Best Local Bookstore
Caliban Books, Oakland
2nd: tie: Half-Price Books, multiple locations / Eljay's Used Books, Dormont
3rd: Beyond Bedtime, Dormont
Best Store to Buy Comics
Phantom of the Attic, Oakland and Monroeville
2nd: Eide's Entertainment, Strip District
3rd: Copacetic Comics, Polish Hill
Best Local Store to Buy Music
The Exchange, multiple locations
2nd: Dave's Music Mine, South Side
3rd: Jerry's Records, Squirrel Hill
Best Local Store to Buy Musical Instruments
Piano's N' Stuff, Blawnox
2nd: Backstage Guitars, Lawrenceville and Wexford
3rd: Pittsburgh Guitars, South Side
Best Local Store to Buy Furniture
Levin Furniture, multiple locations
2nd: Perlora, South Side
3rd: IKEA, Robinson
Best Place to Buy Vintage Clothing
Avalon Exchange, Squirrel Hill and Mount Lebanon
2nd: Goodwill, multiple locations
3rd: Eons Fashion Antique, Shadyside
Best Local Shoe Store
Littles Shoes, Squirrel Hill
2nd: Pavement, Lawrenceville
3rd: Ten Toes, Shadyside
Best Local Fashion Boutique
Pavement, Lawrenceville
2nd: Fig Leaf, South Side
3rd: Pageboy Salon & Boutique, Lawrenceville
Best Local Jewelry Store
Orr's Jewelers, Squirrel Hill and Sewickley
2nd: Henne Jewelers, Shadyside
3rd: Culture Shop, South Side
Best Local Salon
Pageboy Salon & Boutique, Lawrenceville
2nd: MCN Salon, East Liberty
3rd: Uzori Salon, South Side
Best Day Spa
Sewickley Spa, Sewickley
2nd: Esspa Kozmetika, Aspinwall
3rd (tie): Judit European Day Spa, South Side / La Pomponnee, Mount Lebanon
Best Bicycle Shop
Thick Bikes, South Side
2nd: Kraynick's Bike Shop, Garfield
3rd: Trek of Pittsburgh, multiple locations
Best Health Club
Urban Active, Larimer
2nd: LA Fitness, multiple locations
3rd: YMCA, multiple locations
Best Yoga Studio
Amazing Yoga, Shadyside
2nd: Schoolhouse Yoga, multiple locations
3rd: Breathe Yoga, South Side
Best Bowling Alley
Arsenal Lanes, Lawrenceville
2nd: Forward Lanes, Squirrel Hill
3rd: Dormont Lanes, Dormont
Best Skate Shop
One Up Skate Shop, South Side
2nd: Plank Eye Board Shop, Bellevue
3rd: Headboard Shop, South Side
Best Tattoo Shop
In the Blood Tattoo, South Side
2nd: Jester's Court, multiple locations
3rd: South Side Tattoos, South Side
Best Body-Piercing Shop
Hot Rod Body Piercing, Oakland and South Side
2nd: In the Blood Tattoo, South Side
3rd: South Side Tattoos, South Side
Best Smoke Shop
Leaf and Bean, Strip District
2nd: Bloom Cigar, South Side
3rd: Puffs-N-Stuff Cigars, multiple locations
Best Car Dealer
#1 Cochran, multiple locations
2nd: Day Automotive, multiple locations
3rd: Baierl, multiple locations
Best Golf Course
Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont
2nd: Schenley Park Golf Course, Squirrel Hill
3rd (tie): Fox Chapel Golf Course, Fox Chapel / Scally's Golf Center, Coraopolis
Best Place to Buy Health Food
Whole Foods, East Liberty
2nd: East End Food Co-Op, Point Breeze
3rd: Trader Joe's, East Liberty and Upper St. Clair
Best Place to Adopt a Pet
Animal Friends, Ohio Township
2nd: Western PA Humane Society, North Side and Elizabeth
3rd: Animal Rescue League, Larimer
Best Hotel
Omni William Penn, Downtown
2nd: Fairmont Pittsburgh, Downtown
3rd: Pittsburgh Renaissance Hotel, Downtown
Best Thrift Shop
Red White and Blue, Brookline and Bellevue
2nd: Goodwill, multiple locations
3rd: Salvation Army, multiple locations
Best Place to Take the Kids for an Afternoon
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Highland Park
2nd: Pittsburgh Children's Museum, North Side
3rd: Carnegie Science Center, North Side
Best Place for a Wedding Reception
Phipps Conservatory, Oakland
2nd: The Priory Hotel, North Side
3rd: Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, Highland Park
Best Place to Buy/Sell Gold
Treasure Hunt, multiple locations
2nd: Southside Jewelers & More, South Side
3rd: South Hills Jewelers, Bethel Park
Best One-of-a-Kind Gift Store
Wildcard, Lawrenceville
2nd: Kards Unlimited, Shadyside
3rd: Ten Thousand Villages, Squirrel Hill
State of the Art
Are you one of those avant-garde types not content with majority rule? Check out these recommendations from our editorial staff.
Best Impression Made by a Big-Box Retailer Before You Even Walk Inside
Target. 6231 Penn Ave., East Liberty
Sometimes it takes a big-box retailer to make streets more small-town friendly. To facilitate Target's arrival, two-way traffic was restored to Penn Circle South; turning lanes were better organized along Penn Avenue. Pedestrians — who suffered mightily during construction — were rewarded with new crosswalks and countdown "walk" signals. Target threw in sheltered bike racks, and the bus turnabout across the street (which is still being rehabbed) got benches and trees.
Best Job of Cashing in on Dark Knight hype
S.W. Randall Toys & Gifts. 630 Smithfield St., Downtown. 412-562-9252
For those who grew up in the age of Toys R Us, S.W. Randall is the childhood toy store we never had ... and its window displays are part of the reason. The store earned widespread attention during the filming of Dark Knight, thanks to a Batman-themed display of vintage action figures and other paraphernalia — complete with campy 1960s-era theme music on loudspeaker. TV news cameras and film-production staffers alike came to visit.
Best Pop-Up Store
Fleeting Pages. 5986 Penn Circle South, East Liberty, May 7-June 4, 2011
This past spring, the shuttered Borders Eastside was revivified — as a bookstore, no less. With no advertising budget, founder and Braddock resident Jodi Morrison and a volunteer staff kept Fleeting Pages running seven days a week. The store, a showcase for indie publishers, zine-makers and artists, also hosted daily events including readings, workshops, film screenings and a poetry slam. Though the store lost money, it drew crowds and enlivened Pittsburgh's lit scene.
Best Way to Get Your Hands Dirty
Tree Pittsburgh's "Tree Tender" program. 412-362-6360 or www.treepittsburgh.org
Tree Tenders are the National Guard of the arborist world: a civilian group dedicated to taking care of what the pros can't quite get to. Tree Pittsburgh trains volunteers in the science of trees so that they can take part in planting, pruning and otherwise maintaining trees in public places citywide.
Best Local Mobile App
Park PGH. www.parkpgh.org
Created by tech gurus at Deep Local, Park PGH is designed to navigate the treacherous Cultural District parking landscape. Both the iPhone app and the mobile site feature a color-coded map which lets you know whether a nearby garage is available, reaching capacity or full up. It's just the thing to keep you from abandoning your vehicle in the middle of Penn Avenue.
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