Within this Best of Memphis issue, you’ll see categories marked “BOM.” That means the winner received an overwhelming majority of votes. Around the Flyer offices, “BOM” is also shorthand for everything Best of Memphis-related. It’s pronounced “bomb,” and over the years, we’ve worked that angle. One year’s theme was a mad scientist building a bomb, and another year, we gave winners handmade, incredibly heavy trophies shaped like those round bombs with the fuse that you see in cartoons.
The bomb-centric Best of Memphis issue got nixed in the weeks following September 11, 2001. (Yes, you could say we dropped the bomb.) That year was additionally notable for the tumultuous arrival of the Grizzlies. In that year’s And the Rest section, we included the category Best New Name for the Grizzlies. Among the suggestions: Tax Burdens, Carpetbaggers, and Temporaries. For the Best Category We Left Out, someone voted for Best NBA Team That the City Doesn’t Want. This year, the Grizzlies — spoiler alert! — won Best Memphis Success, and they won big.
For the 2011 Best of Memphis, we retired some categories (goodbye, Best Cougar Bar, it’s been fun) and added new ones, such as Best Donut Shop and Best Frozen Yogurt. Among the winners, you’ll be seeing some old favorites and new faces that have made their way to the top through good service, good graces, and good social-media-ing.
The Best of Memphis issue was written by Greg Akers, Andrew Caldwell, Chris Davis, Susan Ellis, Michael Finger, Louis Goggans, Chris Herrington, Ashley Johnston, Lindsay Jones, Bianca Phillips, Hannah Sayle, and Bruce VanWyngarden.
