| This year marks the sixth time that Fast Forward has asked our readers to recognize the people, places and businesses that make this city a great place to live. After sorting through the overwhelming number of responses we received via mail and our Web site (and once again tossing out a few shameless ballot stuffers), the results are in.
The annual Best of Calgary Readers' Survey reflects the fact that we have a vibrant city with a busy downtown and popular parks. The results also show that Fast Forward readers know a good bargain, but also take the time to appreciate quality service, food and wares.
Drum roll please!
THE CITY
Parks, parks, parks – Calgarians love their parks. Even with questions not specifically related to parks, the winners in this section are overwhelmingly green. This may also explain why "roads" were chosen as the "worst use of local tax dollars."
Best new trend
1. Non-smoking
2. Leather bracelets
3. Low rider jeans
Worst new trend
1. Mullets
2. Avril Lavigne look-alikes
3. Non-smoking patios
Best kept Calgary secret
1. The Deane House
2. Inglewood
3. Fish Creek Provincial Park
Worst intersection
1. Glenmore Trail & Elbow Drive S.W.
2. Deerfoot Trail & Memorial Drive N.E.
3. 16th Avenue & Deerfoot Trail N.E.
Most interesting building
1. Calgary Tower
2. City Hall
3. Grain Exchange Building
Coolest place to take visitors
1. Calgary Zoo
2. Eau Claire
3. Calgary Stampede
Best public art
1. Calgary Board of Education ("Family of Man")
2. Frogs on 4th Street S.W.
3. Cows
Best graffiti
1. Old Interfaith Food Bank Building
2. "Capitalism Kills"
3. "Klein Resign"
Biggest eyesore
1. Metal trees on 8th Avenue S.W.
2. Calgary Tower
3. Cecil Hotel
Best neighbourhood to live in
1. Kensington
2. Mission
3. Marda Loop
Best park
1. Prince’s Island Park
2. Fish Creek Provincial Park
3. Bowness Park
Best place to ride your bike
1. Fish Creek Provincial Park
2. Bow River Pathways
3. Nose Hill
Best place to go for a stroll
1. 17th Avenue S.W.
2. Prince’s Island Park
3. Fish Creek Provincial Park
Best toboggan hill
1. St. Andrew’s Heights
2. Nose Hill
3. Canada Olympic Park
Best place to take your dog
1. Nose Hill
2. River Park
3. Fish Creek Provincial Park
Best place to read
1. Prince’s Island Park
2. Library
3. Chapters
Best place for a picnic
1. Prince’s Island Park
2. Bowness Park
3. Fish Creek / Glenmore Reservoir
Most romantic place for a first kiss
1. Crescent Road N.W.
2. Calgary Tower
3. Nose Hill (Pecker’s Point)
Best pick-up spot
1. Cowboys
2. Ship & Anchor
3. 17th Avenue S.W.
Best public place to get naked
1. 17th Avenue S.W.
2. Prince’s Island Park
3. Fish Creek Provincial Park
Best place to people-watch
1. 17th Avenue S.W.
2. Stephen Avenue
3. Eau Claire
Best place to get high
1. Calgary Tower
2. Nose Hill
3. "Anywhere"
Best local cause
1. The Mustard Seed
2. AIDS Calgary
3. CJAY 92 Kids Fund
Calgary’s claim to shame
1. Ralph Klein
2. Calgary Stampede
3. Calgary Flames
Best use of local tax dollars
1. Parks
2. Public transit
3. Roads
Worst use of local tax dollars
1. Roads
2. Pay-raises for Aldermen
3. East Village
URBAN LIFE
While perennial favourites continue popping up in this category, the most surprising winner was Tim Hortons in the "best cup of coffee" category. It’s not that they don’t serve a good cup, but in years past the chain barely received a mention in the results. Maybe the belief that they’ll send you a coffee maker if you leave the country made an impression with our readers.
