THE CITY GRITTY >>

• BEST ARCHITECTURAL RENOVATION OF AN OLD BUILDING
  The atmosphere in the Franklin Community Library is jubilant. Children—when they aren't parked with a book in the children's pavilion, teen arena, or stairwell—are run-walking the short maze of the small library's recently renovated footprint, often forgetting to heed the "inside... More >>
• BEST BLOG (LEFT-WING)
  Minvolved is one of the newest lefty blogs on the scene, but it's proving to be one of the most prolific. Started by the folks behind Clever Peasantry (now defunct) and MN Publius (www.mnpublius.com), Minvolved, as with our right-wing choice, sticks to the facts with a dash of humor, a modicum... More >>
• BEST BLOG (PERSONAL)
  For the online voyeur, personal blogs offer the seductive charge of reading someone's innermost thoughts, akin to reading their diary, which, of course, you're doing, only the writer has been kind enough to publish it on the internet for all the world to see. Sadly, most blogs, like those old... More >>
• BEST BLOG (RIGHT-WING)
  A political blog not completely composed of spittle-spewing invective and pearl-clutching indignation? No smug harrumphing over opposition missteps or the echoing national committee talking points? 'Tis a rare breed indeed. The Nihilist in Golf Pants contributors take their cues more from P.J.... More >>
• BEST BLOG (SPECIALTY)
  If your tastes have matured beyond the King of Beers, and you've grown bored with even the finer European imports, MN Beer will be your guide to finding local breweries, microbreweries, beer-related events in Minnesota and Wisconsin, homebrew information and pubs that serve unique and tasty... More >>
• BEST BOONDOGGLE
  Last July, the city of Minneapolis installed cameras at 12 busy intersections and began snapping photographs of every vehicle that ran a red light. The owners of offending vehicles were then mailed $142 tickets. Naturally, the stated purpose of the stop-on-red program was "public safety." But... More >>
• BEST BROKEN PROMISE
  In January this improbable duo sent a letter to City Pages attacking a cover story that suggested their relationship was on the skids. The mayor and then-police chief of Minneapolis vigorously defended their working partnership while pillorying those who had suggested to CP that things were less... More >>
• BEST CAREER MOVE
  In his prime, Kirby was the most beloved athlete in Minnesota. It wasn't just a .318 lifetime batting average, the 10 All-Star appearances, or the two championships. Puck possessed a potent gift for setting people at ease. Some of that was attributable to garden-variety charisma. But some of it... More >>
• BEST CHARITY
  If you truly are judged by your enemies, then Minnesota AIDS Project is one helluvan organization. During last year's legislative session, the 23-year-old nonprofit group earned the enmity of Rep. Tom Emmer, a freshman Republican from Delano who can charitably be described as "eccentric." During... More >>
• BEST CHEAP THRILL
  Granted, meth (or crank or ice or glass or tweak or whatever else you call it) has wreaked horrendous damage on families and communities across Minnesota. Between the blizzard of scare stories in the media, the proliferation of those nasty "Life or Meth" billboards on the freeways, and the batch... More >>
• BEST CORPORATE CITIZEN
  We here in the Twin Towns like to think we're blessed with a benevolent corporate community: Target, General Mills, 3M, and even the privately owned Cargill are all noted nationwide for their charitable giving. Still, none of them could match the outpouring generated by the one-man corporation... More >>
• BEST CRIMINAL
  You might remember him better as "Caspian James Crichton-Stuart IV, the Fifth Duke of Cleveland." That's the hilariously pretentious moniker utilized by Gardner while posing as a British aristocrat considering enrollment at Stillwater Area High School. Gardner visited the school three times last... More >>
• BEST FARMERS' MARKET
  Though suburban communities have recently been growing their farmers' markets—or creating new ones—the Minneapolis Farmers' Market is still the best place for a wide selection and good deals. And while the Minneapolis market might not be able to boast of an uppity ban on non-local... More >>
• BEST FESTIVAL
  It's hardly a news flash that too many festivals have been overrun by corporations and politicians. With endless product booths and glad-handing candidates, many a "festival" contains the ambiance of a crass, straining-to-be-joyful exercise in marketing. Not so the MayDay Parade and Festival.... More >>
• BEST FREE PARKING
  Let's face it: Drinking and driving isn't what it used to be. Sure, Daddy was good at it, but Minnesota has finally hopped on the .08 wagon. No more whipping doughnuts in the K-Mart parking lot with the toddler on your lap. There's good news for weekend tipplers, though, especially those who... More >>
• BEST GADFLY
  According to the American Heritage dictionary, a gadfly is one of three things: "A persistent irritating critic; someone who acts as a provocative stimulus; or one of an array of various flies that bite or annoy livestock and other animals." So far as we know, Morrissey does not harass cattle.... More >>
• BEST GAS STATION
  It's no wonder some folks in south Minneapolis reacted with familial empathy earlier this year at the news of a robbery at the Pump 'n Munch. Alex, the morning attendee who was robbed in mid-January by a guy wielding a screwdriver, has been greeting the same Kingfield-neighborhood customers at... More >>
• BEST HELLRAISER OR ACTIVIST GROUP
  Unfortunately, not everyone who is charged with a duty to "protect and serve" does so in a positive or even legal manner. Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) aims to rectify this reality by empowering victims of abuse to seek justice while working for change in the system through... More >>
