search citypaper.net
  


Food and Drink

Fishing Expedition
A Brit and a Yank seek the city’s best version of a U.K. staple.
-Juliet Fletcher and Frank Lewis

Critics Choice
Highs and lows in the restaurant biz, as chosen by CP food writers Maxine Keyser and Elisa Ludwig.

Past, Present, Future
Restauranting trends and troubles.
-Maxine Keyser

City Life

Cynic’s Choice
-Frank Lewis

ICE STORM 2002
-A.D. Amorosi

Arts & Entertainment

October 24-30, 2002

cover story

CP Choice Awards 2002



Choosing the best (or worst) of anything is a dicey proposition. Ask the Pulitzer Prize jury. Ask the Barrymore voters. Hell, ask Simon Cowell. Granted, it didn’t seem to cause him much apparent internal conflict to make pronouncements on who was and who wasn’t American Idol material, but you know it was just tearing him up inside.

This year, City Paper's intrepid team of choosers, listed below, have once again taken on the challenge of declaring what's the best, what's the worst, what's inadequately heralded and what's unnecessarily hyped in the city of Philadelphia. And OK, we fudge a little: Since it would be well nigh impossible to decide who is, for instance, the city's best painter, we give you the Best Local Painter of Topless Women in Kilts. On the other hand, we declare unconditionally for the city's Best Burger and Best Margarita -- both at the same place, yet! -- and we have the argument to back it up.

And so it goes: Some of the choices come unadorned and unapologetic (Best Guacamole! Biggest Waste of Bronze!), and some are so specific as to be awardable to only one winner and one winner alone (Best Church to Throw a Fastball In; Best Places to Have Sex in City Hall). Howard Altman wrote those last two; he admits to throwing the fastball, but swears he did not get his info for the latter award from personal experience.

For me, re-entering the world of CP Choice after being away from the paper for a year is both illuminating and reassuring. Illuminating, because as is always the case with CP Choice, I learned a lot. (Who knew that there was such a thing as an Atlantic City Chicken Challenge?) And reassuring, because it's good to read that the stalwarts of the city, from Henri and Paul to Bob and Barbara, are percolating along as briskly as ever. And throughout, from Sam Adams' Hack attack to Frank Lewis' screed against SEPTA, there's ample evidence that one thing has remained constant, and that's the entertaining opinionatedness of the people who write for City Paper.

I think we chose well. Hope you agree. --David Warner

CP CHOICE CONTRIBUTORS’ KEY

SA: Sam Adams

HA: Howard Altman

ADA: A. D. Amorosi

JA: Janet Anderson

MA: Mary Armstrong

NA: Nancy Armstrong

DA: Debra Auspitz

DBo: Deborah Bolling

DBr: Daniel Brook

MB: Meredith Broussard

PB: Peter Burwasser

JC: Jenn Carbin

NC: Nate Chinen

CC: Chris Cummins

RD: Rosemary Darigo

MJF: M.J. Fine

JF: Juliet Fletcher

RF: Rachel Furman

DG: Daryl Gale

SH: Susan Hagen

LH: Lori Hill

HK: Hamida Kinge

JL: Josh Levandoski

FL: Frank Lewis

EL: Elisa Ludwig

SM: Shivani Mahendroo

AM: Andrew Milner

SO: Sean O’Neal

MP: Mary Patel

NP: Nicole Pensiero

AR: Alex Richmond

HT: Helen Thompson

JV: John Vettese

DW: David Warner

Additional features by Toby Zinman, David Anthony Fox and Maxine Keyser.

-- Respond to this article in our Forums -- click to jump there
Recent Comments
Web Exclusives
RJ Ernst
27, Newtown
Sergeant, Marine Corps
Deployed to Iraq Spring 2005, in Iraq currently
Tim Johnson
50, Port Richmond
Specialist, Army National Guard
Deployed to Iraq Winter 2004 and Spring 2008
Lilliam Bernal
27, Trenton
Second Lieutenant, Army National Guard
Deployed to Iraq Winter 2005
Japandroids
Tue., July 7, 8 p.m., $10, with Matt & Kim and Team Robespierre, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
Search Restaurants


search restaurants by name
search by neighborhood
Search
search by cuisine
Search Movies
title
theater

Search
Search Jobs
search for:
within:   of  
more jobs
(use zip or city, state)
Search
"Great vision without great people is irrelevant."
—Jim Collins, Author,
"Good to Great"
In Partnership with JobCircle
Search Events
Search For:
Category:
Search
Search DJ Nights
keyword:
category
locations
Search
Search Classifieds
Category:
Keywords: Search

Search Real Estate
Search Happy Hours

ALL | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN

or

LOCATION:

ADVERTISEMENT
- TODAY -
It's hard to know what to get a dead president for his birthday, but surely Abe would approve of Lincoln's ... more »»

CCD Sips

Moveable Feast

Date My Text

DJ Nights

Primer



Dish 2008