Once again, here's the Ithaca Times Annual round-up of what's best, most popular, and what generates the most buzz in Ithaca. The Best of Ithaca Reader's Poll is an annual reflection of this diverse and quirky town. Like a twist of a kaleidoscope, each year we shift the questions a little bit in order to get a new perspective on our town. We hold up the mirror, and you show us what we look like. Here we go...

Places

Best Fishing Hole: Cayuga Lake

Hey, that's one mighty big fishin' hole! Cayuga Lake is the longest of the 11 Finger Lakes, at 38.2 miles, and the second deepest at 435 feet. There's gotta be a lot of fish in there, including the granddaddy of the one that got away. We asked the lake how it felt being categorized as a hole, but its response was too low and deep.

Ithacans know romance, for sure...

Best Place for an Outdoor Date: Taughannock Park

The Falls overlook is spectacular, there's a lovely walk along sublime rambling waters, and lots of room for a romantic picnic by the lake. What could be better?

Best Place to Kiss [in Ithaca... keep it clean]: Sunset Park

You asked for it last year, and we asked. Heck, even the name is romantic. Now we'll turn our eyes away as the light goes low....

Ithacans certainly know their neighborhoods. Realtors, new arrivals, take note....

Friendliest Neighborhood: Fall Creek

Most Underrated Neighborhood: South Side

Most Overrated Neighborhood: Cayuga Heights

Best Place to Park When You're Downtown: Green Street Parking garage by the Library

If you live in a neighborhood too far to walk downtown... now you know.

Best Local Hero: Kathy Luz Herrera

"It's an honor and it gives me a thrill to know that people in the community would do this. Thank you! My guess is that people voted this way because we share values of equity and transparency in public process, even on controversial issues where we might disagree. With an apology for the incompleteness of this list, these are local heroes who do good things every day with no thought of getting recognition for it: Dammi Herath, Herb Engman, Christina Barksdale, Lori Kofoid, Eric Rosario, Alice Cole, J. R. Clairborne, Lee Adler, Janet Shortall, Patricia Kerry, David Richardson, Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, Bob Harris, Leonardo Vargas Mendez, Satomi Hill, and Mike Koplinka-Loehr."

Best Local Villain: Jason Fane

OK, it's true, we didn't really try to reach Mr. Fane for a comment.

What could we ask? Hey Jason, how does it feel to be Ithaca's Best

Local Villain, by a landslide? So we'll repeat what our readers what

already know. The guy we love to hate - the guy we love to blame for high rents, empty store fronts, and everything wrong with Ithaca - is like a villain right out of the silent movies.

Best Ithaca Liberal: Cathy Valentino

"Yeah, it's a little ironic," Cathy says, on the heels of losing the

Democratic primary for Town of Ithaca Supervisor. She laughed that the voters for the Ithaca Times Readers poll were somewhat different than those who turned out for the primary election.

"Even so, I'm very proud to be a liberal. I've never shied away from that word. I know that some people try to put an evil spin on it, but I think that being a liberal stands for a lot of things that are good. To be recognized by the readers this way means they recognize what I stand for."

Best Ithaca Conservative: Larry Nivison

"I'm still not certain if this is a joke, but I'll go with it. I ran for

county office in 2005, and thought I did respectably well. I guess this thing has taken a life of its own," Nivison says he considers himself a moderate, compared to some of the really conservative people he knows in town. Is it a challenge to be conservative in Ithaca? "They're definitely in the minority here. They really don't have much of a voice or impact, because can't get elected. I ran because I felt that I wasn't being represented. There needs to be someone out there willing to challenge that."

Best Waiter: Michael Thaller at Just a Taste

We couldn't reach Michael for comment - but congratulations go his way.

Best Waitress: Erin Martindale at Lincoln Street Diner

For over a year, Erin was there almost every day - opening to closing - by herself. Now, with a new baby on the way, she's taking more time for her children but misses her Friday morning crew of regulars. "I've been there three and a half years. Everyone calls it the Cheers of Ithaca. We've got a really good group of regulars who come in all the time. It's like a big dysfunctional family. I miss 'em cause I'm not there as much." Her boss, Christopher O'Brien says, "Her work ethic is tremendous. She brings a lot to the restaurant."

Best Barista: Colleen Carey at Gimme! Coffee

Colleen says she's not only a Barista, but a Barista trainer, roaster, and manager at the Farmer's Market. "People think the term Barista as a profession sounds as goofy as cheerleading as a sport. But without us on the sidelines you can't get in the game. It's espresso science at its best. From roasting to serving the coffee, I like to have a hand in it. So tip your cheerleaders and tip your baristas."

