Seattle Weekly‘s annual “Best of” list is back with its awards for the very best of the best in all things Seattle. While Queen Anne didn’t take home the distinction of “Best Neighborhood to Live in” (that title went to our neighbors over in Ballard), QA was recognized for a bunch of other citywide bests that call the hill home. And so, without further ado and in no particular order, here are all of Queen Anne’s bests:

• Best Lounge: Oskar’s Kitchen
• Best Reason to Look Forward to Winter: Urban Downhill Skiing (shout out to the slipper slopes of the Counterbalance)
• Best View of Downtown: Rooftop of the Queensborough Apartments (in Lower QA)
• Best Stroll: QA Top Pot to the ferry terminal
• Best Theater Company: Teatro ZinZanni
• Best Kids’ Thrill: Seattle Center International Fountain
• Best New Building: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Best Children’s Theater Production: Go, Dog. Go! (At the Seattle Children’s Theater in Seattle Center)
• Best Lesbian Bar: KeyArena (See the Weekly’s reasoning if, like me, your response was like mine–something along the lines of “Huh…?”)
• Best Wine List in a Restaurant, Price be Damned: Canlis
• Best Service in a Restaurant: Canlis
• Best Underage Music Venue: VERA Project
• Best Place to Get Fatter: Red Mill Burgers (Technically in Interbay, but it still counts!)
• Best Record Store – Classical Department: Silver Platters
• Best Car Wash: Brown Bear (locations in QA and elsewhere)

Every year Queen Anne gets a number of shout outs in the ‘best of’ issue, because, well, there are just so many bests we Queen Anne-ers have to boast. Last year Queen Anne’s Easy Street Records, El Diablo Coffee, and our many secret stairways (the “Best Alternative to the Stairmaster”) were just a few of the winners. Check out last year’s wins here.

The Seattle Weekly “best of” list includes people, places, food & drink, sports & recreation and shopping & services. To see the entire list, click here.

If you’ve been by the 5 Spot lately, you’ve probably noticed its new cuisine theme–Tornado Alley. The Queen Anne restaurant, which often changes its regional culinary focus (and decor to match), got some flak from the Seattle Weekly for sticking with its Tornado Alley theme in light of the recent tornadoes that have devastated the south.

Though the 5 Spot says it will not change its Tornado Alley theme, it has launched a fundraiser to help relieve some of the damage caused by the recent storms. Beginning yesterday and continuing every Tuesday through June 13 the restaurant will donate 25 percent from the sales of all of its Tornado Alley menu items to the Hackelburg Elementary School in Hackelburg, Alabama, which was destroyed in the recent storms. Though others buildings have been standing in as makeshift classrooms for the school, the funding will go toward replacing textbooks and other items blown away or destroyed, according to Seattle Weekly.

In response to the Seattle Weekly posts, the 5 Spot and its parents company Chow Foods released the following statement about its choice:

When planning our menus for 2011, we thought that in wanting to feature the foods of the Heartland to include the Dakotas, Nebraska and parts of other mid-western states, the common denominator would be the region commonly known as Tornado Alley. Little did we know the devastation from these wind-related events would be the worst on record since the 1920s with, to date, over 400 weather-related events in the U.S. with no sign of abatement.

While these recent tornadoes technically took place outside of Tornado Alley (it’s known as Dixie Alley), we cannot ignore the hardships facing our fellow citizens from these devastating storms in the South. So, we want to help those who aren’t able to help themselves, mainly the children of Hackleburg, Ala.

The fundraiser will conclude on June 13, when the 5 Spot’s regional menu switches once again.

Seattle Weekly’s annual Voracious restaurant guide is out and there are two popular Queen Anne dining spots – out of 107 citywide – that made the list.

In the “Things That Swim” section, Canlis and chef Jason Franey were commended for the menu – a mixture of new dishes and original plates from the restaurant’s early years.

In the “Veggies” section Book Bindery was called out for a salad – “one of the greatest salads ever” – made out of more apples than vegetables.

Check out the full guide to see some other nearby notables, including the selections just across the water in Fremont. What do you think, Queen Anne? Any shocking omissions from the list?

The Seattle Weekly put out a handy-dandy map in order to help you drink your way through Seattle for this drinkiest of weekends—it is Saint Patrick’s Day, after all.

The Seattle Weekly made some notes on the best beer options in each neighborhood. Here are the details for Lower and Upper Queen Anne:

Lower Queen Anne: Lower Queen Anne’s denizens love Schooner Exact Brewing Co.’s King St. Brown. Ozzies, T.S. McHugh’s, the Great Nabob, Spectator, and Buckley’s all have the beer on tap, so in this case, we’re going with the law of large numbers.

Upper Queen Anne: The 3-Grid IPA is what flies at the Hilltop Ale House, the upper Queen Anne watering hole of choice. It’s a perfectly calibrated brew for this ‘hood: pale, bitter, and just a little too expensive.

Looking for other places on the hill to enjoy the Saint Patrick’s Day festivities? Check out the happenings at Sully’s at the top of the hill, and the Streamline Tavern in Uptown.

If you can’t make it today, but still want to celebrate, the Streamline will be having its 23rd annual St. Patti’s Day birthday party and fundraiser this Saturday, March 19 at 6 p.m. There will be corned beef and cabbage, and all donations will go to Fighting Words, a creative writing center established by Roddy Doyle and Sean Love, inspired by Dave Eggers’ 826 Valencia in San Francisco (and satellite 826 Seattle in Greenwood).

Last week’s Seattle Weekly was filled with the paper’s annual citywide “Best of” piece. And it may not be much of a surprise that more than a couple Queen Anne spots made the list. Check out the Weekly’s bests of Seattle that are located right here in the neighborhood:

• Easy Street Records—Best Selection of Vinyl
• Meadow—Best New Boutique in the ‘Hood
• Nielsen’s Pastries—Best Snitter
• Toulouse Petit—Best Breakfast Deal
• El Diablo Coffee—Best Liquid Trend
• Queen Anne’s Secret Stairways—Best Alternative to the Stairmaster

Congrats Queen Anne!

Notice some Queen Anne items on the list that we missed, or want to recommend your own favorite from the neighborhood? Comment below, or email us at tips@queenanneview.com to share!

Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the 25th annual Seattle Weekly Best of Seattle contest. Vote for your favorite coffee shop, art gallery, neighborhood activist, tycoon/entrepreneur, theater company, happy hour, radio talk show, dive bar, best place for urban crafts, tattoo parlor, salon, shoe store, bike shop, and a ton of other, sometimes wacky, categories.

Results will be published in the August 4 issue.

You must fill in at least five categories, and submit your name and email address for your vote to be counted. One vote per person, please. Email addresses are checked for validity but will be purged after voting is over. You will not be put on any list.

For those of you who have perused the Seattle Weekly website over the last few days, you may have noticed a new feature pictorially highlighting the scenes and sights of Upper Queen Anne. Photographer Jenny Jimenez put together a 15-image photo essay while walking up and down Queen Anne Ave N last week. Take a look at what she saw here.