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Best Movie Theater

The Texas Theatre

Barak Epstein
It's hard to walk into Oak Cliff's Texas Theatre and not feel the history thick in the air. The stucco walls on the interior cover up the theater's original architecture that was in place the day Lee Harvey Oswald ducked in without paying, shortly after the death of President John F. Kennedy. Since then, the theater has changed hands several times, and in 2010 was reopened under the management of Aviation Cinemas Inc., which screens an impressive mix of award-winning indie flicks and cult classics. But you don't need to be a film buff to enjoy The Texas Theatre; the bar in the lobby offers craft beers and pre-Prohibition-style cocktails inspired by the 1920s, when the theater first opened.

Best Easter Parade

The Newellian Easter Parade on Newell Avenue

Who knows how these things happen? An outwardly respectable neighborhood in Old East Dallas has for six consecutive years puts on an increasingly and wonderfully bizarre Easter Bunny parade. Some of the bunnies, especially the ones with coconut brassieres, don't look like Easter Bunnies at all. They look more like Tim Burton scary-cute monsters. On one float a Viking lady with coconuts throws rubber snakes to the crowd from pastel toilets. Yup. You read it here. The thing is run by the "Newellian Bunny Board," whose web page shows them all wearing bunny suits and smoking cigars with guns in their hands. They're a tad short on corporate communications, this bunny board, so you'll have to Google them as the time approaches. But we can tell you one thing: You're never going to see an Easter parade like this in Southlake.

Best Stripper

Erykah Badu

Forget the women up around Northwest Highway — the ones "working their way through college" or whatever. The best stripping act we've seen for years in Dallas came last year when Erykah Badu strolled up to Dealey Plaza and stripped with a purpose at the spot where John F. Kennedy was killed. Oh yeah, then she died (metaphorically, on film). The act was shot as the music video for "Window Seat," the lead single off of Badu's brilliant New Amerykah Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh, and the message was a simple stab at the world we live in: If we let society look through us, if we let others dictate our actions, if we're too scared to show our true selves to the world, then we're killing the best parts about us. The Dallas Police Department didn't think it was a very powerful statement: They slapped Badu with a $500 fine for disorderly conduct after a single complainant, after the video was released (and months after it was filmed), came forward. Our stance? Dallas could use more daring and provocative types like Badu. Progress shouldn't draw a fine.

Best Hotel Art

Art with a View at Belmont Hotel

"Hotel art" is a phrase that makes many cringe because, well, there's a whole lot of underwhelming abstract prints and landscape scenes to be seen in most hotels. But the Belmont is just too cool for bad art, and that's why the hotel displays art from local talents on the walls of the lobby in their Art with a View series. The hotel has always been a hip destination for poolside parties and now even pop-up shops, but Art with a View brings a certain refinement to the kitschy hotel.

Best Local News Anchor On Twitter

Jane McGarry

We don't think we'd offend local NBC affiliate KXAS-TV news anchor Jane McGarry if we called her a cougar — mostly, we think, because she seems to know she is and embrace it. Such is especially true in the social media world of Twitter, where McGarry uses her fairly dirty mind to express herself — and pretty much never on the topic of news. Where would she find the time, between sending flirty tweets to KTCK-AM 1310 The Ticket radio personality Gordon Keith and D Magazine editor Tim Rogers, and flippant innuendo after flippant innuendo? Not long ago she tweeted about a producer pointing out "poles" on the news set. Then she tweeted — and, for reasons we're not altogether sure about, with a winking emoticon — about somehow losing her skirt somewhere. Are we reading too much into this? We don't think so. And, before you accuse us, no, we're not jealous of the other media types getting her attention, either. We just prefer to watch.

Best Wedding Photo Setting

Deep Ellum

They say Deep Ellum is Dallas' premiere neighborhood for music. Well, "they" must never travel down to the just-east-of-downtown neighborhood during the day. With its classic brick wall backdrops, splashy murals and — get this — buildings that are more than 10 years old, Deep Ellum's greatest export these days is most likely its wedding photography. Every single day, it seems, another couple can be seen, dressed in tux and white gown, following a hip-looking, camera-toting cat around the neighborhood, looking for romantic — yet undeniably urban — settings for their wedding photo collections. It's easy to understand why: Shooting your wedding photos in this setting says, "Hey, we're cool! We don't just get our music from Starbucks. Hell, we probably even have tattoos!" True or not, that's a sentiment people like to express about themselves.

Best Hotel

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek

Because it's The Mansion. What? You were gonna say something else? Let's hear it then. Didn't think so. Next.

Best Sports Columnist

Jamey Newberg

Yes, the Dallas attorney writes about only one thing: Texas Rangers baseball, and all the minor-league properties associated with the big club, but he does it better than anybody — with thoughtfulness, an understanding of the game, an affection for the players and the passion of a fan willing to forgive but critical nevertheless. Sometimes that adds up to greatness. From mid-June: "Reminder to self: It's not easy. It's not supposed to be easy. It wouldn't have the chance to be as great if it were easy." So goeth 40 years of Rangers fandom, and Newberg's been there for all of it as fan, as chronicler. The team's lucky to have him. Guy's money, ball.

Best Cat Sanctuary

Operation Kindness

From the moment you park your car in the lot of Carrollton's no-kill shelter, Operation Kindness, you can see the oversized screened-in cat patio full of cats palling around. Inside, there's an open play area where most of the cats hang out and kennels for kittens and cats with "special needs" and behavioral "issues." The open spaces, though, are literally crawling with cats, bounding over toys and each other. It's a revealing environment and a great way to check out your furry friend's demeanor, how he acts around other felines and how he may behave in your house before you commit to him forever.

Best Place to Enjoy Downtown

Lily Pad Cafe

Lily Pad Cafe sits at the sidelines of Main Street Park like a charming little oasis, its covered patio shading the sun and creating a mini-fort among skyscrapers. With a name like Lily Pad and bright green adornments, it might truly be the most adorable place to hang out in the city. While pedestrian life in downtown Dallas generally leaves something to be desired, an afternoon snack of hummus and pita or a post-work beer on the cafe's patio offers a peek into a more vibrant slice of downtown. It's the perfect stage for people-watching as locals walk their dogs, children play in the fountain and kickball leagues compete in the park. Homeless people drawn to the surrounding park benches are typically of the friendly ilk and add some color to what is otherwise a small island of sun-dressed urban euphoria.

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