225BatonRouge.com

BEST MUSIC STORE

Best Buy 33.6%

5913 Bluebonnet Blvd. • 761-8032

Let’s face it, in a music market cleaving faster to the $0.99 per song iTunes, cost counts. And Best Buy has all the current chart toppers and indie phenoms alongside many classic rock, hip-hop and country CDs for less than $15. What the electronics and media superstore lacks in personality and depth, it makes up for in breadth and a softer punch to the wallet.

Monroe Brown has been repairing cars at Gordon and Sandifers for 29 years.

BEST MECHANIC

Gordon and Sandifer 15.9%

3825 Perkins Rd. • 343-3427

Family owned and operated in Baton Rouge since 1956, Gordon and Sandifer promises a five-star service pledge to provide quality products at an honest price. Generations of families have relied on the Perkins Road business to keep them rolling.

225 STAFF FAVORITE

BEST CUSTOMER PERK

Maxwell’s Market

7620 Corporate Blvd. • 216-0030

6241 Perkins Rd. • 766-9150

What would make grocery shopping a more enjoyable experience? More check out lanes? Longer store hours? How about free beer? At Maxwell’s you can pour yourself a wee glass of barley and hops and enjoy as you maneuver your cart through the store. Drink responsibly. You don’t want to be involved in a head-on cart collision.

BEST MASSAGE

Paris Parker/Aveda 29.7%

8349 Jefferson Hwy. • 16645 Highland Rd. • 888-990-2468

Stressed? Paris Parker knows how to work out the kinks. Traditional, hot stones, or water, it’s amazing how relaxed you feel after laying naked under a sheet and having a massage therapist give your body a complete massage. So, strip down, get comfortable and forget about everything else…kids, job, money. Well, at least for the next hour.

BEST MOVIE THEATER

Rave Motion Pictures 39.7%

16040 Hatters Ave. • 753-2744

Theater managers here make moviegoers feel like they are more than just some studio executive’s afterthought. Automated ticket machines supplant awkward queuing surrounded by gab-garbled ‘tweens with a quick swipe of a debit card, and the stadium seating offers the most comfortable headrest and most spacious legroom in town. Plus, the adjustable armrests are way cuddle-friendly.

225 STAFF FAVORITE

BEST PLACE TO GO SOLE SEARCHING

Imelda’s Fine Shoes

7865 Jefferson Hwy.

923-3737

There are three little words that every girl yearns to hear…discount designer shoes. Living up to its namesake’s reputation, Imelda’s offers rows and rows of designer shoes marked down to affordable prices. As if the day-to-day prices weren’t enough, Imelda’s holds a semi-annual tent sale that further slashes prices and fills the parking lot. Camping out for this twice-yearly event is a ritual for women across the Capital City, not to mention their husbands and boyfriends. What man can resist pulling up a lawn chair and watching as a horde of women fight over rich Italian leather sling backs marked down to $25?

BEST WINE SELECTION

Calandro’s Supermarket 41.2%

4142 Government St. • 383-7815

12732 Perkins Rd. • 767-6659

If you’re going to the store to pick up a magnum of cheap chardonnay or the ever-popular blush wine in a box, this is probably not your place. But, if you are in the market for hard-to-find California boutique wines or good imports, then you’ve found nirvana. The staff has tasted just about everything they sell. They even have a private wine vault for the true aficionados.

BEST GROCERY STORE

Calandro’s Supermarket 29.1%

4142 Government St. • 383-7815

12732 Perkins Rd. • 767-6659

Break free from your keychain discount cards and cash in your child’s college fund. You’ll want to spend your entire paycheck and then some to get the most amazing cheeses and imported Italian specialties, not to mention insane wines from across the globe. Calandro’s has been doing the gourmet thing since 1941, way before it was en vogue. And, while you’re picking up a $24 brick of Parmigiano-Reggiano, you can still pick up everything else on your grocery list without breaking the bank.