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May 10, 2012 – May 16, 2012 Vol. 27 No. 47

COVER

We’ve counted all the ballots and now bring you the 23rd annual Best of Montreal, the Mirror’s annual readers poll.

GREAT ART FOR A GOOD CAUSE
This year’s Best of Montreal
cover art (20” x 24” canvas) by
En Masse could be yours for $1,000. All proceeds go to
Dans la Rue. Contact
letters@mtl-mirror.com if interested.

Cover image by En Masse.
Participating artists: Jason Botkin, Rupert Bottenberg, Fred Caron, Raphaêle Bard, Tyler Rauman, Jason Wasserman and Carlos Santos.

NEWS

• THE FRONT: Everybody occupy—Mohammad Mahjoub’s long road to almost freedom—Anarchy in May—West Island’s LGBTQ Youth Centre at one.
• ANGEL & INSECT
• DAMN RIGHT: Rove suddenly non-partisan, tax-free.
• MAN BITES DOG: Cops don’t toke, even in Vermont.
• NETWORTHY: Japan’s weirdest news and Hong Kong’s most crowded block.
• ROSEN

MUSIC

• Mares of Thrace are Calgary’s queens of doom
• Boy6lue’s a Verdun MC with Bronx pedigree
• MUSIC REVIEWS
• THE LOAD-DOWN: The U.K. vs. Pirate Bay
• PUNKUSRAUCOUS REX: Blue Sunshine closes, Rome Romeo launches + heavy pick of the week
• BLOCK-CLOCKER: MCA—love and respect to the end
• PARTY FAVOURS: Rome, roma, Martyn, THUMP & Digweed
• RANT LINE™

FILM

• Local director Yung Chang pulls no punches with his latest documentary China Heavyweight, exploring the changes in Chinese society through the country’s emergent boxing scene
• Sound of My Voice is an inspired indie thriller
• Weekly round-up: Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster, Headhunters and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• MOTION PICTURE PURGATORY: Sexcula
• VIDIOT’S BOX: Rampart and The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

PRESS START

• Testosterone-filled motocross sequel Trials Evolution hits impressive new heights

ARTS

• SideMart remount Haunted Hillbilly on the big stage; Poutine Masala is a cultural mash-up musical

RESTO

• It’s all about affordable French and BYO at St-Henri’s Le Smoking Vallée

Columns

• PEOPLE: Raëlian Fabrice Piche.
• RIFF RAFF: Fly the naked skies.
• SASHA: Happy Masturbation Month!

GREAT ART FOR A GOOD CAUSE This year’s Best of Montreal cover art (20” x 24” canvas) by En Masse could be yours for $1,000. All proceeds go to Dans la Rue. Contact letters@mtl-mirror.com if interested.

MONTREALERS

Most Desirable Man – Best Montreal Weirdo – Tackiest Personality – Best Local Activist

PLUS: Liberal MP Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill, restaurants and ravens

CLASSE spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois on the plight of the students

Chef and restaurateur Chuck Hughes on early inspiration, TV fame and staying humble.

MEDIA

Best Radio Personality – Best Local Newscaster – Best Magazine – Best Twitter Feed

CITY LIFE

Best Neighbourhood – Best Place to Have Public Sex – Best Building

Sexiest French Pick-Up Lines

NIGHTLIFE

Best Bartender – Best Dive Bar – Best Dance Club – Best Looking Clientele

MUSIC

Most Pretentious Act – Best Singer/Songwriter – Best DJ – Best Local DJ

PLUS: Star dubstep DJ Vilify on spinning a teenage passion into dancefloor supremacy

Cadence Weapon on infiltrating the underground party scene and returning to hip hop with Hope in Dirt City

FILM, ARTS, ETC.

Best Local Actress – Best Local Film – Best Theatre Production – Best Fashion Designer

PLUS: From Quebec child stardom to Hollywood TV and working with Woody Allen, Karine Vanasse is flying high

En Masse on bringing Montreal’s artist community together and spreading their wings beyond the city.

Glam Gam Productions bring nudity, laughs and fake bodily fluids to the stage with their sex-positive performances

CONSUMER MADNESS

Best Record Store (New and Used) – Best Bookstore –Best Head Shop – Best Massage Therapist

CHOWTIME

Best New Restaurant – Best Chinese – Best Bagel – Best Hot Dog

SPECIAL BOM QUESTIONS

What is your guiltiest Montreal pleasure?

What is Montreal’s spirit animal?

Corrections and stuffers

Thanks to everyone who voted for the Best of Montreal Reader’s Poll. We received thousands of ballots and as always, we made every effort to weed out the stuffers who try to unduly influence the science of our poll.

Ballots that came from the same IP address and had identical answers were eliminated, as were ballots that failed to make the 25-answer quota.