Best radio station
1. CJSW 90.9 FM
2. CJAY 92 FM
3. Vibe 98.5 FM
Best television station
1. A-Channel
2. Global
3. CFCN
Best daily newspaper
1. Calgary Herald
2. Calgary Sun
3. Globe & Mail
Best art gallery
1. The Glenbow Museum
2. Artspace Gallery
3. Art Gallery of Calgary
Best dance company
1. Decidedly Jazz Danceworks
2. Alberta Ballet
3. Dancers’ Studio West
Best theatre company
1. One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre
2. Alberta Theatre Projects
3. Theatre Junction
Best art house movie theatre
1. The Uptown Stage & Screen
2. Globe Cinema
3. Plaza Theatre
Most comfortable cinema
1. Paramount Chinook
2. Westhills 10
3. Sunridge Spectrum
Best area ski hill
1. Sunshine Village
2. Lake Louise
3. Canada Olympic Park
Best golf course
1. Shaganappi Point Golf Course
2. Kananaskis Country Golf Course
3. Cottonwood Golf & Country Club
Best festival
1. Calgary Folk Music Festival
2. Lilac Festival
3. Calgary Stampede
Best free event
1. Lilac Festival
2. Stampede breakfasts
3. Shakespeare in the Park
Best fund-raising event
1. Calgary Cares
2. CJSW Funding Drive
3. Big Rock Eddies
Best cup of coffee
1. Tim Hortons
2. The Planet
3. Starbucks
Coolest washroom
1. Earls Bankers Hall
2. Ming
3. Cactus Club Café
Worst washroom
1. The Night Gallery
2. The Warehouse / Underground
3. The Back Alley
THE LOCALS
Darr Maqbool graced the cover of our first Best of Calgary issue back in 1998, and his influence on the results remains solid – he even takes the "most beloved Calgarian" category this year. If I were Darr, I’d watch my back.
Most beloved Calgarian
1. Darr Maqbool
2. Ed Whalen
3. Jann Arden / Ralph Klein
Most embarrassing Calgarian
1. Ralph Klein
2. Dave Bronconnier
3. Darr Maqbool
Best corporate citizen
1. Clive Beddoe (West Jet)
2. Enmax
3. John Forzani
Most active activist
1. Banana Cream 3
2. Stephen Lock
3. Grant Kreiger
Politician you’d like to fire first
1. Ralph Klein
2. Dave Bronconnier
3. Jean Chrétien
Sexiest man
1. Darr Maqbool
2. Dave Kelly
3. James Keller
Sexiest woman
1. Tara McCool
2. Nirmala Naidoo
3. Kate Mistol
Best-dressed Calgarian
1. Darr Maqbool
2. Dave Kelly
3. Nirmala Naidoo / Tara McCool
Worst-dressed Calgarian
1. Darr Maqbool
2. Ralph Klein
3. Jebb Fink
Favourite local TV personality
1. Darr Maqbool
2. Dave Kelly
3. Jebb Fink
Favourite local radio personality
1. Gerry Forbes
2. Gary Powers
3. Drew Atlas
Best local columnist
1. Don Braid
2. Mike Bell
3. Catherine Ford
Best local actor
1. Michael Green
2. Christopher Hunt
3. "Those FUBAR dudes"
Best local band
1. Mico
2. The Mocking Shadows
3. Hot Little Rocket
Best local athlete
1. Jarome Iginla
2. Catriona LeMay Doan
3. Dany Heatley
Best local author
1. Will Ferguson
2. Cheryl Foggo
3. Raj Pal
Most entertaining busker
1. Dan The One Man Band
2. Artie the Jester
3. Tomko Lamb
SHOPPING
Despite the fact that grotesque big box retail outlets are sterilizing communities throughout the city, Fast Forward readers know that the best shopping is found in the core. Independent, locally owned stores dominate this category. Then again, there aren’t a lot of fetish shops in the suburbs.
Best shopping district
1. 17th Avenue S.W.
2. Kensington
3. Inglewood
Best shopping mall
1. Chinook Centre
2. Market Mall
3. Southcentre
Best indie corner store
1. Kalamata Grocery Store
2. A&A Foods & Deli
3. Stanley Jones Foodmart
Best place to rescue cool junk
1. Value Village
2. Inglewood
3. Garage Sales
Best outdoor / sports gear store
1. Mountain Equipment Co-op
2. Sport Chek
3. Sportswap
Best surplus store
1. Crown Surplus
2. Army & Navy
3. Ribtor
Best snowboard / skateboard shop
1. The Source
2. Mission Snowboards & Skateboards
3. Freewheelin’ Skateboards & Snowboards
Best bike shop
1. The Bike Shop
2. Bow Cycle
3. The Cyclepath
