Celebrity Pick: Lindsey Rendlen, KMIZ-TV ABC17 Anchor
Best smoky restaurant
Cigarette smoke is a thing of the past in Columbia restaurants, but you can get a whiff of smoke — wonderfully aromatic smoke — at Buckingham Smokehouse
Bar-B-Q.

213 Business Loop 70 E.,
449-7782; and one additional location

Best Chinese Food
With more than 10 Chinese restaurants in Columbia, taking the No. 1 spot is quite a challenge. But House of Chow’s MSG-free menu that includes all the classics and a host of house specialties comes out on top. The menu has poultry, beef, pork and seafood options as well as vegetarian dishes such as the green bean trio, a satisfying plate of Szechwan-style green beans with shiitake mushrooms and tofu. Start your meal with an order of delish steamed dumplings and end with a fortune cookie that is sure to bring good news.

2101 W. Broadway,
445-8800

Runner-Up: Great Wall,
2005 W. Worley St.,
446-3888

Celebrity Pick: Hilary Scott, Singer/Songwriter
Best Place To Get Away Without Going Anywhere
When I feel the need to escape for awhile, I head to The Pinnacles. The 70-acre park features an amazing limestone ridge foundation. You can hike and climb and feel like you’re in a different world, but it’s right next to home — just 11 miles north of Columbia on U.S. 63.

Best Place to Get a Facial
Put your best face forward with a soothing, relaxing facial from Riversong Spa & Salon. Or upgrade to the elegant European version that focuses on common problems — fine lines and wrinkles, dry or oily skin. A revitalizing facial will take care of more serious issues such as acne. And if you want to take it all off, go for a microderm abrasion that removes the outer layer of dead skin. Look and feel 10 years younger!

2100 Forum Blvd., Suite C,
447-1772,
www.riversongspa.com

Runner-Up: Salon Adair & Spa,
3301 W. Broadway, Business Park Court, Suite H,
234-1560,
www.salonadair.com

Best Sandwich
From roast beef to grilled cheese and egg salad to PB&J, the perfect sandwich is a very personal matter. But, while some shiver at the thought of bologna, and turkey isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, all agree a good sandwich is about achieving the perfect balance between the bread and the fillings. The Bread Basket Café has this art of sandwich-making down to a science. The yin of artfully toasted homemade bread and the yang of crispy bacon and ripe tomato equals mouthwatering sandwich Zen.

220 S. Eighth St.,
256-2003; one additional location

Runner-Up: Jimmy John’s,
1019 E. Broadway, 815-0043,
www.jimmyjohns.com; and two additional locations

Best Bookstore
The New York-based Barnes & Noble Booksellers serves up a combination and variety that’s hard to beat: endless magazines, books on every topic, even CDs and DVDs. With the kind of discounts and membership benefits only a large franchise can offer, Barnes & Noble is the one-stop destination for a latte, art magazine and Camus novel or even a chick flick, the latest Rachael Ray cookbook and some Sudoku puzzles. Think your tastes might be too obscure? Check online to see if Barnes & Noble carries it — chances are they do.

2208 Bernadette Drive,
445-4080,
www.barnesandnoble.com

Runner-Up: 9th Street Bookstore,
111 S. Ninth St., 443-2665 (May it rest in peace)

Best Burger
No surprise here. In Columbia, good burgers and Booche’s are pretty much synonymous. And for good reason. Since 1884, this pious billiard hall (the sign says “Closed on Sunday, see you in church”) has been keeping Columbia’s carnivores happy. The signature palm-sized stack of greasy goodness is smothered in cheese, topped with ketchup, mustard, onions and pickles, and served up on a sheet of wax paper. No frills, no fuss; just a damn good burger.

110 S. Ninth St.,
874-9519

Best New Restaurant
Sometimes it’s tough being the new kid on the block, but Chef Mike Odette’s Sycamore has managed just fine. The cuisine at this restaurant is made primarily from local merchants’ goods, so the flavor is exquisite and the freshness guaranteed. Sycamore is open for lunch and dinner and has won over its patrons with delectable fare such as Prince Edward Island mussels, lobster pot pie and banana tiramisu. It may be a newbie, but it’s certainly a goody.

