This year's Best of Orlando issue was written by Jason Ferguson, Jim Gaines, Faiyaz Kara, Seth Kubersky, Bao Le-Huu, Billy Manes, Aimee Shea, Lindy T. Shepherd, Justin Strout, Erin Sullivan and Jessica Bryce Young. Interns Sarah Keenan, Allen Levin and Casey Morell counted ballots and checked the facts. Bryan Soderlind photographed the cover and opening shots for each section, and Jason Greene provided additional inside photos. Shan Stumpf provided the art direction, put it all together and made it look good.
Yes, we know, it's scary out there right now. Too many people upside down on their mortgages, the economy still pretty much sucks and it's been more than two and a half months since the Deepwater Horizon started spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.
But look on the bright side: So many people are having mortgage troubles that there's no longer any shame in owing more on your house than it's worth, the economy can't get much worse (we hope) and this Deepwater situation might get some people to finally recognize how deadly our nation's addiction on oil really is. And despite the dire news that fills our inboxes, cable boxes and mailboxes every day, life in Orlando not only goes on — somehow, it manages to flourish.
From design guys bringing the not-dead-yet art of letterpress back to life to art shows held inside U-Haul trucks; from politicians who parade around town with doppelgängers in drag to toffee pudding so sweet and sticky it'll make your teeth hurt, this 2010 Best of Orlando highlights the best, the brightest and the most baffling things that are thriving around town. Even in the worst of times ' particularly in the worst of times.
The tireless editorial staffers of Orlando's Most Optimistic Alternative Weekly have worked their bony little fingers to nubs collecting, deciphering and tabulating more than 2,600 Best of Orlando Readers Poll ballots. We've compiled your picks for the best in local color, goods and services, food and drink, arts and entertainment and sports and recreation. As is our custom, we've also provided a handful of off-the-grid staff selections in those categories as well.
We suggest you give yourself a short reprieve from watching streaming underwater video of oil pouring into the sea and take some time to raise a glass to the fact that, despite the ugly things going on in the world right now, there's still some good stuff to celebrate ' or at least laugh about ' right here at home.
Our models for this issue are Brooks Potteiger and Rain Miller. Their wardrobes were provided by Dechoes Resale Emporium and Twenty Four Seven Style House. Tammara Kohler was our stylist. Special thanks to Beefy King, Black Hammock Airboat Tours, the Lodge and Orange Tree Antique Mall for allowing us to run rampant on their grounds.
Local Color Local Charitable Group - Local Website - Local TV Newsperson - Local Bigshot - Local Blog - Local Politician - Local Radio Personality - Local Writer - Place to Take Visitors from Out of Town - Local Politician in Need of a Slap Upside the Head - Reason to Live in Orlando - Reason to Leave Orlando - TV News Hair - Whatever
Goods & Services Adult Entertainment - Bartender - Bicycle Shop - Bookstore - CD Store - Comic Book Store - Dry Cleaners - DVD Store - Farmers Market - Fashion Designer - Furniture - Hair Salon - Health Food Store - Liquor Store - Meat - Men's Fashion - Musical Instruments - Pet Supplies - Scooters - Seafood - Shoe Store - Skate Shop - Smoke Shop - Spa - Tanning Salon - Tattoo Parlor - Thrift Store - T-Shirts - Veterinarian - Video Game Store - Wine Shop - Women's Fashion - Nail Salon - Vinyl Record - Vintage Clothing
Food & Drink Bakery - Breakfast/Brunch - Burger - Caribbean - Chinese - Coffeehouse - Diner - Dive Bar - Doughnuts - French - Greek - Happy Hour - Hook-up Bar - Ice Cream Shop - Indian - Irish - Italian - Latin - Lesbian Bar - Mexican - Middle Eastern - Pizza - Pub - Smoothies - Southern Food - Sports Bar - Steakhouse - Subs - Sushi - Thai - Teahouse - Vegetarian/Vegan - Vietnamese - Wine Bar - Wings - Late Night - Gay Bar - Barbecue
Arts & Ent. Club DJ - Club Night - Country Act - Electronic Act - Experimental Act - Folk Act - Hip Hop Act - Indie Act - Jazz Act - Karaoke - Latin Act - Mainstream Rock Act - Metal Act - Music Venue - Open Mic - Pop Act - Punk Act - Soul Act - Reggae Act - Strip Club - Art Gallery - Arts Advocate - Dance Troupe - Festival - Movie Theater - Museum - Theater Troupe - Thespian
Sports & Rec. City Park - Dog Park - Local Sports Team - Miniature Golf Course - Place to Bowl - Place to Camp - Place to Work Out - Pool Hall - Public Golf Course - River to Canoe/Kayak - Shooting Range - Skateboard Park - Theme Park Ride - Theme Park - Water Park - Yoga Studio
[email protected]
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Arts & Ent. Club DJ - Club Night - Country Act - Electronic Act - Experimental Act - Folk Act - Hip Hop Act - Indie Act - Jazz Act - Karaoke - Latin Act - Mainstream Rock Act - Metal Act - Music Venue - Open Mic - Pop Act - Punk Act - Soul Act - Reggae Act - Strip Club - Art Gallery - Arts Advocate - Dance Troupe - Festival - Movie Theater - Museum - Theater Troupe - Thespian
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Best Club DJ 2nd: DJ Kittybat 3rd: Jimmy Joslin | ;
Best Pop Act 2nd: Mumpsy 3rd: Andy Matchett and the Minks | ;
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Best Club Night 2nd: Friday at Slingapour's 3rd: Torque at Crooked Bayou | ; Best Open Mic ; 1st: The Globe Thursdays ; 19 N. Orange Ave. ; 407-849-0471 ; www.wallstplaza.net/globe 2nd: Austin's Coffee 3rd: Natura Cafe | ;
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Best Country Act 2nd: Hindu Cowboys 3rd: The Lonesome City Travelers | ;
Best Punk Act 2nd: Awesome and the Ass Kickers ; 3rd: Slippery Slopes | ;
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Best Electronic Act 2nd: Taveovr DJ Team ; 3rd: Viernes | ;
Best Soul Act 2nd: Shaun Rounds Blues Band 3rd: Peter Baldwin | ;
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Best Experimental Act 2nd: Yip-Yip 3rd: (tie) Viernes 3rd: (tie) DRIP | ;
Best Reggae Act 2nd: Bob Marley: A Tribute to Freedom 3rd: Mystic NRG | ;
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Best Folk Act 2nd: tie – Matt Mendel 2nd: tie – Thomas Wynn & the Believers 3rd: Tommy Treadway | ;
Best Strip Club 2nd: Rachel's 3rd: Thee Dollhouse | ;
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Best Hip Hop Act 2nd: Krondor Krew 3rd: S.K.I.P. | ;
Best Art Gallery 2nd: CityArts Factory 3rd: Orlando Museum of Art | ;
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Best Indie Act 2nd: Andy Matchett & the Minks 3rd: Thomas Wynn & the Believers | ;
Best Arts Advocate 2nd: Mark Baratelli 3rd: Margot Knight | ;
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Best Jazz Act 2nd: Absinthe Trio 3rd: Shaun Rounds | ;
Best Dance Troupe 2nd: (tie) VarieTease 2nd: (tie) DRIP 3rd: Yow Dance | ;
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Best Karaoke 2nd: Korndogg's Rock Band Karaoke 3rd: Rising Star at Citywalk | ;
Best Festival 2nd: Nerdapalooza 3rd: Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival | ;
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Best Latin Act 2nd: Latin Express 3rd: tie – Abdias Ernesto Garcia 3rd: tie – Latin Quarter | ;
Best Movie Theater 2nd: Plaza Cinema Café 3rd: Regal Winter Park | ;
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Best Mainstream Rock Act 2nd: Megaphone | ;
Best Museum 2nd: Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art 3rd: Orlando Science Center | ;
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2nd: Khann 3rd: Gargamel! | ;
Best Theater Troupe 2nd: Mad Cow Theatre 3rd: Orlando Shakespeare Theater | ;
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Best Music Venue 2nd: Back Booth 3rd: Will's Pub | ;
Best Thespian 2nd: Brian Feldman 3rd: John DiDonna | ;
Writer's Picks
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Best concert windfall
;Traffic from Harvest of Hope Fest
;www.harvestofhopefest.com
This indie-minded St. Augustine music festival is only in its second year, but it has already established itself as a magnet that draws hot local bands to the area. Since the Orlando metro area is only a couple of hours away, the region has become a giddy recipient of the festival's spillover: The week of the fest, there's a revolving door of talent moving through our venues. Music fans can look forward to Harvest of Hope not necessarily to attend the festival itself, but to attend the local shows that come our way while it's going on.
