August 16, 2005
Best Bets?
We've all had those moments where we're shown a snapshot of ourselves, and we find ourselves looking at that snapshot and thinking, "Holy crap, do I look like that? I don't look like that. I don't know how you took this photo, but I totally don't look like that."
Comes now the Post, and the photo it's waving is the 2005 version of its Best Bets Readers' Choice survey, put together from registered readers' nominations and votes, tallied and presented by the paper just yesterday. From the look of things, we're liking our chains more, we're liking our suburbs a lot more, and our taste is remaining, er, questionable. In short, we don't think we look like that.
Of course, you should observe and decide for yourselves, but here are what DCist feels are some of the more interesting calls.
The Good:
>> There are still the little things that distinguish D.C. from Anytown, U.S.A.. The Post kept its Crabs and Best Place to Talk Politics categories, and they mercifully eliminated Best Place for a Bachelorette Party, which got Polly Esther's off the list for good.
>> The list is surprisingly accurate in the Neighborhood Bar department. The winners there are also less Adams Morgan heavy than last year, and Wonderland made the top ten, which counts for a lot.
>> Every once in a while, the local guys make the top of the list. Love it or hate it, Cakelove tops the Bakery category (over chains Panera and Firehook), which warms the heart.
>> Tops in the Kid-Friendly category is a place called Generous George's Positive Pizza and Pasta Place. We've never heard of this place, but any ten year old that has a birthday there must be solid gold.
The Bad:
>> For every Cakelove, there are ten Starbucks. The ubiquitous juggernaut passed Tryst for top Coffee Shop, Barnes & Noble ousted Kramerbooks in the Bookstore department, and Ruth's Chris is the best place in D.C. to get a Steak, or so say Post readers. It was a tough year for the little guy.
>> Tom Tom once again made the list for Best Pick-up Spot. There are a lot of things you can pick-up at Tom Tom. We're not sure a lasting relationship is one of them.
>> Ikea is tops for Home Furnishings. Granted, everything we own comes from Ikea, but still, isn't that sad?
>> None of the small indie clubs in D.C. made the list for Place to Hear Live Music. Fine, no one's going to stick their neck out for Grog and Tankard, but no DC9, no Velvet Lounge, no Warehouse? What gives?
The Moronically Absurd:
>> While maybe not moronically absurd, it is strange that Jaleo sits on the list of First Date Spots among monuments and scenic townscapes. Even weirder, Jaleo didn't make the list for Romantic restaurants.
>> Look at this list. Best Choice for Live Theater is a bunch of old pols singing barbershop? And not, like, an actual theater? Why do we feel like everyone misunderstood the question? Oh, the Capitol Steps! That would be a great place to watch a play!
>> The region's best Regional Beach is the Outer Banks, some 300 miles away. Also, the region's best canyon: the Grand Canyon.
>> Ok, quick, name the region's best Local Band. Got it? Guess what none of you just named? How about JunkFood, which tops the Post's best band list, and which we're not sure even exists. Sure, it's a little tragic when Virginia Coalition is named best while Washington Social Club, Q and Not U, or The Evens don't even make the list, but at least Virginia Coalition is, like, a band. Seriously, who is JunkFood?
So, what do the readers think?
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Cold Stone... best ice cream in the city... anger... RISING...
I would probably support the return of the Best Place for a Bachelorette Party if it meant bachelorette parties confined themselves to those 10 venues.
The Neighborhood Bar list seems pretty accurate, and I guess by "less Adams Morgan heavy," you mean "no Adams Morgan bars appear on the list."
I'm more disturbed by the appearance of The Front Page on the pick-up spot list.
The more I read, the worse it gets... Maggiano's? Hamburger Hamlet? FUDDRUCKERS?! This is embarrassing.
When I read through the Best Bets on the Post I alternated between disgust, anger, and confusion. DC, I thought I knew ye!
Oh man, Coyote Ugly is #8 on the list of Best Bartenders.
Remember this is the Post, which means a large percentage of respondents came from the 'burbs.
Also, it's the Post; previously, an article on local fried chicken included KFC and Popeye's.
but popeye's is good...right? or is just me who has an unhealthy obsession with it?
No catherine, it's not just you. *sigh* Love that Chicken...
Ugh. This list was painful.
The Melting Pot is near the top of the list for romantic restaurants. Grrrr-oss! The only thing I can say I agree with for sure is UltraViolet for best florist!
Okay. It's the region's (and beyond's) paper, so the list of nominees and results. SORTA make sense. But what I don't understand is -- why just the post?
This easy journalism that sells a lot of ads. I've never lived in a city where the primary best best list is the one from the major daily. Let's hope some of these new city magazines comes up with a list. Where the hell is CityPaper on this one? Arrogance alone is not an excuse. The list of best ofs is the provenance of the some of the most arrogant alt-weeklies in the country -- the Village Voice. The SF Bay Guardian. The Chicago Reader.
It's just sad, really.
