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2009 Index of Winners

Best restaurant for late-night dining BOA Award Winner

Taqueria El Rey Del Taco

Finding something to eat in the wee hours of the morning can be a tough task if greasy spoons aren&#146;t your thing. But Buford Highway has plenty of ethnic options serving food designed to soak up for a belly full of alcohol. TAQUERIA EL REY DEL TACO is one of the best taquerias in Atlanta that just so happens to be open daily from 10 to 5 a.m. Handmade tortillas, an abundance of taco fillings, large seafood cocktails and some stellar salsa with serious kick are just as good at 4 in the morning as they are at lunchtime. And the occasional group of rowdy Latina drag queens only adds to the already colorful scenery. 5288 Buford Highway, Doraville. 770-986-0032. less...

Best restaurant to take visitors BOA Award Winner

TWO urban licks

Runner-up
Mary Mac's Tea Room
224 Ponce de Leon Ave., 404-876-1800, www.marymacs.com

Best restaurant trend BOA Award Winner

Organic/sustainable

Runner-up
Farm to table

Best restaurant when someone else is paying BOA Award Winner

Bacchanalia

Runner-up
Kevin Rathbun Steak
112 Krog St., 404-524-5600, www.kevinrathbunsteak.com

Best sandwiches BOA Award Winner

Alon's Bakery & Market - Morningside

Runner-up
Star Provisions
1198 Howell Mill Road, 404-365-0410, www.starprovisions.com

Best seafood BOA Award Winner

Atlanta Fish Market

Runner-up
Six Feet Under
415 Memorial Drive, 404-523-6664
685 11th St., 404-810-0040
www.sixfeetunderatlanta.com

Best Southern BOA Award Winner

Mary Mac's Tea Room

Runner-up
Colonnade
1879 Cheshire Bridge Road, 404-874-5642, www.colonnadeatl.com

Best Southwestern BOA Award Winner

Agave Restaurant

Runner-up
Nava
3060 Peachtree Road, 404-240-1984, www.buckheadrestaurants.com

Best steaks BOA Award Winner

Kevin Rathbun Steak

Runner-up
Bones
3130 Piedmont Road, 404-237-2663, www.bonesrestaurant.com

Best Sushi BOA Award Winner

MF Sushi

Runner-up
Ru San's
1529 Piedmont Ave., 404-875-7042, rusans.com
And other metro Atlanta locations.

Best Thai BOA Award Winner

Little Bangkok

Runner-up
Nan Thai Fine Dining
1350 Spring St., Atlanta, 404-870-9933, www.nanfinedining.com

Best Veggie Burgers BOA Award Winner

Houston's

And other metro Atlanta locations.
Runner-up
The Vortex Bar and Grill
438 Moreland Ave., 404-688-1828
878 Peachtree St., 404-875-1667, www.thevortexbarandgrill.com

Best veggie meal at a non-vegetarian restaurant BOA Award Winner

Watershed on Peachtree

Runner-up
The Vortex Bar and Grill
438 Moreland Ave., 404-688-1828
878 Peachtree St., 404-875-1667
www.thevortexbarandgrill.com

Filthy Pick: Best recession dining deal BOA Award Winner

Shaun's Restaurant

SHAUN'S RESTAURANT has been a favorite Inman Park hangout since it opened in 2007. But chef Shaun Doty's recent debut of his family-friendly Sunday night pasta dinners has lured droves of new customers and long-time regulars alike. For a mere $12, diners receive a three-course meal, which includes a family-style salad, a heaping portion of pasta from a handful of choices &#151; the spaghetti and meatballs may be Atlanta's best &#151; and a dessert. Affordable carafes of extremely drinkable wine selections are sold by the half-liter or liter. The rest of the menu is also available, but why bother when you can get such great food on the cheap? 1029 Edgewood Ave. 404-577-4358. http://www.shaunsrestaurant.com. less...

Best art event BOA Award Winner

Of all things glittery and shiny we witnessed just before the economy officially flew off the rails, nothing was glitterier or shinier than last...

Best art event BOA Award Winner

Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery

www.gatheratlanta.com Runner-up Le Flash www.leflash-atl.com

Best art exhibit in a gallery BOA Award Winner

Wm Turner Gallery

Runner-up Jason Phillips Studio 313-377-7225, www.jasonphillipstudio.com

Best book by a local author BOA Award Winner

www.susanrebeccawhite.com Runner-up Trailer Trashed by Hollis Gillespie www.hollisgillespie.com

Best comedic threesome BOA Award Winner

Last fall, Actor&#146;s Express&#146; production of Paul Rudnick&#146;s The New Century presented a dream team of Atlanta comic talent with LALA COCHRAN,...

