The Best of LI 2009

It has been noted by both sociologists and laypeople alike that humankind's great affection for sports goes beyond the remarkable spectacle and spirituality of athletic events the superhuman feats, the visual poetry, the impossible unpredictability. No, while those things fill column inches and highlights reels, what it is we truly love about sports is that they offer us a clear and reliable understanding of rank their superlatives are not subjective. We know an athlete is the best because the numbers tell us so, and the numbers don't lie. Without their ability, the athletes would not have the numbers. But without the numbers, they would be nothing.

With their numbers, though, they are irrefutably The Best. There's this old truism: The plural of "anecdote" is not "data." However, when trying to determine superlatives in fields other than sports fields that offer less relevant, reliable or visible statistics sometimes there is no way to determine rank other than through a carefully arranged and complete compilation of anecdotes because while the plural of "anecdote" might not be "data," it almost surely is "consensus," is it not? Indeed, in the real world, for the truest, most decisive determination of who or what is The Best, all of us must be polled, our voices must be heard and our votes counted. In this way, statistics are compiled; in this way, anecdotes become data. This is how we determine The Best. In your life, you wholesale nfl jerseys have no doubt ordered a pizza from more than one location, but how many of those locations have takeout boxes that read, "You've tried the rest, now tryus"? "You've tried the rest, now trysomething else"? "You've tried the rest, now trythe worst"? None of them. Because all of those boxes say this: "You've tried the rest, now try the best." And once you've tried the best you return there. Of course you go to the best pizzeria in the area why would you knowingly go to a place that, in your opinion, is not the best? Why would you recommend mediocre pizza to your friends and neighbors? You have great taste, so flaunt it, right? Or maybe you don't know the best pizza place in town. Maybe you're out there looking for recommendations. And if that's the case, well, call us crazy, but aren't you hoping that you will only be recommended the best pizza, too? So when we at the Press set out to bring our readers the 2009 Best Of Long Island, there was one inviolable, cardinal, essential rule: Let the people decide. Either you're looking for the best pizza place on Long Island or you already know the best pizza place on Long Island, but we wanted to find some ground on which the experts and the curious could meet and exchange opinions. So we asked you to voice your opinions; we asked you to vote. Some extraordinary measures were put in place to make sure your favorites were considered, and your votes counted. The first step was establishing a comprehensive nomination process so that any company that does business on LI had an opportunity to be in the running. Last year's winners were also added to the mix. The nominations were honed down to the top finalists in each category before the voting began. The nomination process began in July of 2008, and official voting began on October 1. Once the cheap jerseys voting ended, on December 15, the results were scrutinized, added up, and double checked. Then triple checked. In the end, tens of thousands of votes were cast. Sounds like a consensus to us. This is the fourth year of the Long Island Press' Best Of Long Island poll, and it's also by far the biggest. We have expanded to more than 175 categories, with first , second and third place awards for each category. We had 92 percent more votes cast this year than we did last year. We have also redefined what it means to be the "Best of Long Island" putting more emphasis on the "Long Island" end of the equation. This year, we separated local and national winners, by adding an additional winners' circle for out of town businesses: If a national chain was the highest vote getter in any individual category, that chain was noted on its own, after the first , second and third place local winners. In this way, we hoped to emphasize local businesses, partly because we as a locally owned and run newspaper feel a certain responsibility to support other locally owned and run businesses. As Long Islanders, we choose to Keep It On Long Island (KioLi). This, to us, is crucial to both our identity and our sustainability. Be aware, too, that what may be The Best to your neighbor may not be The Best to you which is why we included second and third place winners here, too. All these places got waves of support. All have patrons who care about them and continue to give them business. All have found cheap nfl jerseys homes and customer bases on Long Island. And all are viable candidates to earn your vote for the Best Of Long Island in next year's poll, and beyond. We recommend you try all of them, as they all represent the Best Of Long Island. We also included some of our own choices our Editor's Picks, which try and recognize and celebrate not local businesses so much as less monetized local entities. Best Nude Beach, for instance. Best Shortcut. Best Place to Break Up With Someone. These weren't open to a vote they were just us, kicking around some ideas, having some fun. Just as we hope you will have fun when you read the 2009 Best Of Long Island. We hope you will use this as a guide, something to help you explore and find new favorites of your own. We hope you will keep this issue nearby all year round, return to it, reference it. Here at the Press, we'd like to give a sincere and well deserved round of applause to General Manager Felice Cantatore and Marketing Director Harlan Friedman, for the remarkable, above and beyond efforts they offer every day in constructing, maintaining and building our Best Of program. We'd also like to tip our caps to the businesses that went out of their way to promote themselves, to lobby their patrons for votes, who went to great lengths to prove to our readership that they are the best. But, most importantly, we have to give a standing ovation to our readers, who voted in such incredible numbers, who made sure their voices were heard. You've tried the rest. But you've found the best. And you return to it, week after week, month after month, year after year. You tell your family and friends about it, your neighbors, your co workers. We want to thank you for telling us about it. You voted. We kept score. Now the results are in. And here they are. The Best of Long Island Discount Card When most people dig into their wallet, they are on their way to spending money. Discount Card, you can actually save money almost every time you open your wallet. Discount Card is accepted at more than 200 locations across the Island. Discount Card is your passport to special contests and prizes, invites to exclusive events and weekly updates on new businesses which are offering money saving discounts. Discount card and sign up Dt5FW6a9x to have a card sent to you in the mail. 2) Send a self addressed stamped envelope to: Bagel Boss Present your Best Of Long Island card when you buy any salad sandwich and get a 2nd one for 1/2 price. Not to be combined with any other offer. Ciao Baby Present your Best Of Long Island card and receive 20% off of your entire check on Monday and Tuesday night. Not to be combined with any other offer. http://translation.grou.ps/talks/7696434
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