;;Best regional trend
;The rise of Florida's ;indie-music scene
This has been a banner year for Florida indie bands, with three homegrown acts making national releases. First, South Florida's Surfer Blood made a beaming national debut with one of this year's most celebrated records, Astro Coast. Then, ascendant St. Pete psych-pop act Blind Man's Colour arrived on the national scene with its Wooden Blankets EP, a much-improved follow-up to its meandering debut album. Orlando's music scene was represented, as well, when experimental sound sculptors Viernes released their heady opus Sinister Devices in June. All three bands were signed by Kanine Records, a surging Brooklyn label co-owned by Orlando native Lio Cerezo.
;;Best big-screen bait and switch
;IMAX Digital at Universal Cineplex 20
;6000 Universal Blvd.
;407-354-3374
;www.amcentertainment.com/universal
The popular AMC cinema at CityWalk started to promote that it "now has IMAX," but when did they rip the roof off to install a seven-story screen? Here's the secret: They didn't. Unlike the old-school Regal Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 and IMAX, the Universal Cineplex 20's new and so-called "LieMAX" theater involves a barely larger-than-normal screen, digital projectors and blatant exploitation of the once-trusted IMAX brand. Suffer through Iron Man 2 on the second row aisle and you'll wonder why you spent that extra $5.
;;Best new ad-hoc theater district
;Fairbanks Avenue, Winter Park
;www.winterparkplayhouse.org
;www.breakthroughtheatre.com
;www.goatgroup.com
Downtown stalwarts SAK Theatre and Mad Cow Theatre are shuffling locations, and the city is shoveling dirt for a new performing arts center, all in hopes of creating a stable theater district. Folks in Winter Park aren't waiting around for that to happen. Between the recently expanded Winter Park Playhouse, the new community Breakthrough Theatre and the Greater Orlando Actors Theatre's hopefully soon-to-reopen Cherry Street space, the less-than lustrous Fairbanks Avenue thoroughfare has become north Orlando's Broadway.
;;Best chance to bemoan philistinism
;The demise of Urban Think! Bookstore
;625 E. Central Blvd.
;www.urbanthinkorlando.com
Despite its location in one of the most self-consciously trendy blocks of Orlando, the cultured folks at Urban Think! discovered that vacationland still won't support an actual intellectual exercise, instead opting for cookie-cutter bestseller stacks in big boxes. The small shop with a carefully chosen selection of new and used books closed in March after an eight-year run. The Urban Think! Foundation says it's still trying to decide what to do next, but last we heard the annual Page 15 Young Writers Camp would still be held there this summer.
;;Best substitute for music
;WMFE-FM (90.7) news-talk format
;11510 E. Colonial Drive
;407-273-2300
;www.wmfe.org
Cheers to local public radio for its pivotal format shift last November from classical music to news-talk. Orlando's thinking class deserves something of its own, dammit, and smart, cultured programming like The Diane Rehm Show and Fresh Air is a downright benediction. Music is one of our top passions, but we're glad to give up what was a nominal pleasure at most for the much greater good of balancing and elevating the city's intellectual dialogue. You know, not that we need it or anything.
;;Best architectural ;juxtaposition
;Seminole County sheriff's office ;and justice center
;100 and 101 Bush Blvd., Sanford
Just off 17-92 there's a short 3-D course in 20th-century architecture, mirroring its highs and lows. Facing down Bush Boulevard, to the right stands a harmonious modern synthesis: a little Art Deco, a little Bauhaus, a little International style mix in the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. To the left looms the Criminal Justice Center, with its forbidding and monotonous facade and square-columned cupola making a unified, if dismaying, architectural statement: stucco Stalinist.
;;Best vehicular venue for visual art
;TheDailyCity.com Mobile Art Show
;www.thedailycity.com
About a dozen different downtown venues participate in the monthly Third Thursday Gallery Hop, but most of those are in boring old buildings. Only one gallery dares to go outdoors: TheDailyCity.com Mobile Art Show makes its home inside a U-Haul truck parked at the corner of Pine Street and Orange Avenue. Curator Mark Baratelli ;consistently keeps the cool-stuff-per-square-inch ratio sky-high.
;;Best pretending that the economy hasn't killed local arts
;Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and Mad Cow Theatre concert opera series
;www.orlandophil.org
When the Orlando Opera Company shuttered its doors (with an echoing scream of "Jim Ireland!") last year, the two other spokes in the city's performing-arts wheel were left in a lurch. The departure of singing fat ladies from the local stage also sapped the mood of fine arts enthusiasts in Orlando. Without so much as a signature nervous blink, Philharmonic executive director David Schillhammer set into motion a collaboration with local staging experts at Mad Cow that would allow the show to go on, as it must. Two successful stripped-down performances (with the orchestra on stage), Carmen and Porgy and Bess, took place this spring to glowing reviews. Musical ;lemonade, then.
;;Best dramatic myth
;The Orlando Peoples Critic
; www.facebook.com/orlandopeoplescritic
In spring 2009 a frustrated personage began writing glowing theater "reviews" and posting them on Facebook under the nom de plume "Orlando Peoples Critic." This individual has since stopped reviewing in favor of providing information on anything and everything that's going on around town. So perhaps a more appropriate moniker would be "Orlando People's Promoter." The person posting the information remains anonymous, and local arts groups are milking it, lapping up the free PR.
