When Elba Garcia was our pick for best city council member three years ago, the competition was stiff. It was a tough call. Several people on the council were contenders. This year, it's different. In the competition to be the best, Garcia is already ahead of some on the council by virtue of not being the target of an FBI corruption probe. But she still has a solid lead, based on her tendency to do serious analysis of issues before shooting her mouth off. She's a mother and the head of a busy dental practice, so she's proof that the rest of them could find time for some homework, too. As former chairperson of the council's public safety committee, she steered an interesting middle course between general support for the police and a willingness to speak out against abuses. She will be a key player in putting Humpty Dumpty back together again whenever the current civic crisis gets resolved.

Readers' Pick
Mayor Laura Miller

Like most good college students, we had a raucous four months studying abroad in Europe where we discovered nude beaches, smoking indoors and the "green fairy," absinthe. So when we heard about the Absinthe Lounge over on Lamar Street, we were skeptical. Since the real stuff is illegal in the States, the folks there have to brew up a watered-down version made from a less potent kind of wormwood. The drink itself has few, if any, redeeming qualities. It's expensive, it won't alter your consciousness, and it tastes horrible, unless you're really into extremely bitter black licorice. Why go, then? Because they have plush velveteen chairs, an incredibly attractive (and friendly) waitstaff and the best, most ignorable live lounge music this side of the Trinity.

The Cuckoo's Nest has a lot going for it, including a plethora of pool tables, cheap drinks and sympathetic bartenders. But what really sets this upper Greenville dive apart is the floor décor: rough, rug burn-inducing hotel-grade carpet emblazoned with what may or may not have once been a floral design. Become a part of history yourself by buying a Bud, heading for a back corner and tipping out a little bit of brew.

There are those fleeting moments when Dallas feels like a real city. Like sitting just off Ross Avenue and St. Paul Street in the hidden cove of the Dallas Museum of Art's Sculpture Garden. The high walls block the street noise, and the large, imposing sculptures bring the eye upward to the skyline, partially obscured by the garden's trees. Just as good as the ambience is the live music that was performed each Thursday in April by artists such as Will Johnson (Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel) and Denton's DJ Wild in the Streets. Admission was free, drinks were cheap. And record labels played new music over the speakers and handed out free samplers and CDs. Here's to a second installment.

Many public meeting spaces can't seem to find a happy medium between aesthetics and price--you get either a white-shoebox classroom setting or something that's way beyond the budget of a small family reunion, wedding or other gathering. That's why we have our eye on these three city of Dallas-owned venues: Big Thicket (50 people capacity), the Dreyfuss Club (150 capacity) or Winfrey Point (250 capacity). They're priced at a pittance--$55, $75 and $90 an hour, respectively--and offer nice views of one of the few nice things to view in Dallas, White Rock Lake.

It took us four passes with the windows rolled up and the doors locked before we built up the courage to pull into the Slip Inn parking lot, but boy, are we glad we did. Once inside, the whiskey was cheap, the hipsters were minimal, and the dancing was a free-for-all. All cares were forgotten until we stumbled back out into the night and realized that we still had a thirst that could only be quenched with pork rinds and soda. Luckily, the Save-Way grocery was just a few short staggers away, beckoning with all the processed food and carbonated beverages we could purchase with the loose change we dug out of the booths at the back of the Inn.

The myth about Dallas is that you can't garden here because of bad soil and hot weather. The truth is that you can garden here, but you have to grow the right stuff--often not what the nurseries are bringing in by the 18-wheeler load and pushing in their ads. The Dallas Arboretum, in partnership with Texas A&M University, has been raising garden plants in test beds for several years now, trying to find out what really can grow in Dallas and what really cannot. The beds themselves and the staff associated with the effort, especially plant guru Jimmy L. Turner, comprise the best resource any serious gardener can hope to find in this region.