This is just embarassing. We need to remember this next year and make a push to get some of those ratty chains off of there!
The Ice Cream category especially makes me hurt all over.
You know, I could go through each of these categories and want to tear my eyes out with a spork, but given the whole Mie n Yu thing a few months ago, none of this surprises me. It's all a PR game. I mean -- Maggiano's? No wonder some people think DC isn't a good dining city. How embarassing.
Geez, everyone knows Maggiano's can't hold a candle to Olive Garden.
This list bothers me every year, but only because the "Best Bets" tag is a complete misnomer. It isn't really the best of anything at all - rather, it's a popularity contest. I mean, objectively speaking, it would be hard to make the case that Gold's Gym is "better" than the Sports Club LA in any way. But since Gold's has at least 10 times the number of area locations as the Sports Club (and happens to be much more affordable), more people vote for it. Ditto with the Cold Stone Crappery vs., say, the Del Ray Dreamery.
So if the Post wants to run a true Best Bets contest, they should really poll a panel of experts who have a familiarity with all the nominees. If they want to keep the existing format, they should rename it to something more fitting.
generous georges positive pizza and pasta is awe inspiring.
big big ol glasses of beer. HUGE portions of decent food. its a great place, and quite possible makes a trip to alexandria worth it.
I agree with DC1974, the alt-weeklies usually run a better best-of poll. The Austin Chronicle is a great example - whether you agree with voters' choices or not, you hardly ever find a non-local chain that that made the list. That's because people from the 'burbs don't get the Chron and therefore don't submit votes in the "Best Italian" category for Macaroni Grill.
Freddie's Beach Bar & Restaurant is the second best gay bar in the area? Oh good lord. Why not just say Wal Mart is the place to go for fashion?
Well, I live in the burbs, and I must say that my jaw dropped when I saw that the Swamp Fox Road booble-plex beat the E Street Cinema--or even the AC&D, for God's sake, which is far from great, but at least has some modicum of character. I agree with Aziz. I think a lot of people just defaulted to the familiar.
You've never heard of Generous George's for the same reason you think that DC has lots of good Italian restaurants.
Just another shout-out for Generous George's. Very cool place to eat in or take out.
Generous Georges is so excellent. I haven't been there since I was little, but it obviously made an impression on me.
Generous George's rocks... partly because they serve individual pops in pitchers instead of glasses. Also because I remember fun carosel animals.
There isn't even a Chinese food category! There are a lot of great authentic Chinese restaurants in Rockville, a handful of worthwhile at the China Intersection in the District, and one or two in Virginia.
Of course if there was a Chinese category I would get all pissed off that PF Chang's was at the top of the list again.
That's true. There are a lot of ethnic cuisines they ignored. You could easily do best Ethiopian, as well. Best Indian, maybe. It's a holey list of lists.
Is it just me, or is Whitlows one of the most depressing places on Earth? I've never even done a full evening there, just eaten during happy hour, and I was sad for everyone there.
At the risk of offending - I think the Front Page is sadder. Ech. It's the only place I've ever had my ass grabbed by a drunk in a tie. That place makes my skin crawl. But yes, Whitlows is sad.
This might be a silly suggestion, but maybe DCist should make more formal its own recomendations and put them into lists. People can vote, it'll be great.
I second that emotion.
Hey Celena and burb-bashers,
So people who live within the DC lines are more sophisticated about fashion, cuisine, art, music, and all-around social life? HAHAHAHAHA. That's a hoot. If this were NYC maybe you could argue that people in the Village were more knowledgeable about poetry and music than people in Newark, but DC? Also, if you took the time to explore the area instead of hashing out the tired burb-city debate, you'd find that some of the best Chinese restaurants are in Wheaton and Rockville, the best Salvadoran/Mexican in Arlington and Silver Spring, fine Korean in College Park, great bars and one of the area's best movie theaters in Silver Spring, etc. etc. Don't be such a dork.
I feel the same way about the Front Page, though no men in ties ever went for my ass there.
Another note on Whitlows: I had dinner there last Friday. On our way in at 7 PM, we had to step aside so a guy could carry his friend out of the bar. At seven o'clock. Even if he had left work at 3, he still managed to get black out drunk in about four hours. Fun times.
I hear a lot of complaing about what won or what was nominated, but I hear no or very little actual recommendations among these complaints?
Well, to be fair, i tmay be best live theater *experience,* as there's a fair number of itinerant companies in the area that will put on a good show, though they have no permanent home.
I'm just glad that it only took two calls to the Post's ombudsman and one to the very nice editor of the weekend section to get "The Improv" (which was not even nominated) replaced at #5 with "washington improv theater" and even a correct link to go with it.
Why is everyone surprised the chains won?
Do you think the 40 year old soccer mom is going to know that Tryst is a better coffee shop than Starbucks? There are twenty soccer moms for every urban hipster.
It's too bad, but that's the way it is...
Alec Baldwin asks for his voice to be removed from an "unfair" documentary about Arnold Schwarzenegger...