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Food & Drink Bakery - Breakfast/Brunch - Burger - Caribbean - Chinese - Coffeehouse - Diner - Dive Bar - Doughnuts - French - Greek - Happy Hour - Hook-up Bar - Ice Cream Shop - Indian - Irish - Italian - Latin - Lesbian Bar - Mexican - Middle Eastern - Pizza - Pub - Smoothies - Southern Food - Sports Bar - Steakhouse - Subs - Sushi - Thai - Teahouse - Vegetarian/Vegan - Vietnamese - Wine Bar - Wings - Late Night - Barbecue - Gay Bar
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Best Bakery 2nd: Publix Bakery 3rd: Raphsodic Cooperative Company |
Best Lesbian Bar 2nd: Pulse 3rd: Sip |
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Best Breakfast/Brunch 2nd: Ethos Vegan Kitchen 3rd: White Wolf Cafe |
Best Mexican 2nd: El Potro Mexican Restaurant and Catering 3rd: Tijuana Flats |
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Best Burger 2nd: Graffiti Junktion 3rd: Johnny's Fillin' Station |
Best Middle Eastern 2nd: Bosphorus Restaurant 3rd: Cedar's Restaurant of Orlando |
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Best Caribbean 2nd: Mama Millie's Jamaican Cafe 3rd: Waitiki Retro Tiki Lounge |
Best Pizza 2nd: Anthony's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant 3rd: Planet Pizza |
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Best Chinese 2nd: Panda Bistro 3rd: Pei Wei Asian Diner |
Best Pub 2nd: Fiddler's Green 3rd: Redlight Redlight |
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Best Coffeehouse 2nd: Starbucks Coffee 3rd: Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar |
Best Smoothies 2nd: Tropical Smoothie Cafe 3rd: Smoothie King |
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Best Diner 2nd: Christo's Cafe 3rd: 5 & Diner |
Best Southern Food 2nd: Johnson's Diner 3rd: Crooked Bayou |
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Best Dive Bar 2nd: Bar-BQ-Bar 3rd: Redlight Redlight |
Best Sports Bar 2nd: Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar 3rd: Sportstown Billiards |
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Best Doughnuts 2nd: Dunkin' Donuts 3rd: Bakery Plus |
Best Steakhouse 2nd: Ruth's Chris Steak House 3rd: Linda's La Cantina Steak House |
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Best French 2nd: Chez Vincent 3rd: Paris Bistro |
Best Subs 2nd: Jimmy John's 3rd: Firehouse Subs |
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Best Greek 2nd: Taverna Opa 3rd: Cypriana Restaurant |
Best Sushi 2nd: Seito Sushi Japanese Restaurant 3rd: Fuji Sushi & Teppan |
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Best Happy Hour 2nd: Chili's Grill & Bar 3rd: Antigua |
Best Thai 2nd: Napasorn Thai Restaurant and Sushi Bar 3rd: Sea Thai Restaurant |
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Best Hook-up Bar 2nd: Independent Bar 3rd: The Lodge |
Best Teahouse 2nd: Infusion Tea 3rd: Dandelion Communitea Cafe |
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Best Ice Cream Shop 2nd: Jeremiah's Italian Ice 3rd: Mochi Frozen Yogurt |
Best Vegetarian/Vegan 2nd: Dandelion Communitea Cafe 3rd: Loving Hut |
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Best Indian 2nd: Memories of India 3rd: Kohinoor Indian Restaurant |
Best Vietnamese 2nd: Viet Garden 3rd: Lac Viet Bistro |
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Best Irish 2nd: The Harp & Celt Restaurant and Irish Pub 3rd: (tie): Raglan Road Irish Pub 3rd: (tie) Claddagh Cottage Irish Pub |
Best Wine Bar 2nd: The Wine Room on Park Avenue 3rd: Funky Monkey Wine Company |
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Best Italian 2nd: Antonio's 3rd: Carrabbas Italian Grill |
Best Wings 2nd: Gator's Dockside 3rd: Ker's WingHouse Bar & Grill |
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Best Latin 2nd: Numero Uno Restaurant 3rd: Pollo Pio Pio |
Best Late Night 2nd: Steak 'n Shake 3rd: Denny's |
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Best Gay Bar 2nd: Pulse 3rd: Revolution Nightclub |
Best Barbecue 2nd: Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ 3rd: Sonny's Real Pit B-B-Q |
Writer's Picks
Best beer evangelist
Mike Smith
www.floridamicrobev.com
You've surely noticed that the beer selection at your local public house has gotten considerably better over the last few years. One of the people you can thank for that is Mike Smith. As the public face of Florida Micro Beverage Distributors, Smith is the guy who's getting that Hoppin' Frog IPA, Left Hand Milk Stout and Shipyard BlueFin Stout into bars that a half-decade ago thought they were catering to beer snobs by serving Michelob AmberBock. Firmly in the camp of small-scale craft brewers, Smith is on the good side of the beer wars, putting on events like the Beer Bomb Bike Tour, beer dinners and even beer golf in order to get people to think past the Bud/Miller/Coors conglomerates when it comes to drinking.
Best do-it-yourself coffee
Mysore coffee at Udipi Café
1275 S. Highway 17-92, Longwood
407-696-7775
It's worth the first-degree burns to your fingers just to sip the chicory-tinged Mysore coffee at Udipi Café. That's because its full flavor is attained by repeatedly high-pouring the scalding brew by hand in long arcs from a tumbler to a metal bowl to aerate and produce the beverage's characteristic milky froth. The coffee is brewed using a slow-drip extraction process similar to Vietnamese coffee but with beans picked from India's Blue Mountains and roasted and ground in the Garden State. Jerseylicious.
State. Jerseylicious.Finest example of British imperial decadence on a plate
Sticky toffee pudding at
Best of British Pub
8324 International Drive
407-264-9189
www.bestofbritishpub.com
Just a taste of the incredible toffee sauce slathered over a square of buttery sponge cake helps one appreciate the once-mighty British Empire's much-maligned culinary tradition. Offer heartfelt (literally) apologies to your arteries, then revel in this post-fish-and-chips indulgence. A pool of divine English cream and an ample side of custard guarantee you'll be weighed down by a few not-so-sterling British pounds.
Best festival fillers
Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival
www.orlandofringe.org
For some people, the best reason to attend the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival is for the food court set up on the "Green Lawn of Fabulousness" in Loch Haven Park. This year's menu was particularly tempting: The Loving Hut tent sold $1 slices of watermelon in addition to robust vegan dinners. Raphsodic Cooperative Company provided fresh-baked vegan goodies, such as the "toasted almond rosewater sammie." Elite Soul Food's fried catfish with sides of macaroni and cheese, collard greens and corn bread was worth the cooked-to-order wait time. On the greasy side, fried peanut-butter-and-jelly "clouds" at Pete and Peg's Roadhouse Grill were a killer complement to the healthier fare.
Best hot chef
Hari Pulapaka, Cress Restaurant
103 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand
386-734-3740
www.cressrestaurant.com
You might make a case for the Ravenous Pig's Julie Petrakis, but Cress Restaurant's Hari Pulapaka is the, ahem, whole package. He's got book smarts, cook smarts and he looks smart — female patrons often turn to mush in his presence. His charming and humble disposition, brilliant smile, facial scruff and smoldering brown eyes spark an innate sizzle that parlays to the plate. What can we say? The man's a dish — and a hot one at that.
Best lunchtime sanctuary
Fiorella's Cucina Toscana at the Westin Imagine
9501 Universal Blvd.
407-233-2950
www.fiorellasorlando.com
A hotel restaurant that's quiet, serene and calming? In Orlando? Off I-Drive? Lunacy! Yet there Fiorella's sits, in all its tranquil glory, on the sweet-scented ground floor of the Westin Imagine Hotel. The restaurant is a haven, particularly during lunchtime hours, when nary a conventioneer graces the restaurant's beautifully modern dining room decorated with glass works by local artist Charles Keila. Upside: a slew of rustic Tuscan lunch specials for $9.99. Downside: the secret's out.
Best catch
"Bruce Gore" wild coho salmon at Winter Park Fish Co.
