Best of Rochester

Most live music fans in Rochester have a fond memory of the Bug Jar. Part live-music venue, part quasi-punk bar, the Bug Jar is a local gem.

Finding a place to see solid standup in Rochester is no joke. Comedy @ The Carlson is an exception.

Plum House has been a Monroe Avenue institution for nearly 20 years, and it has rightfully earned its place as Rochester’s premier sushi stop.

When readers selected Highland Park to win this category, they handed the victory to Rochester’s first public park.

Consistently voted one of the best public markets in the country, the Rochester Public Market draws people from all walks of life.

No nursery in the Rochester area comes even close to rivaling The Garden Factory in terms of size and scope.

A highlight of the fare at Original Steve’s is the variety of the diner’s famous hubcap-sized pancakes.

When the sun sets and the lights of the city are twinkling far below, there is nothing but darkness between the water and the heavens, making the elevated hilltop at Cobbs Hill Park the perfect spot to take in the night sky.

You’d be hard-pressed to not find exactly what you’re looking for, no matter how esoteric, in the Public Market’s wide array of fresh local produce, meats, dairy, eggs, and high-quality fresh seafood and imported goods.

Lift Bridge Bookshop in Brockport has two floors of current bestsellers, novels, books by local authors, magazines, and reference books to keep curious browsers busy for a while.

Penny Sterling burst onto the local performing arts scene in 2016 with “A Spy in the House of Men: A One-Woman Show With Balls,” recounting her decades-long journey of transitioning from a man to a woman.

These homegrown rockers won this category by a ridiculously large margin and deservedly-so — even in a city blessed with many great bands.