroastbeefswiss Mustardonlydarkrye.) (KT)

2nd Place: Subway; 3rd Place: Quizno's

BEST PIZZA

DAVID'S PIZZA

My pizza-loving East Coast soul rejoiced when DAVID'S PIZZA hit the scene. Apparently a lot of other people feel the same way, because the Gonzaga neighborhood mainstay is at the top of the heap yet again.

The toughest decision at David's is which variety to try. Should I go for the pesto this time, maybe the one with fresh tomato slices on top? Or the classic Thai chicken, with its spicy peanut sauce and chunks of chicken meat? The Hawaiian, combining salty and savory Canadian bacon with sweet and tart pineapple, is another favorite. And there's always pepperoni.

Each variety begins with a fresh hand-tossed crust — the foundation of a great pizza. There's lots of fresh garlic around, along with plenty of whole-milk mozzarella. Add it all up and you've got a pizza worthy of Michelangelo's masterpiece. You can get a whole pie or just a slice or two, whatever you need. And nothing sets off those slices like the classic red-and-white checkered liner paper. (AC)

2nd Place: Bennedito's Pizza; 3rd Place: Papa Murphy's

Best North Idaho Pizza: King Pizza

BEST BURRITOS

IONIC/SONIC

This local burrito-shop-that-could has weathered the storm of changing its name from SONIC to IONIC last fall. It was no small feat for this David taking on the Goliath of national chain Sonic Drive-In. The surrounding Gonzaga community and local businesses supported Ionic co-owner Melissa Massie in her fight to keep her business even though she had to buckle under an expensive name change. Even the nearby Sonic Drive-In kicked in with financial aid. But legal wrangling aside, Ionic has some great fare — no doubt due to the fresh ingredients, gourmet salsas and hot sauces that make up its custom burritos. From the Thai Burrito's teriyaki chicken and spicy peanut sauce to the Mediterranean's feta cheese and Greek relish, there's a burrito for everyone's tastes — all washed down with microbrews or wine. Now everyone can enjoy Ionic's massive hand-rolled burritos, beverages and live weekend entertainment, and can take heart that, against an assault by the corporate world, a local business came out swinging. (SH)

2nd Place: Slick Rock; 3rd Place: Qdoba

BEST WINE LIST

NIKO'S

A wine list is about more than just a lot of wines. For a restaurant to have a good wine list, it needs to offer variety; if it's going for excellence, it needs to offer truly distinguished wines.

Some wine lists go for bulk, arriving at the table printed, bound and annotated, listing hundreds of bottles of obscure and far-flung wines. Others limit their quantity and shower diners with quality — trophy vintages, boutique wineries — or professional attention. And others are comprehensive, containing all the wines from Asphyxx-en-Provence or some such locale.

But NIKO'S has developed the wine list that Inlander readers call their favorite by excelling in drinkability. There's the usual table-thumping guide to the (rather extensive) cellar, but the restaurant also offers a one-page, more informal approach. "Flights" of wine, featuring several small glasses of different red or white wines, can be poured to accompany a flight of hors d'oeuvres. Wines by the glass (16 whites, 24 reds) offer more substantial accompaniments. The wine bar also has a list entitled "Forty Great Wines Under $40" that's a fusion of strong Washington and Italian table wines. The big guide itself displays admirable quirks, letting wine snobs show their stuff. (Just note how they temper a rambunctious Bordeaux lineup with a minerally foray into the Rhone valley when it comes to France.) (MD)

2nd Place: Luna; 3rd Place: Vin Rouge

Best North Idaho Wine List: The Wine Cellar

BEST STEAKS

SPENCER'S

Iced oysters on the half-shell can be slurped in this clubby, wood-paneled, martini-strewn restaurant. It's also possible to find a rare, retro iceberg lettuce salad. And at lunchtime, the restaurant serves trendy sandwiches such as Kobe beef burgers and salmon BLTs. But it's the steaks — USDA prime beefsteaks, available for lunch or dinner — that SPENCER'S has made its reputation on, and it's the steaks that Inlander readers love most.

Sure, there are other meats to be had at Spencer's (pork, halibut and chicken if you like that sort of thing). There is even other food to be had at Spencer's — including a good range of genuine bistro-style vegetables — ordered a la carte so as not to contaminate the meat with too much plate architecture. But why worry about other food when a slab of highly marbled beef is lying seared (using infrared technology!) on a plate in front of you? (MD)

2nd Place: Wolf Lodge; 3rd Place: Outback Steakhouse

BEST VEGGIE MENU

MIZUNA

A beef burger on the menu? Sure, because all cows are vegetarians. If you stop and think about it, cows are made of grass and corn. If you are what you eat, then you can think of beef as simply naturally processed vegetables.

OK, so the logic is strained. And the proprietors of Mizuna don't subscribe to it at all. They've built a solid reputation by offering a creative, healthy menu to the vegetarian and vegan community in Spokane, and have once again been voted by Inlander readers as having the Best Vegetarian Menu. They're not trying to change anyone's mind about anything.

Mizuna owner Mike Jones told The Inlander earlier this year that he thinks people are looking for heavier food in the colder months. Something more substantial — like a burger. "We're just kind of reaching out," he says.

Known for an extensive selection of fine wines and a pleasant atmosphere, Mizuna remains committed to its vegetarian patrons, as well as to using only organic produce, line-caught fish, and hormone-free, free-range chicken and beef whenever possible. (MLO)

2nd Place: Huckleberry's; 3rd Place: Pita Pit

BEST BAKERY

THE ROCKET

For a newcomer to Spokane, the very presence of the ROCKET empire is a kind of pastry-laden, caffeinated welcome, complete with comfortable seating and plug-ins for laptops. And the fact that one Rocket is not a clone of every other adds to the joy. Though we hope the eight stores produce great, swift-flowing streams of revenue, they feel neither slick nor corporate, but entirely homegrown. Apart from the addictive qualities of the orange cream muffin — which doesn't quite rise to the level of meth, but doesn't lag far behind — we find it hard to say a word against our beloved Rocket.

And why should we? There is no fine print here, no warnings or disclaimers. (Well, maybe a caveat emptor on the comically overpriced designer chocolate at the Rocket Market on 43rd.) If a stale croissant or two has crept in among the multitudes of fresh pastries over the years, we never heard of it. We come in, we hand over our Rocket card (that way, we're not spending real money, ya' know), we are served by the cheerful baristas, settling down with yet another orange cream muffin and maybe a Generra if we're feeling particularly sassy that day. We hang out with our friends, we watch the world go by, and we are content. (SS)

2nd Place: Rockwood Bakery; 3rd Place: Great Harvest

BEST BURGERS

BEST KID-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

RED ROBIN

You can get more than two dozen different kinds of burgers at RED ROBIN — everything from the Pot Roast Burger (gravy, onions, horseradish and more slathered over an open-faced bun) to the Monster Burger (two patties) to the Burger Parmigiana (tomato sauce over fried mozzarella).

Alisha D'Agostino, manager of the downtown Red Robin, reports that the Gourmet Cheeseburger (according to the menu, "the one upon which we have built our fame!") remains the most popular choice. (You can choose one of seven different kinds of cheese to go on that one.)

"And tell people that the Peppercorn Burger is coming back," D'Agostino emphasizes. (Apparently, lots of customers cried out for their peppercorn patties after those folks at corporate HQ took it off the menu — temporarily.)

At peak capacity, Red's kitchen can handle 18 burgers at a time, each of which cooks in three and half minutes over briquettes on a rotating Nieco broiler with three tracks: one for your chicken burgers, one set at 160 degrees for your "pink 'n' juicy" burgers, and a 175-degree belt for your "no-pink" burgers.

As for the kid-friendly factor — well, whenever Red himself appears in the aisle, your adorable son can have himself a grand time poking that oversize robin right in his big fat bird belly. But other restaurants offer mascots and crayons and silly birthday songs. What makes Red Robin any different?

"It's because adults can come in here and have a nice meal, too," says D'Agostino. "The kids can do their thing, but we cater to the parents and grandparents, too. We have TVs so Dad can catch up on sports."

Dad can belly up to Red's full bar as well, though D'Agostino hastens to point out the large proportion of non-alcoholic drinks that RR sells.

All the better to wash down a treat like the 5 Alarm Burger (pepper jack cheese and salsa with jalapenos). (MB)

Best Burgers

2nd Place: The Onion; 3rd Place: D'Lish's

Best North Idaho Burgers: Hudson's

Best Kid-Friendly Restaurant

2nd Place: Chuck E. Cheese's; 3rd Place: Tomato Street

BEST CHOCOLATE

SPOKANDY

Imagine Spokane in 1913. There was no Davenport Hotel. The railroads brought both mining wealth and hardscrabble workers into town. And in the midst of all, there was a candy shop that sold wonderful, unique little gems called Murphys: a whipped vanilla filling hand-dipped in milk chocolate, rolled in freshly toasted coconut and turned into a golf ball-sized treat.

These delectable morsels are still the heart and soul of SPOKANDY, the local chocolatier and candy manufacturer on Third Avenue, with additional retail outlets at NorthTown, Spokane Valley Mall and Ironwood Center in Coeur d'Alene. The company's biggest effort now is in the wholesale business, sending Spokandy products all over the Northwest and south to California; they also do a big corporate business, making chocolates imprinted with logos and trademarks.

