Place we already miss the most: More than anywhere else, Mac’s Diner is Worcester. The atmosphere, the people, the price…it’s distinctly ours. And when the Worcester Magazine offices were on Shrewsbury Street, the Worcester institution was an editorial staff favorite, mostly for the sake that a pocketful of found change could get you a near endless supply of homemade soup and fresh bread. A fire a few weeks ago knocked the institution for a serious loop, and they are struggling to find a way to reopen. A “Friends of Mac’s Diner” fund has already been established, and we are all optimistic that we’ll be downing a Paul Mac’s Special and getting yelled at by servers as soon as possible. Ed Note: To contribute to Friends Of Mac’s Diner, visit or contact Flagship Bank at 491 Shrewsbury Street at 508-890-7640

Best Tattoo Shop: After a bad experience with a drunken tattoo artist back when I was 18 (he was just an ass and did a shitty job – get your mind out of the gutter), I put off the tattoo I’ve always wanted for decades. Yes, decades. So when I met Tyler Green of Port of Worcester Tattoo and we started to discuss my dream design, it was more than a relief to learn he was honest, trustworthy, talented and most importantly — sweet. He took his time, worked on my design like it was award winning (it wasn’t) and made sure I was relaxed and ready. He chatted easily, let me control the iPod, and took my mind off everything but the realization of a dream. The only problem now? The end result was so fantastic I want ten more. 4 Quinsigamond Avenue, Worcester 508-890-8666

Best Overdue Project: Come on, this is a no-brainer. We’ve all waited so long for CitySquare that we can be forgiven for harboring just a tinge of doubt that the Worcester Common Galleria Outlet Mall Square is really, truly coming down this year. But with agreements seemingly in hand between developers, Unum, the city and state, it looks like our long empty albatross may finally go the way of the dodo. Not that we were ever pessimistic.

Best New Sports Team: Central Mass Roller Derby launched its new league right here in Worcester in the fall of 2008, and has grown to cover a swath of Central Mass in its sweaty grip. This co-ed league with teams for both men & women (no, they don’t play against each other!) is still in its infancy — with three levels of assessments to roll through and core muscles to strengthen it’ll be a few more months before even a scrimmage happens – but they are on their way to kicking some derby ass in the coming year. Check them out at Roll On America in Lancaster during their freshmeat (that’s you, bitch) recruitment on Thursday evenings. centralmassrollerderby.com

Best non-Worcester Magazine blog: Our vote is for Punkystyle.com, a beautiful little blog from Amylynn “Punky” Chase that combines vintage clothing, jewelry, and accessory finds, stunningly beautiful retro photography, Etsy shop reviews, vintage stuff for sale and…well, basically anything vintage. Punkystyle has been featured on Chronicle, and in Improper Bostonian, Stuff, and Metro. Punky has been getting great attention for her Boston and Worcester clothing swaps; the next one in Worcester will be her biggest locally yet.

Best Grilled Cheese: The Grilled Cheese doesn’t get a lot of respect in the gourmet world. But when you’re a vegetarian like myself, and have a four vegetarian children who are beyond picky, finding the perfect Grilled Cheese is like finding the pot of gold. The Broadway offers the sandwich grilled to perfection, the best light rye sliced to the optimum size, crunchy chips and a fantastic pickle. Best of all? It’s about $5 for the whole meal. It’s a win-win! 100 Water Street, Worcester, MA/508-753-3233

Best Schwarma for about $5: Easily, easily, easily the chicken schwarma wrap at Bay State Bakery on Water Street. It — along with just about everything else in the hidden gem that is a hell of a lot more than a bakery (although it does that superbly well too) — is a staff favorite here. Feeling hungry? Upgrade to a plate. Feeling ravenous? The kabob variety plate could feed two or three, and costs about $12.

Favorite professional sports team: No offense Tornadoes — we still love ya — but the Worcester Sharks drama filled playoff run seals the deal for them as our favorite team of 2009 (We’ll give the Tornadoes a break; their season hasn’t even started yet). Who knows how far the Sharks will go, but any team that can get some of us checking AHL box scores every morning deserves a jersey over the head, and a pat on the back.

Most fun recreation of Frogger: The Monday night Pub Run out of the Greyhound Pub in Kelley Square remains our favorite urban run, mostly for the fact that the current route includes dodging traffic in both Kelley Square and Washington Square on a fun and fast loop in downtown Worcester. Regardless of skill level, it’s a fun time, and always ends with good beer and food.

Best late night food truck: Chris Gould’s roaming food truck isn’t exactly mobile, as he tends to choose a spot outside a bar, generally on Green Street, and stick there for the night. But his goods, ranging from pulled pork to a vegetarian friendly tofudog, are insanely popular, especially on his regular Thursday spot outside of the Dive Bar. The best part? If he’s not so busy and gets to know you, Gould will hand deliver your order in the bar sometimes. That’s service. Our advice? Go for the “completo” version of your order whenever possible.

