Best Art GalleryOK, guys: Seattle Art Museum is not a gallery. Neither,

Published 7:00 am Monday, October 9, 2006

Best Art GalleryOK, guys: Seattle Art Museum is not a gallery. Neither, in fact, are the Frye Art Museum and the Henry Art Gallery, despite the latter’s name. The actual gallery that received the most votes, FRIESEN GALLERY, specializes in modern art and recently showed the layered, Pollock-esque paintings of Ford Crull. 1210 Second Ave., 206-628-9501, www.friesengallery.com.Best Local Visual ArtistCreator of the “Garden of Glass” now at England’s Royal Botanic Garden, DALE CHIHULY has crafted flowers, sea creatures, dinosaur bones, and chandeliers from his material of choice. www.chihuly.com.Best Public ArtworkWith the strength to crush cars, the FREMONT TROLL has captured your hearts. Since 1990, the Troll has been hiding beneath the Aurora Bridge, generously posing for pictures and letting children climb all over him. While his heart is made of stone, we’re sure he loves you all, too.Best Arts PhilanthropistPerhaps the most beneficial friendship to our region is that of BILL GATES and Paul Allen. The Microsoft chairman narrowly defeated his pal in our poll, maybe because the Gates Foundation recently awarded KidsQuest Children’s Museum a $500,000 grant to promote hands-on art activities. The Allen Foundation, for its part, supports artistic venture projects and statewide arts groups. www.gatesfoundation.org.Best Independent BookstoreWith its cedar shelves, exposed brick walls, and squeaky wood floors, ELLIOTT BAY BOOK CO. offers an experience like no other. Not only does Elliott Bay carry an astonishing 150,000 titles, it offers a peaceful environment where anyone can go to nourish their inner bookworm. 101 S. Main St., 206-624-6600, www.elliottbaybook.com.Best Movie TheaterAdmit it, you can’t get enough of those glowing stars on the ceiling. CINERAMA is your favorite place to pass the popcorn, laugh with the crowd, and awkwardly hold hands on first dates. Its three-projector technology makes it one of only two Cineramas left in the world. 2100 Fourth Ave., 206-441-3653, www.cinerama.com.Best Local Video StoreSurprised that SCARECROW VIDEO won? Nope, neither are we, since it’s the largest video store in the Northwest and has an insanely diverse selection of films on VHS and DVD. The film-buff employees are always willing to recommend something, and even the most obscure or creepy film you can think of—e.g., the 1974 made-for-TV horror classic Bad Ronald—is probably somewhere on their shelves. 5030 Roosevelt Way N.E., 206-524-8554, www.scarecrow.com.Best Place to Get Adult VideosGreat news for fans of the Chasing the Big Ones series: Installment 20 is now in stock at BLUE VIDEO on Aurora. And if you aren’t enamored of the Chasing franchise, you’ll be happy to know that Blue is amply stocked with all the other erotic videos you could imagine. 4100 Aurora Ave. N., 206-632-9886.Best Independent Music StoreWe might have another voting recount scandal on our hands. Although you chose EASY STREET RECORDS as your preferred music source, last year’s winner, Sonic Boom Records, was nipping at its heels, behind by a mere 10 votes. 20 Mercer St., 206-691-3279; 4559 California Ave. S.W., 206-938-3279.Best Rock ClubIt’s always a close race, and this year the CROCODILE CAFE beat the Showbox by a hair. What gave it the edge? Could it be the dim bar in back with the vibrant portraits? The tasty food? We’re guessing it’s the fact that the Croc never tries to be pretentious, and never fails to book eclectic, talented musicians. 2200 Second Ave., 206-441-5611, www.thecrocodile.com.Best Jazz ClubWhere else in town but DIMITRIOU’S JAZZ ALLEY can you catch acclaimed vocalist Oleta Adams and top-notch guitarist Stanley Jordan in the same week while enjoying grilled Alaskan salmon with truffle-butter sauce? Nowhere else, which is probably why you gave it such an enthusiastic nod. 2033 Sixth Ave., 206-441-9729, www.jazzalley.com.Best Themed Dance NightYour top choices in this category represent the broad spectrum of Seattle’s nightlife, but SALSA NIGHT AT SEE SOUND LOUNGE (every Sunday at 9 p.m.) prevailed, followed closely by ’80s night at Neighbours (Thursdays) and Comeback, Chop Suey’s celebration of all things glamorous and gay (last Friday of every month). 115 Blanchard St., 206-374-3733, www.seesoundlounge.com.Best Classical MusicianRather than an instrumentalist, you chose Seattle Symphony conductor and music director GERARD SCHWARZ, who’s been with the orchestra for more than two decades. During his tenure, he’s focused his attention on overlooked 20th-century American composers and led the premiere performances of 46 new works. www.seattlesymphony.org.Best Local Dance TroupeAn epic chapter in the life of PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET came to a close this year when longtime co-directors Francia Russell and Kent Stowell bid the company a yearlong goodbye. But ballet fans are anticipating the next installment—the Peter Boal era—with much excitement. Will the New York City Ballet alum lift the company to new heights? Time will tell. 301 Mercer St., 206-441-2424, www.pnb.org.Best Mainstage Theater CompanyACT THEATRE and INTIMAN THEATRE received the same number of votes this year. We propose that the nagging nun from ACT’s Late Nite Catechism go mano a mano with Tom Skerritt, the Stage Manager from Intiman’s Our Town, to settle this once and for all. ACT, 700 Union St., 206-292-7676, www.acttheatre.org. Intiman, 201 Mercer St., 206-269-1900, www.intiman.org.Best Fringe Theater CompanyCall it beginner’s luck: WASHINGTON ENSEMBLE THEATRE is a first-time winner in this category. WET’s repertory company is made up of actors trained at the University of Washington, and though now out of school, they’re still intent on giving themselves new performance challenges: Next Tuesday, a wordless, rhythmic paean to the persistence of daily life, was literally and figuratively one of this season’s most moving experiences. 608 19th Ave. E., 206-325-5105. washingtonensemble.orgBest Street PerformerPike Place Market magician TOM FRANK often wears a hat that makes him look like an old-fashioned con artist. (It’s not surprising, then, that his favorite movie is The Sting.) Besides his Market gig, he’s also available for corporate functions and, one would assume, bar and bat mitzvahs. And one more thing: He’s a Taurus. www.industrialstrengthmagic.com.Best After-Hours Hot SpotWhen a date’s so good you can’t bear to end it, 13 COINS is your late-night savior. Available 24 hours a day, its extensive menu promises to satisfy every whim(roast beef at 4 a.m.? No problem!), while the deep booths and high swivel chairs create an intimate atmosphere. 125 Boren Ave. N., 206-682-2513, www.13coins.com.Best Lobby in Which to See and Be SeenClearly, you have a weakness for cutting-edge furniture and colorful nouveau cocktails; that must be why you like making the scene at the W HOTEL. The hotel’s biweekly happy hour, SIP (Social Interactive Playtime), a collaboration with in-house restaurant Earth & Ocean, attracts the young and the glamorous with DJs, $6 lemon drops, and the kind of hipness you just can’t fake. 1112 Fourth Ave., 206-264-6060, www.whotels.com.Best Free ActivityThese Birkenstocks were made for WALKING, and that’s just what they’ll do. Conveniently, the runners-up in this category are fine places to take that walk: Pike Place Market and Green Lake.