As owner Todd Davis gives me the tour of the candy case — solid chocolate bunnies, truffles, hand-dipped butter creams, nut bark, clusters and the classic pastel butter mints, along with a full range of low-carb sugar-free offerings — a customer comes in, walks up to the counter and announces, "I've come for some Murphys." The tradition continues. (AC)

2nd Place: Hallet's; 3rd Place: Boehm's

BEST SUSHI

RAW

A few years ago, it was hard to find sushi in Spokane. Now it's hard to choose where to go. But RAW tops the list, according to our wise and discerning readers. The restaurant expanded last August, spreading into the space next door and more than doubling the capacity. They've also expanded to a full liquor license, meaning you've got lots more choices of what to drink with that sashimi. The menu offers plenty of choices, too, but the rolls with a little tempura crunch seem to be the most popular. The Okane roll has tempura shrimp rolled up with avocado and topped with barbecued eel, cream cheese and sesame seeds; Da Bomb starts with tuna, salmon, avocado and cream cheese, all rolled up into rice and quickly deep-fried to give a light, tempura-quality crunch to the outside. For extra zing, check out the Firecracker — it's Da Bomb with lots of extra spicy stuff added. If sushi's not your thing, there are plenty of island-style entrées and curries. Even if you don't think you're into sushi, dive in and try a California roll — it's kinda like sushi with training wheels. (AC)

2nd Place: Bluefish; 3rd Place: Sushi.com; Best North Idaho Sushi: Takara

BEST ASIAN FOOD

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

BEST DISH

P.F. CHANG'S

After galloping into downtown Spokane last fall, P.F. CHANG'S has been a new-restaurant success story. Reservations for weekend evenings are often filled by Wednesday, says manager Raj Tubati, unless you'd like your dinner at 4 pm or after 9. Lunchtime is busy, too — and expect the action to heat up even more once the weather warms up and the outdoor dining patio reopens.

Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., P.F. Chang's now boasts about 150 locations from Boston to Honolulu. The menu draws inspiration from across China, and the atmosphere is decidedly casual-upscale American, with granite, tile, dark wood and sleek lighting fixtures throughout. It's that blend of cultures that draws people in — along with the wide-ranging menu. You'll find traditional favorites like lo mein or beef with broccoli alongside surprises like Shanghai cucumbers and wild Alaskan sockeye salmon with ginger.

Not only did P.F. Chang's take top honors in the Best New Restaurant category, but the downtown eatery also topped voting for Best Asian Food, beating out the perennial favorites at Mustard Seed. And the newcomers nabbed another win: Best Dish. Yep, more Spokane diners voted for the Chang's CHICKEN IN SOOTHING LETTUCE WRAPS than any other dish among area restaurants. The appetizer (there's also a vegetarian version made with tofu) is the restaurant's signature dish nationwide, riding the tide of low-carb popularity.

What makes the lettuce wraps so special? There's the play-with-your-food factor of wrapping your own, plus the study in contrasts. Take a crisp, cold, cupped leaf of iceberg lettuce, fill it with hot garlicky wok-seared chicken in a brown sauce, then roll it up and try to eat it before it leaks. It's probably not a first-date dish, but it's a savory treat that puts the fun back into dining. (AC)

Best Asian Food 2nd Place: The Mustard Seed; 3rd Place: Gordy's

Best North Idaho Asian Food: Bonsai Bistro

Best New Restaurant 2nd Place: Wild Sage; 3rd place: Vin Rouge

Best Dish 2nd Place: Pad Thai, Riverview Thai; 3rd Place: Meatloaf, Moxie

BEST THAI FOOD

THAI BAMBOO

We love a good pad Thai; so do you, apparently. And the place to go is one of three locations of THAI BAMBOO. The restaurants aren't fancy on the outside, but inside is all East Asian exoticism. The menu contains all the usual suspects: crispy deep-fried spring rolls, curries in red, green and yellow, and the aforementioned pad Thai. Also delicious are some of the lesser-known items on the menu. One of my favorites is the larb gai, a salad of tender chicken and fresh vegetables in a spicy lime dressing redolent with cilantro and mint. If you've never tried the fresh rolls — like spring rolls only not deep fried; just rice wrappers holding freshly cut veggies, noodles, tofu and prawns, ready for dipping in a spicy peanut sauce — do yourself a favor and check them out. And don't forget dessert (I love the mango slices on sticky rice with coconut milk) and a refreshing Thai iced tea.

And good news for North Idaho diners; Thai Bamboo plans to open up its fourth location this summer on Fourth Avenue in Coeur d'Alene. (AC)

2nd Place: Riverview Thai; 3rd Place: Linnie's

BEST BREAKFASTS

FRANK'S DINER

The folks at FRANK'S DINER are the perennial champs in the annual march toward breakfast perfection. Ever since the classic old railroad car opened up at Third and Maple in 1991, Frank's has been the go-to place for breakfasts reminiscent of the good old days of diner-speak. And now that Spokane has a second Frank's up north, there's twice as much opportunity. You can find favorites like eggs benedict, chicken fried steak and Joe's Special (eggs, spinach, onion and ground beef), along with pancakes and French toast alone or in combination. The tables are fun, set next to windows full of railroad memorabilia, but my favorite place to sit is at the long counter, where I can watch the cooks work their magic at the grill and listen to the friendly banter among cooks, servers and customers.

And the best part about breakfast at Frank's? You can get it all day long, from the 6 am daily till well into the evening. (AC)

2nd Place: Old European; 3rd Place: Kalico Kitchen

BEST SEAFOOD

ANTHONY'S

Keeping in mind the three Ls of real estate, ANTHONY'S has not only the best seafood, according to Inlander readers, but also one of the best locations in town to enjoy it. Praised for high-quality seafood offerings and a stylish atmosphere, the downtown restaurant is perched atop a sheer cliff overlooking the Spokane River's upper falls.

"We have our finger on the market in the seafood industry better than anyone in the region," says assistant manager Mike Saccone, "because we have direct contact with the fisherman." Anthony's has its own wholesale seafood company, with product flown in from Seattle three times a week to guarantee freshness. Saccone says this gives them the advantage of knowing what's available on the market ahead of their competitors.

The signature dish is the Alder Plank King Salmon, roasted in a red pepper beurre blanc sauce. Fresh sturgeon from the Columbia River is also a favorite, with a firm texture and what Staccone describes as a fresh and clean taste. March is also oyster month, and Anthony's offers eight varieties in four different preparations. And it's halibut season.

Complimentary valet parking adds just a touch of class. (MLO)

2nd Place: Milford's; 3rd Place: Red Lobster

BEST APPETIZERS

APPLEBEE'S

The place is decorated profusely with sports memorabilia, oddly framed pictures of American life from then and now, and antique-looking advertisements for antiquated products: "Don't go another day with Dr. Bumbutts Saddle Sore Salve – Put out the fire with Bumbutts." APPLEBEE'S strives for an atmosphere that's as American as apple pie. It's a busy look for a busy restaurant. The soundtrack for your meal is on the soft side of classic rock, with some R&B thrown in for good measure.

The appetizer sample platter comes. First of all, size matters. It proves to be more than a substantial meal for one. Eaten as an actual appetizer, it could easily go several ways. The tender boneless buffalo wings have a Louisiana hot sauce tang, but are mild. The chipotle chicken quesadilla wedges get an extra shot of flavor from the bacon, and are good. The mozzarella sticks have a crust of seasoned breadcrumbs and are decadent, but we're talking about fried cheese here, so they are pretty heavy stuff. And the centerpiece, my personal favorite, was the spinach artichoke dip. I could eat it all day long, but I have to save room for the... um... other appetizers. (MLO)

2nd Place (tie): Twig's and Clinkerdagger; 3rd Place: Bluefish

Best North Idaho Appetizers: White House Grill

BEST DONUTS

KRISPY KREME

If you want a KRISPY KREME doughnut (and yes, it's a "doughnut" there, not a "donut") in Spokane, there's only one place to satisfy that craving — but having just a single location in this area didn't stop the North Carolina-based entry in Spokane's donut market from taking the Inlander poll's top honors. As befits the company's factory-style production line, the doughnuts are all shaped perfectly, with glazes evenly applied, belying any touch of a human hand.

"Krispy Kreme is dead set on the perfect doughnut," says assistant manager Kevin Keys. "If there's a flaw in one, we throw it in the trash." That attention to quality explains the exacting uniformity of KK doughnuts.

The shop hands out free samples of its original glazed raised doughnut from 6-9 am (till noon on weekends) and 6-8 pm daily. People will come in for the freebies and then sometimes slink out without buying anything, but Keys says the staff doesn't mind because they know they'll probably come back another time. A hot, original glazed KK is like a perfect ring-shaped pillow of dough. (AC)

2nd Place: Donut Parade; 3rd Place: Mike's Old-Fashioned Donuts

BEST LOCALLY BREWED BEER

NORTHERN LIGHTS

"We've been around 13 years, so we have a lot of name recognition. We happen to brew some damn good beer, too." That's how brewmaster Mark Irvin explains his success in this category. He's right on all accounts. NORTHERN LIGHTS' seven year-round beers and its handful of seasonal specialties (the summer wheat, the current Solar Winds spring beer, etc.) are creative, well balanced, hand-crafted and, yeah, damn good. With four available by the bottle in grocery stores and most of the rest on tap at 80-some locations around the area, the brewery's bubbly elixir has rooted itself in the local brew scene (alongside 2nd place winner Coeur d'Alene Brewing), even as newcomers like Shenanigans and Sandpoint's MickDuff's vie to become your new favorite drunk. The Gonzaga-area favorite isn't getting too comfortable, either. Irvin says they're stepping up production next year, ratcheting up their foamy output by a quarter, bringing the total quantity of their crisp, well-hopped ales and lagers to 46,500 gallons. That's 372,000 frosty pints. Or just shy of two beers for every Spokane citizen. Think about that. (P.S. If you don't want yours, we'll drink it.) (JS)

2nd Place: Coeur d'Alene Brewing Co.; 3rd Place: C.I. Shenanigan's

BEST BAR FOOD

THE SWINGING DOORS

This place likes things big. There aren't just a couple of TVs tuned to sports throughout the bar — there are more than 30. (Truth be told, though, one was showing soaps when we visited last week.) The menu? It boasts 130 different items, from bacon burgers and meatloaf "sand-wedges" to gizzards and chicken-fried chicken. And there's plenty of each.

