CP Choice 2003

"Keep your eyes and ears open."

That's what we tell our staffers and contributors every winter. As soon as one City Paper Choice Issue is put to bed, we start researching the next one. We ask our writers to make a mental note every time they eat at a great new cheap joint, or find a real bargain at a hole-in-the-wall shop, or encounter a singularly bitchy waiter. These notes are then gathered and turned into awards (with some omitted, because our writer is probably just as bitchy as the waiter who merely scraped the cheese off instead of fetching him a new burger).

This is not some systematic reward-the-advertisers and the senders-of-free-food bullshit awards issue. This is just our judgment call. So, feel free to write a letter to the editor if you got a problem with that.

When we point our thumbs up or down, we make no claims of it being a scientific process. We have no panel of experts determining that things are really the best (though some braver staffers did taste-test all four current fast-food cheesesteak imitators -- we're still nauseated). We live in this town, just like you. And we make snap decisions on what we like and what pisses us off, just like you. (Or perhaps you are some kind of saint who never judges anything? Why are you reading this snarky-ass issue?)

We've likened our method of choosing to onomatopoeia, which any talking dictionary can tell you is a word that sounds like its meaning. What you see -- or hear -- is what you get. It's immediate, it's visceral, it's from the gut -- and to the gut, like a McPhilly Cheesesteak. As always, the CP Choice awards fall into three categories: food and drink (now called Crunch), arts and entertainment (Pop) and city life (Buzz). Too cute? Write us a letter about that, smartass. Maybe you'll get an award for it next year.

Our awards range from pretty straightforward (best grilled cheese) to so specific that there could hardly be a lot of competition (best-dressed pharmacist). And through all of our various categories, we hope that our picks, well, zing. And sizzle. Even when we're hissing. Or moaning. And when we're hooting. Or gushing. Someone stop us. —Debra Auspitz and Brian Hickey

CP Choice Contributors Key:

SA: Sam Adams HA: Howard Altman ADA: A.D. Amorosi JA: Janet Anderson AAD: Ainé Ardron-Doley MA: Mary Armstrong NA: Nancy Armstrong DA: Debra Auspitz DB: Deborah Bolling	TB: Trish Boppert MB: Morris Bracy IV PBu: Paul Burress PB: Peter Burwasser MJF: M.J. Fine JF: Juliet Fletcher BH: Brian Hickey LH: Lori Hill AH: Audrey V. Hoffman	BHo: Brian Howard HiH: Helen i-lin Hwang MJ: Maura Johnston EL: Elisa Ludwig SO: Sean O’Neal MFP: Mary F. Patel MP: Michael Pelusi NP: Nicole Pensiero PR: Patrick Rapa	MR: Michael T. Regan AR: Alex Richmond DS: David Shengold JV: John Vettese AW: Amy L. Webb KW: Kristina Weise Photos by Michael T. Regan Illustrations by Jeffrey Bouchard