While we do our best to make sure the addresses and phone numbers of the winners are accurate, mistakes will sometimes occur. Send your corrections to us to letters@mtl-mirror.com. ■

BEST SPA #2: Bota Bota
Photo by WILL LEW

Montrealer Closest to Sainthood

1.          Father Emmett “Pops” Johns
2.          Leonard Cohen
3.          Brother André
4.          Jean Béliveau
5.          Jack Layton
6.          Carey Price
7.          Celine Dion
8.          Justin Trudeau
9.          Dr. Gilles Julien
10.         Amir Khadir

Honourable mentions: Gary Carter • Luc Ferrandez • P.K. Subban

No change in our top three (again), but le Gros Bill, who’s had some health scares recently, jumps four spots, unseating Habs goalie Price. Le bon Jack, meanwhile, is in our hearts if not, alas, in his rightful place: shouting across the aisle at Stephen Harper. Celine drops two spots, while Dr. Gilles Julien, whose kids’ health foundation does good work out of its east end office, holds steady. Trudeau is no doubt enjoying the warm afterglow of his boxing victory with Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau, and Quebec Solidaire’s Khadir still emits enough progressive star wattage to squeak into the top 10. Carter, alas, is another former Montrealer who left us too soon, and controversial Plateau politico Ferrandez still has enough supporters to get an HM. Subban drops from #7 last year, appropriately enough given the Habs’ wretched performance this year.

Montrealer Closest to Hell

1.          Gérald Tremblay
2.          Jean Charest
3.          Pauline Marios
4.          Pierre Gauthier
5.          DJ Mary Hell
6.          Celine Dion
7.          Luc Ferrandez
8.          Peter Sergakis
9.          Richard Martineau
10.         Line Beauchamp

Honourable mentions: Scott Gomez • Ben Mulroney • Heather Munroe-Blum

Our top three most loathed politicians continue their stranglehold on both last year’s positions and our hatred, while only slightly less detested is former Habs GM/autocrat Gauthier, who guided the team to a spectacularly dismal last-place finish in the Eastern Conference this year. Ferrandez still has his army of haters, and bar owner/king of downtown Sergakis rises three rungs of shame. Appearing for the first time are Journal de Montréal opinion-monger Martineau, embattled provincial Education Minister Beauchamp and McGill principal Munroe-Blum.

Most Desirable Man

1.          Justin Trudeau
2.          Leonard Cohen
3.          Jay Baruchel
4.          Carey Price
5.          Sugar Sammy
6.          Chuck Hughes
7.          Brooke Walsh
8.          Roy Dupuis
9.          Sam Roberts
10.         Gabriel Aubry

Honourable mentions: Marc-André Grondin • Xavier Dolan • Rick Genest (Zombie Boy)

Justin doesn’t just look good when he’s pounding on a Conservative—he’s pretty damn dishy in real life too. He and Montreal’s creaking-but-still-drool-inspiring poet laureate Cohen keep our hearts aflutter, snagging the top two spots again. Cool nerd Baruchel, the pride of NDG, rises from #7 last year, and Price jumps one from #5. Walsh, a big cheese at le Belmont, obviously has enough fans on Facebook to make a difference here, so hats off to him. Celeb chef Hughes, meanwhile, moves up five, and Sugar Sammy shows Montrealers really do laugh and lust in both languages, as he rockets onto the list to land at #5. Scruffy Sam Roberts drops, but only by one spot, while Halle Berry’s ex Aubry is losing some of his luster, dropping seven spots. Maybe the $20,000 a month he’s asking Halle for will ease the pain.

Most Desirable Woman

1.          Jessica Paré
2.          Elisha Cuthbert
3.          Cam Matamoros
4.          Mutsumi Takahashi
5.          Emmanuelle Chriqui
6.          Mitsou
7.          Claire Boucher (Grimes)
8.          Orla Johannes
9.          Karine Vanasse
10.         Vilify

Honourable mentions: Val Desjardins • Lori Graham • Julie Paquet (Glam Gam)

Montreal’s own Megan Calvet—oops! We mean Mrs. Don Draper—oops! Mad Men actress (and last year’s BOM cover girl) Jessica Paré displaces long-time champion Cuthbert. The Royal Phoenix bar’s Matamoros and Desjardins have both the skills and the sex appeal to draw in the ladies, and Mutsumi continues her strong showing with her usual stately dignity, worthy of a veteran newswoman. Entourage’s Chriqui drops two spots, Mitsou four. Newcomers Grimes and Vanasse make a strong impression, as does the England-born and curiously accented radio personality Johanness. Vilify, a DJ at le Belmont, rounds out the top 10.