Owner Bob Materne says staff members at THE SWINGING DOORS pride themselves on big quantities. "We give out more to-go boxes than anybody in town," he says, chuckling.

But the grandiosity of the place belies its familial atmosphere. Materne is nearly always there. Even if he's not, his daughter is; she's the general manager. The rest of the staff, Materne says, feels like family. Aside from the quesadillas and jo-jos, this could be why so many north-siders spend half their time there — because it feels like home.

"We try to treat people well. We don't allow fights. We don't allow foul language. We cater to the ladies so the husbands can come in," he says with a laugh. "It's kind of what you learned in kindergarten. 'Please,' and 'thank you' go a long ways." (JS)

2nd Place: Steelhead Bar and Grill; 3rd Place: The Satellite

Best North Idaho Bar Food: The Iron Horse

BEST ESPRESSO DRINKS

STARBUCKS

The shoosh of quiet as you pass through glass doors and into a refuge from urban noise. Conversational heads close together over espresso cups. Posters for "Aged Sumatra, Lot 523." Norah Jones CDs for sale. This is the place, familiar from every second street corner in Seattle, where you can accompany your organic blueberry bar ($2.25) with a Venti Cinnamon Dolce ($4.55).

And in case you want to bring the exquisiteness of STARBUCKS espresso into your home, they'll gladly sell you a De'Longhi Rialto Single Touch Digital Super Automatic Espresso Maker ($1,800). So if you prefer your shot pressurized at 203 degrees — unlike those gauche people who have it infused at 197 — then you can dial up a cuppa java joy just how you like it.

Espresso: not the favored beverage of Henry David Thoreau, but very much the drink of Chuck Palahniuk. Let Starbucks fuel your writing engines too. (MB)

2nd Place: The Shop; 3rd Place: Brews Bros.

BEST DRIVE-THRU ESPRESSO

JACOB'S JAVA

Ever since we first asked readers to name their favorite drive-thru espresso place, JACOB'S JAVA has been the best of the bunch. Since the Jacob brothers were among the first in town to figure out that people might want to order espresso drinks from the comfort of their vehicles, it stands to reason that they'd be tops in customer satisfaction as well. It all started with a single coffee stand at the corner of Sixth and Washington, where the brothers captured all the caffeine-addicted drivers coming down from the South Hill. Now their drive-thrus are fast and efficient purveyors of lattes while your engine idles — they're kind of like the pit crew for your coffee-related needs.

Signs at Jacob's Java promise that they'll custom-make any drink, so I put them to the test the other day with my picky coffee-snob order of two shots over ice with a dash of half-n-half. The barista made my drink, checked to see if there was enough water (there was) and then checked to make sure she put in enough cream for my taste. After handing me my drink, she said, "Now taste it and make sure it's the way you wanted it." I did. It was. Bravo, Jacob's. (AC)

2nd Place: Brews Bros.;

3rd Place: Jitterz

BEST COFFEE ROASTER

CRAVENS

Yorkshireman Simon Craven-Thompson, who should really be drinking tea, brewed the first cup of CRAVENS coffee in 1992. Now he sells dozens of different roasts, including decafs and organics and varietals from particular countries — a little United Nations of beans. I tend to lean pretty hard on French and Italian roasts most of the time but there is a whole world of coffee out there. Tanzanian Peaberry, which I have never heard of, is noted for its "intense wine-like character." The peaberry is two beans formed as one, which are separated at the mill. I am intrigued.

If you like to think your choice of coffee bean is doing good as you sip, Cravens thinks likewise. The company targets agencies and charities that work with children, such as Children's Home Society, Vanessa Behan, and Spokane Child Abuse and Neglect. A wide selection of good coffee sweetened with social consciousness — now that does amount to a hill of beans. (SS)

2nd Place: Thomas Hammer; 3rd Place: 4 Seasons

Best North Idaho Coffee Roaster: Doma

BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND COFFEE SHOP

THE SHOP

If there were ever to be a dictionary entry for "one-of-a-kind coffee shop," it should come illustrated with a photo of THE SHOP, in Spokane's South Perry neighborhood. Located in an old automotive repair shop, here's a coffee shop that began life as a spin-off to a recording studio. In the good weather, they throw open the big garage doors to bring the outside in; on hot summer evenings, they show movies in the parking lot, bringing the inside out. Owner Mark Camp has been roasting his own Anvil brand coffee on-site for the last four years, meaning the coffee you get at The Shop is about the freshest you'll find anywhere. Now he's just started offering lunches — a variety of salads and sandwiches listed on menu with the heading, "A Guide to Eating in an Old Auto Garage," and with names like the Lug Nuts salad. And today — March 22 — is the Shop's eighth anniversary in business. The furnishings and equipment at the Shop are constantly changing and evolving — in the back corner, you'll find both a coffee roaster and a welder — but at the heart of it all is great coffee. And that's one of a kind. (AC)

2nd Place: Rocket Bakery; 3rd Place: Brews Bros.

Best North Idaho One-Of-A-Kind Coffee Shop: Doma

BEST ICE CREAM SHOP

COLD STONE

Dan and Susan Sutherland's little creamery began as a cold idea for the hot climate in Tempe, Ariz. More than 1,000 stores later, they claim to have "redefined" ice cream, blending the super-premium stuff on a frozen granite stone with endless combinations — fruits, nuts, candy, cookies, brownies... even chocolate-covered crickets. That's crickets, as in the insect. Apparently, a media firestorm ensued, which went unnoticed by me. I would definitely remember chocolate-covered crickets. But with enough butterfat and chocolate, even pencil shavings would delight the palate.

Yet despite the call of the butterfat and that cold slab of granite, I had somehow eluded the siren song of COLD STONE CREAMERY. A reporter cannot shirk her duty, however. A co-worker recommends a concoction of chocolate ice cream, chopped brownies, and raspberries. "Doesn't Dairy Queen do something like this?" I ask. "It blows that out of the water," he laughs. Well, OK, then. I won't say how much of the ambrosial stuff I crammed down my gullet, but I think I'm going to have to walk from here to Arizona to work off the butterfat. Then I'll stop in Tempe and get some more. (SS)

2nd Place: Baskin-Robbins; 3rd Place: Maggie Moo's

NIGHTLIFE

BEST NEW NIGHTSPOT

BISTANGO

Mark Fuhrman's gotta be stuffin' ballots! How else can BISTANGO have won Best New Nightspot two years in a row? OK, fine, there's another option. Two years in, people are still finding out about the North Post hideaway. It's perhaps a less scandalous answer, but it's the more instructive one. Bistango has managed to create the mystique and buzz required to open up something as narrowly focused as a martini bar, while still remaining accessible to Joe Spokanite.

No one in Spokane wants real exclusivity, but we certainly like the appearance of it. The wide-bodied, besuited bouncers who're actually little teddy bears on the inside provide an inviting, though cosmopolitan accent, but the real trick is size. The joint's so damned small, it's always packed. People get turned away not because of any hipness deficiency, but because a single soul over capacity might grind movement to a halt. I've walked past the place on countless nights to find people gazing longingly into the long, narrow space, yearning to get in. We bet more than a few people voted for Bistango despite never getting further than the sidewalk out front. (LB)

2nd Place: Raw; 3rd Place: Steelhead Bar and Grill

Best North Idaho New Nightspot: Beacon

BEST HAPPY HOUR

C.I. SHENANIGAN'S

C.I. SHENANIGAN'S is a nice, quasi-spendy restaurant with a nice cheap Happy Hour appetizer specials. It's an opportunity for the hoi polloi to mingle with the Convention Center glitterati, and the reason Shenanigan's is Spokane's favorite happy hour. Every weekday from 3-6 pm and every evening from 9 pm to close, the joint offers two-for-one appetizers and decent drink specials in an atmosphere that's unexpectedly inviting. Big, plush, semi-circular booths are the best place to enjoy bruschetta and calamari, comfort food in relaxed environs.

It's good the joint won, since the new convention center blocks Shenanigan's from almost every view. The only way you can see the restaurant anymore is if you take to craning your neck over the west side of the Sam Guess bridge as you drive south or while tubing down the deadly part of the Spokane River. What was once a visible, comely riverside landmark is in danger of becoming the Spokane restaurant no one remembers exists. You fans should keep the place on the tip of your tongues since people can no longer see it with their eyes.

Sure, you'll have to practically go underground to get there, snaking through the convention center lot, avoiding minivans and Midwesterners. The appies that await, though, are worth it. (LB)

2nd Place: Europa; 3rd Place: Vin Rouge

Best North Idaho Happy Hour: Iron Horse

BEST COCKTAILS

TWIGS

If burgeoning martini menus are any measure, Spokane likes its cocktails. But unlike in our Wild West days of yore, when men were real men and liquor was real liquor, the most popular drinks these days are colorful fruity blends served up in martini glasses. At TWIGS, the Strawberry Lemon Drop and the Pomegranate Martini are two of the most requested cocktails, according to one of the bartenders: "People like the sweet ones that don't burn."

The printed menu at Twigs offers 24 martinis, but drinkmeisters there will pour, shake or stir virtually any concoction you can think of. Even if they've never heard of it, they'll do their best to mix up the ingredients you want. There are the classics — gin or vodka, a touch of vermouth, two olives — along with drinks no hard-rock miner could possibly imagine, like the Chocolate Kiss, made with Godiva dark chocolate liqueur, Stoli Vanil vodka, Irish cream and coffee liqueur, and garnished with shaved chocolate. Of course, these days a martini is any drink containing either gin or vodka and served in an inverted conical glass, but whatever you want to call them, the drinks at Twigs offer tremendous variety. Just don't tell Dutch Jake about the Strawberry Lemon Drop, though, or we'll lose our Old West cred. (AC)

2nd Place: Bistango;

3rd Place: The Davenport Hotel's Peacock Room

Best North Idaho Cocktails: The Iron Horse

BEST MOVIE THEATER

AMC 20

Q. Mr. AMC, do you have any comment on being named best movie theater?

A. What?

Q. Best movie theater — you've been voted best movie theater in Spokane. That must be a good feeling. Can you comment on that for us?

