After several years of paper-only balloting, the Press finally entered the late 20th century this year, adding online voting for our annual Press Picks, wherein our readers vote on the best of everything Anchorage. The difference between Press Picks in the digital age and its former incarnation as a paper ballot only contest is primarily that a hell of a lot more of you voted, and we and the winners wanna thank you for that (particularly from our staff, who spent a lot less time manually counting votes).

The great thing about Press Picks is that it takes the power of cultural arbiters and puts it in the hands of the people. Sure, we have professional restaurant and beer reviewers, but this contest reveals what you’re actually into. Power in the hands of the people—we like that idea.

Another difference this year is we shook up the categories; we axed some difficult to tabulate ones, like best bartender and best server (and the slew of political questions we put to you last year), and included a lot more categories in our retail section. We also wanted to know what your favorite neighborhood is, where you work out (and where you fake and bake), and many other questions. Now, citizens of Anchorage, take a look in the mirror we’re holding up to you… (Editor's note: First and second place winners are listed in order.) Goods and Services

Alcohol, tobacco and firearms

This is where it counts. This is the category where your vote makes a difference, where you can be the arbiter of cool, where businesses wait with bated breath to see whether Press readers like them best. (Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves.)

This year, you’ll notice a number of new categories, reflecting—we hope—a much broader cross section of the businesses in this community than we’ve had in previous versions of Press Picks.

Among the newcomers, a few stand out. Rust’s Flying Service—based at Lake Hood and specializing in floatplane tours edged out glacier flyers Talkeetna Air Taxi. (Rust’s is a sister operation to Talkeetna-based K2, so we expect this won’t be the last of this rivalry of air powers you see in these pages.)

Longtime downtown arts fixture Artique dominated in the inaugural Best Art Gallery category, with nearby Sevigny Studio coming in second. In the a true clash of titans—or titanic names, anyway—Pink Elephant bested Monster Wash for top honors in the Best Car Wash category.

Among reliable old standby categories from previous years, plenty of reliable old standbys proved their resilience. REI, Castle Megastore, A&A the Shop, Title Wave, Value Village, and New Sagaya, among others, all extended their streaks atop the heap for another year.

This is only the second year that we’ve included a category for Best Gun Shop, but it’s also the second year that Great Northern Guns took that category. And Pete’s Tobacco won the Best Smokeshop category for the second year outta two as well. Perhaps we’re witnessing the birth of two more dynasties?

Between the repeat winners and the newbies, there wasn’t much room left for interesting changes among winners, but the Best Independent Clothing Store category—always a hotly contested one—was one of the few that did experience a shift. In that category, last year’s runner up Lulu e Bebe slipped into first. They were followed by Blush/Spoiled, meaning last year’s winner, The Look, was squeezed out entirely.

These retail categories, perhaps more than any other in the contest, are always changing and evolving, so be sure to tell us which ones you liked having this year, and what we could change in the future.

Hair Salon

Halo

Trendsetters

Day Spa

Allure

Intuitions

Furniture Store

Bailey’s

Scan Home

Headshop

Black Market

Popeyes

Auto Dealer

Continental

Morrison

Art Gallery

Artique

Sevigny Studio

Liquor Store

Brown Jug

La Bodega

Tattoo Shop

Larry Allen’s

Rebirth Tattoo

Record Shop

Mammoth Music

Metro

Flying Service

Rust’s

Talkeetna Air Taxi

Cell Phone Company

ACS

Alaska Digitel

Credit Union

Credit Union 1

Alaska USA

Gym / Health Club

The Alaska Club

Planet Fitness

Children’s Clothing

Spoiled

Once Upon a Child

Motorcycle / Snowmachine

House of Harley

Anchorage Yamaha

Tanning Salon

Sunsations

Run to the Sun

Fishing Charter

Prince William Eco Charters

Russell Fishing Co.

Massage

Oriental Healing Arts

Allure

Car Wash

Pink Elephant

Monster Wash

Veterinarian

Diamond Animal Hospital

SPCA

Entertainment

Some like it loud

When it comes to festivals, our readers enjoyed the both the heaviness of Summer Meltdown and the groovieness of the Girdwood Forest Fair. You couldn’t ask for two more disparate performances. The latter is an all-day family-friendly fair at which artisans sell handmade crafts and folk music takes up much of the music schedule. The former is also family-friendly, at least if your family enjoys really loud things like metal band 36Crazyfists (No. 2 in our favorite band poll) and Straight Line Stitch, the female-fronted hardcore group from Tennessee promoters AK Soul brought to their marquee event this year. Meltdown, now it’s fifth year, has a ravenous fan base and could likely win this poll based on the 36Crazyfists appearance alone, but this year’s schedule made us wonder: how many of Anchorage’s head-snapping Hellboys fell in love with SLS’s Alexis Brown that Saturday?