761 Orange Ave., Winter Park
407-622-6112
www.winterparkfish.com
Caught by hook and line, then stunned, bled, cleaned and frozen at sea within 15 minutes, the "Bruce Gore" wild coho at the Winter Park Fish Company offers an unparalleled option for eco-conscious seafood lovers. The appellation is a reference to the famed fisherman whose Triad Fisheries has set the standard for sustainable, humane and hygienic fishing practices. Simply put, this grilled salmon is the finest catch in town.
Best down-home dessert
Sweet potato pie at Lowe's Good Eaton Soul Food
429 E. Kennedy Blvd., Eatonville
407-647-7955
Pecan pie may be Paula Deen's pick, banana pudding a downright Southern bonne bouche and red velvet cake a sugary showstopper, but, dagnabbit, if sweet potato pie ain't the finest in the land! Lowe's pastry trumps them all, thanks to an even-handed use of nutmeg and cinnamon. An extra splash of vanilla results in a pie so lip-smacking good that, in the words of owner Shea Lowe, "It'll make you wanna slap yo' momma upside the head."
Best unexpected condominium cultural casserole
Mucho Tequila and Taco
s 101 S. Eola Drive
407-843-9676
www.muchotequilaandtacos.com
Following a series of short-lived concepts on the first level of outer-Thornton Park's condo-topian ghost town wasn't going to be easy, but the Beacon Hill Group made a go for the slightly raunchy when it opened a loosely Mexican-themed rec room of inexpensive food and hard liquor. It appears to have paid off. Just north of fast food, but just south of what's left of Orlando's flipping money, the balance delivers more on the irony than it does in the service or the food. Blaring '80s metal echoes off a yellowed saloon-wall template, drifting out the door to the jarring juxtaposition of South Beach whiteness. Somewhere in the collision of two worlds you'll find a fair approximation of Orlando.
Best realization that gays would rather drink than eat
Stonewall Neighborhood Bar
741 W. Church St.
407-373-0888
www.stonewallorlando.com
Originally opened as Stonewall Bistro with a little help from some city grants, this former restaurant already stood at the bottom of a rather steep cultural hill, thanks to its inauspicious location in the heart of Parramore's blight. Over the past year, though, the Bistro part became increasingly irrelevant. Stonewall, named after the famous gay rebellion, put on its nightlife frock, reworked its interior to a Bewitched living room and grew into the gay bar it was probably always meant to be. Theme nights abound, but a swelling core of displaced regulars has turned the new Stonewall into a great neighborhood bar in a bad neighborhood.
Best icing on a theater experience
Amanda's Cakery cupcakes at the Garden Theatre
304 W. Bay St., Winter Garden
407-347-5366
At the Crimes of the Heart production last November at the Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, in addition to the old-fangled popcorn machine in the lobby, cupcakes were for sale from nearby Amanda and Mary's Bakery. The wholesome taste — the rich vanilla, in particular, topped with a not-too-sweet frosting, delicately dusted with sprinkles — matched the scenery of the quaint theater. The small business that created the cakes has gone through some changes and now does custom orders only — so when calling the Garden Theatre box office, make sure to encourage an encore.
Best Goldilocks sandwiches
Kappy's Subs
501 N. Orlando Ave., Maitland
407-647-9099
Let's admit it: Publix subs cost far too much for too little, and Subway just plain doesn't know how to construct the things, "artists" though they be. Since the '70s, walk-up joint Kappy's Subs, conveniently located across from Publix on 17-92 in Maitland, gets it just right. For a few bucks, they provide the perfect, belly-filling amount of tasty sandwich in a reasonable amount of time from behind an actual grill. Not everything they offer is quite so economical — we're looking at you, underwhelming french fries — but who says perfection comes without sacrifice?
Best pasties
Piccadilly cheddar and onion from the British Shoppe
809 N. Mills Ave.
407-898-1634
www.thebritishshoppe.com
Leave the bangers, beans and mash to Aldous Snow, but when it comes to pasties, there's only one stop you need to make: Club Harem! (We kid.) The Europhiles at the British Shoppe on Mills have what you need when it comes to the British approximation of what the rest of us call "food." Because they're imported directly from the source, most of the UK delectables are frozen, which doesn't matter a lick when it comes to the cheddar-and-onion pasties, which are like calzones but more, you know, proper. The sizable treats run a respectable $4.35 and also come in traditional Cornish beef.
Cornish beef.Best New Orleans-style dining experience
Crawfish etouffee at The Bistro on Park Avenue
348 N. Park Ave., Winter Park
407-539-6520
www.bistroonparkavenue.com
The enchanting courtyard of the Hidden Gardens encloses classic French Quarter flavor as the Bistro dishes up suppertime Cajun specialties like spicy crawfish etouffee ($25 including salad and yeast rolls) and homemade oyster stew ($8). Tastes like it's straight out of maman's kitchen.
Best artistic display of shrimp
Shrimp-stuffed wonton at Wazzabi Sushi
1408 Gay Road, Winter Park
407-647-8744
www.wazzabisushi.com
The tasty masterpiece is so exquisite you almost don't want to eat it — almost. Crispy, crunchy deep-fried wonton on the outside, succulent tender jumbo shrimp and cream cheese on the inside, followed by a tangy zing of Maui onion sauce. The bottom of the martini glass where this burst of culinary inspiration rests is painted with a lethal stroke of wasabi that's sure to clear the sinuses.