A. Look, man, I don't know who you are... but are you some kind of moron? A movie theater is a movie theater, bro. I mean we are all darkened rooms with comfy seats and drinkholders and obscenely overpriced snacks.

Q. So you are "humble yet proud to have been selected as the best movie theater," — is that a fair statement Mr. AMC?

A. What's your deal here? I just told you we're all the same. Are you high? Do you have any ID?

Q. But Mr. AMC, you offer stadium seating and more art house films than any other local cinema. Surely, sir, that is worthy of a comment.

A. Security! Security! (KT)

2nd Place: Regal NorthTown; 3rd Place: The Garland

Best North Idaho Movie Theater: Riverstone Regal

BEST PLACE FOR A CHEAP NIGHT OUT

GARLAND THEATRE

There are two distinct GARLAND THEATRE experiences. Though united by location, price and second-run film fare, the two are about as different as is humanly imaginable. On weekdays, the place is a yawning cavern of cinema. The massive seating area (with space for 630) feels empty even when ticket sales would sell out most first-run theaters. It's honestly one of the most enjoyable, relaxing ways to catch a movie you missed.

If you go on a weekend, the experience will be chaotically the reverse. Especially for one of the midnight showings (featuring cult classics like Rosemary's Baby and Rocky Horror), the joint is invariably packed with smart-asses, crying babies, hormonal teenagers and more unidentifiable smells than you'd think possible. It's less relaxing, but no less enjoyable, as it points to an era when film was an event, not simply a diversion. It would be one of Spokane's best nights out at AMC and Regal's prices. With films running $2.50 a ticket and bottomless popcorn for less than $5, the Garland should dominate this new Cheap Night Out category for years. (LB)

2nd Place: Dick's; 3rd Place: Home

Best North Idaho Place for a Cheap Night Out: White House Grill

BEST CASINO

NORTHERN QUEST

The trick for casinos is to get you having so much fun that you stop caring about all the hard-earned payola the fun is costing you. Slots, table games and Keno are enough reason for problem gamblers. In order to become the region's favorite casino six years running, though, you can't just cater to the addictive types (they'll come anyway). No, you've got to offer that complete Vegas-ish experience. That means dining in all its (inexpensively) luxuriant forms: steakhouse, noodle hut, buffet, delicatessen. That means performances up the wazoo from pre-millennial greats like Air Supply. It means celebrity impersonators and drag queens. It means a rewards card that gives you free meals and show tickets and such. All you have to do is keep giving NORTHERN QUEST CASINO your money.

It's enough to make a grown man spend his retirement, six years running.

Where else can you gamble away your life savings, eat bottomless buffet-style ribs and see Hal Linden? Nowhere, that's where. (LB)

2nd Place: Coeur d'Alene Casino; 3rd Place: Big Daddy's

BEST BEER BAR

THE VIKING

What's not to like? The weird location, tucked almost secretively behind KXLY on Boone? The crummy-looking, windowless tin shack it's housed in? The free popcorn overflowing its wicker baskets and ingratiating itself with the carpet? The bountiful bric-a-brac and beer signs covering nearly every vertical surface (and some of the horizontal ones)? If you don't like that (and we certainly do), then there are about 32 other good reasons for you to fall in love with THE VIKING. The Lambic, for instance, which — and this is rare — is on tap year-round. Or Thor's Hammer, an imperial stout based on the recipe of a bartender who used to work there, and which is now brewed exclusively for them by Montana's Lang Creek brewery. Aside from the 32 draft beers, there are more than 100 in bottles, from all over the world. They even make them easy for you to drink, with sweet weekly specials like $3 pint night (Tuesdays) and a Wednesday special that scores you a free pint glass with purchase of a pitcher. Besides, it's a truth universally acknowledged that free popcorn and shuffleboard make beer taste up to 15 percent better than usual. Which is, like, 15 percent better than awesome. (JS)

2nd Place: The Elk;

3rd Place: Northern Lights

Best North Idaho Beer Bar: Capone's

BEST DANCE CLUB

BEST LIVE MUSIC VENUE

BIG EASY

The concentric rings of the BIG EASY's progressively elevated main floor are like the terraces of single-person purgatory. In order to ascend to club kid paradise — a relationship (or an extended series of hookups) with some smoldering, limber-assed clubster — one must prove one's worth.

Ascending each level (finding mate, getting to know mate, getting mate drunk enough to think you're a nice person — this isn't necessarily gender-specific) requires specific skills of solo dancing, dancing with a partner and dancing one's way back to the floor holding a Sex on the Beach (very subtle, Romeo) in one hand and a Courvoisier in the other. (Inlander helpful tip: make romantic though self-aggrandizing chatter like: "I usually drink Moet." And button up that shirt, for God's sake.)

These are skills not to be trifled with, and the sheer practice required all but guaranteed that the upstart club would knock off Dempsey's three years ago. It was a rather meteoric rise fueled completely on youthful hormones, and The Ease hasn't looked back since.

There's no question that the Big Easy can pack a show, drawing liberally from all ages and walks of life. The Killers concert was full to the brim with wide-eyed 11-year-olds and their parental escorts. Blackalicious last year packed a healthy hip-hop crowd. The Brett Dennen show last month was one of the more diverse, filling with young and old, scenesters, college kids and parental units for a night of red-headed folk-pop. Regardless of the clientele, during shows the place is packed with people who are excited and often non-violent.

It's this nod toward diversity of clientele that has kept a mid-range venue like the Easy at the top of the Best Music list four years in a row.

And since the category is music-specific, it doesn't even account for all the non-musical craziness that goes on there. The overflowing cage match last weekend that descended into violence outside and required 20 cops to break up, for example. The place is always willin'. (LB)

Best Dance Club 2nd Place: Dempsey's; 3rd Place: Trick Shot Dixie

Best North Idaho Dance Club: Big Al's

Best Live Music Venue 2nd Place: The Blvd.; 3rd Place: Northern Quest

Best North Idaho Live Music: Big Al's

PEOPLE

BEST LOCAL ATHLETE

ADAM MORRISON

Former Gonzaga University basketball star ADAM MORRISON is getting mixed reviews in his new National Basketball Association home, Charlotte, N.C.

Some of the comments from a top 25 list devoted to Morrison on www.bobcatsplanet.com, a Charlotte Bobcat fan blog, include: "He's not playing terrible, but he's not a legend yet"; "Adam needs a haircut badly"; "Adam is one of the pastiest men alive"; and, get this one, "Adam is more interested in playing Halo (a videogame) with J.J. Redick (a fellow player) than talking to women." Yow! That's cold!

Fortunately for Morrison, Inlander readers still consider him their hometown hero. For the second consecutive year, they've named him as the area's Best Local Athlete.

Morrison led the nation's major college players in scoring last season with 28.2 points per game and became known around the nation for his less-than-full mustache, which was featured in an EA Sports commercial. He's a tall (six-foot-eight), talented and now rich young man, and Inlander fans still love him. (DN)

2nd Place: Derek Raivio; 3rd Place: John Stockton

BEST BARISTA

ANNIE GRIEVE

THE SHOP

ANNIE GRIEVE started hanging around The Shop — the lower South Hill's height of inventiveness and culture — because she wanted to meet guys.

Everybody familiar with the South Perry district laugh now and get it out of your system.

So anyway, Grieve wound up finding an unexpected career as a barista.

She's been three years at The Shop, graduating from running the popcorn machine on movie nights to pulling shots... learning the art of caffeine and much more, she says, from her three coffee masters, Mark Camp, Jason Williams and Ben Bradley.

"To me, at The Shop, the coffee is all about community," she says. "It's not about caffeinating people and chasing them out the door. You stand and you talk to someone and you get to know your neighbors."

Coffee is a living thing, she says, adding she was taught to approach it that way by her three java senseis. "They taught me with kindness how to make coffee, and I think it shows in my drinks." (KT)

2nd Place: Laura Linnenkaup, Brews Bros.; 3rd Place: Julie Mosey, Bean Me Up

Best North Idaho Barista: Jessie, Java on Sherman

BEST RADIO PERSONALITY OR TEAM

DAVE, KEN & MOLLY

KZZU-FM

We've found commercial radio more or less unlistenable for the last 15 years, but you keep voting KZZU's BREAKFAST BOYS your favorites. And, really, we can't blame you. At least not those of you who commute by car in the mornings. What else are you going to listen to? KPBX's classical programming and news from Afghanistan could very well put you back to sleep, and Thin Air's often weird, eclectic music mix and Bioneers programming is a little challenging for the still-waking mind to hang onto. That leaves the Breakfast Boys — Dave Sposito and Ken Hopkins, along with Molly Allen and producer "Patch" — as pretty much the best thing to get you from Point A to Point B every morning. Their playful, familiar banter is beloved by fans, because it largely eschews those things that make most commercial talk so skin-crawlingly irritating: stupid sound effects, over-the-top wackiness and/or pointless provocation. Asked what makes their rapport so palatable, Allen says, "I think just being regular people. That people can relate to us. Also, that we have such a good time together." (JS)

2nd Place: Radiomen, KKZX;

3rd Place: Abbey Crawford and

Ken Richards, The River

BEST TV ANCHORPERSON

STEPHANIE VIGIL

KHQ-TV

The first thing you need to know is that STEPHANIE VIGIL is not looking at you. No, she's never smiled at you.