When they can, our readers catch a folk set by one-name Girdwood troubadour Spiff, but the favorite solo performances were cocktail-and-vino friendly sets with “jazz mom” Melissa Bledsoe Fischer, who likely would’ve had a shot at favorite keyboard player, too, if we had such a category. Bledsoe Fischer releases CDs in local record stores—Christmas album alert: check out Merry Jazzmom—and through her web site. She’ll be at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer August 30 and has several September dates at the Anchor Bar downtown.

The Whipsaws, once Anchorage’s favorite alt-country band are now solidly Anchorage’s favorite band, period. They’ve won our Press readers survey two years in a row. It might be because they’re so hard working. Over the last 18 months they’ve released two full-length recordings, opened for Wilco and taken no less than eight road trips in the Lower 48. They even jammed with Lucinda Williams, who reportedly—and this is how legends are born—called them “true earth, down-to-the-soul” and “fucking grease.” That last compliment evokes something a little dirty but a whole lot smooth. That’s the impression many listeners are left with after Whipsaws set. Their best moments are an inspired blend of grunge-country that sounds so casual you’d swear they were making songs up right on the spot. Fans ought to look for 60 Watt Avenue in stores now and download a copy of Live from summer 2008 through the band’s web site. Also, keep on the lookout for another record in early 2010.

Two years ago you might have said “Shannyn Who?” but this year, Shannyn “Girl from Homer” Moore is in the No. 2 spot for favorite radio personality. Maybe it shows that raw talent (talking for hours without stopping is a talent, right?) can make up for lack of radio experience, at least if you’ve got something to say. Moore’s popularity is remarkable not just because she’s a relative newbie on the radio dial. She also pushes listeners to the left in a state where the push to the right can sometime feel overwhelming. The votes might also surprise radio listeners because at the moment Moore is a little hard to find (She’s Saturday only, 5 to 7 p.m. on AM 700 KBYR).

Bob Lester and Mark Colavecchio—of KWHL’s “Bob and Mark Show”—have been dominating morning drive longer than some of the listeners have been able to reach the dial, let alone drive the car. Lester and Colavecchio are proof that experience, even coupled with potty humor, porno jokes and Palin-bot politics, can pay off. The duo has been together since 1995, and Lester was consistently on Anchorage radio several years before that. In 2008 they proved you can call a politician “a cancer and a bitch” on the radio in Alaska and get away with it. At least they showed that Alaskans still live in a free country, even if we’re not always civil.

Local Original Band

Whipsaws

36Crazyfists

Local Singer

Melissa Mitchell

Bridget Sullivan

Local Rapper

Indeffinate Etticate

Josh Boots

Live DJ

MIXTA B Goodfellas

DJ Encyclopedia Brown

Local Solo Act

Melissa Bledsoe Fisher

Spiff

Festival

Summer Meltdown

Girdwood Forest Fair

Live Music Venue

Club Millennium

Chilkoots

Live Theater

Cyrano’s

Alaska Wild Berry Theater

Open Mic

Tap Root Café

Blues Central

TV Personality

Megan Baldino

Trill Gates

Radio Personality / Show

Bob & Mark

Shannyn Moore

Radio Station

KNBA

KSKA

 

Nightlife

Bootleggers’ bars

Can you imagine Anchorage without its bars? Neither can we. (Neither, apparently, could its Prohibition-era citizens, who bequeathed what would become one of this town’s toniest neighborhoods with the name Bootleggers Cove; but that’s another story…)

As much as any other city—perhaps more than many—Anchorage is defined by its watering holes.

This year’s balloting held relatively few surprises: Press readers are nothing if not consistent when it comes to their bars. Still, there are a few differences worth pointing out. Humpy’s, which tied with the Anchor in the Best Bar category last year, took the top spot for itself (The Anchor, meanwhile, after a stellar showing in 2008, slid off the charts). And Darwin’s Theory, a perennial favorite among Press Picks readers, topped the Best Regulars category after to failing to place last year, behind a very specific pair of Double Musky regulars—Claude and Lucky—and Midtown restaurant Kinley’s (Neither Kinley’s nor Claude and Lucky fared as well this year).