Worst project near completion: Our bitterness will run out soon, we’re sure, but we still don’t see the point in that ice rink behind City Hall, especially with so many other less costly recreational facilities in public parks in disrepair. And that says nothing for the fact that it seems like just a few years ago (mostly because it was) that the city was filling in a giant reflecting pool, congratulating itself for making a beautiful green park. And now we’ve torn up some of that greenery for a…ice skating rink. Dammit. Does anyone have a skybridge we can borrow?

Weirdest legal case: That entire Bob Moscoffian-lobster-Periwinkles debacle from last July still has us shaking our head. Knowing Moscoffian, he’ll have a special lobster bake at the Summer Nationals this summer.

Phrase we’re most tired of hearing and writing: Financial crisis, with cutbacks, meltdown, and service cuts running close behind. New rule for the press, including us: Instead of using one of the above phrases, we must find something more creative. “Fiscal FUBAR” is our current favorite; debacle, fiasco, and shambles need their time in the spotlight as well.

Best commute: On our way to work, many of us cruise Route 190 all the way into downtown Worcester from points in and outside city limits. As we drive this three lane highway through beautiful scenery and countryside settings, we often wonder ... why the hell is this road so freakin’ big? There are some mornings where you don’t pass another car for miles, and the biggest traffic happens when there are more than four cars in the rear-view window. On snowy days, the road is a view into a winter wonderland. In the fall, the leaves are a golden rainbow of New England color. Summer means windows down and Queens of the Stoneage as loud as possible. We’re not sure why the state would pay for a giant highway in the middle of nowhere, but those of us with longer commutes thank the gods above for such a gift every morning and every evening home.

Sight we can’t get used to, but hope to see more of: Call us crazy, but we still get a little bit excited every time we see one of those Virgin America planes flown by Direct Air come over the hill and bank towards Worcester Airport. Maybe we get giddy because they’re so infrequent that we forget after every takeoff and landing…

Most blatant disregard for the spirit of a law: The fact that the Telegram and Gazette still hasn’t received an unredacted usable copy of the Mark Rojas records from the Worcester Police Department has moved beyond embarrassing to downright confusing and unconscionable.

Best win for a perennial politician: Bill Coleman has run more unsuccessful campaigns for city council more than any other candidate. By our count it’s been ... (carry the 2) ... ah, he’s run a lot. But this year, Coleman secured a seat on the Library Board, meaning he’ll almost certainly sit out this fall’s campaign. Good for him, but we can’t imagine an election season without him or his ever-present camera.

Saddest display that maybe there’s only so much to do here: We didn’t have a problem with Destination Worcester’s new promotional video, unleashed late last year, on its own merits. But when we realized the video used virtually the exact same stock footage as a similar promo video put out by the Worcester Consortium in 2007, it got us a bit concerned at the lack of variety. Or why a second video even needed to be produced.

Best sign of expanding culture: The last year has brought a lot in high-low culture to Worcester, including the best pop-culture art show in recent history. But nothing in night-to-night life beats the rapidly expanding beer culture throughout the region. Just the fact that it’s now possible to order something outside of the Sam Adams family when you want a “good” beer at several bars is a huge step forward; the huge number of beer events — and even a local finalist in a major homebrew competition — is just a bonus. Consider it the biggest local restaurant craze since tapas and sushi.

Best example of coming through for the community: We have nothing but respect for the job done by our brethren over at WTAG during last year’s devastating ice storm. The team — and really, it was all of them — came through as a hub for the community and region, the best resource for information, venting, and getting word out between neighbors, officials, and workers. By far, their nearly nonstop coverage was the shining media moment of 2008.

Most hated bug: The true effect of the Asian Longhorned Beetle will start being seen over the coming weeks as trees start budding and residents in the northern half of the city and surrounding suburbs realize...there are no trees to bud. Already, the Showcase Cinema North sign is visible from way down the other half of Brooks Street, and Quinsigamond College visible from the previously wooded other side of the railroad tracks. ALB ... you best hope we don’t find you alone in a back alley late one night. That’s all we’ll say about that.

Biggest hypocrisy: Oh how do we choose. Our winner has to go to those city councilors and city officials (you all know who you are by now) who neglected to shovel their sidewalks after snowstorms despite passing an ordinance ordering property owners to do just that. Seriously guys? This isn’t a hard game.

Best (failed) grassroots effort: It hasn’t accomplished anything concrete, but the Save our Poolz initiative deserves a star for their ceaseless efforts to get the city to figure out a way to open municipal pools this summer. If we ever see open pools again, it will be partially due to activists showing that someone cared. o