• BEST LIBRARY
  We're excited about the opening of the new Minneapolis Central Library next month, but this branch location is a prizewinner right now. Nearly a century old and recently given a major restoration, north Minneapolis's Sumner Library is a Tudor Revival style building equipped with elegant woodwork... More >>
• BEST LITERARY PERIODICAL
  No real surprise here, but hey, Rain Taxi isn't just the finest lit publication in town, it's one of the finest in the country. The quarterly just celebrated its 10th anniversary and has survived by giving the serious reader what she wants: no press releases masquerading as criticism, no... More >>
• BEST LOCAL BOY GONE BAD
  "Money, money, money." That's how former Minneapolis City Council member Dean Zimmermann allegedly responded when asked by a developer how he could garner his support for a zoning change. According to an FBI search warrant affidavit, Zimmerman was taped making this seemingly incriminating demand... More >>
• BEST LOCAL BOY MADE GOOD
  Has a star athlete ever been less appreciated than Daunte Culpepper? The sporadically brilliant, psychologically fragile former Vikings quarterback was never embraced by Minnesotans. Even when Culpepper was performing at the peak of his abilities—as in 2004 when he passed for nearly 5,000... More >>
• BEST LOCAL GIRL GONE BAD
  Memory, of course, is a tricky thing. No author of a memoir can reasonably assert that her remembrance of things past is absolutely accurate, that it is devoid of all embellishment. That said, there is a critical difference between the taking of poetic license in matters of dialogue and... More >>
• BEST LOCAL GIRL MADE GOOD
  The editors at the Minnesota Historical Society Press must have suspected they had a winner on their hands before they got their first glimpse of Helget's memoir, The Summer of Ordinary Ways. After all, Helget, a writing instructor at the Minnesota State University Mankato, had already been... More >>
• BEST LOCALLY GENERATED WEBSITE
  Who can possibly keep up with all the grim news transpiring around the world these days? Civil war in Iraq, mounting bloodshed in Afghanistan, nuclear rumblings from Iran, genocide in Sudan. It's all a bit bewildering to comprehend. That's why Cursor, with its peerless cataloguing of the day's... More >>
• BEST LOFT OR CONDO PROJECT
  While admittedly Le Parisien Flats and Marketplace reminds us of the French village at Epcot Center or the Paris Casino in Las Vegas (both elaborate efforts to capture the real deal in places that are nothing like the eternal City of Light) it still earns this year's nod because the 13-unit... More >>
• BEST MAYOR
  Yeah we know: He's not mayor anymore and he's kind of a prick. But in the months since Randy Kelly suffered the most monumental electoral butt-whooping we can recall, we've grown sentimental for his boorish brand of Boss Tweed politics. The East Sider ran St. Paul like his own private fiefdom,... More >>
• BEST NEW NAME FOR COON RAPIDS
  When Coon Rapids City Council member Joe Sidoti recommended changing the name of his fair suburb back at the start of this year, we were all for it. Sidoti argued that the name conjured a sort of rural, backwoods sensibility that was, well, a tad embarrassing. "We've got a city of 65,000... More >>
• BEST PLACE FOR A FIRST DATE
  Seriously, watch Blind Date if you want a decent blueprint for a good first date. The producers have a sound basic structure, even as they populate it with silicone augmented sociopaths and sleazy fame-whores: Combine light exercise with artistic endeavor, finish with a shared meal, and you can... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO DUMP SOMEONE
  Let's face it: If you're going to publicly dump someone, chances are you care less about looking like a callous ass than you do about ridding yourself of this clingy bastard for good. Unless you're a total weasel, it's likely you've tried ending it before in private, during an after-dinner... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO GET DUMPED
  Being at the Mall of America is tantamount to suffering a few hours of agony anyway, right? What's a little heartache to go with it? It might even make being at the mall more fun. Let's look at some key considerations in breakup-siting: Is there enough privacy to salvage your pride? Well, no,... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO MEET GAY FAMILIES
  The Children's Museum? Costco? Unless you're a pro at chatting up strangers, connecting with other gay families can be a challenge, and seeing the ones you might already know is another kind of challenge, what with work and T-ball practice and trips to Costco and all. Minneapolis-based Rainbow... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO TAKE OUT OF TOWN GUESTS
  Our survey of expat Minnesotans produced this go-to wish list: Big 10 Sub Shop ("for the sandwiches, extra crispy fries, pitcher of Leinenkugel's or Pabst in a pinch"), Cafe Lurcat ("for the little hamburgers in the bar"), Al's Breakfast, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary,... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO WASTE TIME PRODUCTIVELY
  Face it: You yearn to waste time. But the older you get, the guiltier you feel about the naps, the Playstation, the beer. Luckily there are respectable, productive ways to while away the hours, and the best local example of this is the Minnesota Historical Society Library. Minnesota history,... More >>
• BEST POLITICIAN
  Mike Hatch is a mean son of a bitch. He prizes loyalty, demands competence, and ruthlessly culls out those who don't meet those standards. While he might not be the first guy with whom you'd choose to down Jell-O shots (his daughters are another matter in this regard), these character traits... More >>
