Singeli Agnew

Best Dance Company

Well, Keshet, of course!

Best Theatre Company

Tricklock—and not just because they are Keshet's sister company but because they are responsible for starting revolutions! Well, that and the fact that Joe Pesce is such a hottie.

Best Musical Experience That Makes It Really Difficult to Stand Still on Wednesday and Thursday Nights

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Best Dessert

The German Chocolate Cake at Flying Star. It has to be the best in the world. I've had it several times and I still can't believe how good it tastes. It reminds me of the old Mary's Muffins that once was on Central across from UNM. When that place closed a lot of us felt like crying.

Best Thai Food

Thai Cuisine at Montaño and Coors. Once you taste #87 or #74 you will pack your belongings and try to move into the restaurant. The 87 is spicy ground chicken over rice. The 74 is a spicy fried rice with your choice of tofu or chicken. The lunch buffet left a brother speechless.

Best Margarita

Garduño's. If you're looking for a flavored one, you have to try my personal favorite, the Coconut Margarita. Don't order a pitcher, just a glass (they're almost the same size anyway).

Best Female TV Personality

Singeli Agnew

Best Reason to Vote Bush in 2004

To piss off Don Schrader. Other than that, I can't think of a thing.

Best Radio Station

KUNM. Although its extreme variety is bound to be displeasing in some instances, it is the only radio station that plays anything quite original. Why, it's not even run by Clear Channel.

Best Place to Buy Used Music

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Best Way to Spend a Monday Night

Head over to Atomic Cantina and see Heather and Suni host their pop quiz night. If you buy them shots, they might let you win.

The Best Way to Spend the Day After You've Ditched Work/School

First, call a friend who drives a Vespa so that you guys have a mode of transportation on a nice, sunny day. Next have lunch at, let's say, El Patio. Get some margaritas on this hot afternoon and talk about how you want to start your own revolution.

Singeli Agnew

Best Local Hero

Eva Encinias-Sandoval for her incredible work providing and educating the community in our flamenco heritage.

Best Place to Find Energy to Dance for Three Hours Straight

Fei Cafe for plenty of Bubble Milk Green Tea.

Best Live Theater/Performance Space

The soon to open Disney theater at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

Singeli Agnew

Best Economic Development Idea for Albuquerque

To become the renewable energy capitol of North America by 2015.

Worst Place to Hide A Weapon of Mass Destruction

In front of the museum in Old Town.

Best Margarita

Wilder at Univision.

Singeli Agnew

Best Day Trip

One of the best, yet least known, day trips from Albuquerque is the Ojito Wilderness Study Area. Less than an hour from Albuquerque and closer than the Jemez Mountains, Ojito is the perfect place to explore on a weekend outing. You won't find babbling mountain brooks here, just New Mexico desert at its best. Parched, yet sublime landscapes made up of broken mesas and undulating badlands capped with twisted and ancient junipers that may predate the arrival of the Spanish. Ojito is truly unlike any other place we know and it keeps us coming back. Combining elements of the Bisti badlands with Santa Fe skies, Abique fossils, and southern Utah redrock, this is a place more than worth the short drive from Albuquerque.

Singeli Agnew

Best Community Action Group

You gotta realize that I'm partial to the North Valley, having vowed long ago never to go east of San Mateo. I'm so proud of the fighting spirit of Sawmill Advisory Council and later the Sawmill Land Trust that I'm beaming at their success. Also, the folks at the Rio Grande Community Farms who are trying to introduce urban kids to traditional valley agriculture on the old Anderson Fields are pretty cool, too. Common Cause, PIRG and the American Cancer Society are friends in the legislative arena.

Best Salsa

505. I'm addicted to this stuff. It's so good, you don't even need the chips! Just drink it!

Best Bargain Store

Singeli Agnew

What do I love about Albuquerque? Well, first the sky. That's the number one thing visiting poets comment on—some have said that it seems endless. I tell them it is. No one has ever argued.

The Sandias are also high on my list—the Manzanos too. I've heard some complain about our lack of skyline (I'm a Norteño, in case you're wondering). Nonsense. Even the Manhattan skyline would pale in comparison to them. Then there's the view. The visibility is incredible (I'm told it's helped by the dry air, which I also love).

Best Place To Take Kids Out For A Stroll

Farmer's Markets. My kids get good exercise, they get to meet the folks that grow the food they eat, and I get to support local farmers who provide the freshest produce in town. Arts and crafts add to the colorful experience.

Best Place To Take Kids Out For A Hike

Rio Grande Nature Center. I get good exercise, my kids get to see the resident ducks and turtles, and point out the migratory visitors (we saw sandhill cranes earlier this year). The view of the Sandia Mountains is spectacular.

Singeli Agnew

Best Day Trip

El Malpais—It's just far enough to make you feel like you've gone somewhere, but it's still an easy day trip. There's amazing stuff to see, and it's a real kick to just wander around for hours. Also, my dog threw up an apple there. Yup.

Best Local Politician to Go Bar Hopping With

It's gotta be Manny Aragon. I imagine Manny would have the hookup wherever we went, no waiting for a table. Hell, we probably wouldn't even have to pay for a drink in most places. He's sure to know and tell stories about New Mexico politics and politicians that would never even be hinted at by the press. And if we did have to pay, hopefully he would pick up the tab cause he would be loaded with dough from all, the, uh ’political gifts' he has received over the years.

