Okeanos Spa   (Photo: David Allee for New York Magazine.)

• We love to argue. Not just here, but citywide, where heated discussions of the finer points of hamburgers can occupy the better part of an evening. Who among us has not uttered the phrase, “I can’t believe you like that pizza/movie/wine bar/designer!,” usually accompanied with a dismissive, uncomprehending head shake.
  
  When it comes to putting together our annual Best of New York issue, heated discussion is the norm. We live in a city that sees everything it does as the ultimate (fill in the blank). Sussing out the best from the best isn’t easy. Nor should it be, which is why we send our food experts, style fanatics, bar hoppers, home-design mavens, and generally opinionated evaluators to sift, taste, try, investigate, discard, and select before picking the ultimates.
  
  In this year’s BoNY, we answer crucial questions, like where to find transcendent French fries, who should organize your closet, what massage will undo every knot in your neck, and exactly which bar, among the thousands that line our streets, is the best for dancing. You want to argue? You’re on.
  
  Contributors: Amos Barshad, Sarah Bernard, Chris Bonanos, Ira Boudway, Carole Braden, Ariel Brewster, Meredith Bryan, Sara Cardace, Lauren DeCarlo, Katie Charles, Arianne Cohen, Charlotte Druckman, Gillian Duffy, Katherine Dykstra, Alice Feiring, Rachel Felder, Lori Fradkin, Gael Greene, Tayt Harlin, Ruth J. Katz, Amy Larocca, Johanna Lenander, Aja Mangum, Ned Martel, Daniel Maurer, Ben Mathis-Lilley, Marisa Meltzer, Stephen Milioti, Rebecca Milzoff, Randi Molofsky, Tim Murphy, Janelle Nanos, Josh Ozersky, Rob Patronite, Jonathan S. Paul, Emma Pearse, Adam Platt, Robin Raisfeld, S. Jhoanna Robledo, Emma Rosenblum, Doria Santlofer, Kristyn Schiavone, Deborah Schoeneman, Jill Singer, Adam Sternbergh, Nick Sywak, Jean Tang, Paul Underwood, Rachel Wolff, Andrew Womack, and Helen Zelon.

From the 2007 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine