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Readers’Picks

Best Surf Shop

On the Beach Surf Shop

711 Cannery Row, Monterey 646-9283

Despite a move that took On the Beach from its original digs in New Monterey down to Cannery Row a year and a half ago, it’s clear no one’s having any trouble finding them. It’s a fact substantiated by all the OTB stickers you see gracing local cars these days. In a sport and industry dominated by our crackhead kinfolk on the other side of the bay, an OTB sticker on your bumper says as much about local pride as it does about the store’s excellent selection of gear and its friendly, attitude-free help. Plus, its owner, Kelly Sorenson, is a member of our county’s small but talented tow-surfing crew and can be found charging double- and triple-overhead waves on the big days, which doesn’t hurt OTB’s cred one bit. And now, with a triumphant return to their renovated store on Lighthouse Avenue impending, the extended marine forecast looks bright. [RM]

Best Secondhand Clothing Store

Blue Moon Trading Company

75 Bonifacio Plaza, Monterey 641-0616

There’s something uniquely satisfying about scoring a vintage or second-hand find. It’s the whole treasure hunt experience, uncovering a one-of-a-kind article of clothing or pair of shoes or handbag, as compared to department store shopping, where rows and rows of the exact same item in every possible size fill the floor. Blue Moon Trading Company makes the treasure hunting extremely easy, with its eclectic collection of vintage and second-hand clothing and accessories. And the best part is, you’ll look über hip and your friend won’t be able to copy you. [JL]

Best Health Club

Monterey Sports Center

301 E. Franklin St, Monterey 646-3730

It’s big, it’s shiny, and it’s got everything in one place. The Monterey Sports Center has cutting-edge classes like Bosu—where aerobicizers balance on a rubbery ball to develop core muscle strength. There’s also fitness training that teaches “functional fitness,” so participants work muscles to develop strength for everyday activities. With swim lessons for the kids (and an indoor water slide), a basketball court, martial arts, kickboxing, Pilates, step, spinning and yoga, as well as all the modern exercise equipment, the Sports Center is an irresistible, no-contract-required fitness club. Oh yeah, there’s daycare and a café too. [BW]

Best Massage Therapist

Mirek Kozicki

Mind Body Therapy Center, 41 Soledad Dr, Monterey 655-2808

He’s got strength in those hands, and his chair massages make sure that every knot and pressure point is whipped into submission. But it’s his dry Polish humor that helps the tension unwind further. With a “no stress allowed” policy, Mirek will verbally and manually prod his clients until the world before his massage room becomes but a distant memory. And after receiving a hair-lifting scalp massage, it’s impossible not to heave a blissful sigh and beg permission for a nap. [BW]

Best Shopping District/Center

Del Monte Center

Munras Avenue, Monterey 373-2705

You could live—or at least take a long vacation—at Del Monte Center. It’s got all the necessities. Here, one can find a nice, tall latte (Starbucks) to enjoy while reading Life of Pi (Waldenbooks) on a comfy leather sofa (Macy’s Furniture). Hungry? No problem. Grab a salad from Fresh Choice, or a Chipotle burrito. After a month or so of living at the mall, a haircut, and some strong-smelling lotion may be in order. Luckily, there’s a Great Clips and The Body Shop nearby. The ever-expanding shopping center includes apparel staples—Gap, Victoria’s Secret, The Limited and Macy’s—as well as new, upscale boutiques, like Galla Cabana. There’s even a UPS store to write home about the strange, wonderful adventure that is living at the Del Monte Center. [JL]

Best Ethnic Market

El Rancho

346 Reservation Rd, Marina 384-5151

Look for the yellow billboard with the cowboy and “El Rancho” on it on Reservation Road—it’s hard to miss. Inside, there’s a supermarket, a butcher’s counter, and good, cheap eats for only a few bucks. There’s all the usual supermarket fare—canned foods, light bulbs, mango nectar. And then, there’s the stuff that makes El Rancho worth many return trips—Mexican sweet rolls, chile verde, a whole list of different kinds of tortas, brown-skinned yuccas, plantains and other exotic produce selections, piñatas, and butchers serving up fresh cuts of meat and fish. This is one of those few markets where it’s okay to shop on an empty stomach—just don’t expect it to stay empty for long inside El Rancho. [JL]

Best Yoga Teacher

Kim Fujii, Yoga Center of Carmel

Sunset Center Cottage #18, 10th and San Carlos, Carmel 624-4949.