Best indie CD store
1. Megatunes
2. Sloth
3. Hot Wax
Best chain CD store
1. HMV
2. A&B Sound
3. Future Shop
Best place to buy vinyl
1. Recordland
2. Feroshus
3. Hot Wax
Best indie bookstore
1. Pages Books on Kensington
2. McNally Robinson Booksellers
3. Wee Book Inn
Best used bookstore
1. Fair’s Fair
2. Wee Book Inn
3. The Best Little Wordhouse in the West
Best magazine selection
1. Chapters
2. With The Times
3. Daily Globe News Shop
Best comics store
1. Phoenix Comic Books
2. Another Dimension
3. Words & Pictures
Best indie video / DVD store
1. Casablanca Video & Sound
2. Video & Sound
3. DVD Now
Best electronics / computer store
1. Future Shop
2. A&B Sound
3. Memory Express
Best place to find furniture
1. IKEA
2. Urban Barn
3. The Brick
Best men's clothing store
1. Purr
2. Henry Singer
3. Old Navy
Best women's clothing store
1. Purr
2. Old Navy
3. Aritzia
Best club wear
1. Le Chateau
2. Purr
3. Feroshus
Best lingerie store
1. La Senza
2. The Cat’s Pyjamas
3. La Vie En Rose
Best fetish wear / sex shop
1. B&D Emporium
2. Barbie’s Shop
3. Adam & Eve’s Exotic Boutique
Best consignment / vintage clothing
1. Junkstar
2. Divine Decadence
3. Blue Light Special
Best shoe store
1. Gravity Pope
2. Payless Shoes
3. Aldo
Best place to find cool jewelry
1. Wanderlust
2. Rubaiyat
3. Le Chateau
Best optical
1. The Brass Monocle
2. 17th Avenue Specs
3. Lenscrafters
Best pet store
1. Petland
2. PetSmart
3. Pisces Pet Emporium
Best toy store
1. Toys "R" Us
2. Livingstone and Cavell Extraordinary Toys
3. Who’s Who In The Zoo
Best flower shop
1. Flowers Make Memories
2. Flower-Power
3. Peaseblossoms
Best chocolate fix
1. Bernard Callebaut
2. Purdy’s
3. The Chocolate Bar
Best international food store
1. T&T Supermarket
2. Lina’s Italian Market
3. Kalamata Grocery Store
Best natural foods store
1. Community Natural Foods
2. Sunterra Market
3. Sunnyside Market
Best farmers’ market
1. Crossroads Market
2. Blackfoot Farmers Market
3. Millarville
Best deli
1. Spolumbo’s Fine Foods & Deli
2. Lina’s Italian Market
3. Sunterra Market
Best bagel shop
1. Great Canadian Bagel
2. Wayne’s Bagels
3. Palace of Eats
Best bakery
1. Glamorgan Bakery
2. Eiffel Tower Bakery
3. Co-op
Best ice cream
1. My Favorite Ice Cream Shoppe
2. Phillip’s Forbidden Flavors
3. McKay’s Cochrane Ice Cream
Best liquor store
1. Royal Liquor Merchants
2. Willow Park Wine & Spirits
3. Great Canadian Superstore
Best wine shop
1. Kensington Wine Market
2. Willow Park Wine & Spirits
3. The Wine Shop
SERVICES
If you visited each of the winners in this category in a single day, you would be very relaxed, slightly more colourful, smell great and have very clean clothes. You’d also have a hole in your body somewhere you didn’t when you started off your day. Hey, it’s a thought.
Best fitness facility
1. Talisman Centre
2. Eau Claire YMCA
3. U of C
Best place for yoga
1. Yoga In Motion
2. The Yoga Studio
3. Bikram Yoga
Best barber shop
1. Razor’s Edge
2. The Barber Shop
3. Omar Barbershop
Best hair salon
1. Hedkandi
2. Creative Hair Group
3. Swizzlesticks
Best place to get pampered
1. Oasis Spa
2. Swizzlesticks
3. Stillwater Spa
Best tattoo parlour
1. Smilin’ Buddha Tattoo
2. To The Point
3. Bushido
Best piercing shop
1. To The Point
2. Symbols of Strength
3. Adorned
Best laundromat
1. Oh Henry Laundromat
2. Pink Elephant
3. The Wash House
Best dry cleaners
1. Fishman’s Personal Care Cleaners
2. Tower Cleaners
3. Barker’s Fine Dry Cleaning
Best travel agency
1. Travel Cuts
2. Mark Travel
3. Premiere Travel Centres
Best taxi ride
1. Associated Cabs
2. Checker Cabs
3. Co-op Taxi
NIGHTLIFE
The Ship & Anchor continues to dominate this category, and why not? They’ve become a Calgary landmark. It’s almost amazing that they didn’t win for best wine list….