Best-dressed Montrealer

1.          Leonard Cohen
2.          Rufus Wainwright
3.          Justin Trudeau
4.          Plastik Patrik
5.          Cary Tauben
6.          Julie Paquet (Glam Gam Productions)
7.          Mado Lamotte
8.          Denis Gagnon
9.          Milford Kemp
10.         Xavier Dolan

Honourable mentions: Frank Cavallaro • Robyn Chalmers (Fashionista 514) • Sherwin Tija

Trudeau-mania reborn! Justin knocks off Plastik to join the illustrious top three, jolting oddball Tauben down a notch. With burlesque troupe Glam Gam getting the troops out to vote, we welcome to this important category Julie Paquet. Mado keeps her position from last year, fashion designer Gagnon moves up two, and Dolan moves out of HM and into the top 10. Mile End Jimi Hendrix impersonator Kemp, meanwhile, makes a long overdue appearance here. Sherwin Tija makes an argument that perhaps proudly unilingual anglo attention-seekers don’t have to dress frumpy to get noticed.

Best Sports Personality

1.          P.K. Subban
2.          Carey Price
3.          George St-Pierre
4.          Randy Tieman
5.          Anthony Calvillo
6.          Jean Béliveau
7.          Erik Cole
8.          Mitch Melnick
9.          Youppi!
10.         Georges Laraque

Honourable mentions: Alexandre Despatie • Georgia W. Tush • Smack Daddy Given how pathetically and unforgettably terrible the Canadiens were this season, it’s a bit of a surprise that two key members of its young core, the flashy, quote-happy Subban and the wry, laconic Price, take the category. But proving that there’s more to Montreal than hockey, mixed martial artist St-Pierre rounds out the top three, as he did last year. Readers rewarded new Hab Erik Cole’s hard work, while broadcasters, a weird mascot and a vegan ex-tough guy make up the rest of the top 10. Diver Despatie and two ass-kicking roller-derbying broads garner honourable mentions.

Tackiest Personality

1.          Mose Persico
2.          Mado Lamotte
3.          Celine Dion
4.          Ben Mulroney
5.          Anne-Marie Losique
6.          Gerald Tremblay
7.          Cary Tauben
8.          Frank Cavallaro
9.          Michèle Richard
10.         Terry DiMonte

Honourable mentions: P.J. Stock • Jean Charest • Guy A. Lepage

Mose is the king of cheese, now and forever! All hail Mose! But Mado and Celine rise, while Ben, whose grinning, bug-eyed visage still haunts Canadian airwaves and red carpets everywhere, drops two. Spots 5–8 are held by long-time listees, but chanteuse Richard appears here for the first time in memory. DiMonte, meanwhile, has lumbered back from a brief Calgary exile to once again chew through the local radio scene.

Best Montreal Weirdo

1.          Hollywood (aka the Banana Man)
2.          Zombie Boy (aka Rick Genest)
3.          Milford Kemp
4.          Stumpy the one-armed beggar
5.          Spiderman
6.          Spoonman
7.          Jean Leloup
8.          Mado Lamotte
9.          Tricycle biker
10.         Mish (Micheline Chartier, Glam Gam Productions)

Honourable mentions: Beaver Sheppard • Grimes • Sean Nicholas Savage

No big changes to report here, other than Kemp’s Purple-Haze-fuelled jump to #4, up from #7 last year. Stumpy leapfrogs Spidey and Spoony, with Mado dropping two spots and early-morning Mile End boulevardier/musician Leloup one. The trike biker trundles his way into the top spots, while Glam Gam’s Mish reaps the harvest of notoriety she worked so hard to cultivate. Busy musician/line-cook/entrepreneur Beaver, current it girl Grimes and prolific songsmith Savage own HM.

Best Local Living Politician

1.          Justin Trudeau
2.          Thomas Mulcair
3.          Amir Khadir
4.          None/They all suck
5.          Luc Ferrandez
6.          Richard Bergeron
7.          Jean Charest
8.          Marc Garneau
9.          Gérald Tremblay
10.         Tyrone Benskin (NDP MP for Jeanne-Leber ie. Verdun & St-Henri)

Honourable mentions: Alexandre Boulerice (NDP MP for Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie) • Denis Coderre • Peter McQueen

Canada’s most famous political scion dominates this category, and has for some time, while newly minted NDP supremo Mulcair edges Quebec Solidaire’s lone righteous MNA Khadir for the #2 spot. Montrealers’ signature cynicism is back this year, with the “None/they all suck” response sneering its way from HM last year to #4. Projet Montréal’s most visible faces, Bergeron, Ferrandez and McQueen, also score well, and Liberal ex-spaceman Garneau keeps his #8 seat. Benskin and Boulerice, two Orange Wavers, appear here for the first time, while Jean Charest inexplicably holds on to #7.