A statue of the Chinese goddess Quan Yin and a vase of flowers greet visitors to the Yoga Center of Carmel. After kicking off their shoes and grabbing a sticky mat, yogis find a place under stained glass windows in the sunny practice room and start stretching. Photographs and sacred objects from around the world line the room; messages for spiritual growth are framed on the walls. But on Saturday mornings, instructor Kim Fujii focuses on her students “just having fun.” With an Iyengar background and a focus on alignment and safety, Fujii says she wants people to “find the joy in the poses and not take themselves too seriously.” Fujii, also a psychotherapist, teaches other yoga classes at Monterey Peninsula College, MyOmPlace in Carmel, and Energia at Del Monte Center. She describes her intention to “create a safe space for exploration of body, mind and breath.” And after an hour of practice, it all comes together. Her class ends with shavasana, or “corpse pose,” where blissed-out participants tune out the world, lie down, close their eyes and just breathe. [BW]

Best Bookstore (New)

Borders

2080 California Ave, Sand City 899-6643

Borders may be the kind of corporate monolith that is squeezing out cute bookstore owners that look like Meg Ryan, but you have to admit it’s really nice to find what you’re looking for and not have to back-order it. Plus, there are all those comfortable places to sit and read for as long as you like. I am acquainted with many people who spend much of their free time reading in Borders. The fact is, Borders may be huge, but somehow it still manages to retain a small bookstore feel. They host readings and concerts by both national and local authors and musicians, they sponsor book clubs, and they will even stocks books by small, independently published local authors. They also carry a whole lot of poetry despite the fact that no one buys poetry. Not bad for a corporate Megalodon. [RM]

Best Bookstore (Used)

All Along Lighthouse Avenue

New Monterey

Used bookstores are some of my favorite places in the world and Lighthouse Avenue in New Monterey has a whole bunch of good ones—Basset Books, Book Worm, Books&Things, Lighthouse Books, and Old Capitol books. But what makes a used bookstore good? Unique character. No good used bookstore is anything like the next. For instance, the Book Worm has lots of out-of-print and rare books. They’ve got sort of a Buddhist incense trance theme going on and serve free tea and coffee to their customers. Good used bookstores are also defined by the people running them. Each of the used bookstores listed above has an owner and a staff that truly cares about books. But the best thing about used bookstores is finding something old and weird and random to read. Books are disappearing from existence at a rapid clip everyday. At its best, browsing a used bookstore can feel like searching the Amazon rainforest for rare flowers and insects. [RM]

Best Pharmacy

Longs Drug Store

8 county locations

With eight locations throughout Monterey County, Longs Drug Store is definitely the most convenient place to pick up your prescription drug orders. Yes, you guys (the people of Monterey County) have voted Longs as the best pharmacy in these parts, but the counter where you pick up your pain relievers and decongestants is only a small section of the store. If you are headed out on a road trip, stop by the sample products area where you can find miniature soaps, shampoos, toothpastes and foot spa scrub packets. If you are racing to a birthday party, browse Longs’ massive collection of cards. If you just want to make life better, go to the toys and games aisle where you can find invaluable items like Fun Sticks, a package of 96 popsicle sticks with a retail price of $1.99, or incredible deals like a $1.99 set of Double Six Dominoes. [ST]

Editors’Picks

Best Retail Therapy

Oldtown Salinas

Therapists are expensive. And after blowing a couple hundred bucks on an hour session, what do you have to show for it? Peace of mind? Forget it. Go for the Betsey Johnson skirt, or Miss Sixty jeans any day. Get ye to Oldtown Salinas. Check out fashionable boutiques Like This Or Die and Lush. Splurge a little on a cute tank, or a whimsical handbag or check out the sophisto collection of trinkets and tzotchkes at Rooms in Blooms. Feeling better yet? Even the most devoted shoppers know that sometimes it takes more than a new pair of shoes to ease the troubled soul. Lucky for us, Hullaballoo—and their martinis—as well as Aquablue spa, set up shop in Oldtown, too. [JL]

Best Massage A Trois

Post Ranch Inn Spa

Highway 1, Big Sur 667-2200

What do you get when you put one very naked, very oily, very knotty client up on a cliff at the tip of the world at sunset with two amazingly talented and highly professional massage therapists? The best threesome this county’s got to offer, that’s what. It just doesn’t get any better than two pair of skilled hands rubbing, kneading and manipulating up and down every last curve of a worked and tired silhouette. It may well be one of the few times in life, in zero attire and a sweet oceanic locale, that reciprocity would be discouraged. The plus is, if you fall asleep during or immediately after, it’s virtually a compliment. It’s more than just double the pleasure of an everyday massage. The additional therapist, deep-sea aroma and distant waves combine to make it mystical nirvana. [MC]