Best new bar
1. Tequila
2. The Whiskey
3. Machine
Best cocktail bar
1. The Mercury
2. Ming
3. Mortal Coil
Best pub
1. Ship & Anchor
2. Kensington Pub
3. Limerick’s
Best gay/lesbian bar
1. Detours
2. Boystown
3. Verge
Sexiest clientele
1. Cowboys
2. Ship & Anchor
3. Melrose Café & Bar
Best bar to spend the day in
1. Ship & Anchor
2. Melrose Café & Bar
3. The Mercury
Best bar to have a conversation in
1. Ship & Anchor
2. Ming
3. Mortal Coil
Best dive bar
1. King Edward Hotel
2. Cecil Hotel
3. Shamrock Hotel
Happiest happy hour
1. Ship & Anchor
2. Vicious Circle
3. Earls
Best place to watch sports
1. Schanks Athletic Club
2. Moose McGuire’s
3. Ship & Anchor
Best place to shoot pool
1. The Garage
2. Schanks Athletic Club
3. Melrose Café & Bar
Best DJ
1. Rice
2. Djewel Davidson
3. Emes & Grimes
Best nightclub
1. The Night Gallery
2. The Whiskey
3. Embassy
Best live rock / alternative venue
1. The Night Gallery
2. MacEwan Hall
3. Morgan’s
Best live jazz / blues venue
1. Kaos Jazz & Blues Bistro
2. King Edward Hotel
3. Beat Niq Jazz & Social Club
Best live country / folk venue
1. Ironwood Stage and Grill
2. Karma Local Arts House
3. Ranchman’s
Best bartender
1. John Truch (Night Gallery)
2. Christine (Detour)
3. Charlie (Night Gallery)
Friendliest staff
1. Ship & Anchor
2. The Night Gallery
3. Ming
Best vibe
1. Ship & Anchor
2. Ming
3. The Night Gallery
Best patio
1. Ship & Anchor
2. Melrose Café & Bar
3. Ceili’s
Best beer selection
1. Ship & Anchor
2. Bottlescrew Bill’s
3. Limerick’s
Best wine list
1. Teatro
2. Belvedere
3. River Café
DINING OUT
River Café really makes a mark on this year’s awards with their great food and cozy Prince’s Island location, while the quality and variety of international restaurants prove what we’ve always known – that Calgary has more to offer than steak and potatoes. On the fast food side of things, Peters’ Drive-In returns to the throne in the category of best burger, which comes as no surprise to anyone who has driven by on a Saturday afternoon.
Best overall restaurant
1. River Café
2. Cilantro
3. Teatro
Best new restaurant
1. Catch
2. Vintage Chophouse
3. The Broken Plate
Best restaurant for a first date
1. River Café
2. Cilantro
3. Buon Giorno Ristorante Italiano
Best restaurant atmosphere
1. River Café
2. Sultan’s Tent
3. Earls
Best service
1. Earls
2. Teatro
3. Red Lobster
Best casual dining
1. Earls
2. Joey Tomato’s
3. Diner Deluxe
Best late-night (after 1am)
1. Denny’s
2. Husky House
3. Wendy’s
Best diner
1. Galaxie Diner
2. Diner Deluxe
3. The Arden Diner
Best pizza
1. Wicked Wedge Pizza Co
2. Panago Pizza
3. Papa John’s
Best nachos
1. Original Joe’s
2. Ship & Anchor
3. Boston Pizza
Best wings
1. The Regal Beagle
2. Earls
3. Ed’s Restaurant
Best burger
1. Peters’ Drive-In
2. Burger Inn
3. Ship & Anchor
Best veggie burger
1. Ship & Anchor
2. Harvey’s
3. Burger Inn
Best fries
1. McDonalds
2. Ship & Anchor
3. Peters’ Drive-In
Best fish & chips
1. Joey’s Only Seafood
2. Boyd’s Seafood Restaurant
3. Ship & Anchor
Best Chinese
1. Silver Dragon
2. Ginger Beef Peking House
3. Treasures of China
Best Sushi
1. Kyoto 17
2. Hana Sushi
3. Sakana Grill / Sumo
Best Thai
1. The King & I
2. Thai Sa On
3. Spicy Hut
Best Korean
1. Bow Bulgogi House
2. Sorabol Korean Restaurant
3. Korean Village
Best Vietnamese
1. Co Do Vietnamese Restaurant
2. Vietnam Restaurant
3. Bagolac Saigon Restaurant
Best Indian
1. Moti Mahal
2. Rajdoot
3. Taj Mahal
Best Italian
1. Buon Giorno Restorante Italiano
2. Fiore Cantina Italiana
3. Chianti Café & Restaurant
Best Greek
1. Pegasus
2. The Broken Plate
3. Opa! Souvlaki
Best Mexican
1. El Sombrero Restaurante Mexicano
2. Salt & Pepper Mexican Restaurante
3. Taco Time
Best international (other)
1. Sultan’s Tent
2. Aida’s Mediterranean Bistro
3. Mongolie Grill
Best vegetarian
1. Buddha’s Veggie Restaurant
2. Anpurna Vegetarian Restaurant
3. Community Natural Foods
Best steak
1. The Keg
2. Caesar’s Steak House
3. Smuggler’s Inn
Best seafood
1. Catch
2. Red Lobster
3. Cannery Row
Best breakfast
1. Nellie’s
2. Galaxie Diner
3. Denny’s
Best dessert
1. The Cheesecake Café
2. The Chocolate Bar
3. Moxie’s Restaurant |
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