BEST POLITICAL/SOCIAL CAUSE #1: Red Square/Printemps Érable

Best Political/Social Cause

1.          Red square/Printemps Érable
2.          NDP
3.          Head & Hands
4.          Sex workers’ rights
5.          Quebec Solidaire
6.          Anglo rights
7.          J’aime mon village
8.          Urban agriculture
9.          Greenpeace
10.         Biking/Bixi

Honourable mentions: Getting the fucking kids to stop striking and get a fucking job (or words to that effect) • Gay rights • Kony 2012

No surprise here, as the ongoing student strike easily wins. But where are Occupy and the McGill strikers? How soon we forget. The NDP still enjoys some post-election love, and Head & Hands streaks into #3. Two new campaigns, J’aime mon village and urban agriculture (in time for public hearings to be held in June), seem popular. Montrealers weren’t immune to the dubious charms of Invisible Children’s Stop Kony campaign, and one does catch a sense of anti-student resentment floating amidst the tear gas, smoke bombs, burned traffic cones and airborne rocks.

Loudest Activist

1.          Student protesters
2.          Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois
3.          Jaggi Singh
4.          Lex Gill
5.          Amir Khadir
6.          Jordan Arseneault
7.          Stefan Christoff
8.          Occupy Montreal
9.          Donovan King
10.         Barb ze Radicale

Honourable mentions: Chad Walcott • Alison Louder • Émilie Laliberté

Those thousands of kids you’ve been seeing in the streets for the past three months? Yeah, they win. And Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois—already known around these parts as GND—is, for better or worse, their best-known mouthpiece. Anarchist-about-town Singh finally drops a couple of spots, as does media activist/pianist Christoff, while Concordia Student Union prez Gill leaps up five spots from 2011. Queer activist/editor Arseneault pops up here, as do the Occupy folks, for their spot in the loudmouth limelight. Also new are lesbian activist ze Radicale, CSU VP external Walcott and sex worker rights advocate and Stella boss Laliberté.

MOST DESIRABLE MAN #1, BEST LOCAL LIVING POLITICIAN #1, BEST-DRESSED MONTREALER #3, MONTREALER CLOSEST TO SAINTHOOD #8: Justin Trudeau
Photo by WILL LEW

It isn’t hard to spot Justin Trudeau working the room. He’s the young-ish guy (he turned 40 last Christmas) with the sharp jacket, open-neck shirt and signature silk scarf who leans into his speech over a table crowded with Styrofoam coffee cups and maple sugar cookies. This mid-April morning he’s meeting his Papineau riding con­stituents at an old folks’ home on Lacordaire, just north of Jean-Talon, where the small crowd of white hairs are clearly mesmerized by the dashing MP.

For all his good looks, smart duds and high-wattage smile, Trudeau has been working hard to shed his privileged, pretty boy image. Within seconds of shaking my hand, he launches into a refutation of Stephen Harper’s record, and, after 15 minutes of talking politics—Mulcair and Harper are “flip sides of the same coin” and he quashes any talk of a Liberal-NDP merger—he moves on to what he loves most about his home town.

“The passion,” he says. “The contradictions, the English-French tension and non-tension, the cultures that have been here for hundreds of years. Knowing all these little cor­ners but knowing that I’ll always discover little restaurants and new joints to go out to.”

So, where does Justin Trudeau go when he’s in town, and what does he do? “I run on the mountain regularly, and bring the kids (Xavier, 4 and Ella, 3) up to the great park on Beaver Lake. For me the mountain is at the centre of it all.”

Okay, safe answer, let’s rephrase: What are your fave bars and restaurants? “They’re constantly changing. But one of my absolute favourite places these days is a lit­tle Pakistani bring-your-own-wine place on the corner of Jean-Talon and Acadie called Moti Mehal. It’s phenomenal. But I’m not gonna… If I list too many, I just…” After trailing off, he says the shrimp balti is unbelievable.

One last question before his aide whisks him away: What’s Montreal’s spirit animal? He takes a long pause and says, “When I was just a kid, I went out with my father and mother to Haida Gwaii [formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands off B.C.] and we were made officially Children of the Raven, and were inducted into the Raven tribe. And the raven has always been an incredibly powerful and symbolic animal for me, which is why I have a big raven tattoo on my shoulder.

“The raven is a wise trickster, someone who loves life, who has an edge, loves to play but is impetuous and passionate all the time. Not the most powerful, perhaps, but he’s certainly the most important in terms of spirit and soul.”

His aide steps in and Trudeau stands, takes a breath and walks back to the awaiting old folks, all smiles. ■

LOUDEST ACTIVIST #2: Nadeau-Dubois
Photo by WILL LEW

It must be a little strange for Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. Since February, the spokesman—not leader, not chief, not boss, he insists—for the most radical of the striking student associations has found himself lambasted in the media, praised by his fellow students, scorned by politicians, publicly drooled over by Xavier Dolan and absurdly com­pared to Osama bin Laden. The past 13 weeks have been a pretty wild ride by anyone’s standards, but CLASSE, the coalition of student associations he represents, have stood remarkably firm in the face of unrelenting hostility by the powers that be in Quebec.