clear the sinuses. [email protected] 
Goods & Services Adult Entertainment - Bartender - Bicycle Shop - Bookstore - CD Store - Comic Book Store - Dry Cleaners - DVD Store - Farmers Market - Fashion Designer - Furniture - Hair Salon - Health Food Store - Liquor Store - Meat - Men's Fashion - Musical Instruments - Pet Supplies - Scooters - Seafood - Shoe Store - Skate Shop - Smoke Shop - Spa - Tanning Salon - Tattoo Parlor - Thrift Store - T-Shirts - Veterinarian - Video Game Store - Wine Shop - Women's Fashion - Nail Salon - Vinyl Record - Vintage Clothing - Writer's Picks
Goods & Services Adult Entertainment - Bartender - Bicycle Shop - Bookstore - CD Store - Comic Book Store - Dry Cleaners - DVD Store - Farmers Market - Fashion Designer - Furniture - Hair Salon - Health Food Store - Liquor Store - Meat - Men's Fashion - Musical Instruments - Pet Supplies - Scooters - Seafood - Shoe Store - Skate Shop - Smoke Shop - Spa - Tanning Salon - Tattoo Parlor - Thrift Store - T-Shirts - Veterinarian - Video Game Store - Wine Shop - Women's Fashion - Nail Salon - Vinyl Record - Vintage Clothing - Writer's Picks
Goods & Services
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Best Adult Entertainment 2nd: Premier Adult Factory Outlet 3rd: Blissful Lotus Romance Boutique |
Best Pet Supplies 2nd: Petco 3rd: Pookie's Pet Nutrition |
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Best Bartender 2nd: Dan Dyer 3rd: Preston Dehler |
Best Scooters 2nd: Honda 3rd: Ride Green Scooters |
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Best Bicycle Shop 2nd: Ace Metric Cycles 3rd: Kyle's Bike Shop |
Best Seafood 2nd: Winter Park Fish Co. 3rd: Whole Foods |
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Best Bookstore 2nd: Borders 3rd: The Bookworm |
Best Shoe Store 2nd: Payless Shoes 3rd: Nordstrom |
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Best CD Store 2nd: Best Buy 3rd: F.Y.E. |
Best Skate Shop 2nd: Ron Jon Surf Shop 3rd: Galactic G |
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Best Comic Book Store 2nd: Coliseum of Comics 3rd: Acme Comics |
Best Smoke Shop 2nd: Corona Cigar Company 3rd: Pipe Dreams 3rd: (tie) Purple Ringer |
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Best Dry Cleaners 1st: (tie) Best Cleaners 2nd: PriceLess Cleaners 3rd: Parisian Cleaners |
Best Spa 2nd: Euro Day Spa 3rd: The Spa |
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Best DVD Store 2nd: Best Buy 3rd: Blockbuster |
Best Tanning Salon 2nd: Hollywood Tans 3rd: Planet Beach |
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Best Farmers Market 2nd: Orlando Farmers Market at Lake Eola 3rd: Audubon Park Community Market |
Best Tattoo Parlor 2nd: Black Chapel Tattoo Studio and Body Piercing Studio 3rd: Orlando Tattoo Company |
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Best Fashion Designer 2nd: Jesse LeNoir 3rd: Consuelo Bellini |
Best Thrift Store 2nd: Dechoes Resale Emporium 3rd: Thriftko |
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Best Furniture 2nd: Washburn Imports 3rd: 1618 Something Different |
Best T-Shirts 2nd: Enemy Ink 3rd: Static |
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Best Hair Salon 2nd: Shag'd Hair Studio 3rd: Nube Nove |
Best Veterinarian 2nd: Winter Park Veterinary Hospital 3rd: McAbee Veterinary Hospital |
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Best Health Food Store 2nd: Chamberlin's 3rd: Fresh Market |
Best Video Game Store 2nd: Play N Trade Video Games 3rd: Best Buy |
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Best Liquor Store 2nd: ABC 3rd: Wally's Mills Avenue Liquors |
Best Wine Shop 2nd: Tim's Wine Market 3rd: The Wine Room |
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Best Meat 2nd: Fresh Fields Farm 3rd: Publix |
Best Women's Fashion 2nd: Dechoes Resale Emporium 3rd: Tuni Winter Park |
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Best Men's Fashion 2nd: Etoile Boutique 3rd: Men's Wearhouse |
Best Nail Salon 2nd: Magic Nails 3rd: Bahama Nails and Spa |
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Best Musical Instruments 2nd: Guitar Center 3rd: George's Music |
Best Vinyl Record Store 2nd: Rock & Roll Heaven 3rd: Drop Shop |
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Best Vintage Clothing Store 2nd: Etoile Boutique 3rd: Déjà vu Vintage Clothing |
Writer's Picks
Best shop to score Disney detritus Mouse Surplus
1000 Detour Road, Haines City
863-422-0000
www.mousesurplus.com
Disney T-shirts are $10 a dozen up and down International Drive, but if you want the mother lode of Mickey merchandise, head south on I-4 to Haines City in Polk County. Mouse Surplus specializes in selling the stuff Disney doesn't want anymore, from used hotel furniture to parts for abandoned attractions like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. One corporation's trash can be another superfan's treasure — just make sure there's room in your vehicle before bringing home that monorail car.
Best illustrated lady
Rifle Paper Co.
558 W. New England Ave., Winter Park
407-622-7679
www.riflepaperco.com
With projects under her belt for high-profile design and craft websites like Design*Sponge, Oh Joy, Once Wed, even Martha Stewart, Anna Bond is just another Orlandoan quietly going about the business of being awesome. She may be under the radar (for now) here in town, but in the Internet- fueled explosion of handmade art and craft, she's royalty. Bond has been trying to get a bricks-and-mortar shop off the ground for more than a year now — we know she'll get there soon, and she promises "an awesome party" when she does — but for one reason or another it just hasn't happened yet. In the meantime, her whimsical illustrated stationery and cards are available in her online shop, along with links to free downloadable DIY projects, and she does custom work like wedding invitations by appointment.
Best place to manifest the old adage "you are what you eat"
Etro at Premium Outlets
8200 Vineland Ave.
407-238-5789
www.premiumoutlets.com
Men have it hard in the tweedy weeds of the retail-shopping conundrum. There are only so many variations of slacks and shirts a guy can lay his lazy eyes on without literally falling asleep on a bench at the mall. But should you be a guy with slightly more adventurous tastes — meaning, you're gay — Milan-based design house Etro brings its fabulous runoff to Premium Outlets. Etro is the only place you'll find a sweater with a giant pear on it or a jacket seemingly made from a lithograph of bunched grapes Etro also has women's wear, but the store is Orlando's best-kept secret for men who would rather wear food than eat it.
Best pseudo tropical vacation
Bahama Nails and Spa
multiple locations
www.bahamanailsandspa.com
A pseudo-beach getaway is right at your fingertips — literally — minus the traveling and expenses. At Bahama Nails your personal cabana boy (or girl) tends to your mani/pedi as the soothing sounds of calypso music play in the background. The oceanscape mural and mock tiki hut will help you feel like you're spending a day at the beach but without the sticky sand and blistering sun.
Best paleodoodie
The Dinosaur Store
250 W. Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa Beach
321-783-7300
www.dinosaurstore.com
Yes, it's a drive, but you just can't get this stuff without a little effort. What stuff? Well, there's the standard selection of fossilized bones, shells and plants, but they're a little pricey. Opt for a comparatively cheap alternative, one sure to bring a look of fascination (mingled with disgust) to your sweetheart's face: coproliths. That's fossilized poop, and the Dinosaur Store has piles of them. You can hold in your hand something a carnivore ate and recycled millions of years ago, and you won't even have to wash up afterward.
Best All-American
Makr Carry Goods
www.makr.com
Makr designer Jason Gregory told style blog A Continuous Lean that his exquisitely detailed leather goods are "conceived in nostalgia, nourished through new technology … with a return to traditional craft." Coinciding neatly with a burgeoning fascination for all things American and small-batch, Makr bags and wallets used to be entirely handmade in Gregory's Winter Park studio, from staining the leather to stitching the edges and wax-buffing the finished product; careful expansion brought them to the point that production had to be sourced to a small family-owned factory nearby. Makr is carried by a few shops in New York and along the West Coast, but Orlandoans in need of a camera bag, card case or the perfect iPhone sleeve will have to purchase online. Rest easy, though, knowing that you're still buying local.
Best place to drop a book
Best Used Books
800 S. Highway 17-92, Longwood
407-339-8200
Let's face it, as big metro areas go, Orlando is woefully short on good used bookstores. Once you get past the rows of indistinguishable romance novels, pickings are slim. Surprises lurk in this no-frills strip mall shop. Sure, there's Harlequin mush, but other shelves are packed with weighty art books, former prizewinners like Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel and more obscurely fascinating stuff — say, the 19th-century Japanese political analysis A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government. The selection's not just cheap; they take trade-ins for half-off credit.
Best wedding resource for cheap bastards
Publix
multiple locations
www.publix.com
Planning your perfect recession-era wedding reception? Instead of dropping a mortgage payment on dessert and décor, consider placing a special order at your neigh borhood Publix supermarket. Bridezillas beware: Your Tiffany-blue cupcake frosting may come out seafoam green, but if you've got more flexibility than funds, you can fill 95 percent of food and flower needs without the usual marital markup.
