Readers' Pick, Missoula News

Best Athlete

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Will Cherry A few years ago, Griz basketball was dominated by Anthony Johnson, a record-breaking point guard with a deadly outside shot, precocious poise and natural leadership abilities. But while Johnson garnered headlines his senior season, he often spoke of a cat-quick freshman that you could tell was being groomed as The Next Big Thing.…

Best Home Electronics

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Best Buy The store that sports the blue shirts is one of the most navigable places to find electronics. You know how you decided not to take a map on a backcountry road and you ended up with a strange hitchhiker in the back of your truck and then you hit a deer?…

Best Caterer

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Two Sisters Count one more win for Missoula’s premier catering outfit, Two Sisters. This is the fifth year in a row they’ve claimed the Best Caterer prize, and we know exactly why.…

Best Alternative Health Care Provider

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

The Golgi Clinic A couple of years ago, the naturopathic physicians who make up the Golgi Clinic, Drs. Jeffrey Friess and Teresita Martinez, coached one Indy writer through a three-week cleanse that he wrote about—enema and all—in a feature story.…

Best CDs & Music

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Rockin Rudy’s Also Best Jewelry, Best Store for Gifts The phrase “something for everyone” gets thrown around a lot, but Rockin Rudy’s actually lives up to it.…

Best Used Car Dealer

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

University Motors If you possess a television set, you know the story of this family-owned Honda dealership. Through a series of seemingly ubiquitous commercials, we learn about the Hubbard family’s history of selling cars, its commitment to selling only the best new and certified used Hondas and a certain catch phrase.…

Best Coffee

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Break Espresso The coffee is good (the Americanos are better) but this here’s a coffee shop as versatile as it is delicious. Deep and wide, the Break’s brick and wood interior hints at a classic café where one launches revolutions.…

Best Health Club

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Peak Health & Wellness Missoula has some great public tennis courts, but for the other six months of the year, tennis players and many others around Missoula know that the best place to work out is Peak Health & Wellness Center, down by Blue Mountain. The sprawling, upscale and locally owned club, in business for more than 25 years, has indoor and outdoor tennis courts, an indoor pool, weight rooms, a basketball court, an indoor track, and saunas and steam rooms in the locker rooms, among other amenities, making it a year-round destination for the fitness-conscious.…

Best Margarita

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

James Bar Oh, it’s bliss all right. Imagine the first sunny afternoon in what could be a month and the James Bar’s alley patio is surprisingly quiet, besides the Chili Peppers on the speakers behind you.…

Best Gallery

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Dana Gallery First Fridays see the Dana Gallery mobbed by arts patrons and perusers scouting out some of the most highly regarded fine art in the Northwest. Owner Dudley Dana and his staff put a lot of care into curating a diverse collection of paintings and photographs—Montana urban and rural landscapes, beautiful and odd portraits, realistic and impressionistic styles.…

Best Bookstore

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

The Book Exchange We are a bookish, literary community, which is reflected in the fact that, in this age of online and onscreen reading, in addition to a chain bookseller, we also still have several great independent bookstores. Our readers’ pick amongst all of them is The Book Exchange, and it’s not hard to see why once you step beyond its strip-mall exterior and see a lot of used books in fine shape that sell for as little as a few bucks, not to mention more than 180,000 books in total, many of them out-of-print; a wealth of works by local authors; a great selection of volumes about Montana and the West; and an in-store Liquid Planet coffee shop, which makes this a great place to kill an afternoon.…

Best Outdoor Dining

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Finn & Porter Finn & Porter sets the perfect atmosphere for your summer dining experience. What makes it so awesome?…

Best Women’s Haircut

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Boom Swagger Salon Also, Best Men's Haircut It’s tough to muster a swagger when you have bad hair.…

Best Martini

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Finn & Porter Whether you’re sunning on the Finn & Porter deck or lounging with a flock of impressively dressed friends inside, the martini hits the spot. Names like the Montuckey-tini and the Good Karma-tini provide a reminder that you’re not some uptight Manhattanite climbing the corporate ladder.…

Best Place for Kids’ Fun

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Dragon Hollow and A Carousel for Missoula Many parents tell us the key to surviving long summer days or even longer summer weekends is keeping the little ones as busy as humanly possible. The idea, basically, is to run them ragged so they fall asleep even though it’s still light out way past bedtime.…

Best Website

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Missoula Events Missoula Events was founded by local know-it-alls Colin Hickey and Molly Bradford. They know what’s happening around town and when, and they share it online in a very simple-yet-brilliant color-coded list of events where you can sort by venue or by music, art, sports, food, education and more.…

Best Eyewear

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Uptown Optical Remember all of the kids who always called you four-eyes? You know, the same ones who now enviously compliment your sweet new frames?…

Best Coffee Hut

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Loose Caboose We’re not one for much crack-of-dawn chatter before our first cup of java love. That’s no problem at Loose Caboose, where baristas are sure to write your name and your drink of choice on the back of your loyalty punch card.…

Best Massage Therapist

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Fenesa Dilworth, Misty’s Salon & Spa Fenesa Dilworth has quite the following. Her colleagues at Misty’s say the two-time winner of this category has “a certain aura” about her that has dedicated customers booked out roughly two weeks for one of her massages.…

Best Dry Cleaner

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Green Hanger Also, Best Laundromat Green Hanger had a rough run recently.…

Best New Car Dealer

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Karl Tyler Chevrolet Karl Tyler Chevrolet offers more than just high-end sports cars, mini vans, affordable sedans and hybrids. For more than two decades, the locally owned operation has cultivated an ever-growing contingent of satisfied customers from across the area.…

Best Fresh Produce

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Good Food Store Also Best Salad, Best Supermarket and Best Vegetarian Food A plate full of organic salad, side of soup, maybe a roll on the side, grab a different plate for some antipasto, and bam!—GFS offers what’s easily the best lunch in town if you’re a choose-your-adventure type.…

Best Doctor

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Eric Ravitz Going to the doctor can be nerve-wracking. Even when your hypochondria is at bay, you show up at your annual checkup all clammy-handed and your blood pressure spikes.…

Best Beer Selection

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Rhino Montana’s not exactly the first place you’d think to find a bottle of Traquair, one of Scotland’s finer brews. But there it is, in the cooler behind the bar at the Rhino, just begging for a taste.…

Best Radio Station

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:00:00 -0600

The Trail 103.3 The Trail snagged this year’s crown for best radio station, and it’s no surprise considering you can hear it darn near everywhere. Dozens of local businesses play 103.3 FM all day, every day, for their employees and customers, and it’s not uncommon to pull up alongside another car on Reserve Street and hear them blasting The Trail just like you are.…