The Best of Philly 2005

Try and make yourself useful, will you? No, this is not a message from your boss, your spouse or your mother. This was the charge we gave ourselves as we put together this year’s Best of Philly, our 32nd annual effort at finding greatness in our midst. Why the quest for utility? Because Best of Philly is best when it makes your life easiest. That’s why we’ve not only added new sections and more than 125 new categories, but also included more regional winners than ever, raising the odds that the help you need will be right around the corner. We have a few other surprises, too—including our first-ever Best Philadelphian award, and a nationwide cheesesteak hunt that had our writer chowing down everywhere from South Dakota to Southern California. So go ahead and make us feel used. We don’t mind a bit.

Best Work in Progress
The Cira Centre
We can’t take our eyes off the striking structure rising from the ground across from 30th Street Station. When it’s completed, the ­cesar Pelli-designed tower will give the city a s­ignature building that points exactly where we hope Philadelphia is headed: up.