Best Bowling Alley

Leisure Bowl. This place is about more than just bowling. If you're planning a birthday party for your kid, Leisure Bowl offers pop-up Bumper Bowling on every lane. They will even supply the invitations! For adults, they also have drinks and karaoke.

Best Radio Station

88.3 FM. Compared to 90.5 FM, this Christian Rock music station has more information about Christian concert dates and new Christian CDs. It also offers a good variety of Christian music 24 hours a day.

Best City Political Stinkeroo

Sally Mayer squashing the green cone art scheduled for the new I-40 Louisiana Interchange. She missed the public meeting when her constituents spoke in favor of it, sneaks it into a City Council meeting around the City Arts Board and made sure it was vetoed soundly. Now she's trying to appoint herself to the Arts Board—if that happens we'll probably end up with a giant cowboy boot as an Uptown landmark.

Singeli Agnew

Best Cultural Bargain

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. That's right kids, there are 19 pueblos in our beautiful state. Can't make it out to each pueblo for Feast Day dances? This place has free traditional dances every weekend. Check it out.

Best Hamburger

Blake's Lota Burger

Best Fast Food

Sonic

There's a lot to like about Albuquerque, from our fabulous weather and scenic vistas to our friendly, multicultural atmosphere and terrific cuisine. From our visual and performance arts communities to our historic and contemporary neighborhoods, our recreational opportunities and special events, Albuquerque is truly unique and I am always proud to be part of it. One area where I have been getting a lot of positive feedback lately, in the Biopark: our Rio Grande Zoo, Botanic Gardens and Aquarium. I went with my family last weekend, and the facilities continue to be clean, user-friendly and fascinating. This is a great set of amenities with a lot of new attractions, so it's no wonder the Biopark is the state's number one attraction.

Gone (forever, we hope) are the days when whiners can complain that there's nothing to do in Albuquerque after dark. As you're about to discover, there's more than enough nightlife to go around in this city—from live music and dancing to fine dining and drinking, you can't swing a dead cat in Albuquerque without hitting something fun to do with your leisure time. Furthermore, Weekly Alibi's very own Arts, Naked City (live music and entertainment) and Community and Events calendars are jam-packed with great stuff to do every day of every week. If you're not satisfied with your social life, it's only because you're not willing to miss an episode of “Cops” every now and then. We hope our readers' choices in the following categories will inspire you to have fun, relax, make new friends and become part of our vibrant community.

Every year, our Best of Burque issue is built on some crazy theme. In the early days, this practice proved to be a lot of fun. But in recent years, our thematic presentations have become, well, progressively more clichéd and downright cheesy. Take last year, for instance: What the hell did pirates have to do with Albuquerque in any way, shape or form, past or present? Similarly, this year we've packaged our Best of Burque issue in an undersea treasure/adventure theme. Someone apparently forgot to tell the Marketing Department there's no water here. So as I sat down to scribe this introduction to our most gargantuan issue of the year, I found myself having a hard time separating the pirate and undersea treasure themes. I did the best I could, but forgive me for occasionally straying into pirate mode. Here goes:

If there's one thing we've figured out about Burqueños, it's that we like to stockpile our crap. And lots of it. Whether it's a backyard collection of rust-eaten Buicks or the latest gadget from Williams and Sonoma, the cult of objects is as New Mexican as a plate of huevos on Sunday morning. You can see it for yourself, too. Every weekend we spill out from our homes, money in hand, on a mission from God to scour the desert for the best deal, the biggest piece or the rarest find. Sometimes we actually find it and, miraculously, it's just a few bucks less than we expected to pay. But even if we come away empty handed, it's that satisfaction of a full-day's hunt that sends us blissfully to bed, where we dream again of acquiring junk. Blessed, beautiful junk.

First, an explanation. While you will find, within these pages, information that will help you locate the best micro-brew/Celtic music experience or to scout locations for your Vietnamese-language remake of The Godfather, we want to remind you that we're saving the best for later. Later this year, that is, when the annual Readers' Choice Restaurant Poll hits the stands with hundreds and hundreds of ooey-gooey, scrum-diddly-umptious restaurants that have been tried and tested by our readers. So consider the “Eats and Drinks” section of our Best of Burque poll to be a mere appetizer for the very big meal to come in October.

Singeli Agnew

Best Waiter/Waitress for a One-Night Stand

The people, places and sights in Albuquerque make our fair city one of the finest places to live regardless of the studies that paint a gloomy picture. Just recap the past 12 months and there's plenty to cheer about. Downtown continues its revival, the media didn't uncover a single fundraising scam at the mayor's office, the Isotopes brought baseball back with a bang, Tingely Beach is finally getting a makeover and the arts are thriving like never before. And that's only a quick sample. But there are always things to gripe about and we like to do that too once in a while. So here's this year's Life in Burque winners (and losers), so one way or another, we can all feel better about ourselves. Enjoy!

Singeli Agnew

Best Video Store for Foreign Films

Best Breakfast

We live in a city that prides itself on its skin-searing quantum creative energy. Stand on almost any street corner—especially in neighborhoods like Downtown, Barelas and Nob Hill—swing your purse in a nice wide arc, and you'll more likely than not hit an artist, an actor or a musician squarely in the jaw.

Best Public Sculpture

Best Movie Theater

Madstone. I have never been disappointed by a film experience there. Nice people, weird movies and alcohol. Who can beat that?

Best Coconut Drink

Annapurna on Yale. I have to stop myself from humming “Kokomo” every time.

Best Extinct Bookstore

Singeli Agnew

Best Local Politician to Go Bar Hopping With