October 28-November 3, 2004

cover story

We're Choosy Mothers

Illustration By: Hyacinth Hughes

by Brian Howard

Decisions, decisions. The world is filthy with 'em. In a consumer society defined by what I like to call the burden of infinite choice, even picking a toothpaste can be a mind-rattling experience. Which makes us here at 123 Chestnut more than a little distressed about the national election looming next week, an election many are calling the most important of our generation. Yet with so many decisions cluttering up our ever-dwindling attention, how can anyone be expected to focus on the issues that really matter?

We're here to help. We've always considered the annual City Paper Choice issue—wherein our editors and contributors weigh in on what's for shit and what's not in this town—as an enjoyable way to highlight the best and the worst the city has to offer, our chance to distribute props and levy slams. But this year it is so much more. The last thing you need are distractions as you head to the voting booth on Tuesday. You simply shouldn't be bothered with lingering doubts over issues such as "Which crispy pigs' feet are most enticing?" or "Is this sidewalk stencil better than that one?"

So in the interest of delivering our readers to the polls with a minimum of cranial static, we settle those and other important conundrums in the pages that follow. As always, we divvy the notices into three general categories: arts and entertainment, food and drink, and city living.

Keep in mind that the honorees and the dishonored are not chosen scientifically (for instance, how could one possibly measure the irresistibility of one squid dish over another?). Rather, we send our writers out into the world and ask them to tell us what they like and what they do not. Simple as that. We received contributions from 41 different people this year, which we believe to be a record of some sort.

And in the interest of giving you some Election Day practice, we've been asking you for the last month or so to go to our Web site and vote for your own favorites in the triumphant return of the City Paper Readers' Poll. You'll find the results on p. 31.