I have ground truth on this. The trippiest thing about watching a newscast from the scuffed concrete floor where it all happens is realizing that nobody's looking at anybody. They are all looking straight into their own big camera thingies that have monitors and teleprompters, and yet you still vote her the best news anchor because she's so personable.

Here's something you don't know because you never see it. That smile she has? It's there right now, kind of in first gear or like a burner set on low. Words like this appear on the prompter:

TOSS BACK-2-SHOT

***Toss-2***

(STEPHANIE)

And the smile cranks up to full blast. Teeth, dimples, sparkle in the eye. The part where she appears to be laughing and joking with somebody else is not always real, but the laugh-and-joke personality vibe is real. "I try to be myself on the air. I try to be comfortable," she says.

The camera — even while it lies — never lies. "People figure it out. They see you so many times interacting with people that the camera doesn't lie."

So you vote for her and she appreciates it.

"Honestly this is a huge, huge honor. It's almost overwhelming," she says.

Smile. Back to you. (KT)

2nd Place: Shelly Monahan, KHQ-TV;

3rd Place: Nadine Woodward, KREM-TV

BEST TV SPORTSCASTER

DENNIS PATCHIN

KXLY-TV

In the media sports world, where pretty boys and girls with loud voices jump up the career ladder, DENNIS PATCHIN is an anomaly. He's been at KXLY for 23 years. And now he's a six-time winner of The Inlander's Best TV Sportscaster award.

"Are you kidding me?" he might ask incredulously. After all, it is his signature line. Instead, he says, "I have no idea" why readers choose him year after year.

Patchin has covered everything from Rose Bowls to State 'B' basketball tournaments and now he has added radio to his daily duties. He and producer Julie Scott host a two-hour weekday afternoon sports talk show on AM-700, "The Ticket."

"It's a lot of fun. We have been given the freedom by management to do and say what we want," he says.

Patchin also handles the pre-game, halftime and post-game duties on the Washington State University football radio broadcasts. For four years he was the radio and TV voice for Gonzaga University men's basketball. Does he miss doing the Zags' games? "Oh yeah."

In fact, he says, that desire to do sports play-by-play is growing.

"It's the one thing I hope to do more of in the future if the opportunity presents itself here." (DN)

2nd Place: Tom Hudson, KREM-TV;

3rd Place: John Fritz, KHQ-TV

BEST TV WEATHERCASTER

TOM SHERRY

KREM-TV

KREM Television's TOM SHERRY isn't Brad Pitt. He'd probably be the first to admit that. But he might be more popular than Pitt, at least among Inlander readers. For the 12th time our readers have picked Sherry as Spokane's most popular weathercaster.

"I'm a very lucky guy and I don't take that [popularity] for granted," he says.

Sherry thinks viewers like him because "I get it about Spokane." He's relentlessly positive and always smiling on camera, whether it's delivering a weather forecast, soliciting turkeys for a station campaign or brandishing a barbecue fork during a summer broadcast.

Before he started at KREM 16 years ago, Sherry programmed and spun records at a local country music station (KDRK). He credits that radio experience for helping him to ad lib on television and for his work perspective.

"The young people in this business think what they're doing is so important," he says. "But it's not like we're teachers or nurses or firemen or policemen. I forecast the weather on TV, and I try not to take myself too seriously."

But Inlander readers do take him seriously — enough to claim him as their favorite... again. (DN)

2nd Place: George Maupin, KHQ-TV;

3rd Place: Kris Crocker, KXLY-TV

BEST NURSE

CELESTE SHAW

DEACONESS

Here is why CELESTE SHAW has the chops for best nurse: She didn't go home one night last week, electing instead to stay at work with a boy on dialysis and a family on the edge of crumbling after an intentional overdose.

She stayed because the situation was fragile, she says, with a mom blaming herself and a boy remorseful and scared and groping for a way to talk about what happened. She stayed to be the bridge. It's not the medical skills, Shaw says, "It's the humanity you bring to the situation."

And here is another reason Celeste Shaw has the chops for best nurse: She couldn't believe she won and cited other nurses for caring as much or more about patients.

Shaw works in the trauma and critical care units at Deaconess Medical Center so she sees all of us who are mangled in wrecks, industrial accidents, beatings, shootings, stabbings.

"It can get really busy. I love it," she says. "Anybody that's really, really sick or near death — those are my patients."

In 1989 she was part of a team that traveled to Romania to provide urgently needed care for orphans who had been simply ignored and abandoned as the country fell apart. She has gone back — unpaid — every year since.

The trip led to the Joshua Foundation, which has purchased farms in Romania — one for boys and one for girls — so the kids can raise crops and income to try and hang on in a society that has otherwise thoroughly abandoned them.

"You go not because it's an East Coast child or a West Coast child or a white child or a black child or a Romanian child or a Gypsy child," she says. "You just go because something needs to be done." (KT)

2nd Place: Sheila Mastellar, VNA;

3rd Place: Mary Widdison, Arthritis NW

BEST LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR

WALT WORTHY

WALT WORTHY was behind a couple of big deals last year, one highly visible and the other far less so. Votes for Best Entrepreneur may very well have been driven by the full-tilt construction of the Davenport Tower, which opened just in time for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January.

But Worthy considers this a straightforward construction project. On the other hand: "We did sell the Wells Fargo Building ... now that was an entrepreneurial endeavor," he says.

Worthy bought the building in the fire sale that followed Metropolitan Mortgage's recent bankruptcy. Then he found tenants to move into the Wells Fargo (one of Spokane's youngest skyscrapers) and then found a buyer.

"Suffice to say we made a nice profit and we left enough room on the table for the buyers to make a nice profit the next time the building moves, and that's what makes things work," Worthy says.

Being an entrepreneur is easy, Worthy says, as long as you don't get greedy or box somebody too deep into a corner. "It's like Donald Trump says, make more upside than downside. It's pretty simple... when it works." (KT)

2nd Place: Rob Brewster; 3rd Place: Ron and Julie Wells

Best North Idaho Entrepreneur: Duane Hagadone

BEST PUBLIC OFFICIAL

DENNIS HESSION

Since he took the helm at Spokane city hall in the wake of the Jim West debacle, DENNIS HESSION has earned a reputation in the media as a ponderous, somewhat non-communicative city leader. But our readers are taking to him — and don't try telling him he's not a very public public official.

"I'd say just the opposite," Hession says. "Janie and I are very, very visible. Very active in the public. I'd say we are probably out at least five nights a week. I try to go to the schools when I can. I have tried to be a people's mayor."

Hession says he's grown to accept is public persona when his noontime runs and family dinners out are punctuated by citizens who want to talk policy. Or when his e-mail inbox is flooded with complaints about sanitation workers knocking over their trash cans. "I like people to feel that I'm there to serve them. I'm not gonna be out necessarily collecting their garbage can, but ... [citizens] believe that I'm their connection to the city, and I think that's the way it should be." (JS)

2nd Place: Ozzie Knezovich; 3rd Place: Todd Mielke

BEST GRADE

SCHOOL TEACHER

DEBBIE BROWN

MORAN PRARIE ELEMENTARY

DEBBIE BROWN is not a teacher. Even today, she says, after being at Moran Prairie Elementary ever since the morning it opened, she's still learning stuff.

Brown was 35 and an editor in the medical industry when she had children and became so absorbed by the way they learned things that she went back to school to learn things, too. And ever since, she shares. "Here's what teaching is: It's knowing my kids so well as people ... that I can see what will best help them move from Point A to Point B. And it's appreciating their individual differences."

She likes fourth graders best of all, "because the kids have humor."

And that goes double for Brown, say the 9- and 10-year-olds reading on the carpeted floor.

"She has funny brain tricks," Trevor says.

"Like the comma dance," Rachel explains. This is a dance with a little comma-twisty move to help kids see how to break up a string of numbers.

Best of all, "She has faith in our skills," Spencer says. "It helps us be more confident."

"I have two words for her, awesome and satisfying," Rachel says. "She puts a lot in our brains."

"I would say funky," Trevor adds, "because she's funny and she's sort of an uncommon teacher." and that's what being best is all about. (KT)

2nd Place: Jennifer Olson, Seltice;

3rd Place: Alan Hicks, Huntwood Elementary

OUTDOORS & RECREATION

BEST PLACE TO EXPERIENCE NATURE

RIVERSIDE STATE PARK

My own vote would be: "Twenty minutes in almost any direction." Having lived in the suburbs of big cities for most of my life, I can't help but to wonder if being "near nature" is something that Spokane natives take for granted. This is one easy city to escape, and there are many beautiful places to escape to.

A good way to drive this point home to visiting guests is to take them to Deep Creek Canyon, up by Nine Mile Falls. Let them soak in the scenery for a little while, and then say in a nonchalant manner, "Yeah, this is 15 minutes from my house. Notice how it's not crowded? Oh look, an eagle."

The runner-up vote for Best Place to Experience Nature was Centennial Trail. That's pretty much the same vote as for RIVERSIDE STATE PARK, insofar as the trail heads north and west of Spokane.

With accommodations for horses, bicycles, non-powered watercraft, hiking and camping, Riverside State Park is an easy vote for Best Of. (MLO)

2nd Place: Centennial Trail; 3rd Place: Lake Coeur d'Alene

BEST URBAN HIKE

CENTENNIAL TRAIL

This is a no-brainer. Where better to go for an urban hike than the CENTENNIAL TRAIL? Okay, the trail isn't really "hiking" in the rugged, climbing, boot-wearing sense; Tubbs Hill (your third-place winner) better fits that definition. But the paved trail's 61-mile course — from the eastern fringes of Coeur d'Alene Lake to the lower reaches of the river below Spokane — is just about the best way to get to know the area (and especially the river), with a wide variety of scenery, topography and habitats. It ought to be required hiking/riding for all Inland Northwesterners.