Best Place to Play Dirty

Glazes Ceramics Workshop

235 Crossroads Blvd., Carmel 624-0204

Remember the erotic scene from Ghost when Patrick Swayze virtually brings Demi Moore to her knees over a pottery wheel and wet clay? Well, we can’t promise that kind of experience, but we can tell you that you’re bound to have a whole lot of fun tapping into your creativity and being a little silly making your own mark in the art world. From coffee cups to piggy banks, you pick the colors and the style, play with the motif, and leave it behind to be glazed and fired. Forget experience; you don’t need any. Still, you’re likely to walk away with gifts or decorations to last a lifetime. Aggressive types will dig the mosaic workshops. And if you’re all burned out on party ideas, drag along a few friends and make it a group shindig. Whatever your pleasure, it’s a most unique, gratifying way to spin a lazy day. [MC]

Best Way to Primp Your Peds

The Body Suite

99 Pacific St, Monterey 375-4375

It’s not just any pedicure; it’s a Suite Pedicure. Sure, it’s easy and even a tad fun to whip out your own file and polish now and then. But why do that when The Body Suite has nothing but pure luxe in mind for those winter-beaten feet? For an hour and a half, throw yourself into their skilled hands for a session of pure pleasure: gentle soaking, wicked scrubbing and peeling, then blissful massaging and reflexology. A warm paraffin wax dip and polishing complete the package. It’s virtually a rite of passage into spring. So go ahead and don those tall, enclosed, knee-high boots to the Suite. But don’t forget to toss (gently) an extra pair of open-toed Choos into your to-go bag. There are ten little toelios that are going to be dying to show off their flirty new pedi-couture when you’re done. [MC]

Best Fantasy Trip to Bora Bora

Sahara Sun

585 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey 375-9584.

Imagine this: Walk into Sahara Sun a wicked winter white. Get nekked in your private room. Lather yourself in lotion and a bit of barrier cream. Step into the futuristic-type booth and stand spread-eagle on a big round magnet. Hit a button, squeeze your eyes tight, and take a deep breath. Try not to faint when the cold, wet spray travels up and down your bod, dousing you in bronzing solution. When it stops, turn around, exposing your bum to the nozzle—kinda like you would if you were a turkey in a roaster. Stand still while the spray works the backside. Forty-five seconds after you first stepped in, voila, you’re done. Within a few hours, you’ll look as if you’ve just been to an exotic atoll soaking up some non-orange sun. A once-a-week visit will keep your French Polynesian tan all summer long. Learning the language is optional. [MC]

Best Reason to Get Lasik Eye Surgery

To Get Attention

Oh sure, there’s the little matter of being able to see perfectly without glasses or contacts, but the truth is, Lasik is just cool. There’s something impressive about having your eyeballs sliced open with lasers then being back at work the next day that makes coworkers a little jealous. Plus, the post-op wraparound sunglasses give you a mysterious Matrix-like look. Surgeon’s advice is reportedly not to go back to work for a day or two, but we hear that after Squid had Squid’s eyes Lasiked, Squid was well enough to go crabbing the same afternoon. [BW]

Best Place to Have an Online Affair

Rollick’s Coffee&Internet

210 Main St, Salinas 422-1760

The perfect little Bill or Bella is waiting for you to stop by, cyberly speaking of course. Sure, you have no idea what he or she looks like. Not that it matters. We’re all tall blondes with righteous bods online anyway. And we never lie about our gender there, either. Nevertheless, when you’re playing make-believe with a make-believer, and you don’t want to do it in the reality of your own home, this is the place to be. Forget for a moment that the espresso is as sharp and divine as it is, or that the lighting is genius enough to make the place spectacularly swank. On top of all that, there’s live music on weekends to keep you hanging around the super trendy spread. And they’ll never tell a soul that you were there. [MC]