Felicia's gets the prize for both the Best Male Bartender: Carl Gregory and Best Female Bartender: Sharon Costianes

You get a great bartender, and he moves away. At least that's the story with Carl Gregory who's now attending Brown University. His boss says, "You'd need a whole issue of the paper to talk about what made him a great bartender."

Best Female Bartender: Sharon Costianes

Sharon, who's been bartending at Felicia's since January 2005, says, "Wow, it's not something I was expecting or pulling for. My hope is that my customers have a homemade experience. I try to build a comfort level with a personal touch for each customer. There's absolutely something special about Felicia's. It's not just a bar, but a community that anyone can enter."

Best Ithaca Cop: Christina Barksdale

Here's another one - you asked for it, and we asked. She's been on

patrol, a neighborhood cop, and is now a juvenile investigator. A long record of caring community involvement has helped Christina Barksdale win the heart of Ithacans. "I used to do a lot of different things as a neighborhood police officer. I did a lot of community programs, but I haven't done that for a while. Now my primary function is working with juveniles as an investigator on crimes where juveniles are victims or perpetrators. I spend a lot of time to get to know who they are, trying to avoid a full-blown out arrest."

Best Commons Character: David Lisa

We've all seen him around town. The bicycle guy with the flamboyant sense of style. He's uniquely Ithaca and we love him.

Best Professor: James Maas at Cornell

During 43 years of teaching, working with an average 1,500 students a year, James Maas has gotten a lot of people engaged in social psychology. "Wow! How kind," he says. "I've got good subject matter, and try to cover material that applies in their daily lives. Even in that very large class, I feel very connected to my students. I probably get 100 emails a night and I try to answer every one of them. Since I'm a psychology professor, they think I might be able to help them. I'm so pleased to be able to play that role. And, it's not just the students who are taking away a lot. I learn and grow. This year I think I'm more excited about my teaching than I've been ever been."

Best Coffee (sit down): Gimme! Coffee

Best Coffee (to go): Gimme! Coffee

Jeff, "That's really cool. Thank you, Ithaca. We love you, too! We're

really excited to reinvest in our home town by renovating the Cayuga Street and State Street espresso bars in the coming months. We're aiming for better traffic flow, seating, and style. Anything else you want? Tell us what to do. Send your ideas through gimmecoffee.com."

Best Mexican food: Viva Taqueria

Months of construction near the Commons can't dim the popularity Viva Taqueria. Once again, in the face of increasing competition, you voted them best. Congratulations to this busy crew.

Best Pizza: Pizza Aroma

They win so often, you might think there aren't any other Pizza places in town. 10 years of continued creativity, quality, and hard work brings this kind of reward. "I put all my heart, time, and energy into this. Everyone thanks me - they enjoy it and say it's the best they've had. That makes me feel good. There's a lot of competition. But this is a family business trying to do the best we can."

For the second year, it's a one-two punch for Glenwood Pines.

Best Burger: Glenwood Pines

Corey Hohwald, part of the family that has owned the Pines for nearly 30 years, says, "We haven't changed anything. We cut and grind our own meat, which is pretty unique. Fresh burger, fresh bread - but definitely our own meat is a big plus."

Best Restaurant to Bring the Kids: Glenwood Pines

"I know the kids love our games, the bowling games in particular. People love to bring the kids and let them run wild for a while - not too wild, though. The basic menu is stuff kids like. We're glad we won again. Maybe we'll talk to you next year as well."

Best Finger Lakes Winery: Sheldrake Point

Tasting room manager, Kit Kalfs says, "Oh get out, really? That's nice to hear. Thanks for the good news." Then he passed the phone to owner Chuck Tauck who added, "We're really flattered. Thanks so much to the readers. The addition of Simply Red [Bistro] has served the Ithaca market pretty well, and we want to give some credit to [chef] Sam Izzo. Some recognition may come from the fact that we're doing our best to elevate the reputation of Finger Lakes wines. We're close to town, right on the lake. Ithaca is our favorite market and we want to keep it that way."

Best Asian Restaurant: Taste of Thai

Business manager Bruce Anderson says, "We'd definitely like to thank the readers who voted for us, and for our patrons... many of whom come in very regularly." He credits owners Oh and April Pancharoen, who are the head cooks and the people who have made Taste of Thai a consistent winner in the Best of Ithaca polls. April continues to stress to the staff that, "We cook the food the way we eat it. It's very similar to what you would get if you ordered the same food in Thailand. We use a lot of imported Thai ingredients. It's exceptional, authentic, and the prices are reasonable."