The Idaho side of the trail — east of Post Falls — is almost uniformly beautiful as it traces the lake. On the Washington side, we particularly recommend the stretch between Plante's Ferry Park, in Spokane Valley, to the area around Boulder Beach and Minnehaha. Downtown, things get confusing, as the trail takes the surface streets through the city and winds in and out of Riverfront Park. But pick it up again west of town. Our favorite reach of the whole trail is the section between the T.J. Meenach bridge and Nine Mile dam. All hills and pine trees, it offers unparalleled views of the river, including at Bowl and Pitcher. (JS)

2nd Place: Riverside State Park; 3rd Place: Tubbs Hill

BEST PLACE FOR A PICNIC

BEST PLAYGROUND

MANITO PARK

Even in a city known for its parks, picnickers at MANITO PARK are beset by an embarrassment of riches. Should we spread the blanket under the big trees on the small hill overlooking the playground, or claim a table near the duck pond, or lounge on the benches outside the conservatory with the view of Duncan Garden? We caution against the Perennial Garden, however, as picnickers are likely to be trampled by the admiring multitudes on the grass paths between the beds.

Whether your sandwich is tuna, or turkey, or egg salad, the fragrance of hundreds of roses blooming in summer makes the feast all the headier. The massive, basalt-columned picnic shelter — near the park's main entrance by 18th and Grand — with its six barbecues stemming off the central column, is suitable for a gathering of 200, so bring on the family reunion. And let's not forget the glories of spring in the Lilac Garden — bury your nose in the buds of syringa vulgaris (or any of its aromatic cousins) and you may forget to eat altogether.

Manito is also a magnet for the three-foot-and-shorter set, even though its actual playground inventory — blue plastic slides, jungle gym, monkey bars, the curved, purple, stacked thingies — is minimal, some might even say scarce. But for pure play possibilities, the 1904 grande dame of Spokane parks would be hard to improve upon. The Duck Pond offers not just ducks, (Got bread crumbs?), but a gaggle of honking geese, and the occasional swan (though we regret to say they sometimes have to look sharp for their safety). The small hill offers sledding in winter, and rolling in summer. Vast expanses of lawn unfurl in every direction for playing tag and kicking balls, and big trees beckon hide-and-seekers of all ages. Yes, sometimes, a playground is about more than the jungle gym. (SS)

Best Place for a Picnic

2nd Place: Riverfront Park; 3rd Place: Coeur d'Alene Park, Browne's Addition

Best North Idaho Place for a Picnic: Priest Lake

Best Playground

2nd Place: Riverfront Park; 3rd Place: Fort Sherman, Coeur d'Alene

BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY

COEUR D,ALENE/

COEUR D,ALENE RESORT

Some of us enjoy nature by strapping on a pair of well-worn hiking boots, simplifying life to whatever can fit in a backpack, and getting out in it. Others are equally content to enjoy the beauty of creation from the window or balcony of a decadently luxurious, five-star high-rise resort while sipping a martini, listening to jazz on a state-of-the-art sound system and anticipating their next game of golf. Or their day at the spa, or...

Apparently many of our readers are thinking of the latter, at the COEUR D'ALENE RESORT, as the Best Weekend Getaway. The rest of the world, seemingly, thinks of it as a premiere vacation destination. It's one of only 25 Gold Medal Resort award-winners named by GOLF Magazine, and is doted upon as "The Playground of the Northwest" by gushing travel publications everywhere. A list of the amenities alone would exhaust the space allotted to this category, all of which are rendered with over-the-top panache.

Oh yeah — there's a lake there, too. (MLO)

2nd Place: Seattle; 3rd Place: Sandpoint

BEST PLACE TO SKI

BEST PLACE TO SNOWBOARD

SCHWEITZER

With 82 lifts covering 2,900 skiable acres, SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN RESORT, nestled in the base of the Selkirk Mountains of North Idaho, has been a local favorite ski and snowboard mountain for years. With recent national coverage for the varied terrain and unmatched beauty, snow sport fanatics are coming to the little town next to the mountain now more than ever to enjoy the snow.

With a variety of runs to satisfy and challenge every level of athlete, Schweitzer also boasts lessons for every level of skier — because there's always room to improve. With classes for children age 4 and up, and custom and privately tailored classes for adults, cross-country lessons and the chance to race against the U.S. Ski Team, there is always something to push yourself to the next level, enjoying the season that lasts from November through April.

A family-friendly atmosphere allows varied-level families to ride a lift and begin skiing together before branching off on different trails, while the lodges and village also encourage a family atmosphere year round.

Locals have known about this mountain for years, and now national coverage has told millions more of the remarkable summit views of Montana to the East and Canada to the north. The aerial view of Lake Pend Oreille continues to give one the feeling of being alone at the top of the world. And with an average of only one skier per acre, that just might be the case. (KD)

Best Place to Ski 2nd Place: 49 Degrees North; 3rd Place: Mt. Spokane

Best Place to Snowboard

2nd Place: Mt. Spokane; 3rd Place: 49 Degrees North

BEST PLACE TO SWIM

LAKE COEUR D,ALENE

There's nothing like a dip in a freshwater lake. With more than 50 lakes in the Inland Northwest, there are plenty to choose from. So what makes LAKE COEUR D'ALENE unique? Is it the mystique of having been named one of the world's five most beautiful lakes by National Geographic magazine? Maybe it's the 135 miles of shoreline that hug the long, slender lake. Even though its dark waters may hide an ecological nightmare left over from decades of silver mining, people still love to swim in Lake Coeur d'Alene. In fact, when most locals say, "See you at the lake," it's understood that they mean Lake Coeur d'Alene. Families and teens prefer the City Beach with its boardwalk, sprawling park across the street and pebbly sand. Others prefer to jump in their boats or cars to get away to quiet coves dotting the shoreline. The water is always refreshing at Lake Coeur d'Alene, and it's a great place to lay out in a giant inner tube or inflatable raft and soak up the sun. (SH)

2nd Place: Priest Lake; 3rd Place: YMCA

BEST OUTDOOR REC SUPPLIES

REI

For some guys, camping is as much about the stuff as it is the outdoors. "Honey, we might die out there without this new Leatherman." But REI carries more than camping essentials. Actually, they do a lot more than just sell stuff, too. They rent it. They've also been organizing off-the-beaten-path tours to remote places around the world since 1987, and they offer clinics and sponsor events to educate the community. For example, REI is teaming up with Azuris to present a free triathlon clinic for women on April 11 from 6:30-8:30 pm. Marla Emde will discuss equipment, training, nutrition and clothing in preparation for the Valley Girl Triathlon in July and the West Plains WunderWoman Triathlon in August.

Remember, value is a relative term. As a general rule in life, you get what you pay for. Don't expect to find the cheapest stuff at REI. That's not to say you won't find deals, but they typically cater to outdoors enthusiasts who want the highest quality gear and clothing as opposed to the least expensive.

Inlander readers have been consistent about the Best Of this category. They've been voting for REI since 1994. (MLO)

2nd Place: Mountain Gear; 3rd Place: Mountain Goat

BEST HEALTH CLUB

24-HOUR FITNESS / OZ

For years, whenever my teen-aged daughter would poke at the slowly emerging swell around my mid-section, giggling and making irreverent remarks, I would simply declare with authority, "I can kick your ass on any trail, anytime." I did so just the other day, with swaggering confidence, but she stood flat-footed in my face with eyes narrowed and said with 15-year-old adolescent smarminess, "I really don't think you can." I was stunned both by her lack of intimidation and the disturbing possibility that she may be right. A voice spoke to me during the awkward silence that ensued, revealing quietly, "There are institutions for people like you. They call them gymnasiums."

And then The Inlander makes me write this. It's like a sign from heaven that reads: "24-HOUR FITNESS." Actually, locally that sign now reads "Oz Fitness" — the five local 24-Hour Fitness gyms were purchased recently by Australian bodybuilder-turned-entrepreneur Ian Riley. But the clubs still offer the kind of fitness services that our readers find both challenging and convenient. Guess I'd better check it out. (MLO)

2nd Place: Spokane Club; 3rd Place: YMCA

Best North Idaho Health Club: Ironwood

BEST BIKE SHOP

WHEEL SPORT

It's hard to say whether you voted for WHEEL SPORT because it's got an easy-to-remember name, because you happen to live near one of their three locations (on North Division, on the South Hill and in the Valley), or because you all just happen to ride Specialized and Diamondback bikes, the two biggest lines the store carries. All good reasons. Whatever the case, since the first store on North Division opened in 1973, Wheel Sport has been a mainstay in the Spokane cycling scene, with a huge inventory and some of the most helpful, knowledgeable sales people in town. On a recent visit to headquarters, we ended up in a pleasurable 20-minute discussion of Sora shifters, the plight of Diamondback's business, the relative strength of carbon fiber and the utter weightlessness of the $6,000 Specialized S-Works bikes ridden by Tom Boonen, Levi Leipheimer and the rest of the Quick-Step and Gerolsteiner teams. Riders feeling the spring itch should drop in to check out their upcoming sales (discounts around 15 percent begin March 23) and tentatively mark July for one of their famous midnight bike sales. (JS)

2nd Place: Spoke N Sport; 3rd Place: Vertical Earth

Best North Idaho Bike Shop: Vertical Earth

SHOPPING

BEST CLOTHES AND BEST SHOES

NORDSTROM

If food is the way to a man's heart, then shoes are the equivalent for women. With every occasion in need of a different (and fabulous) outfit, extensive selection is key from head to toe. With so many fashion options awaiting a customer, variety in price and style cannot be overemphasized. Whether your occasion or preference calls for sleek, furry, jeweled, lacy, slinky, athletic, strappy, bulky, petite, trendy or classic, NORDSTROM has them all — plus some.