Best dance performance BOA Award Winner

www.brooksandcompanydance.blogspot.com. Runner-up Trey McIntyre Project

Best emerging visual artist BOA Award Winner

www.joshdweiss.com Runner-up Brett Thompson www.fluidtoons.com

Best local arts blog BOA Award Winner

Runner-up thoughtmarker.blogspot.com

Best local spoken word artist BOA Award Winner

www.myspace.com/thesubliminator Runners-up Kodak Harrison and Theresa Davis

Best new theatrical venue BOA Award Winner

The SOUTHWEST ARTS CENTER is the long overdue cultural venue on Atlanta&#146;s southwest side &#151; but the name doesn&#146;t convey just how impressive...

Best opening BOA Award Winner

Gallery at East Atlanta Tattoo

Runner-up Emergence at Spruill Gallery 4681 Ashford Dunwoody Road, 770-394-4019, www.spruillarts.org

Best place to score affordable art BOA Award Winner

Young Blood Gallery

Best place to score affordable art BOA Award Winner

Young Blood Gallery

Runner-up Art festivals

Best underground art space BOA Award Winner

Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery

Runner-up WonderRoot Community Arts Center 982 Memorial Drive, 404-254-5955, www.wonderroot.org

Best bar to hook up BOA Award Winner

Graveyard Tavern

Runner-up
Dark Horse Tavern
816 N. Highland Ave., 404-873-3607, www.darkhorseatlanta.com

Best bowling alley BOA Award Winner

Midtown Bowl

Runner-up
300 Atlanta
2175 Savoy Drive, 770-451-8605, www.3hundred.com

Best college crowd bar/club BOA Award Winner

Moondogs

Runner-up
Peachtree Tavern
3179-B Peachtree Road, 404-842-1700, www.peachtreetavern.com

Best jazz club BOA Award Winner

Churchill Grounds Jazz Cafe

Runner-up
Sambuca
3102 Piedmont Road, 404-237-5299, www.sambucarestaurant.com

Best jukebox BOA Award Winner

The Righteous Room

Runner-up
The Earl
488 Flat Shoals Ave., 404-522-3950, www.badearl.com

Best local blues act BOA Award Winner

Mudcat

www.mudcatblues.com

Runner-up
Breeze Kings
www.breezekings.com

Best local instrumentalist BOA Award Winner

Best local producer BOA Award Winner

Illastrate

Best local singer/songwriter BOA Award Winner

Ben Trickey

The plight of the stark, lo-fi troubadour is not an easy one. In a post-Bright Eyes, post-Mountain Goats world, indie rock has seen just about every riveting trick one lonely man with a guitar can get away with &#151; as well as the ones he can&#146;t. But when BEN TRICKEY strums and sings about the dark, emotional side of life as an imperfect man, you believe him. The characters and narratives in his songs resonate with somber timelessness, scorched tones and dirty production qualities that add depth to his frail and frazzled arrangements. www.bentrickey.com. less...

Best local vocalist BOA Award Winner

Caroline Engel

http://www.myspace.com/carolineandtheramblers1

Runner-up
Abby Wren
www.nerdparade.net

Best lounge BOA Award Winner

Clermont Lounge

Runner-up
Halo
817 W. Peachtree St. #E100, 404-962-7333, www.halolounge.com

Best outdoor music venue BOA Award Winner

Chastain Park Amphitheatre

Runner-up
Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood
2002 Lakewood Way, 404-443-5000, www.livenation.com

Best place to hear local music BOA Award Winner

The Earl

Runner-up
Eddie's Attic
515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur, 404-377-4976, www.eddiesattic.com

Best sign that you can't keep a good music scene down BOA Award Winner

Star Community Bar

Runner-up
Eddie's Attic
515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur, 404-377-4976, www.eddiesattic.com

Best affordable day care BOA Award Winner

Haygood Weekday Children's Ministries Preschool and Child Development Center

Runner-up
Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta
5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, 678-812-4000, atlantajcc.org

Best bizarro local news story BOA Award Winner

Pamela Graf

Best bizarro local news story BOA Award Winner

Parking deck collapse

Runner-up
Bestiality with a dog

Best down-to-Earth place in Atlanta BOA Award Winner

Little Five Points

Intown Atlanta's renaissance was a welcome change, but it posed a conundrum for some neighborhoods: As newcomers settled in, the urban villages began the slow brewing process of finding their identity. Thank God that LITTLE FIVE POINTS doesn't care if it has a cohesive one. Though best known as the go-to &#146;hood for music, brews and tattoos, it&#146;s also one of the most homegrown hamlets in Atlanta: Next to Virginia-Highland, no other intown neighborhood offers more independent businesses (community-owned credit union, anyone?). Through white flight and gentrification, L5P has been a welcome reprieve from the plastic Buckhead and the quick-built Atlantic Station. You can nurse (or pound) a beer at Corner Tavern or the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, or you can stop by for an impromptu concert at Criminal Records. Undeniably, home prices have gone up, but the well-inked and laissez-faire vibe remains the same. Euclid and Moreland avenues. www.l5p.com. less...