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The Great Depression II is over. We survived. We’ve recovered. Or, at least, some of us have: The Dow climbed back over 10,000, and the super-rich have started buying each other’s companies again, triggering skyrocketing bonuses among Wall Street types who, for a few months, had struggled to pay off their yachts. As usual, this amazing wealth may take a while to trickle down to the rest of us. But for now, the fat cats are breathing easier. Celebrate accordingly.

Another reason to celebrate: Comics have returned to the pages of The Village Voice. Yes, they disappeared for a while as the newspaper industry fought through the worst year in its history. (The dailies and magazines don’t seem to be out of the woods just yet.) But what’s an alt-weekly without a comic strip? We brought back Tom Tomorrow’s This Modern World just as soon as we could, and with this Best of NYC issue, we’re running riot with one of our favorite weirdo cartoonists, New York City’s own Mike Wartella.

We asked him to do what the rest of the staff did for this overstuffed annual edition of the Voice: Search high and low for what surprises, amuses, and enamors us, knocks our senses senseless, satisfies our hunger, seduces us, and makes us work up a good, healthy sweat here in the greatest town in the world even in the grip of the greatest financial disaster most of us have ever known. Whether it’s a (relatively) unknown shopping nirvana downtown, a tinnitus-inducing (and Masons-affiliated!) rock venue in Fort Greene, an upstart media blog that’s way better than it has any right to be, or the best damn penis pho in New York, here’s what helped us—and our prodigal cartoonists—live through it.

Shops & Services

Best Bag Lady (and Bag Man), Best Biker Chic, Best Bikini Waxer, Best Blow Job, Best Bodega More >>

Eats & Treats

Best Bacon, Best Banh Mi, Best Bone Marrow, Best Brunch, Best Ceviche More >>

Eats & Treats: Best Restaurant Smackdown

Best Bakery, Best Bistro, Best Breakfast, Best Fast Food, Best Indian Restaurant More >>

People & Places

Best Alt-Museum, Best Assembly Mouth That Roars, Best Babel Fish to the Celebrities, Best Cheap Advice on Everything From Credit Cards to Chicken Soup, Best City Block More >>

Essay

A Party to Start All Parties, Brooklyn Rocks!, Fuck the Apocalypse!, Mouths Wide Open, The Center of the Center of the World More >>

Bars & Clubs

Best $10 Recession-Friendly Bar Zone-Out, Best Advance in the World of Fag Hagdom, Best Bar for Large Get-Togethers, Best Bar to Spirit Yourself Away to the Adirondacks, Best Beer Garden More >>

Arts & Entertainment

Best '90s Musical Hero Hiding Out Scruffily in Brooklyn, Best Actress and Best Actor, Best After-Hours Museum, Best After-Party Spot, Best Booking Coup More >>

Sports, Recreation & Sex

Best 'Re-Creation' Recreation, Best 24-Hour Pool Hall, Best Acquisition, Best Bridge to Bike Over, Best Campsite in City Limits More >>

Best Of Search

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Best Of Issues - Previous Years

Latest Best Of User Comments

  • Best Reminder of the Pre-Corporate Village (1)
    2009-11-12 15:50:45
    Huh? Shakespeare and Co? Come on. Do VV employees get discounts there? How about the venerable...
  • Best vintage shoe collection (1)
    2009-11-11 07:37:32
    Re: COBBLESTONES, Thank you so much for that flash from the past. I've been looking for 'Fred...
  • Best Morbid Florist (1)
    2009-10-31 17:59:46
    I am not sure how the owners of McGovern Florist feel about their Morbid Florist award, but I...
  • Best Residence for Aging Bohemians (1)
    2009-10-29 09:53:53
    The last line about the power-crazed tenant council is so absurd and pathetic. The all-volunteer...
  • Best Fetish Party (1)
    2009-10-28 16:18:46
    Thank you! I am so delighted! And there's more reason for festivity as my next Fetish...

Best Of Issues - Other Cities

Best of New York 2009 Award Graphics

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