While selection is important to the customer, service is important to the staff. Dressed to impress, jumping at the chance to outfit you in something flattering, the staff shares a common goal of service and dedication. Whether you're just browsing, dreaming of the $300 Stuart Weitzman black rhinestone embellished pointy pumps, or actually buying the $30 light pink ballet slipper-inspired BP flats, your high expectations of selection, variety and quality (that fit every budget and occasion) are met and often exceeded by the staff. (KD)

BEST CLOTHES:

2nd Place: Macy's; 3rd Place: JC Penney

Best North Idaho Clothes: Tiffany Blue, Coeur d'Alene

BEST SHOES:

2nd Place: Macy's; 3rd Place: Payless

BEST HAIR SALON

JAAZZ

How does this contemporary salon continue to get rave reviews for hair care in the Inland Northwest? According to my niece, who worked at JAAZZ for several years, clients appreciate how up-to-date and educated the stylists are as well as the consistency of getting the same service every time they come in, regardless of who does their hair. She also told me that Jaazz employees pride themselves on being friendly, fun and fashionable. They are encouraged to educate clients about techniques and products so clients can replicate the style at home — like a prescription for their hair, my niece says. Owners Sonna and Mark Brado offer their employees plenty of opportunities for travel and possibilities to advance their careers. This trickles down to the clients, who can take advantage of creative styles and cutting-edge products. The modern, cosmopolitan atmosphere of Jaazz's newer location in the American Legion Building adds to the upbeat atmosphere of this award-winning salon. (SH)

2nd Place: Strata; 3rd Place: Blades

Best North Idaho Hair Salon: Coeur d'Alene Resort & Spa

BEST FURNITURE

BURGANS

Looming over the corner of Division and Boone, there is no mistaking this four-story pile of green-painted bricks for some anonymous big box store sandwiched in a dreary strip mall. Inspired by Horace Greeley's advice to go west, founder Edwin S. Burgan set out from Indiana, eventually winding up in Spokane. He started selling furniture at a store at Division and DeSmet, and business was brisk. But when he decided to expand to the current location, advisors cautioned gloomily against moving even further out of town. Still, in 1920, Burgan put his money on cars and congestion and room needed for parking (ironically anticipating those legions of strip malls), and his store has been a landmark ever since.

Back then, BURGANS advertised as the "Complete Department Store; selling everything you use, wear or eat!" Now they just sell a whole lot of furniture. Whether you're in the market for a leather sofa or a La-Z-Boy, patio furniture or bunk beds, or bargain markdowns from the funky attic space, Inlander readers say you should head for Burgans. (SS)

2nd Place: Mor; 3rd Place: Walker's

BEST BANK or CREDIT UNION

SPOKANE TEACHERS

CREDIT UNION

At its inception in 1934, SPOKANE TEACHERS CREDIT UNION consisted of a bell, a shoebox and $4,000 in assets. The shoebox held the cash deposits of the 120 members, who rang the bell attached to a rope that hung from a second-story window when they wanted to conduct business with Ernie McElvain, the Lewis and Clark English teacher whose brainchild it was. This month, STCU broke ground on its 11th branch, in Dalton Gardens, Idaho.

In the interests of full disclosure, I am an STCU member of several years standing. When I first arrived in Spokane I asked around for a good credit union, and STCU was the answer I got. There's nothing like word of mouth, free of self-interest, to inspire confidence. They are local and apparently they actually believe in the community they serve, if funding of projects like the Montvale Hotel is any example, as well as community causes like Habitat for Humanity and Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.

More personally, in my cash-starved, penny-pinching months after graduating from EWU, the kindly STCU loan folks allowed themselves to be persuaded that my assets and gossamer-like income were sufficient for a small loan, since repaid. Customers don't soon forget such dealings, particularly with moneylenders. Later, a loan officer patiently explained, paragraph by paragraph, the terms of a larger loan and introduced me to the delights of online bill paying.

So, a service-oriented, local outfit that will loan you money even if you don't already have heaps of it: What more could you want from a moneylender? (SS)

2nd Place: Washington Mutual; 3rd Place: Numerica

BEST LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS BEST CAR DEALER

WENDLE MOTORS

Chud Wendle was at Disneyland with his wife and children when he got the call that his family's business had won two Inlander Best Of awards. "It was a really nice surprise," he said several days later in his north Spokane office.

Inlander readers have judged WENDLE MOTORS as the Best Locally Owned Business and the Best Car Dealer. It's Wendle's first honor in the business category, but the seventh in the car dealer category for the company that first opened at Third and Jefferson in 1943 and moved to its NorthTown location in the mid-1960s. Wendle opened a second north Spokane location several years ago.

"I think our success has been based on the fundamentals my granddad [also named Chud] laid out," Wendle says. "The customers who come in to the dealership have fun and they're treated with respect."

Wendle says car shopping has changed dramatically as dealers have expanded their sales to the Web. "Customers come in with more information, and they know what they want," he says.

Chud Wendle has lent his face to a media campaign aimed at improving his company's market share. In television ads he guarantees you can buy a car from his company in an hour. "For a lot of people, car shopping has become a headache that can take all day," he says. "We're trying to simplify the process and take away a lot of the negotiation" that people find grating. At Wendle's website, you can buy the car you want and then pick it up in person or have it delivered.

As gas prices have fluctuated over the last year, Wendle says, more of his customers have bought smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. But they're not embracing hybrid [gas-electric] cars in large numbers, he says. "The novelty has worn off. I think hybrids are a bridge to the next technology, hydrogen fuel cells, but those are still years away." (DN)

Best Locally Owned Business

2nd Place: Auntie's; 3rd Place: Davenport Hotel

Best North Idaho Locally Owned Business:

Coeur d'Alene Resort

Best Car Dealer

2nd Place: Appleway; 3rd Place: Downtown Toyota

Best North Idaho Car Dealer: Dave Smith

BEST ORGANIC/

NATURAL FOODS

HUCKLEBERRY'S

When I lived briefly in Washington, D.C., two years ago, I would walk more than a mile to do my grocery shopping at Whole Foods, the organic food supermarket. I didn't buy much there; it was pretty darned expensive. But I liked that it had an olive bar and unusual fruits and vegetables.

HUCKLEBERRY'S in Spokane satisfies that niche for Inlander readers, who for the 10th time have proclaimed the lower South Hill market as the Best Organic/Natural Food outlet in Spokane.

What's hot right now? "Citrus," says Store Manager Monica Hampton. "We have some really nice tangerines right now. We get our citrus mostly from California. When we get to the warmer season, we tend to buy more from local farmers."

Many shoppers shy away from organic produce because of the (usually) higher price, but Hampton says more people are trying foods that are grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides: "The prices, generally, have become much more competitive, closer to the produce you buy at a conventional supermarket."

To me, the best part about Huckleberry's is its restaurant. (Try the smoked chicken and gouda sandwich!)

"We have a pasta bar, omelet bar. We make all of our salads here," says Hampton. "We have a new thing [where we] focus on a different country every month. This month it's Ireland. I had a great shepherd's pie yesterday. It was yummy. My mouth's watering just thinking about it." (DN)

2nd Place: Pilgrim's; 3rd Place: Lorien

BEST GIFTS

BOO RADLEY,S

If you can't find a goofball gift at BOO RADLEY'S you may lack not only a sense of humor, but very possibly a pulse. Owner Andy Dinnison launched the shop, named for the shy social misfit in To Kill a Mockingbird, onto an unsuspecting Spokane in 1993. Now Boo Radley's is an institution, along with Manito Park: one of the stops where you tote along out-of-town guests.

Spokane may not be known for the weird and the wacky (we may have to concede that to San Francisco) but on any given day a cross-section of customers — confused and unsuspecting out-of-towners, smirking teens, giggling moms — will be crowding the overstuffed displays of Dirty Girl totebags, Spokandyland/Spokanada/Browne's Addiction T-shirts, and Maybe I want to look cheap notepads.

Maybe you need something whimsical for Father's Day — because you just can't stomach giving another necktie or golf gizmo — or maybe you just want to amuse your inner child/geek/closet rebel. Whatever the case, Boo Radley's can probably supply the Robot Wants My Lunchbox lunchbox, the Nancy Pearl Librarian action figure, or the rubber cornball (yup, kernels of corn in the shape of a ball — get it?) that will do the job. (SS)

2nd Place: Paper Garden; 3rd Place: Halpin's

BEST PAWN SHOP

PAWN 1

Axel's profusion of television advertising wasn't enough to overcome PAWN 1, with its 10 stores from Coeur d'Alene to Caldwell. Clean and well-maintained, the stores are home to a bizarre assortment of the stuff you don't really want enough to hang onto. You know, like broadswords and Game Boys. Or DVDs. We visited the store on North Monroe Street this week to discover an entire wall full of DVDs spanning almost every conceivable genre (though the Disney ones are kept behind the counter). And while we weren't really interested in a $3 copy of Drop Dead Fred, we might, in a moment of weakness, stop in again sometime for The Sweet and Lowdown. Or a hand drill. Or an engagement ring for Charlene. (JS)

2nd Place: Axel's; 3rd Place: Dutch's

BEST HOTEL

THE DAVENPORT HOTEL

THE DAVENPORT is a lot like the Titanic, except it didn't sink and drag and thousands of screaming people to an icy death. (Although it almost went down in the late 1980s.) That, and the Davenport hasn't been featured in a tragic romance movie, either. At least not yet. But both were born of like minds to be icons of a "gilded age" of opulence. Both were dens of luxury unequalled in their time. But one sank and killed thousands of people, the other didn't. For some reason, that seems like an important point.