Maybe that’s what made him wary. When I called his cell to arrange an interview, his press attaché briskly insisted that all questions had to be political, not personal. Really? Yes, really.

In a phone conversation last Thursday, May 3—hours after he had presented CLASSE’s demands to end the strike, a day before the Liberal convention in Victoriaville ended in may­hem and two days before he emerged from a marathon negotiation session with the government to present a deal that looks, as of press time, like it will be rejected—Nadeau-Dubois hardly sounds like the 21-year-old UQÀM history and society student he was last semester. He sounds like he’s been doing this gig for a while: on message, speaking succinctly and, let’s face it, a little bit humour-free.

Of course, there may not be a lot of laughs in changing the world, especially when large chunks of the population don’t want to pay a nickel more in taxes than they already do to subsidize what’s the cheapest education in the country, and would remain among the cheapest even if the $1,625 hikes were implemented. “The population is very polarized,” he says in better than passable English. “There is a big division, but we haven’t had an opportunity to have a constructive debate on the role of universities and how to fund them.”

For better of worse, fairly or not, Nadeau-Dubois, the son of a union activist, has been singled out for rebuke. Target signs sprouted all over him after CLASSE took its time to denounce activist violence outside the Palais des congrès last month, and provincial Education Minister Line Beauchamp, among others, blamed him for not calming the waters sooner. To that, he says, “I think Mme. Beauchamp is overestimating my power and influence. She’s giving me too much credit.”

The Montreal-born activist says being the subject of constant attacks is “sometimes difficult. To see the Premier attack me in the National Assembly, using my personal name—I never thought this would get personal. But that reminds me that they’re doing this because they have no other arguments. They are attacking the messenger because they don’t like the message. They are losing control and influence.” ■

MOST DESIRABLE MAN #6, BEST LOCAL TV PERSONALITY #8, BEST PRICEY EATS #5, BEST SEAFOOD #3: Chuck Hughes of Garde Manger
Photo by WILL LEW

If you ever meet chef Chuck Hughes, there are a few things you’ll notice right away. The most obvious is that he’s pretty easy on the eyes, and on top of that, charming as hell (he even made Kathy Lee Gifford blush). He’s also funny and comes up with more one-liners than anyone I know. Most importantly though, is that in spite of his culinary success, he’s one of the most earnest and down-to-earth chefs in the business.

Having inherited a passion for cooking from his mom, Hughes became captivated by the restaurant world at 18. “When I was a busboy at Globe there was a new guy that showed up on the scene and it was [Joe Beef’s] Dave McMillan. For me, that was a real eye opener to see a guy, not necessarily wearing a chef’s hat, but who had the integri­ty and the work ethic of a chef. Us working together made me think maybe I should take this more seriously because I loved the business so much.”

By the time he got to culinary school, he was hooked. “I’d never been the best in anything—math, science, all this shit I sucked at, but when I got to cooking school, I thought, man, I can do this.”

Hughes’s career took off when he was thrown into the spotlight with his hit Food Network Canada TV show Chuck’s Day Off, in which he cooks for guests at his restaurant Garde Manger. His legendary win against Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America (the secret ingredient was Canadian lobster) led to a spot on The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, where he competed against some of the biggest names in the culinary world.

He also did a series called Chuck’s Week Off: Mexico, set to air this fall, wrote a Garde Manger cookbook (in stores now) and is working on Chuck Eats the Street for Food Network USA. In between, he’s launched Chuck’s Day Off in Asia, has done the backstage food for both HeavyMtl and Osheaga, made a Christmas special, and opened a sec­ond restaurant, Le Bremner.

When I ask Hughes about his guiltiest Montreal pleasure he laughs really hard. “The back pages of the Mirror! No, but seriously, I probably can’t tell you most of them, but the PG version? Mr. Steers. Oh, and the kimchi sandwiches at Van Winkles.”

As for Montreal’s spirit animal, he’s quick to respond: “Maybe a rat with skinny jeans and oversized glasses!”

Hughes barely has any down time these days, and when I ask about where he likes to eat he went quiet, for once. “It’s the hardest question,” he says. “I can’t go out to a restaurant knowing one of mine is open…But if I could, I’d go to Park in Westmount. It’s supposed to be amazing Japanese.”