Readers Poll Winners

Best Shopping District/Center

Del Monte Shopping Center

Munras Avenue, Monterey 373-2705

Best Place To Buy Art Supplies

Searle Art Supplies

639 Lighthouse Ave, Monterey 373-0126

Best Place To Buy Craft Supplies

Beverly Fabrics

2090 N. Fremont St, Monterey 646-5141 and 344 Main St, Salinas 422-1508

Best Antique Shop

Cannery Row Antique Mall

471 Wave St, Monterey 655-0264

Best Bank

Washington Mutual Bank

13 county locations

Best Bike Store

Aquarian Bicycles

486 Washington Ave, Monterey 375-2144

Best Bookstore-Used

All Along Lighthouse Avenue

New Monterey

Best Bookstore-New

Borders Books Music&Café

2080 California Ave, Sand City 899-6643

Best Car Dealership

Monterey Mercedes Benz Stahl Motor Co

498 Fremont St, Monterey 375-2456

Best Car Repair

Robert’s Auto Repair

234 Ramona Ave, Monterey 373-1534

Best Carwash

El Estero Hand Car Wash

590 Fremont St, Monterey 373-1801

Best Computer Store

PC People

534 Abrego St, Monterey 649-5900

Best Dive Shop

Aquarius Dive Shop

2040 Del Monte Ave, Monterey 375-1933

Best Dry Cleaners

Pacific Grove Cleaners

222 Grand Ave, Pacific Grove 375-2494

Best Ethnic Market

El Rancho Market

346 Reservation Rd, Marina 384-3557

Best Florist

Swenson&Silacci Flowers

Three county locations 1-800-SWENSON

Best Golf Shop

The Golf Mart

2040 Fremont Blvd, Seaside 583-1000

Best Health Club

Monterey Sports Center

301 E. Franklin St, Monterey 646-3700

Best Yoga Teacher

Kim Fujii at Yoga Center of Carmel

10th&San Carlos, Carmel 624-4949

Best Massage Therapist

Mirek Kozicki at Mind Body Therapy Center

41 Soledad Dr, Monterey 655-2550

Best Furniture Store

Homescapes, Carmel

SE Corner 7th&Dolores, Carmel 624-6499

Best Jewelry Store

Gasper’s Jewelers

447 Alvarado St, Monterey 375-5332&510 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove 648-1550

Best Internet Provider

RedShift Internet Services

712 Hawthorne Ave, Monterey 655-8710 www.redshift.com

Best Men’s Clothing Store

J Lawrence Khaki’s Men’s Clothier of Carmel

3744 The Barnyard, Carmel 625-8106

Best Women’s Clothing Boutique

The Clothing Store

510 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove 649-8866

Best Secondhand Clothing Store

Blue Moon Trading Company

176 Bonifacio Pl, Monterey 641-0616

Best Shoe Store

Lloyd’s Shoes

Ocean&Dolores, Carmel 625-1382

Best Store For Musical Instruments

Gadsby’s Music Company

219 Monterey St, Salinas 424-6421

Best Neighborhood Market

Grove Market

242 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove 375-9581

Best Outdoor Gear Store

Outdoor World

2222 N. Fremont St, Monterey 373-3615

Best Nursery

Griggs Nursery

9220 Carmel Valley Rd, Carmel Valley 626-0680 and 1021 David Ave, Pacific Grove 373-4495

Best Pet Store

Pets&Ponds

1712 Fremont Blvd, Seaside 899-2782

Best Pharmacy

Longs Drugs

8 county locations

Best Photo Store

Green’s Camera World

4 county locations

Best Grocery Store

Star Market

1275 S. Main St, Salinas 427-7763

Best Selection Of Liquor

Bottles N Bins Liquors&Deli

898 Lighthouse Ave, Monterey 375-5488

Best Wine Market

Trader Joe’s

1170 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove 656-0180

Best Seafood Market

Sea Harvest Fish Market

598 Foam St, Monterey 646-0547 and 2420 Highway 1,

Moss Landing 633-8300

Best Organic Produce Market

Whole Foods Market

800 Del Monte Shopping Center, Monterey 333-1600

Best Gourmet Shop

Whole Foods Market

800 Del Monte Shopping Center, Monterey 333-1600

Best Plumber (Tie)

Wilson’s Plumbing&Heating

Pacific Grove 375-4591

Chris Wilson Plumbing&Heating Repairs

Seaside 393-9321

Best Hardware Store

Orchard Supply Hardware

1067 N Davis Rd, Salinas 422-9655 and 800 Playa Ave, Sand City 899-5144

Best Retirement Facility

Canterbury Woods

651 Sinex Ave, Pacific Grove 657-4193

Best Place To Buy CDs/Tapes

Wherehouse Music

1680 Del Monte Shopping Center, Monterey 372-1236 and 1712 N. Main St, Salinas 449-4320

Best Place To Buy A Cell Phone

Station Wireless

165 W. Franklin St, Monterey 646-3380

Best Surf Shop

On The Beach Surf Shop

693 Lighthouse Ave, Monterey 646-9283

Best Spa

Spa on the Plaza

201 Alvarado St, Monterey 647-9000

Best Salon

Mantra: An Aveda Concept Spa Salon

Mission between Ocean and 7th, Carmel 626-1223

Best Thrift Store

Goodwill Industries

4 county locations

Best Place To Rent Videos/DVDs

Hollywood Video

4 county locations

Best Shoe Repair Shop

Federico’s Drive In Shoe Service

542 Abrego St, Monterey 649-3322

Best Toy Store

Toys R Us

370 Northridge Shopping Center, Salinas 443-4455