What began as "Davenport's Waffle Foundry," operated out of a tent in the wake of the 1889 fire that destroyed downtown, became a renowned restaurant. What began as a fine restaurant turned into a hotel that cost $3 million to build. What began as a spectacular hotel that cost $3 million to build was almost scheduled for demolition, and cost $40 million to renovate.

And what cost $40 million to renovate is considered by Inlander readers to be the Best Hotel in the region. But of course, you already know that, if you've set foot in it even once. (MLO)

2nd Place: Hotel Lusso; 3rd Place: Coeur d'Alene Resort

BEST DAY SPA

SPA PARADISO

Hidden below street level in the Davenport Hotel, SPA PARADISO is more than just a place for pedicures, massages and relaxation. From the frosted glass French door surrounded by white marble walls, you know you're entering a place of elegance, embarking on a unique experience of pleasure. The door opens and a smiling receptionist greets you, ready to send you on your journey, but you're stuck trying to decipher what that unique smell is. It's a little like conditioner, tropical lotion, sunshine and luxury mixed together in a unique blend that makes you want to bottle it and take it home for those rainy days in front of the fireplace. It's not just the smell that stops you at the door; the original restored décor from another era, aided by green topiaries and Roman busts transport you back to ancient Venice, where there was never too much luxury.

Further back, away from the sounds of the street, is the serenity room where, under dimmed lights with soft music playing the background, clients lounge in fluffy white robes, sipping tea while sitting on plush furniture, encouraged to enjoy the each other's company by the fireplace.

The services at Spa Paradiso are more than a typical massage or mud bath; it's the experience of a day or an hour of pampering. Even for the simplest treatments, guests are treated to the entire spa experience including the fluffy robe, quiet ambience and helpful staff whose sole purpose is to help make your experience run smoothly. For a day at Spa Paradiso, expect excellence and chances are you'll still be blown away. (KD)

2nd Place: Jaazz; 3rd Place: Brickhouse

Best North Idaho Day Spa: Coeur d'Alene Resort & Spa

BEST BOOKS

AUNTIE'S

In an era of Amazon and the big chain stores, how does an independent bookstore survive? At AUNTIE'S, the airy atmosphere under that fourth-floor skylight and the adjacent café and game store help, as does "the knowledgeable staff," says owner Chris O'Harra. "Everybody says that, but truly — we have staff members who have worked here 15, 20, 25 years."

O'Harra notes that mysteries, fiction and science fiction are her top sellers, while metaphysics, psychology, graphic novels and poetry perform surprisingly well — "and children's books. We're planning on 700 people and maybe some live owls" at Auntie's party for the seventh and final Harry Potter release this July, she says.

Auntie's also provides support for nearly three dozen book clubs — small groups hungry for recommendations and discussion guides. O'Harra herself belongs to two such clubs, and her enthusiasm for books like Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders and Kent Haruf's Plainsong is infectious.

As she talks about changing people's lives with books, what's evident is Chris O'Harra's missionary zeal for the book biz, even if the profit margins are low. "Why would I ever want to quit?" she asks. "What I like to do is read books and talk about them."

She and her staff are Hall of Fame readers. Truly. (MB)

2nd Place: Barnes & Noble; 3rd Place: Borders

BEST JEWELRY

FINDERS KEEPERS

Jewelry stores have the potential for intimidation: Lots of choices, pressure from sales staff, and all too often, disappointment in not finding the perfect piece. FINDERS KEEPERS has forever changed that stigma. The staff here treats every customer with respect in a long-forgotten style of customer service — pure interest in the customers' preferences. The staff, all trained jewelers themselves, know the store well and are the essential guides you need to navigate case upon case of unique jewelry.

While glancing around the store, I was transported to Italy via vintage cameos and blown glass rings, to my grandmother's jewelry box with the classic brooches and family pearls, and to my first high school prom with tiaras and rhinestone jewelry that sparkles and shines.

Whether you're a 7-year-old looking for your first pair of earrings, or a grandmother trying to find a brooch like her mother used to wear, Finders Keepers is able to satisfy every jewelry desire. With each large glass case impeccably organized by color, metal and era, the desire to simply look at everything is much too strong to ignore. And with another location opening downtown this spring, the odds of finding exactly what you were (or weren't) looking for are in your favor. (KD)

2nd Place: Pounder's; 3rd Place: Jewelry Design Center

Best North Idaho Jewelry: Clark's

BEST FLORIST

JUST ROSES

Let me say this first: I am pro-flower. Not only that, I am pro-rose, pro-nosegay and pro-posey. Yet, for reasons of gender, perhaps, and slender means, I am not a frequenter of florist shops. So, from the standpoint of the disinterested researcher, I ask, what makes a great florist?

According to our readers (and why should we doubt them?) JUST ROSES offers wonderful, sometimes unusual service, such as advice on sending roses to a man. Turns out men like vivid colors, such as yellow, orange, and red, and prefer contemporary arrangements. And just like women, no reason is often the best reason. Yeah! Everybody write that down.

Roses have a couple of built-in advantages, of course: they come in sprawling variety and are an all-occasion flower. Weddings, funerals, birthdays, proms — remember, nobody's ever going to ask sarcastically who the geek who gave the roses was. (SS)

2nd Place: Appleway Florist;

3rd Place: Liberty Park Florist

Best North Idaho Florist (tie):

Petal Talk, Sandpoint; Hughes, Post Falls

BEST TATTOOS

TIGER TATTOO

There's a rattling buzz in the background that sounds a lot like the electric hair clippers that barbers use. It's a tattooing machine. Walt Dailey, proprietor of TIGER TATTOO, is inscribing an image of "St. Michael Subduing the Demon" on a tablet of flesh — a patron's forearm, to be precise.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Dailey never shuts up. He tells us that he's decorated the human body two or three times a day, four or five days a week for the entire 30 years that he's been in business. Writers don't do much math, so we sent the data to our crack team of experts for analysis. It turns out that Dailey has done at least 15,000 tattoos over the course of his career. That's 15 million words, in living color.

When it comes to actual talking, however, Dailey doesn't say much. Asked why Tiger Tattoo was voted Best Tattoo Parlor by Inlander readers, he cryptically threw the question back at me.

"I don't know — you're the expert," I whine.

"That's it!" Dailey responds, seemingly amused at how easily I was trapped.

To our readers, he simply says, "Thank you." (MLO)

2nd Place: Bullet Proof; 3rd Place: Altered Skin

Best North Idaho Tattoos: Ink World

BEST FARMERS' MARKET

SPOKANE FARMERS

MARKET

Can enough praise be sung of fresh, local produce available in the heart of the city? We think not. For the organically minded, the opening of the SPOKANE FARMERS' MARKET in May is one of the rituals of spring. The delight of being able to buy fresh heirloom tomatoes and nectar-of-the-gods pears into October cannot be overstated. One of my favorite discoveries was the tiny red Thai chilis, like itsy-bitsy firecrackers, sold by one immigrant grower by the Ziplocked bagful. All summer long, I minced them into salads of tomato, basil and feta. Buying Bing cherries from the Macias Orchards stall allows me the chance to practice my rusty Spanish with the patient sellers. Fresh huckleberry honey goes nicely on the toast made from the locally baked artisan bread I also bought there. Beeswax candles are pure indulgence and worth every penny, as are the gorgeous bunches of fresh flowers. And the odd, wonderful plant that produced small purple chili peppers, almost as incendiary as the Thai firecrackers, to me embodies the serendipity of shopping at the market and supporting your local farmer. (SS)

2nd Place: Liberty Lake; 3rd Place: South Perry

Best North Idaho Farmers' Market:

Coeur d'Alene/Kootenai Farmers' Market

BEST NEW BUSINESS

WILD SAGE BISTRO

This year, voters chose restaurants and coffee shops for their favorite new businesses. In the past, this category has rewarded those with clever names, and 2007 winner WILD SAGE BISTRO was originally to be called the Wild Thyme Bistro.

"But with the restaurant up for a liquor license and a conservative church across the street, we figured that would be pushing it," says co-owner Tom Sciortino. So he and partners David Wells and Gare Traeger did some more thinking and inserted the word 'sage' instead of 'thyme.'

Sage is a good descriptor for their elegant "American bistro." The walls are sage green with burgundy and brown accents and a little bit of brick. And their popovers, which come with every meal, are served with sage butter.

"We wanted to serve classic American meals, things people are familiar with," says Sciortino. "Our liver and onions is a huge seller. And we didn't want a static menu, so that means we're always evolving. That keeps us on our toes."

Wild Sage is separate from, but still part of the Freeman Center at Second and Monroe. The partners own their building. "We wanted to send a message that we're here to stay," says Sciortino. (DN)

2nd Place: Waverly Coffee; 3rd Place: P.F. Chang's

Best North Idaho New Business: Pita Pit, Post Falls

BEST MALL

BEST PLACE TO

MEET FRIENDS

NORTHTOWN MALL

If you want to know which mall is the best, ask those who regularly hang out there — teenagers. A random sampling of those who are old enough to spend money with abandon — whether their own or their parents' — but young enough to need a central place to spend that money, congregate and, of course, eat, confirms that NORTHTOWN MALL is a winner in all categories. Teens concluded that NorthTown has lots to do, allows them to go out in groups (important for those always aware of their peers), and isn't too spread out. Of course, NorthTown has cool shops teens love — American Eagle Outfitters, Rave, Wet Seal and Aeropostale — as well as three big department stores. The Food Court has satisfying fast food options, while the Mustard Seed and Chili's offer finer dining fare. Then there's the multiplex, with more than a handful of the latest movies to see. What teenagers wouldn't love spending their days at NorthTown Mall? (SH)

Best Mall 2nd Place: River Park Square;

3rd Place: Spokane Valley Mall

Best Place to See Friends

2nd Place: The Blue Spark; 3rd Place: Talotti's 211