From Aerobics Class to Window Shopping, the categories y’all submitted as “Best Category That We Left Out” range from the everyday to the eclectic. And there were comments, too: “Most Under Appreciated Jacksonian, ” “Favorite Instead of Best, ” “Bakery, I wish we had one!” and “You put best vegetarian, you should include that other category, too [Best Steak].”
So, next year the JFP might include some of these suggested categories, like Aerobics Instructor, Bar Bouncer, Bar to Pick Up the Opposite Sex, Best Place to Live in the Metro Area, Biscuits, Buffet, Catfish, College Hangout, Dance Studio, Drive, Fortune Cookies (I’m assuming this means best fortunes in the cookies because in my humble opinion, all fortune cookies taste the same), Gift Shop, Go-Kart Racing, Hangout for the Intellectual (now that could be quite an eclectic category, heh?), Happy Hour, Interior Designer, Mechanic, Mechanic Shop, Mini-Golf, Place to Meet Somebody (if we use this one, it will help to differentiate answers that should rightfully go in Bar to Pick Up the Opposite Sex), Politician (I suppose there really are some), Salad Bar, Server at a Bar (hey, we had Best Bartender this year), Shoe Store, Skateboarder, Sports Bar, Tamales and Urban Running Route. Whew.
Some of you went so far as to think of a category and then listed who or what you thought fit—and we thank you for your opinion. Here are a few you submitted: Barista (Jennifer at Cups), Blues Café (930 Blues Café), Bookstore (Lemuria), Chiropractor (L. C. Huddleston, D.C.), Deli (Mediterranean Deli and McAlister’s), Drink (Dockrocker—get one while you can; The Dock is outta here in August), Elected Official (Harvey Johnson), Furniture Store (Article), Greek food (Bill’s Greek Tavern), Hangout (Barnes & Noble, Borders—hey, as a librarian, it warms my heart to know that y’all love bookstores), high school choir (Jim Hill), House Dressing (Crechales—not to mention their steaks and seafood), Ice Cream (Marble Slab and Swenson’s), Local Rapper (David Banner—it’s OK to vote for him as a musician, remember, because it’s rap music he performs), Newspaper (JFP. Aw, shucks.), Parade (Martin Luther King, Jr.), Party-All-Year (St. Paddy’s Day), Pawnshop (USA Pawn, Pearson Road), People Most Sincere About Jobs Regardless of Pay (Miss. Animal Rescue League), Place to Take Visitors (scenic overlook at the Rez), Restaurant We Miss the Most (Iron Horse Grill—amen to that), Sporting Event to Sneak Contraband (a bottle) Into (Ole Miss vs. LSU), Video Store (Flashback on North State Street) and Waitstaff (Hal & Mal’s). Double whew!
Give yourselves a hand for participating in the JFP Best of Jackson 2004! After all, without you voting for all those great personalities and businesses, there would be no Best of Jackson, now would there?
— Lynette Hanson
Suggest a category for next year if you’d like. No promises, but we’ll definitely use some of them.
Recent Immigration Stories
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