Here's to a couple of Ithaca icons... they couldn't all be reached for comment - probably too busy taking care of their loyal patrons.

Best College Bar: Chapter House

Best Townie Bar: Chanticleer

Best Restaurant to Go Without the Kids: Just a Taste

Jen Irwin, owner, says, "That's great. It's always nice to get voted Best of... I would have expected one of the fancier, pricier restaurants might have taken this category. That's great that we won."

Best Place to Take a Working Lunch: Collegetown Bagels

Sandy List said, "A number of our stores have space where people can gather and talk over food. Each store has its own ambiance, so people can feel at home. We want them to feel that they can settle in and have a working lunch. And they can get what they want at any store. If you don't see a sandwich on the board, the ingredients are almost always there to build it for you. The people who work there are happy to do that."

Best Open Mic Venue: ABC Café

Open mic hosts Ken Hallett and Shad Ryan say, "The ABC Café's openness to a diverse variety of musical styles in a supportive environment makes a dynamic venue for artists to try new ideas."

Ryan, booking agent for the ABC, adds, "It's really amazing. Every other Tuesday the slots usually fill up almost immediately. Sometimes poetry, sometimes comedy, mostly music. The Café ends up being a stop for touring acts, who sometimes drop in for the open mic."

Best Local Live DJ: Bob Proehl

He's so busy spinning all over town that we couldn't reach Bob for comment. Catch him if you can.

Best Local Radio Show: Bound for Glory

Thanks to the tireless work of Phil Shapiro, Ithaca is home to America's longest running live folk music broadcast. Ithacans know what a treasure they have. Bound for Glory is pretty unique.

"Yes, yes we like being the best. We've been best of before but it's

been a long time. We had an incredible line-up for the 40th year. I never thought I d be able to touch that again but we've beat it for the 41st," he says.

Best Art Gallery: Johnson Museum

"Fantastic! That's a great honor," Director Frank Robinson says. "We had over 88,000 visitors last year. That's a lot of people. We have some fabulous shows coming. There's the two sand and string mandalas and a lot of other shows. There's a show of African Art, Chinese Textiles, an exhibit from Kenro Izu, Sacred Places, with images all across the world. The big news is 'Stop Look Listen,' and major show of video installations on display from October 13 through December 23. It's really exciting."

Best of the Area Festivals: Ithaca Festival

Not just downtown, but anywhere in the area! Take that, Grassroots! The music fest in T-burg may have been voted one of the ten best in the nation, but as far as Ithacans are concerned, our hometown festival celebrating local artists and musicians tops everything else. On the Commons, in Stewart Park, from the parade to the last band on the ballfield we know what it's about.

Best Live Music Venue: Castaways

Who hasn't seen their proliferating posters, everywhere around town? Indication enough of the constant stream of live music available.

Best Local Performing Artist: Sim Redmond Band

OK people, lets not always see the same faces. It doesn't matter how we phrase this question, Sim Redmond Band comes up the winner. Year, after year, after year, he keeps Ithacans happy. Congratulations.

Best Barber: Cornell Barber

They've been keeping heads trim and neat for longer than anyone can remember... 'nuff said.

Best Hair Salon: City Styles

City Styles has only been open since January, but a loyal clientele moved over from a previous business operated by Jewel Flanigan and her family. She was delighted to hear that she follows Innovations, which won last year. "Oh, that's my friend, that's wonderful. I'm in good company. We take our time with our haircuts and focus on the person in the chair as being the number one person at that time. I think people feel that. By going to the NYC hair show and getting education sometimes twice a month, we keep ourselves turned on to the new and most cutting edge ways of doing hair. So, no matter what your style is, you look your very, very best."

Best Dentist: Ira Kamp

Maybe Ira Kamp's humor makes his clients comfortable. He says, I've been practicing since 1981... You can thank my one voter for making this happen again. It feels good. It makes me giggle. I'm honored."

Best Pharmacist: Wegmans

Best Supermarket: Wegmans

Manager Gary Wolosyzn says, "That's fantastic. We were best supermarket and best pharmacy, and we're excited about that. Our goal every day is to improve on what we do. There are always new needs and desires and we try to work through our company to meet those needs." Pharmacy Manager Joanna Marsh adds, "We're staffed so that we get to spend a lot of time with our customers. We see them around the store and know a lot of our customers by name. Even though we're in a grocery store we're more of a community center."