Best Glee school
Midway Elementary School
2368 Brisson Ave., Sanford
407-320-5950
www.scps.k12.fl.us
The next time you watch Glee and think, "There's no way all those kids can break out into immaculately harmonized, multi-instrument-aided songs out of nowhere," well, you're right. Arts funding in Florida schools is a joke. In fact, just last year Florida epublicans pushed to repeal arts money altogether. Enter late composer Leonard Bernstein, whose Leonard Bernstein Center is partially responsible for Midway Elementary in Sanford, which begins its first full student-body class this fall. The brand-new, eco-friendly campus features dance and instrument lessons as required courses, boasts drool- worthy Mac and TV production labs and a phys-ed program the school refers to as "Cirque du Midway." The best part: It's free and open to any kid grades K-5. The downer: Admissions are lottery based.
Best sign that print is not dead
Mama's Sauce
1620A Alden Road
321-251-5445
www.mamas-sauce.com
Letterpress and screen printing are undergoing something of a renaissance lately — maybe staring at a screen all day, as most people do, makes us want something we can feel with our fingertips, not just our retinas. Whatever the reason behind the trend, the guys at Mama's Sauce are meeting it by manhandling their Kluge press, a giant, oily pneumatic machine, to create beautiful, delicate business cards and wedding invitations. When Nick, Joey and Austin aren't bending steel and steam to their will, they're cutting screens and squeegee-ing in ink to build your favorite gig posters and T-shirts, and printing CD and LP covers to boot. We love a man who's good with his hands.
Best discounted brassieres
Nordstrom Rack Millenia Crossing
4036 Eastgate Drive
321-558-3800
www.shop.nordstrom.com
Markdowns can be found on all calibers of uppity brands of clothing, but they don't call this outlet arsenal the "Nordstrom Rack" for nothing. Hundreds of bolstering contraptions fill the undies corner at the less-than-a-year-old offshoot, where prices are half what they are at the nearby mother store at the Florida Mall. We're talking about the luxe labels that Oprah and her acolytes discover on her bra-educating TV excursions into the full-price Nordstrom's: Wacoal, SPANX, Donna Karan, Betsey Johnson and Cosabella — yours for a reasonable price.
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Local Charitable Group - Local Website - Local TV Newsperson - Local Bigshot - Local Blog - Local Politician - Local Radio Personality - Local Writer - Place to Take Visitors from Out of Town - Local Politician in Need of a Slap Upside the Head - Reason to Live in Orlando - Reason to Leave Orlando - TV News Hair - Whatever - Writer's Picks
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Best Local Charitable Group 2nd: Second Harvest Food Bank 3rd: Give Kids the World | ;
Best Local Writer 2 Billy Manes 3rd: Mike Thomas; | ;
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Best Local Website 2nd: The Daily City 3rd: Buy Local Orlando | ;
Best Place to Take Visitors from Out of Town 2nd: A Comic Shop | ;;
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Best Local TV Newsperson 2nd: Bob Opsahl 3rd: Danny Treanor | ;
Best Local Politician in Need of a Slap Upside the Head 2nd: U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson 3rd: (former) Orange County Commissioner Mildred Fernandez | ;
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Best Local Bigshot 2nd: Aaron Haaland 3rd: Jim Philips | ;
Best Reason to Live in Orlando 2nd: A Comic Shop 3rd: The people | ;
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Best Local Blog 2nd: Smile for Camera 3rd: Analog Artist Digital World | ;
Best Reason to Leave Orlando 2nd: Traffic 3rd: There is no beach | ;
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Best Local Politician 2nd: Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer ; 3rd: Orange County Commissioner Bill Segal | ;
Best TV News Hair ; 2nd: Bob Opsahl ;;WFTV Channel 9; | ;
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Best Local Radio Personality 2nd: Johnny Magic 3rd: Jayde | ;
Best Whatever 2nd: A Comic Shop 3rd: Hard Knocks | ;
Writer's picks
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Best year of tabloid infamy
;Orlando ultra lounges
Who says Tiger Woods never did anything for Orlando? The athletic cocksman's 2009 sex scandal dragged all kinds of filthy paraphernalia out of the dungeon of inequity known as his personal life, but he can be thanked for elevating the national infamy of Orlando's club scene, at least. From Club 23 to the Blue Martini, Orlando's muffin-topped waitresses experienced a moment in the TMZ spotlight that ended up looking relatively sophisticated next to what was to come later. In March, a woman claimed Florida native and Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes smashed a glass into her face at Club Rain on Kirkman Road. She sued Holmes and claimed the
;Orlando Police Department encouraged her not to file charges. (The police report was, somewhat suspiciously, filed weeks later.)
;You stay classy, Orlando.
Best monkey wrench
;Florida Tea Party
Ah, the Tea Party. Or Tea Parties. Or Florida Tea Party. Or Tea Parties of Florida. Or … confusing, isn't it? Sometimes it's that way on purpose. The real, authentic, original Tea Partiers are a proudly decentralized group, united in little more than hating "liberals/progressives," remaining disorganized and claiming the name. But in August 2009, a few locals with long political histories – Fred O'Neal, Doug Guetzloe and Nick Egoroff – registered an actual "Tea Party" with the Florida Division of Elections, threatening to split the vote against TPer's bête noire Rep. Alan Grayson. Fundraising letters went out in the name of the "Florida Tea Party," which prompted immediate indignant disavowals from "real" unofficial Tea Partiers, and the whole thing has degenerated into a mess of dueling lawsuits.
;;Best (and most frightening) self-referential political stunt
;Linda Stewart's self-replication
;at Come Out with Pride
;www.lindastewartformayor.com
Last October's Come Out With Pride parade was, as usual, a rainy mess of expensive cologne fumes stirred by the big, gay thumps of house anthems. But it also turned out to be a political-cloning exercise for Orange County mayoral hopeful Linda Stewart (who can also be mistaken for a 3 a.m. drag-queen hallucination on occasion). Stewart made be-wigged waves with her growing gay fanbase by turning a select segment of them into male Linda Stewarts on bicycles. While the stunt may not have been a total stretch for a campaign seemingly sewn together by nimble queer fingers, Stewart's self-deprecating self-replication proved the afternoon's most worthwhile spectacle, at least among those spectacles that were wearing shirts.
;;Best botched repair of arterial occlusion
;Orange Avenue Streetscape,
;Winter Park
An aerial view of this rehabilitated gateway to Winter Park shows multiple veins coming together in a knot of
;confusion, with the centerpiece – a clock – sidelined to an inconspicuous corner. If you dare look at the Roman numbers, you risk missing a death-defying move by a pedestrian, cyclist or motorist trying to cross the $2.7 million Orange Avenue Streetscape project, which is supposed to actually improve the six-way crossroads of North Orange Avenue, South Denning Drive and Minnesota Avenue. Just as inscrutable as the intersection is the reality that more city streetscape projects
;are underway.
Best community organizer
;Kat Quast
Zombies and kickball may not seem like the most obvious way to bring a neighborhood together, but by organizing and promoting events like Zombietoberfest, a Monty Python tribute festival and, yes, a kickball tournament, Kat Quast is at the forefront of defining the vibe of the
;previously inchoate Audubon Park Garden District. Roughly encompassing the strip of Corrine Drive between Leu Gardens and Baldwin Park – including Stardust Video and Coffee, Park Ave CDs, Big Daddy's Roadhouse and other shops and restaurants – the district organically became one of the hippest places in town. Thanks to Quast's efforts, the area is thriving, both as a destination and as a livable and
;vibrant community.
