Conditions at so-called "Dropout Factories" make it hard for students to get beyond the label

A national study that called several district schools "Dropout Factories" doesn't fill students with optimism. But despite the negative label, some say their main goal is to prove it false.

• by Chris Young

Best lounge bar

Firehouse Lounge 2216 Penn Ave., Strip District. 412-434-1230

• by Cindy Yogmas

Focus Group

Our "Best of" voters show us the city through a different lens

GOODS & SERVICES

FOOD & DRINK

Drink tax passes -- but not without a fight

Allegheny County Council may have passed its 10 percent drink tax on Dec. 4, but restaurant owners say the fight is far from over.

• by Melissa Meinzer

Best Pittsburgh Movie

Striking Distance

• by Al Hoff

CULTURE & NIGHTLIFE

New housing in East Liberty delivers on a promise

After losing their homes in the name of development, some East Liberty residents are now reaping the rewards of years of uncertainty.

• by Melissa Meinzer

Best new restaurant

Muriel's
856 Western Ave., North Side. 412-322-0476

• by Jody DiPerna

PEOPLE, PLACES & PROPAGANDA

Best Place to Not Eat Meat

The Quiet Storm Coffeehouse & Restaurant 5430 Penn Ave., Friendship. 412-661-9355. www.quietstormcoffee.com

• by Cindy Yogmas

Best political activist

Bill Peduto

• by Chris Potter

Best outdoor dining

The Double Wide Grill
2339 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-390-1111

• by Robert Isenberg

Best local record store

Paul's Compact Discs
4526 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. 412-621-3256

• by Andy Mulkerin

Best Southeast Asian restaurant

Spice Island Tea House
253 Atwood St., Oakland, 412-687-8821

• by Leslie Fleisher

Best place to buy antiques

Zenith Antiques
86 S. 26th St., South Side. 412-481-4833

• by Lissa Brennan

Best tribute band

Bon-Journey

• by Aaron Jentzen

Best local athlete

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

• by Charlie Deitch

Create Your Own "best of" Category!

"Best of" categories and winners created by our readers

Best bar to avoid hipsters/Best shot-n-beer bar

Jack Rose Bar
1121 E. Carson St., South Side, 412-431-3644

• by Chris Potter

Best bartender

Becky Sauer, St. James Place Tavern
153 S. 18th St., South Side. 412-431-3222

• by Chris Young

Best local microbrew

Church Brew Works
3525 Liberty Ave., Lawrenceville. 412-688-8200

• by Bill O'Driscoll

Best chef

Chris Jackson, Six Penn Kitchen
146 Sixth St., Downtown. 412-566-7366

• by Heather Mull

Best Dance Company

Attack Theatre

• by Steve Sucato

Best place to buy denim

Pittsburgh Jeans Company
2222 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-381-5326

• by Margaret Welsh

Best fine dining/Best continental restaurant

Eleven
1150 Smallman St., Strip District. 412-201-5656

• by Bill O'Driscoll

Best hip-hop performer

Wiz Khalifa

• by Aaron Jentzen

Best place to indulge your sweet tooth

Dozen Cupcakes
1707 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. 412-420-5135

• by Al Hoff

Best karaoke bar

Tie: Tennyson Lodge/Nico's Recovery Room
4797 Library Road, Bethel Park. 412-833-4442 /178 Pearl St., Bloomfield. 412-681-9562

• by Corey LeChat

Best place to take kids for an afternoon

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium
One Wild Place, Highland Park. 412-665-3640

• by Frances Monahan

Best local clothing designer

Nick Alan/Kelly Lane (Tie)

• by Melissa Meinzer

Tea For You

• by Colleen Van Tassell

Local electro act Pfunked wants your vote

He's even played a "Sweet 16" bash for two local girls -- evidence of a developing teen-age fanbase.

• by Manny Theiner

DJ Mary Mack

"I'd had this idea for months of doing a Flashdance-themed party."

• by Justin Hopper

Local prog-rockers Rainstation Zero release debut album

You can tell there's a real human playing real drums in a real room.

• by Aaron Jentzen

Bach & The Baroque Ensemble takes final bow with Bach's Christmas Oratorio

"We wanted to have a celebratory work as our finale with all of these extra instruments."

• by Manny Theiner

The Golden Compass

At a time when religion increasingly wants to hijack secular culture, how can you not applaud a movie that sticks pins in the eyes of the Christian Right and argues that children should have the freedom to decide for themselves what they want to believe? Such is Chris Weitz's film, adapted from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. One child, Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards), armed with a golden compass and resistant to dominant theology, sets out to learn everything, as well as free some kidnapped children. In this alternative world, people's souls walk alongside each person in the form of an animal who can talk. Each adult's soul remains one animal, but a child's soul changes species until her personality settles. That's why, in Pullman's creation, it's so important for children to be allowed to learn: Knowledge determines who we become, and that determines the future of the universe. [3.5 out of 4 stars]

• by Harry Kloman

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Steve Wiebe, an unassuming junior high school teacher, logs a new high score on Donkey Kong in his garage, beating the long-held record by the arcade world's de facto celebrity gamer, Billy Mitchell. But the score is disputed, kicking off a year-long battle to determine which man holds the world's high score. Wiebe tries in vain to: establish his high score; break the record live during public play; schedule a head-to-head with the elusive Mitchell; and simply earn the respect of the tight-knit gaming community. Driving both men is a mixture of playground ethics and adult ambition, topped with a peculiar intelligence that transforms climbing a cartoon ladder into the mastering of complex mathematical strategies. Likewise, Gordon has turned a cartoonish concept -- who is the world's best Donkey Kong player? -- into an entertaining snapshot of the complexities of human nature, especially those that surface in the raw arena of competition. [3 out of 4 stars]

• by Al Hoff

Tearoom

Shot without sound, in grainy color 16 mm, it's a stunning document.

• by Bill O'Driscoll

The Perfect Holiday

Director Lance Rivera's got your gift -- a predictable holiday comedy -- wrapped up.

• by Al Hoff

Australian video artists get Workin' Down Under at Wood Street Galleries.

But who, in this symbolically fraught meditation on a country colonized by herds of shepherds, is blessed, and who cursed?

• by Bill O'Driscoll

The holidays, it turns out, are really all about rethinking how we use our buildings.

Now, UPMC's pledge to provide matching funds to the Pittsburgh Promise educational fund seems like so much gold, frankincense and myrrh.

• by Charles Rosenblum

The FCC has shut down the low-wattage radio experiment "Sounds You Never Hear."

"We wanted to create a space where you could have some new discovery, something you've never heard in your life," says Rubin.

• by Matt Siffert

High Anxiety

We can't afford 64 million beans to pay for tradition and sentimentality and the stuck-in-the-pastness that is a hallmark of Pittsburgh.

• by John McIntire

Into Thin Air

When being above the ground means being above the law -- and union workers get left out of union-funded developments

• by Chris Potter

This Just In: Dec 12 - 19

Highlights from the local TV news: The Mon Wharf is closed! Oh, the humanity!

• by Frances Sansig Monahan

Letters to the Editor: Ded 12 - 19

Feedback from our readers: No easy choices when it comes to having a disabled child.

Pride & Prejudice

Playwright Jon Jory and director Scott Wise are every bit as level-headed as Austen.

• by Ted Hoover