We love Elliott's as much as the next handyman. If only we were handy, but still. Yet it's almost too much of a good thing, a hardware store in which the hardware's getting short shrift. Around the time they started selling make-yer-own fudge, well, we decided we'd best look elsewhere for our everyday nail-hittin', pliers-pullin' needs. We love the Westlake Ace because it's as old school as a one-room junior high, a place where they sell nothing but paint and nails and hammers and light bulbs and garden hoses and soil and tape and all other things hard and ware. And it's easy to find a guy to help you with all your needs. We had one dude spend 30 minutes with us not long ago discussing the finer points of sandpaper and which grain we really needed for refinishing that coffee table we rescued from a garage sale down the street. Take that, Home Depot.

Readers' Pick
Elliott's Hardware 4901 Maple Ave. 214-634-9900 2049 Coit Road, #300, Plano 972-312-0700