• BEST PUB QUIZ
  The explosion of Irish Pubs in non-Irish cities over the last 15 years has brought to our shores traditions like watching soccer at 8:00 in the morning, drinking two-tone beer, and being expected to know which country besides Spain borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.... More >>
• BEST PUBLIC RESTROOM
  We baptized quite a few public restrooms in Minneapolis in our search for the best. Thankfully, our task was somewhat simplified by restroomratings.com, a web page that must serve as further evidence that anything that exists in the real world will eventually be digitized and commented upon on... More >>
• BEST REASON NOT TO MOVE TO THE 'BURBS
  It is easy to pick on the suburbs. This explains why city folk have spent much of the last half-century engaged in the sport: It is the forensic equivalent of a prairie dog shoot. But not all 'burbs are the bland, homogeneous entities of the common caricature. Drive up Central Avenue in Columbia... More >>
• BEST REASON NOT TO OVERHAUL YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT
  In the cattier circles in local media—which is to say, pretty much everyone in local media—the redesign of the Star Tribune has been the object of nearly constant guffaws since its launch this fall. As the state's leading news organ, of course, the Strib has always been on the... More >>
• BEST REASON TO READ THE PIONEER PRESS
  Beat reporting is a difficult job. To do it well you've got to report on the shortcomings and shenanigans of people in power—and then show up the next day to face their wrath. There's also the risk of tedium. How many insignificant zoning hearings and City Council meetings must you suffer... More >>
• BEST REASONS TO READ THE STAR TRIBUNE
  Pat Reusse and Jim Souhan are always solid, Garrison Keillor is reliably writerly and persnickety, and the Business section delivers some of the most insightful writing and analysis around. More and more, though, we find ourselves turning to the thoughtful prose of outdoors writer Anderson and... More >>
• BEST SIGN OF SPRING
  Winter is a miserable time for smokers. You see them huddled in the streets, clinging close to one another, sometimes barely leaning out their office doors. They puff away with alarming alacrity in a race to inhale a satisfying amount of nicotine before the frigid air becomes unendurable. With... More >>
• BEST SIGNAGE
  Sure, everybody knows that the key to business success is "location, location, location," but we'd like to suggest another essential ingredient: signage, signage, signage. We've plummeted since the glory days of the mid-20th century, when businesses proudly announced themselves with all the... More >>
• BEST STATE FAIR ATTRACTION
  Just because the 4-H competition is for kids doesn't mean it's for amateurs. No, this statewide youth agriculture program has more regulations than the American nuclear industry: The bylaws for parking fill half a page! Animal husbandry is no ordinary hobby; your average skate-boarder doesn't... More >>
• BEST STATE FAIR FOOD
  It's true that there are many admirable foods served up at the State Fair. The $2 U of M milkshakes are filling yet economical, the deep-fried candy bars are a poetic ode to sugar-hedonism, the mac-n-cheese on a stick is weird yet tasty, and of course everyone is obligated to consume at least... More >>
• BEST SUBURBAN LAKE AREA
  For years, there have been signs posted at the entrance to Square Lake Park warning of potential swimmer's itch. After years of patronizing one of the real outdoor treasures in the entire metro, we think somebody is just trying to keep the place a secret—the only itches we've encountered... More >>
• BEST USE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS
  The idea that taxes are inherently bad—and that most people don't want to pay them—is accepted as gospel truth in many quarters. Thankfully, it's not true. When politicians make their aims clear, the public can be remarkably game. Case in point: In 2000, the voters of Minneapolis... More >>
• BEST VAMPYRE
  Jonathon Albert Sharkey's gubernatorial campaign would have vanished in a puff of smoke even if he wasn't already back in Indiana, awaiting trial on charges of felony escape and probation violation. Unlike the organization that helped put Jesse in office, the Vampyres, Pagans, and Witches Party... More >>
• BEST VICTIM
  This season saw the usual farcical fare for our beloved but perpetually wronged 'Queens: bad calls from the refs, a plague of hard-luck injuries, a spate of off-the-field incidents that distracted from the simple task of winning on Sundays. Ho-hum. Slowly but surely, however, the steady... More >>
• BEST VIEW
  It's been a year since the Walker expansion opened to the public and while many still debate the merits of the architectural design by Herzog & de Meuron, most will agree that the new building has contributed significantly by providing new ways to appreciate downtown Minneapolis from the... More >>
• BEST VILLAIN
  Don't call it a comeback because it never went away, but smoking got more local press this year than at any time since the state of Minnesota sued the tobacco companies back in 1998. First, there was the constant finagling with local smoking ordinances, which included Hennepin County scaling... More >>
• BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY
  Are you one of those armchair adventurers who subscribes to Outdoor magazine or Men's Journal and avidly reads about people roller skating down the Himalayas, or surviving a summer on psychedelic mushrooms, owl dung, and the lint scraped out of their Swiss army knife? Well, get off your ass and... More >>