Robin Laananen
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MICROSOFT
No, it's not the high-paying, cubicle- imprisoning contract work that makes Microsoft king of Seattle companies. Nor is it the millionaire-before-35 Gilded Age ennui that makes the software giant so lovable. It's not even the fact that worker bees at the Mothership get free pop and chocolate milk. It's the lifestyle! It's the picnic! Yes, ask former M'soft wage trolls (at least the ones we know) what kept them in the game so long, and they'll tell you it's the amazing annual picnic, and the corollary fact that Mother Micro provided them with a social life when they never would have had one on their own—so much better than the picnic and social life you might get at, say, Boeing or Safeco. Employers, remember: Picnics are important. P.D.
Second place: Starbucks
Best Steak House
METROPOLITAN GRILL
(820 Second, 624-3287)
Mark Hipkiss, executive chef at the Metropolitan Grill, stands behind his meat. "It's probably the best beef I've ever had," he contends. He thinks the aging process has a lot to do with the quality of his beef. We think he's probably right. The beef, mostly prime cut from corn-fed Nebraska cattle, is hauled to K & N Meats in Renton, where it's put through a rigorous 28-day dry-aging process especially for Metropolitan Grill. Well-aged, moist, and flavorful, the beef is then ready for its next adventure with the Metropolitan Grill's open-fire mesquite grill—one of the few left outside Kansas City. It's here, with a little luck and a whole lotta love, that Hipkiss and his crew transform the well-aged beef into the quality steak you voted for. K.M.
Second place: Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (800 Fifth, 624-8524)
Best Martini
TINI BIGGS
(100 Denny Way, 284-0931)
The only time I had a martini at Tini Biggs, I had 14. I was part of a media tasting to help this prize-winning Queen Anne bar choose new concoctions for its lengthy martini menu (yeah, work really does suck sometimes). The varied recipes used a whole wallful of ingredients, from Goldschlager to tequila to Kahlua, with results that would make James Bond croak (the bartender told me that less than 10 percent of the bar's martinis are made with gin). But if it's OK to call something a martini simply because of the glass it's served in, I'm not going to complain. A drink is a drink is a drink, and some of these were pretty damn tasty. Tradition be damned. A.V.B.
Second place: Marcus' Martini Heaven (88 Yesler Way, 624-3323)
Best Local Politician
GOV. GARY LOCKE
What is it with Seattle Weekly readers and Gary Locke? Year after year, we write nasty articles about the governor and how he never does anything, and he doesn't stand for anything, and he doesn't act like a Democrat from a liberal city like Seattle should, and year after year our readers pronounce him their favorite politician. Did anyone check the return addresses on those ballots? Can we get a handwriting sample from Mona? Despite our squawking, Locke epitomizes the politics of our time. This is an age of lesser government. Voters want smaller, technocratic solutions, not grand visions from activist politicians. The key to understanding Locke's continuing popularity, not only with our readers but also with voters statewide, is to comprehend that he genuinely is a perfect match for this political moment. G.H.
Second place: Greg Nickels
Best Freeway
I-90
Never mind best, what makes a freeway even "good"? Presumably, the absence of all the characteristics that make for a "bad" freeway: traffic jams, endless road construction (cough, I-5), low speed limits, and, worse, hypervigilant state troopers. I-90, the supreme freeway, has none of these things. Its lanes are wide and relatively clear, save some unavoidable after-work congestion on the Eastside; its speed limit, 70 mph in most places, won't put a cramp in your lead foot; and, provided your tabs are up-to-date and you're not fleeing a bank robbery, the cops tend to stay off your tail. I-90 goes straight on through to Boston, so if you fancy an adventure, skip that tired old Issaquah exit and flirt with destiny. Go ahead, do it. K.M.
Second place: "You must be kidding"
Best Place to Get Your Shoes Shined
NORDSTROM
(500 Pine, 628-2111)
Shoe polish was invented by George Washington Carver in the late 1800s and popularized by William Ramsay decades later. Ramsay named his shoe polish brand Kiwi in honor of his wife, a New Zealand native, because the kiwi is the national bird and official emblem of New Zealand. Kiwi polish achieved global eminence during the world wars. Shortly after the two atomic bombs were dropped, the Australia-based Kiwi polish company opened a manufacturing plant in the U.S., in Philadelphia, and began distributing the substance in black, brown, and neutral. Kiwi is now the best-selling shoe polish product in the world, and it is a registered trademark of the Sara Lee Corporation. The kiwi bird, for its part in all this, has wings but cannot fly. The kiwi fruit is a hairy green produce item available at Pike Place Market, which is within walking distance of the downtown Nordstrom, which is where people get their shoes shined before work—which is a good idea if you work for one of nearly 80 percent of corporate executives who believe well-maintained shoes are crucial to a person's success. C.F.
