Best Weekend Getaway 2008

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Best Weekend Getaway

Matagorda Bay

Whether you want to bird, hike or fish, you can do it at Matagorda Bay Nature Park. And while it's definitely wilderness, the 1,600-acre park has plenty of amenities. Butterflies stop in Matagorda Bay from September through November, while the January and February skies are full of birds. (More than 250 varieties have been counted in a single day, but some 300-plus species call the bay home.) There are plenty of walking paths dotted with picnic tables and wildlife-watching stations. The Nature Preserve sports four free public piers. You can kayak along the park's course or swim in the Gulf, picnic in the dunes or have a cookout. And you have your choice of accommodations, from tent camping on the beach (how very Beach Blanket Bingo!) to an RV park, or nearby motels and bed-and-breakfasts.

Best Bowling Alley

Palace Bowling Lanes

They're not only a bowling palace but also a pleasure palace, depending on your vice. Complete with all the basics, including digital scoring and a full snack bar and grill, they open up at 8 a.m. daily so you can get your roll on first thing in the morning. However, this place also boasts one of the most delightfully sinful bars in the city. Why? Because you can smoke in there. Completely sealed off from the bowling alley behind large panes of glass, this dark-wood-paneled bar takes you back to a time when the lanes were decadent smoke-filled dens packed with blue-collar men and women looking to blow off a little steam.

4191 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, 77025 Map
713-667-6554
www.palacebowlinglanes.com

Best Of Houston^®

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Best Weekend Getaway

Matagorda Bay

Best Bowling Alley

Palace Bowling Lanes

Best Of Houston®

Arts & Entertainment

Best Alternative Club

JavaJazz Coffeehouse

Best Art Show

"The Old Weird America" at the Contemporary Arts ­Museum Houston

Best Art Space

The Station Museum of ­Contemporary Art

Best Bachelorette Party ­Entertainment

You(genious)

Best Ballet

Sleeping Beauty

Best Band Name

The Dimes(Now Called) Young Mammals

Best Band to Break Up in the Last Year

UGK

Best Bar

Poison Girl

Best Bar Atmosphere/Decor

Lone Star Saloon

Best Bar Bathroom

Rudyard's (downstairs men's room)

Best Bartender

Jon King of The Harp

Best Blues Club

Mr. Gino's

Best CD by a Local Artist

Free Gold, ­Indian Jewelry­

Best Choreographer

Stanton Welch

Best Cigar Bar

Downing Street Pub

Best Club for Local Acts

Continental Club

Best Club for Out-of-Town Acts

Warehouse Live

Best Coffeehouse

Catalina Coffee

Best Concert Series

Secret Saturdays at the Shady Tavern

Best Curator

Franklin Sirmans, ­Curator of Modern and Contemporary art at The Menil Collection

Best Dancer

Domenico Luciano

Best Director

Mark Adams for The Best Man

Best Dive

Crowe Bar

Best DJ

Squincy Jones

Best Drag Queen

Kofi

Best Ensemble Production

The Scene at The Alley ­Theatre

Best Festival

Bayou City Art Festival

Best FotoFest Show

Michael Somoroff: "The Absence of the Subject" at Deborah Colton Gallery

Best Gambling Room

Maxwell's Carwash

Best Graffiti Artist

Give Up

Best Hidden Bar

Carolyn's

Best Hip-Hop Producer

Mike Dean

Best Hotel Bar

The Black Swan

Best Houston Book

The Memoirs of a ­Beautiful Boy by ­Robert Leleux

Best Jukebox

Warren's Inn

Best Lighting

Meridian

Best Of Houston^®

"The Old Weird America" at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

The Station Museum of Contemporary Art

Best Bachelorette Party Entertainment

Free Gold, Indian Jewelry

Franklin Sirmans, Curator of Modern and Contemporary art at The Menil Collection

The Scene at The Alley Theatre

The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux

Poison Pen Reading Series

Tommy's Seafood Steakhouse

Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company