Best trivial pursuit of national notoriety
;Scott Maxwell becomes an
;answer on Jeopardy!
On April 20, the name of everyone's favorite do-gooder dreamboat of an Orlando Sentinel columnist mysteriously dripped from the tongue of Jeopardy!'s King Geek Alex Trebek. "Columnist Scott Maxwell stands guard for this Orlando paper," read the blue-and-white screen associated with a second-round $2,000 prize. Maxwell would shortly thereafter explain that the "stand guard"-as-Sentinel-reference eluded him – rendering him an unlikely Jeopardy! contestant in his own right.
;;Best morning wood
;The Senator, Big Tree Park
; 761 General Hutchison Parkway,
;Longwood
Morning, noon or night, The Senator is the biggest natural shaft in these parts. And as a fillip to all you worried older guys, it's more than 3,500 years old and still standing tall. In fact it's one of the tallest bald cypress trees in the country at about 125 feet – and that's after losing 40 feet to a 1926 hurricane. As centerpiece of a park, The Senator has sprouted supporting amenities: a wooden walkway, picnic area and restrooms. Those are needed because the big stick has been attracting visitors at least since President Calvin Coolidge came to
;stroke it.
Best little-girl-lost story that doesn't end with a body
;Nadia Bloom's successful rescue
Florida has seen enough missing girls turn up dead, if they turn up at all, to risk becoming an Internet meme, so it was extra-good news when 11-year-old Winter Springs girl Nadia Bloom was found alive and relatively well on April 13 after four harrowing days lost in the woods. Whew. But the best people-watching came in the immediate
;aftermath, wherein her rescuer turned out to be a creepy old outdoorsman who claimed he started speaking in tongues shortly before finding her and that God led him there. Even better were the cries of "hallelujah" the unbelievable tale elicited even from typically levelheaded reporters like the Sentinel's
;Scott Maxwell.
Best small-town spectacle
;Resident chickens in downtown Oviedo
If you've ever wondered why the chicken crossed the road, you might find the answer in Oviedo, where more than 30 free-roaming chickens stake claim to the parking lot of fast-food/fried-chicken purveyor Popeye's. The chickens likely trace back to a rooster and hen spotted in the mid-1990s in a downtown parking lot. A businessman with a fondness for fowl fed and nurtured the pair, which eventually turned into a flock. The birds – which locals say are
;reminders of the town's simple farming roots – like to
;loiter while those who like their chicken a little less fresh and with a little more breading enjoy their
;greasy feasts.
Best case of politics literally choking on testosterone
;The No-Name Club scandal
It's an unwritten rule on the political highball circuit that the best deals are drawn in the whiskey-tainted spittle of aging men who navigate expensive cars and silicone breasts through the suit-pant swish of extravagant private events. In March, Republican lobbyist Fred Leonhardt accidentally let the dog out of the bag when he let word seep into the public domain about his secret "The No Name Club," an all-male (except for the eye candy) group that held private parties at upscale venues. Orange County mayor Rich Crotty – along with a host of other guy guys including mayoral hopeful Bill Segal and various Sentinel staffers – got caught in the hormone fallout of the cigar-smoke-filled balloon leak, leading many female politicians to cry foul over the potential ethics violations implied by such exclusionary events. At least one among them, mayoral hopeful Mildred
;Fernandez, would go on to eat her words when she was arrested on corruption charges just a
;month later. Fishy.
Best train of fools
;The radical disconnect of SunRail and high-speed rail
At some point in all of the pronouncements about infrastructural improvements involving railroads, somebody must have pulled his head out of the engine room and noticed that our two biggest transportation projects – the SunRail commuter train and the federally funded high-speed rail line to Tampa – were not being developed with a conjunction junction in mind. Back in February, Orange County mayor Rich Crotty sounded the whistle of the obvious, calling for some kind of connection between the CSX-tracked commuter line and the shiny new non-CSX bullet train; he's since gone on to endorse a privately funded Maglev pipe dream to connect the two earthbound lines, while others have suggested a
;connecting bus.
Best movie scene come to life
;Jason Rodriguez downtown shutdown
Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, was a quiet day in the old, now-rotting Orlando Weekly offices on Livingston Street when, on our "royal-We" trip to get some lunch, there arose such a clatter. It was a big-ass tank! We looked out at the horizon; no cars on I-4! After we sprinted back to the safety of our leaky former building, it was discovered that Jason Rodriguez, a guy who believed his brain was being hacked, had killed someone at his former office at Gateway Center, injured others and was … wait for it … still on the loose! Armed SWAT teams scoured the streets looking for the fugitive, who was finally caught two and a half hours later.
;;;Best post-interview arts booster etiquette
;Kathy Ramsberger
;www.drphillipscenter.org
On the surface, Kathy Ramsberger, president of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, is an impenetrable wall of development boosterism. She trots her way through the questionable financing of the ill-conceived performing arts center with all of the aplomb of a seasoned realtor on her way to the nearest appletini. But she didn't come to her position of power without manners. Following a two-hour interview with her earlier this year, Ramsberger sent this paper a follow-up gift: a framed square of the old, orange flag that hung outside city hall for about six months and read "2012" – the date the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts was supposed to open. The flag was quietly lowered last year when it became obvious that the center would not open on time. "A piece of the arts center's history for your desk," read the postcard delivered with the fabric square. "An inaugural flag remnant." Then she went on to soil the name of the paper to everyone she could after OW's story on the Phillips center ("Keeping up appearances," March 24) hit the stands. No hard feelings, though. It's the thought
;that counts.
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Sports & Rec. City Park - Dog Park - Local Sports Team - Miniature Golf Course - Place to Bowl - Place to Camp - Place to Work Out - Pool Hall - Public Golf Course - River to Canoe/Kayak - Shooting Range - Skateboard Park - Theme Park Ride - Theme Park - Water Park - Yoga Studio
;;;Sports & Rec
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Best City Park 2nd: Central Park 3rd: Blue Jacket Park Best Dog Park 2nd: Dr. Phillips Park 3rd: Paw Park ; | ;
Best Public Golf Course 2nd: Winter Pines Golf Club 3rd: MetroWest Golf Club | ;
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Best Yoga Studio 2nd: Orlando Power Yoga 3rd: Shine On Yoga | ;
Best River to Canoe/Kayak 2nd: Econlockhatchee River 3rd: (tie): Rock Springs Run State Reserve 3rd: (tie): Blue Springs State Park | ;
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Best Local Sports Team 2nd: Orlando Predators 3rd: Orlando Titans | ;
Best Shooting Range: 2nd: Shoot Straight 3rd: Oak Ridge Gun Range [12] | ;
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Best Miniature Golf Course 2nd: Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf 3rd: Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf | ;
Best Skateboard Park 2nd: Orlando Skate Park 3rd: Rippin' Riverside Skatepark | ;
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Best Place to Bowl 2nd: Firkin & Kegler 3rd: Colonial Lanes | ;
Best Theme Park Ride 2nd: Manta 3rd: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-man | ;
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Best Place to Camp 2nd: Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort 3rd: Ocala National Forest | ;
Best Theme Park 2nd: Disney's Magic Kingdom 3rd: SeaWorld Orlando | ;
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Best Place to Work Out 2nd: LA Fitness 3rd: Planet Fitness | ;
Best Water Park 2nd: Disney's Blizzard Beach 3rd: Aquatica | ;
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Best Pool Hall 2nd: Trick Shots Billiards 3rd: Clicks Billiards | ;;
Writer's Picks
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Best garters and gridiron
;Orlando Fantasy,
;;Lingerie Football League;
;www.iflux.com
The city of Orlando didn't warm to the professional, if sedate, Orlando Miracle ;WNBA team years ago, so that team left town in 2003 and renamed themselves the ;Connecticut Sun. Perhaps the spice and spectacle of the much-hyped Orlando Fantasy, a new team that's part of the Lingerie Football League, will meet with better success. The Fantasy held tryouts in May, and they'll play their first game on Sept. 24 at the UCF Arena, battling the Tampa Breeze. It's an all-women's tackle league — and the players are equipped with helmets, shoulder and knee pads, and yes, bras, panties and garters.