800 E. Broadway,
874-8090,
www.sycamorerestaurant.com

Runner-Up: HuHot Mongolian Grill,
3802 Buttonwood Drive,
874-2000,
www/huhot.com/missouri.asp

Best Local Author
William Least Heat-Moon and William Trogdon are names that often come to mind when Columbians discuss local writers — even though they’re one in the same. As a progressive community that’s had vocal resistance to chain-store infiltration and urban sprawl, it’s apropos that locals regard the work of Least Heat-Moon highly. The ’82 cult-classic Blue Highways that propelled Trogdon’s writing career chronicled a 13,000-mile, three-month-long back-roads trip through the United States as he embarked on a spiritual journey and quest for an America that remains untouched by the modern commercial mentality of a fast-food nation.

Best Stir-Fry
You don’t have to be the next Iron Chef to cook stir-fry like a pro at HuHot, Columbia’s new Mongolian grill and barbecue. This do-it-yourself restaurant gives diners the chance to get in on the action with mix-and-match meats, veggies and sauces, and then watch as the true masters grill it up right in front of their eyes. For the less adventurous and cooking-challenged, HuHot also provides no-fail recipes so your stir-fry will come out sumptuous every time.

3802 Buttonwood Drive,
874-2000,
http://www.huhot.com/missouri.asp

Best Local Architecture
It hits you in the eye — a kind of George-Jetson-meets-Andrew-Carnegie kind of place. Built on the footprint of the original building and completed in 2002, the Columbia Public Library building is composed of four distinct geometric forms that reflect separate library functions. Each is clad in a different material to identify those functions, according to architect Nestor Bottino. Mélange or masterpiece, it projects a startling silhouette that makes it the most visually striking building in town.

100 W. Broadway,
443-3161,
www.dbrl.org/branch/columbia/

Runner-Up: Jesse Hall,
Francis Quadrangle,
MU Office of Visitor Relations,
882-6333

Best Male Athlete
If following in the very large footsteps of former Tiger quarterback Brad Smith is intimidating, someone forgot to tell Chase Daniel. As a first-year starter in 2006, this dual-threat quarterback from Southlake, Texas, had eyes across the nation focused on Mizzou while he shattered MU single-season records for yards passed and passing touchdowns, led the Tigers to eight regular season wins for only the 10th time in school history and proved his legs are as deadly as his accurate arm by becoming the team’s No. 2 rusher.

Runner-Up: Ben Askren,
MU wrestler & NCAA champion

Readers’ Choice: Best Local Icon
Norm Stewart left coaching behind in 1999, but he still has a devoted following among the Mizzou Tiger faithful who long to relive the bygone days of Tiger basketball glory. Stewart is neither gone, nor forgotten, and he continues to serve as an ambassador and fundraising all-star for the University of Missouri.

Best Wine List
You don’t need to be in Napa to sniff, swirl and sip some of the finest wines in the country. The Wine Cellar and Bistro on Cherry Street has wines of every vintage from every vineyard under the sun, or at least it seems that way. The restaurant’s Wine Spectator award-winning list includes more than 1,000 bottles of wine ranging from New Zealand Whites to South African Reds. With a selection this diverse, there is a wine to complement every meal and please even the most selective palate.

505 Cherry St., 442-7281,
www.winecellarbistro.com

Best Business Lunch
Addison’s and Sophia’s are all business — during the lunch hour, that is. Nine-to-fivers swarm to these classy sister restaurants to dine and discuss the latest and greatest happenings in corporate Columbia. The trained staffs waste no time in getting you in and out within your lunch hour, and clients and co-workers are sure to leave satisfied and set to take on the rest of the day with a full and happy stomach.

Addison’s:
709 Cherry St.,
256-1995,
www.addisonsophias.com/addisons

Sophia’s: 3
915 S. Providence Road,
874-8009,
www.addisonsophias.com/sophias

Best Comfort Food
Nothing says comfort like 63 Diner. This nostalgic establishment with poodle skirt-clad waitresses and ’50s paraphernalia is rich in choices that will please your belly and conjure up fond memories of Mom’s home cookin’. With options such as country-fried chicken breast smothered in home-style gravy, buttery mashed potatoes and batter-dipped cod served alongside hush puppies, you are sure to feel right at home.

5801 N. Highway 763,
443-2331,
www.the63diner.com

Staff Pick: Best Use of Green Pepper
What’s green and white and crunchy all over? That would be Murry’s infamous and oddly addictive fried green pepper ring appetizer. While many restaurants incorporate this common veggie into pizzas and salads, Murry’s takes a different, and might we add, delicious approach. Deep fried and coated in powdered sugar, we don’t think this is what Mom meant when she said to eat your vegetables.

3107 Green Meadows Way,
442-4969