There were a few changes to the categories themselves this year too. We added a category for Best Sports Bar—and in doing so probably created another unbeatable perennial winner in the Peanut Farm.

We also added a category we called Best place for a Martini, to try to figure out where you go when your in the mood for something a little fancier than the typical Anchorage scene. Bernie’s Bungalow, which had dropped off your radar for last year’s picks, bounced back in style, picking up a win in this one. The closed-for-renovation SubZero came in second, although from the rumors we’re hearing, once it reopens, it might give Bernie’s a run for it’s money in the classy category next year.

And last year, after years of agonizing how to divvy up Best Beer votes—some of which were cast for a brewery, some for a specific brew—we crowned winners for both brewery and brew. This year, to clear things up, we formalized that split. Alaskan Amber, which won last year, continued its domination, but the Brewhouse IPA, champion of our hastily retabulated voting last year lost out to downtown rival in hoppiness Sleeping Lady IPA. We’re anticipating this category will be one to watch in the coming years.

Bar

Humpy’s

Avenue Bar

Dive Bar

Darwins Theory

Crossroads Lounge

Strip Club

Great Alaska Bush Company

Fantasies On 5th

Place to dance

Platinum Jaxx

Mad Myrna’s

Regulars

Darwin’s Theory

Avenue Bar

Meat Market Bar

Chilkoot Charlie’s

The Anchor

Local Brew

Alaskan Amber

Sleeping Lady IPA

Place for a Martini

Bernie’s Bungalow

SubZero

Sports Bar

Peanut Farm

Eddie’s Sports Bar

Karaoke

The Shed

Asia Gardens

Brewery

Moose’s Tooth Brewery

Midnight Sun Brewery

Gay Bar

Mad Myrna’s

Kodiak Bar

 

Politics and Everything Else

Purple beats red

How anyone could possibly choose what the best political scandal of the last year was? Then again, perhaps here in Alaska we’re getting immune to the shock of politicians behaving badly—or just behaving completely strange. Nonetheless, in the categories here you gave props to your favorite local politicians (and chose the same two as last year for top accolades), so the scandalous among them haven’t entirely tainted your view of our elected officials.

Voters also expressed a surprising affinity for public radio, and while your number one pick for Best Radio Personality was unchanged from last year (as seen above), this year KFQD’s Dan Fagan didn’t make second place; a liberal did. Which shouldn’t surprise us, given our voters preference for one particular primary color over another (but then again, since our online voting system allowed you to “write in” your vote, the smart alec who submitted “purple” when asked “blue or red?” actually garnered more votes than “red” did).

(We eliminated the best waiter/waitress and best bartender from our “celebrity” categories this year because in years past the results were too vague—we eventually figured out the last name of “Joel from Kinley’s” last year but we’d had too damn many out-of-context, single-name entries—“Joe,” “Jenny,” huh?—to pursue it again.)

Anchorage isn’t exactly a golf Mecca like Scottsdale, but we found out what your favorite courses are in town. And you sporty types who actually do overnight hikes let the lazy among us know what we’re missing out on. The top spots for public sex were different from last year (although we never tire of the voters who pick our office’s parking lot as their favorite, it didn’t make the cut)—perhaps it’s no coincidence that the winner is the same for public sex and best day hike?

Press staff can’t afford to live in your favorite neighborhood, but most of us have done some time living in your second-favorite. And although there aren’t a hell of a lot of choices, no one was surprised by your pick for best college or vocational school. For all of the details, read on…

POLITICS

Local Politician

Mark Begich

Les Gara

State Legislator

Les Gara

Lesil Mcguire

Political Scandal

Palin Resignation

Stevens Corruption

Blue or Red

Blue

Red

EVERYTHING ELSE

Day Hike

Flat Top

Wolverine

Overnight Hike

Crow Pass

Resurrection Trail

Dog Park

University Lake

Conner’s Bog

Place for Public Sex

Flat Top

Coastal Trail

Spot to People Watch

Downtown

Airport

Place for a Picnic

Beach off Coastal Trail

Kincaid Park

Neighborhood

Turnagain

Spenard

Mountain Race

Mount Marathon

Crow Pass

Golf Course

O’Malley’s

Westchester

College / Vocational School

UAA

Career Academy

Extreme Sporting Events

Alaska Fighting Championship

Rage City Rollergirls

Thanks for voting, and we look forward to your participation next year.