Well, well—people and politics. If it weren’t for the Sabres, what else would there be to talk about? There is hardly a politician in Western New York who did not receive at least one vote for Best Politician, which proves that every public servant has a mother collecting press clips somewhere. On the other hand—or maybe this is the same hand—there is hardly a politician in Western New York who did not receive a vote for Worst Politician, which proves that after every election there is a sore loser. The city’s new mayor, after just 100 days in office as of the closing of the Artvoice polls, had managed to land on both lists—which proves that everyone is watching Byron Brown closely. It’s worth noting that, excepting perennial finalist Sam Hoyt, the finalists for Best Politician are all new to their offices. Optimism?

Reading the results for our summer category almost always elicits the same set of reactions from AV staff: First there’s cabin fever, then stunned silence and finally heavy drinking. While the folks who answer earnestly come back with many of the same answers year after year—Sunset Bay and Evangola in beaches, Allegany and Letchworth in camping, Zoar Valley in hiking, the UB/Amherst bike path for bicycling, Delaware Park and Chestnut Ridge in parks—occasionally a notable upstart makes the list, like Jones Pond, a gay campground in Angelica. They remind us of why everyone loves summers in Buffalo: long, sunny days and plenty of recreational opportunities. But there are others, the ones who cause stunned silence and drinking, who remind of us of why democracy is bound to crumble. In the beaches category, many people decided on far-off locations, like Laguna Beach, South Beach and Topsail Island, North Carolina. We can only assume that these are not the same people who directed their vitriol toward golfing. One told us to ask the rich white people, and a second simply declared, “Go golf in hell, yuppie scum.” Another morbid person likes the “beach” at Mirror Lake in Forest Lawn Cemetery. Two responses that raised eyebrows under the camping category favored Girl Scout camp. We can only hope that there are Girl Scouts filling out our survey. Needless to say, none of these answers made the top five lists.

Our winter category revealed a few indelible truths about Buffalonians. Namely that we like winter sports, we are all sex fiends, we really don’t need any excuse to miss work, we spend way too much time in Florida and several of us don’t quite get it…any of it.

Our readers tell us that among the region’s Most Under-reported Stories is the danger posed to the city by the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino. We think so, too—though we note that, to its credit, the Buffalo News is devoting more energy to exploring the issue in recent weeks.

During the Blizzard of ’77, then-mayor Jimmy Griffin advised Buffalonians to stay inside and drink a six-pack of Genny. While few agreed with his choice of beers, everyone agreed that drinking was a good idea.

In the history of the Artvoice Best of Buffalo poll—now nearly a decade old—there are certain winners that have held steady throughout. While our readers have been fairly changeable in their top restaurant picks, when asked about the Best Reason to Live in Buffalo a top answer has invariably been “the food.” Year after year the Food & Drink section has been the one that gets the biggest response out of all the categories. It is also the largest in number, and counting the ballots is no small task. It is particularly daunting due to the sheer amount of different places that are offered as potential “bests.” With a few notable exceptions—the bus station for Best Breakfast?—all the candidates are worthy.

We begin with a hat tip to some our Best Ballot Stuffers, who congregate perenially in this section of the Best of Buffalo polling.

Claiming four of the top five spots for Best Exhibit, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery nearly swept the entire category. Under the leadership of AKAG director Louis Grachos and curators Doug Dreishpoon and Claire Schneider, the gallery has completely reinvented itself in the past two years. The fall 2005 show “Extreme Abstraction” was the first time in the gallery’s history that a single exhibit occupied every inch of the building: walls, staircases, floors, hallways, windows, upstairs, downstairs, main building, Clifton Hall and the sculpture garden. More importantly, “Extreme Abstraction” was a powerful confirmation of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s strength and its most defining character: exemplary abstract and contemporary art.

Whether your interest is blues, folk, rock, hip-hop, jazz or whatever, Buffalo has something for you. Buffalo has it all—not Lancaster, not Depew, not East Aurora, not Williamsville, not Cheektowaga. Buffalo. Got it?

Talk about a changing landscape; it seems only a few years ago that Best Festival comprised the Allentown Art Festival, which is almost a half-century old, and the Italian Festival, and that was about it. Today, Artvoice readers vote for literally dozens of other festivals that are relatively new: Elmwood Festival of the Arts; Music Is Art; Pride Festival; Artvoice Street Festival; Wingfest; Wingstock; Irish Festival; Guitar Festival; Rock the Harbor; Canal Fest; etc.