;;Best theme-park hideaway
;The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort;
;4510 N. Fort Wilderness Trail,
;Lake Buena Vista407-939-1289
;www.disneyworld.disney.go.com
If you stay at the faux-Northwestern log cabin Fort Wilderness resort, in order to get to the actual Disney theme park you've got to hop on a ferry that travels around the back, way past a mysterious wooded island filled with active, athletic outdoorsmen and women doing things other than gorging on room service and buying up souvenirs. Who are these heathens, you ask? They're campers at the real "fort" of the Wilderness resort, a 750-acre getaway with horses, beach volleyball, water sports, fishing and exercise trails. Starting at just $59, which gets you a full hook-up campsite for one RV, two tents, electricity, water/sewer, a grill and a picnic table, you can enjoy the Magic Kingdom without the ;sedentary guilt.
;;Best way to die with the wind in your hair
;Black Hammock Adventures
; 2356 Black Hammock Fish Camp Road, Oviedo
;407-365-1244
;www.blackhammockairboatrides.com
Keep your hands and feet inside the airboat, for under the black waters of Lake Jesup lurks the largest concentration of gators in the country – it's estimated that more than 10,000 of them cruise the lake's depths. You're bound to catch sight of a few as Black Hammock's tour guides take you on a death roll through the swamp ($23.95 for a 30-minute ride), weaving and j-turning the airboats through the gator-laden waters. If you're lucky, you'll also catch sight of wild boar, turtles and bald eagles along the way.
;;Best way to get a new football field
;The Citrus Bowl sod fiasco
January's pigskin follies didn't come without a price tag. The city spent $36,000 on Bermuda grass to try to make the old Citrus Bowl presentable for national consumption. The only problem was that it didn't get around to putting down the sod until just days before the 2010 Champs and Capital One games. TV audiences nationwide got to watch as the cleats of the college-football players ripped up the sod in flying chunks. Immediately after the debacle, the city went into crisis-management mode, promising a thicker $69,000 sod makeover. By April, though, still stinging from that embarrassment, the city went ahead with an agreement that included the installation of $1 million worth of artificial turf.
;;Best family-friendly tribute to an alleged child molester
;Captain EO's return to Epcot at Walt Disney World
;407-824-4321
;www.disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot
In 1986, Epcot featured a then-novel attempt at pop-culture relevance by debuting Captain EO, an extravagant 3-D movie ; that merged George Lucas, Anjelica Huston, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Jackson in a silly science-fiction sing-off. Now that M.J.'s (alleged) sins have been washed ;away by untimely death, Disney returned EO to Epcot for a summer "tribute" run. Try not to flinch when the King of Pop protrudes from the screen.
;;Best date spot to play with your balls
;Bocce ball court at Portofino Bay Hotel
;5601 Universal Blvd.
;407-503-1000
;www.loewshotels.com
Park in the Universal Orlando garage ($3 after 6 p.m.) and take a water taxi from CityWalk to the Portofino Bay Hotel. Time the visit at sunset, and you'll arrive to a live opera performance in the plaza. Follow signs to the spa, then turn right to the pool. Tucked among the Roman baths are a couple of freely usable bocce ball courts nestled into the pseudo-Italian Riviera scenery. We promise that there's nothing more romantic than a friendly game of lawn bowling.
;;Best resurrected fronton
;Orlando Jai Alai ;6405 U.S. Highway 17-92, Fern Park;407-339-6221
;www.orlandojaialai.com
Did you know that Florida is the only place where jai alai, that puzzling sport of kings (or at least of council elders) in which competitors hurl a "pelota" from a "cesta" at 150 mph while people bet on … um, we're not sure … is still played? In the whole country! Back in December, Orlando Jai Alai in Fern Park was forced to close its doors after 47 years, thus moving the sport from endangered to nearly extinct. That is, until an unnamed buyer swooped in and saved the place. Huzzah! The gambling joint, which employs more than 100 people, is now back in business and looks to be able to continue throwing its balls around for a long ;time to come.
;;Best way to be both gay and a jock
;Gay Orlando Sports
;www.gayorlando.com/gosports
Not all of Orlando's gays are down in the Glee basement with Kurt practicing the choreography to "Single Ladies"; some are secretly crushing on footballing fumbler Finn. Fortunately for them, gayorlando.com offers a number of outdoor-activity options that shed gay stereotypes (or keep them). Softball, bowling, biking, tennis, running and, gulp, Gays and Lesbians on Water Skis (GLOWS!) are among the sports available, and they're not all totally gay. The fact that the various groups are listed on the site is "not an indication of the sexuality of any particular player, manager, coach or owner," gayorlando.com's website clarifies. That's up to you to find out.
;;Best gator cheese
;Gatorland
;14501 S. Orange Blossom Trail
;800-393-5297
;www.gatorland.com
You haven't lived until you've experienced the distinct brand of gator cheesiness served at Gatorland. The family-run, 1949-founded attraction has always provided its signature gator wrestling and chicken-chomping "Gator Jumparoo Show" with a sizable side of kitsch. Last Halloween, however, the creative forces really layered on the redneck cheddar with a white trash versus UFOs haunted trail. For vintage Velveeta on a budget, there's no better reptile resort or Halloween horror.
;;Best almost-champions
;Orlando Titans
;www.orlandotitans.com
So, what about that Orlando sports team that plays at Amway Arena and made it all the way to the semifinals and then got beaten at home before making it to the big game? Wait. Did that happen? Yes, it did, to the Orlando Titans, our fair city's professional indoor lacrosse team. Team captain Casey Powell was awarded the National Lacrosse League's MVP honor and was also named to the NLL's All-Pro team along with the team's goaltender Matt Vinc. All-star and MVP players and a semifinalist team – all in the team's first season in Orlando.
;;Best civic water sport
;The Lake Eola fountain scandal
For nine months, the City Beautiful's symbol of errant irrigation was dormant, just sitting there in its own green-tinged rust like a melted down Statue of Liberty. Why? An August 2009 lightning storm took the life out of the Lake Eola fountain and what followed was a comedy of aquatic errors that included private philanthropic efforts – a failed Phantom of the Opera benefit, some musings from local band/gurgling pool of awful Biteboy. Although the city's insurance company is only promising $285,000 toward the projected $1.5 million overhaul of the stately nuisance, the city plans to go ahead with its water-feature redo. For now, though, a couple of motors have been restarted and everything is ;apparently back to normal. Apparently.
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