Though Garde Manger’s been open for seven years and Le Bremner will soon celebrate its first anniversary, Hughes takes nothing for granted. “The restaurant business is harder than it looks; I’m so lucky that I have such an amazing team. I’m blessed. I know where I come from and I know where I could’ve ended up. No matter how big you get, the restaurant is what matters. In the end, it’s all on the plate.”■

Best Radio Station

1.          CKUT 90.3 FM
2.          CHOM 97.7 FM
3.          Virgin 96 FM
4.          CISM 89.3 FM
5.          CBC 88.5 FM
6.          CJLO 1690 AM
7.          The Buzz 99.9 FM
8.          CJAD 800 AM
9.          NRJ 94.3 FM
10.         TSN 990 AM

Honourable mentions: 92.5 The Beat FM •Planète Jazz 91.9 FM • CKOI 96.9 FM

With CKUT besting CHOM for the coveted top spot this year, the college radio scene, which includes UdeM mainstays CISM and relative newcomers CJLO broadcasting out of Concordia, appears healthier than ever. There were a couple of stations that re-branded last year: Q92 became 92.5 The Beat and dropped, while The Team 990 AM became TSN 990 AM and began broadcasting Habs games, which may or may not have helped them climb from honourable mention last year to #10 this year.

Best TV Station

1.          CTV
2.          CBC
3.          Radio-Canada
4.          Global
5.          RDS
6.          Télé-Québec
7.          ARTV
8.          CUTV
9.          TVA
10.         V TV

Honourable mentions: Internet/YouTube/ Netflix • MusiquePlus • TV5

Two new additions to the list this year, with Concordia’s CUTV jumping from honourable mentions to #8 and V TV coming out of nowhere to sneak into #10. The former was helped, perhaps, by its aggressive student strike coverage, the latter maybe by its in-your-face Face-à-Face hosts Stéphane Gendron and Caroline Proulx. Online alternatives are increasingly popular, we note as fear creeps into the dark souls of broadcast execs everywhere.

Best Local Radio Show

1. The Butt Show (CHOM 97.7 FM)
2. Melnick in the Afternoon (TSN 990 AM)
3. Daybreak (CBC 88.5 FM)
4. Edge of the City (CJLO 1690 AM)
5. With Gay Abandon (CJL0 1690 AM)
6. Mornings Rock with Terry & Heather B (CHOM 97.7)
7. WireTap (CBC 88.5 FM)
8. Venus (CKUT 90.3 FM)
9. Freeway and Natasha in the Morning (Virgin Radio 96)
10. The Tommy Schnurmacher Show (CJAD 800 AM)

Honourable mentions: None • Underground Sounds (CKUT 90.3 FM) • Andrew Carter Morning Show (CJAD 800 AM) • C’est bien meilleur le matin (Radio-Canada 95.1 FM)

Was Lisa really that popular? Virgin’s morning show reigned supreme last year, but with co-host Lisa Player’s departure in December, the show dropped to #9. Local sports guru Melnick remains close behind CHOM’s Butt (wait, what?), while Daybreak rockets up the list to #3 from HM last year. CJLO puts in another strong showing with their Monday culture (Edge) and Friday queer issues (Gay) shows. Terry DiMonte’s long-anticipated return from Calgary is rewarded with #5—same as CHOM’s morning show last year.

Best Local Radio Host

1.          Bilal Butt (CHOM 907.7 FM)
2.          Terry DiMonte (CHOM 97.7 FM)
3.          Mitch Melnick (TSN 990 AM)
4.          Paul Aflalo (CJLO 1690 AM)
5.          Mike Finnerty (CBC 88.5 FM)
6.          Aaron Rand (CJAD 800 AM)
7.          Freeway Frank (Virgin 96 FM)
8.          Jonathan Goldstein (CBC 88.5 FM)
9.          Andrew Carter (CJAD 800 AM)
10.         Cat Spencer (92.5 The Beat FM)

Honourable mentions: None • Paul Arcand (98.5 FM) • Tommy Schnurmacher (CJAD 800 AM) • Ted Bird (K103 FM), Tony Marinaro (TSN 990 AM), tie

Terry barges his way into #2 here, displacing Melnick, who finds CJLO’s Edge of the City host Aflalo right behind him. Daybreak’s Finnerty also makes a strong showing, having been absent from last year’s list, and Goldstein improves from HM to #7. And in an exciting race in honourable mentions, Montreal radio veteran Bird, who announced this week that he’s leaving Kahnawake’s K103, and TSN 990’s resident hockey über-geek Marinaro are tied for votes. This is Marinaro’s first appearance in this illustrious list.

Best Local Newscaster

1.          Mutsumi Takahashi (CTV)
2.          Paul Karwatsky (CTV
3.          Todd van der Heyden (CTV)
4.          Debra Arbec (CBC)
5.          Céline Galipeau (Radio-Canada)
6.          Jamie Orchard (Global)
7.          Patrice Roy (Radio-Canada)
8.          Tarah Schwartz (CTV)
9.          Andrew Chang (CBC)
10.         Catherine Sherriffs (CTV)

Honourable mentions: Frank Cavallaro (CBC) • Pierre Bruneau (TVA) • Lori Graham (CTV)

Only an Earth-shattering cataclysm could shatter Mits’s hold on this category, and obviously, we’re all still here. Her newest news-reading sidekick, the fresh-faced Karwatsky, is clearly basking in her popularity, as did his predecessor, the gone-to-Toronto van der Heyden. Ex-CTVer Arbec, who’s now at the CBC, jumps three spots, while Cavallaro, another ex-CTVer now at the CBC, drops from #6 to HM.

