Best Coach 2005

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Best Coach

Jeff Van Gundy

Houston Rockets fans were understandably a bit doubtful in 2003. Out was fan fave Rudy T, in was the droopy-eyed, balding Jeff Van Gundy, a coach who was more famous for hanging off Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning's leg during a playoff-game melee than leading the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1999. And there were questions. Like how would the defensive-minded tactician handle All-Star guard Steve Francis's shoot-first, shoot-second mentality? Well, he didn't. Soon Francis was shipped off to Orlando in exchange for chronically selfish forward Tracy McGrady. Amazingly, Van Gundy taught McGrady the value of team defense and led the team to the playoffs that very year. Since then, the high school math teacher look-alike has been feisty (he faced suspension when he claimed an NBA conspiracy to unfairly officiate Yao Ming) and stable, the perfect combo to take the Rockets back to the promised land.
Readers' choice: Houston Rockets' Jeff Van Gundy

Best Gym

FIT Athletic Club

So few gyms have personality. Padded floors run for thousands of square feet with machine after machine and line after line of muscle heads and gym rats waiting for their chance at three sets of ten reps. It's a scene pulled from an Orwell novel. But FIT appears to have more character than clientele. There are few lines, and the view is spectacular. Get in your cardio on a Precor overlooking a postcard-perfect vista of the skyline. Work out Mondays to a live DJ. Speedwalk to the cafe, which has a similar breathtaking view, for a break or a carbo-charge; there's a Starbucks, Internet access, huge wide-screen TVs and sushi from Zake. Forgot your toiletry bag? Don't fret. FIT's locker rooms are stocked with everything you'll need, from self-locking lockers to mouthwash dispensers at the sink.

Best Of Houston^®

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Best Coach

Jeff Van Gundy

Best Gym

FIT Athletic Club

Best Of Houston®

Arts & Entertainment

Best Bar Food

Stag's Head Pub

Best DJ to Listen To While Eating Sushi

Lushus Brown at Zake

Best Pool Hall

Slick Willie's Family Pool Hall

Best Graffiti Artist

YAR!

Best Latin Club

Coco Loco

Best Lesbian Tejano Bar

Mela's Tejano Country

Best Local Musician Who Left Town and Will Truly Be Missed

Brian McManus

Best Unsigned Act

Tody Castillo

Best Artist Collective

Otabenga Jones & Associates

Best Band to Get Together in the Last Year

God's Temple of Family Deliverance

Best DJ to Skip Town and Make a Career

DJ Jester the Filipino Fist

Best Hotel Bar

The Whiskey at Hotel Icon

Best Microcinema

Aurora Picture Show

Best Curator

Mari Carmen Ramirez

Best Place to See Vintage Flicks

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Best New Bar

Chaise Lounge

Best Dive

Alice's Tall Texan

Best Bar Atmosphere

The Social Lounge and Patio

Best Bar Games

The Tavern on Gray

Best Local CD Cover

I Hate It Here, I Never Want To Leave, Mustache Records

Best Artist

Jason Villegas

Best Band

Los Skarnales

Best Gay Bar

Guava Lamp

Best Icehouse

West Alabama Ice House

Best Montrose Bar

Rudyard's

Best Reminder that Houston Is Still in Texas

Goode's Armadillo Palace

Best Place to Be Glad You're Alive

Next Door Coffeehouse's garden labyrinth

Best Radio Station

KCOH/1430 AM

Best Art Show

"Thought Crimes: The Art of Subversion"

Best Band Stage Show

Chango Jackson

Best Cigar Bar

Downing Street Ltd.

Best Club for Out-of-Town Acts

The Meridian

Best Dance Club Night

Boys and Girls Club

Best DJ

DJ Chill

Best Art Gallery

Rice Gallery

Best Jazz Club

Red Cat Jazz Cafe

Best Of Houston^®