Best Local Theater Company
City Theatre, South Side
2nd: Stage 62, Carnegie
3rd: Attack Theatre, Strip District
Best Local Stage Actor/Actress
Becki Toth
2nd: Christopher Martin
3rd: Patrick Jordan
Best Museum in Pittsburgh
The Andy Warhol Museum, North Side
2nd: Carnegie Museums, Oakland
3rd: Mattress Factory, North Side
Best Gallery for Local Artists
ModernFormations, Garfield
2nd: Space, Downtown
3rd: Mattress Factory, North Side
Best Dance Company
Attack Theatre, Strip District
2nd: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Downtown
3rd: Dance Alloy, Friendship
Best Local Music Venue
Stage AE, North Side
2nd: Mr. Small's, Millvale
3rd: Club Café, South Side
Best Local Singer/Songwriter
Joy Ike
2nd: Cathasaigh
3rd: Bill Deasy
Best Pop/Rock Band
The Clarks
2nd: Mace Ballard
3rd: Donora
Best Metal Band
Dethlehem
2nd: Seas We Fear to Sail
3rd: Motorpsychos
Best Alt-folk/Alt-country Band
The Armadillos
2nd: Hero and the Lie
3rd: Rusted Root
Best Jazz/Blues Band or Performer
Melinda Colaizzi
2nd (tie): Etta Cox / Phat Man Dee
Best Hip-Hop Performer(s)
Wiz Khalifa
2nd: Mac Miller
3rd: Formula 412
Best New Bar
Local Bar + Kitchen, South Side
2nd: The Blind Pig, South Side
3rd: Mario's East Side Saloon, Shadyside
Best New Club
Static, Strip District
2nd: Cruze Bar, Strip District
3rd: Savoy, Strip District
Best Strip Club
Blush, Downtown
2nd: Cheerleaders, Strip District
3rd: Club Erotica, McKees Rocks
Best Sports Bar
Jerome Bettis Grille 36, North Side
2nd: Buffalo Blues, Shadyside
3rd: Carson City Saloon, South Side
Best Dance Club
Static, Strip District
2nd: Diesel, South Side
3rd: Whim, Station Square
Best College Bar
Hemingway's, Oakland
2nd: Peter's Pub, Oakland
3rd: Mario's, South Side
Best Themed Dance Night
Belvedere's, Lawrenceville
2nd: Lava Lounge, South Side
3rd (tie): Static / Shadow Lounge — Titletown
Best Bartender
Ova Shofa, Z Lounge
2nd: Tim Quinlan, Gooski's
3rd: Richie Owens, Static
Best Happy Hour
Mad Mex, multiple locations
2nd: Kaya, Strip District
3rd: Tamari, Lawrenceville
Best Cocktail List
Olive or Twist, Downtown
2nd: Salt of the Earth, Garfield
3rd: Kelly's Bar & Lounge, East Liberty
Best Bar for a Martini
Olive or Twist, Downtown
2nd: Salt of the Earth, Garfield
3rd: Blue Dining, Allison Park
Best Outdoor Bar Seating
Round Corner Cantina, Lawrenceville
2nd: Harris Grill, Shadyside
3rd: Double Wide Grill, South Side
Best Bar for Smokers
Dee's Café, South Side
2nd: Jack's, South Side
3rd: Gooski's, Polish Hill
Best Bar to Karaoke
Nico's Recovery Room, Bloomfield
2nd: Cappy's Café, Shadyside
3rd: Lava Lounge, South Side
Best LGBT Bar
5801 Video Lounge and Café, Shadyside
2nd: Cattivo, Lawrenceville
3rd: Blue Moon, Lawrenceville
Best Bar for a First Date
Harris Grill, Shadyside
2nd: Round Corner Cantina, Lawrenceville
3rd: Lava Lounge, South Side
Best Bar to Meet Someone
Mario's, South Side
2nd: Brillobox, Bloomfield
3rd: Jack's, South Side
Best Bar to Celebrate a 21st Birthday
Bar 11, South Side
2nd: Jack's, South Side
3rd: Mario's, South Side
Best Bar to Network
Olive or Twist, Downtown
2nd: Bossa Nova, Downtown
3rd: Nakama, South Side
Best Bar to People Watch
Local Bar + Kitchen, South Side
2nd: Belvedere's, Lawrenceville
3rd: Harris Grill, Shadyside
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 Rapidly Expanding Local Music Entity
VIA Music & New Media Festival. www.via-pgh.com
VIA began in 2010 with a huge festival catering largely to fans of electronic music. In 2011, organizers arranged for regular concerts and DJ events throughout the year, then brought the house down with a killer lineup for its September festival: Dam-Funk, Peanut Butter Wolf, Austra and Underground Resistance were among the big names on the bill.
Best Argument for Pittsburgh as Most Die-able City
Pittsburgh Noir. Akashic Books. $15.95
Big indie publisher Akashic issued a Pittsburgh edition of its rapidly expanding Noir series in June. Edited by detective-fiction author Kathleen George, the book features offerings from a smattering of local writers, both well known (Terrance Hayes, Stewart O'Nan) and up-and-coming (Paul Lee, Aubrey Hirsch). One lesson we learned: Don't make enemies if you live near a river. And we all live near a river.
Best National-TV Throwdown
Squonk Opera on NBC's America's Got Talent, July 12, 2011
Mysteriously selected to compete on the talent show, Pittsburgh's theatrically minded art-rock mainstay (creator of multimedia shows including Astro-Rama) didn't expect to be feted like, say, Jackie Evancho. But when the group's musical adventurism and surreal stagecraft drew judge comments like "It messed with my head" (Sharon Osbourne) and "This is what I imagine Hell is like" (Piers Morgan), Squonk co-founder Jackie Dempsey defended the group's "weirdness" as both a defining trait and an artistic asset.
Best Place to Sate Appetite Worked Up While Headbanging
Kopec's. 3523 Penn Ave., Lawrenceville. 412-682-0892
Remember when Nunslaughter played in grandma's attic and she served everyone haluski and baked penne pasta? No? Then the closest you may get is Kopec's, a favorite venue for local and touring metal bands. During most shows, the folks who run the bar — a hybrid of neighborhood watering hole and cozy rec room — provide homemade, beer-absorbing comfort food and various snacks to hungry headbangers, free of charge.
Best Super-Friends Imitation on the Art Scene
The Pittsburgh Biennial, multiple venues
In an unprecedented move, the long-running Biennial was expanded to encompass five distinct venues, programmed by a crew of the city's top young curators: The Carnegie Museum of Art's Dan Byers; The Andy Warhol Museum's Eric Shiner; Astria Suparak, of Carnegie Mellon's Miller Gallery; and Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts' Adam Welch. The result was an ambitious and audacious survey of area artists.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Melinda Colaizzi.
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