Best Local TV Personality

1.          Mutsumi Takahashi (CTV)
2.          Guy A. Lepage (Radio-Canada)
3.          Lori Graham (CTV)
4.          Frank Cavallaro (CBC)
5.          Todd van der Heyden (CTV)
6.          Marc Labrèche (Radio-Canada)
7.          Ben Mulroney (CTV)
8.          Chuck Hughes (Food Network Canada)
9.          Paul Karwatsky (CTV)
10.         Randy Tieman (CTV)

Honourable mentions: Anne-Marie Withenshaw (Radio-Canada) • Nadia G (Food Network Canada) • Jamie Orchard (Global)

Lepage, the host of Rad-Can’s flagship Tout le monde en parle Sunday night show, makes a good leap from #5 last year to settle comfortably in second place (Mutsumi isn’t going anywhere), knocking down both Graham and van der Heyden. And hard-working kitchen kook Nadia G sees her odd show Bitchin’ Kitchen finally get the recognition she so craves.

Best Magazine/Zine

1. Nightlife
2. Urbania
3. Vice
4. Maisonneuve
5. Snap!
6. Panoram Italia
7. Elle Quebec
8. LouLou
9. 2Bmag
10. Dress To Kill

Honourable mentions: The Void • Nouveau Projet • L’Actualité

Nightlife is no longer with us, alas, having recently folded its print vehicle. A new champion awaits! Montrealers still like to claim Vice as their own, and Maisonneuve enjoys some 10th anniversary love. New to the list is another decade-old mag, queer-themed 2B, and the suddenly language-obsessed news weekly L’Actualité.

Best Newspaper

1. Mirror
2. Gazette
3. La Presse
4. Le Devoir
5. The Link
6. Voir
7. Journal de Montréal
8. Métro
9. McGill Daily
10. 24 Heures

Honourable mentions: The Concordian • The Suburban • The Dominion

Curious fact: this year’s list contains no fewer than eight free papers. But you seem to love this one best. Thanks, everybody!

Best Local Blog

1.          Midnight Poutine (midnightpoutine.ca)
2.          Forget the Box (forgetthebox.net)
3.          Indecent Xposure (indecentxposure.net)
4.          MTL Blog (mtlblog.ca)
5.          Fagstein (blog.fagstein.com)
6.          It’s All Yoga, Baby (itsallyogababy.com)
7.          Said the Gramophone (saidthegramophone.com)
8.          Montreal Breakfast Review (montrealbreakfastreview.com)
9.          J’Aime le Dubstep (jaimeledubstep.com)
10.         Montreal Dog Blog (montrealdogblog.com)

Honourable mentions: Petit Petit Gamin (petitpetitgamin.com) • Bloody Underrated (bloodyunderrated.net) • Montreal City Weblog (w5.montreal.com/mtlweblog)

News falls, parties rise and culture stays solid. Midnight Poutine continues its dominance this year, with indie media collective Forget the Box putting in an impressive showing. Indecent Xposure obviously got its vote out, while ex-Ascent magazine editor Roseanne Harvey is stretching her horizons with a solid #6 finish for It’s All Yoga, Baby.

Best Local Twitter Feed

1. Indecent Xposure (@indctxposure)
2. Montreal Nightlife (@MTLnight)
3. Montreal Concerts (@MTLConcerts)
4. LeBelmont (@LeBelmont)
5. POP Montreal (@popmontreal)
6. SPVM (@SPVM)
7. Fagstein (@fagstein)
8. Mirror (@montrealmirror)
9. Jay Baruchel (@BaruchelNDG)
10. Montreal Customs (@MontrealCustoms)

Honourable mentions: William Raillant-Clark (@wraillantclark) • ATOM-c (@ATOMcMontreal) • Food Guy Montreal (@foodguymtl)

The top five tweeters are all obsessed with the city’s party culture, so hats off to ’em. The sixth one maybe less so, but the police tweets have been handy if you want to keep up with where the next student protest is going—or how to best avoid it. Baruchel wears the love of his ’hood on his screen, while apparel company Montreal Customs makes a first appearance. UdeM publicist and blogger Raillant-Clark also makes his debut, as do HIV-testing advocates ATOM-c and culinary blogger Food Guy Montreal.

Best Neighbourhood

1.          Plateau
2.          Mile End
3.          NDG
4.          St-Henri
5.          Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie
6.          Little Italy
7.          Verdun
8.          Villeray
9.          Hochelaga
10.         Westmount
11.         Downtown/Ville-Marie
12.         Old Montreal/Old Port
13.         Outremont
14.         Parc Ex
15.         Point St. Charles
16.         Griffintown
17.         Côte-des-Neiges
18.         Gay Village
19.         Lasalle
20.         TMR
21.         St-Leonard
22.         Ahuntsic
23.         Little Burgundy
24.         St-Laurent
25.         McGill Ghetto

The same top four as last year—our urban, artsy, educated, bilingual readers have spoken! Rosemont charges back to make “Plateau-adjacent” desirable again, while the Plateau-distant—in house prices, income, demographics and geography—Verdun jumps one. St-Leonard drops big, from #13 last year to #21 this year. The West Island disappears though, and the McGill Ghetto and VSL return.

Best Minority

1.          Anglophones
2.          Gays
3.          Italians
4.          Jews
5.          Portuguese
6.          Haitians
7.          French
8.          East Indians
9.          Irish
10.         Latinos

Honourable mentions: Greeks • Filipinos • First Nations • Blacks • Asians Arabs • Japanese • Hipsters • Mexicans • Russians • Vietnamese • Koreans • Jamaicans • Trinidadians • Persians • Lebanese

Anglos rule the minority roost in 2012, as last year’s winner, Italians, are now coming in behind the gays. Ayo! Jews drop one, Portuguese jump six, and Latinos drop four. Blacks, Asians and Arabs, as categories, would have done better if the vote had not been fractured along national lines.

Best Building

1.          St-Joseph’s Oratory
2.          Sun Life
3.          Place Ville-Marie
4.          Olympic Stadium
5.          Habitat 67
6.          Notre Dame Basilica
7.          Bell Centre
8.          Belgo
9.          Place des Arts
10.         Bibliothèque Nationale

Honourable mentions: Aldred Building (“that mini-Empire State Building down off St-Urbain in the Old Port”) • Fattal Lofts • Rialto Theatre

The same buildings that appeared on this list last year re-appear here, in just slightly re-worked order. The Bell Centre falls from its third-place grace to #7, for obvious reasons, the Big O rises three, the Belgo drops three and PdA moves onto the list at the expense of the still-loved Rialto. Nice to know that some people know the name of the stately Art Deco building off Place d’Armes, and St-Henri lovers may be trying to save the Fattal Lofts, which currently stand in the way of the proposed Turcot re-do, and face imminent extinction.

Best Place to Spot Celebrities

1.          St-Laurent Blvd.
2.          Old Montreal
3.          Old Port
4.          Buona Notte
5.          Crescent
6.          Plateau
7.          Bell Centre
8.          Ste-Catherine
9.          Downtown
10.         Trudeau airport

Honourable mentions: Mile End • Mont-Royal Ave. • St. James Hotel

The Main re-captures the throne this year, taking it away from the upstart Old Montreal.

Best Place to Have Public Sex

1.          Mount Royal
2.          Tam Tams
3.          Parc Jeanne Mance
4.          Parc Lafontaine
5.          Old Port
6.          Lachine Canal
7.          Beaver Lake
8.          Architecture Park
9.          Carré St-Louis
10.         Mount-Royal Belvedere

Honourable mentions: Girouard Park • McGill campus • St-Joseph’s Oratory • Ruelle Nick Auf der Maur

A couple of new spots, and not particularly practical ones either: Girouard Park? Carré St-Louis?! Really? Uh, okay. More strikingly, the smell of patchouli, bad pot, foam swords and LARPer BO is apparently some kind of weird turn-on, since the top three spots readers have picked to take it off and get it on are all in close proximity of one another. Not to mention Beaver (oh, stop it) Lake.

Best Place to Smoke a Joint

1.          Mount Royal
2.          Tam Tams
3.          Parc Lafontaine
4.          Parc Jeanne-Mance
5.          Old Port
6.          Lachine Canal
7.          Beaver Lake
8.          Mount-Royal Belvedere
9.          Carré St-Louis
10.         Parc Laurier

Honourable mentions: St-Joseph’s Oratory • Parc Jarry • Architecture Park

1. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
2. Bonjour/Bonsoir/Allô/Salut
3. Ça va?
4. Suce-moi/mange-moi
5. Je t’aim
6. Baise-moi
7. Chez moi ou chez toi?
8. Je te veux
9. Mon père est riche en tabernak
10. Fourre-moi

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Zou bisou bisou • Boston da face • C’est quoi “in the butt” en français? • Dans le cue • Ouvre-t’action • Voulez-vous du beurre? • Alors on fuck • Aute des culottes, c’est moi qui pilote • Un trou c’t’un trou • Avez-vous vu mon coke? • Donne-moi ton penis • Je suis jaloux de ton chien • Occupons ma chatte • Putain! • Vas-tu au manif?