An introduction to an annual contest that needs none. BY JANE PORTER

TRIANGLE BEST OF BEST OF BEST OF TRIANGLE 2022 the

We don’t need to tell you, dear INDY readers, what’s the best of the best in our beloved Triangle. Every year, for the past two decades, you’ve told us the best restaurants and bars, yoga studios and hair salons, museums and preschools, and so much more, and this year, 2022, is no exception. You’ve told us who’s the best of the best in 344 categories ranging from businesses and service providers to politicians and Twitter feeds, websites, and radio stations across Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties. Thank you for nominating and voting for all of your faves! Our many finalists and winners will display our signature “Best Of” star decal in their business’s windows with pride. Please take some time to read our staff’s write-ups on our favorites of your favorites.

We here at the INDY think the Triangle is the best place to live in the country and our Best Of winners and finalists are certainly a core part of what makes our communities great. Not only do we have the best culinary standouts and sports rivalries east of the Mississippi, but we also boast a cheese rolling competition, recent NC State graduate Abby Lampe, who took her homegrown talents, honed on the hills of Dix Park, to England to triumph. Read our Q and A with Lampe on page 14.

As much as we love the Triangle, there could be some trouble ahead for us. Our readers voted overwhelmingly for affordable housing in the category of “Best Use of Public Money.” With Meta coming to town, writer Hannah Kaufman takes us on a trip into the dystopian metaverse (page 16) where we can afford neither homes nor headsets with which to experience said metaverse. Scary!

And for our puzzle lovers, do we have a treat for you. Rachel Simon has created a Best of the Triangle crossword puzzle that covers all things local and loved. Try your hand on page 17.

Dig in and enjoy everything that the Triangle has to offer within these pages and out in our communities, which, thankfully, don’t have to compete with the metaverse just yet. And keep a copy of our Best Of paper on hand for some coffee table reading or to give to a visitor to help them explore—it’ll surely come in handy.

Until next year!

CONTRIBUTORS

Sarah Edwards, Jasmine Gallup, Lena Geller, Hannah Kaufman, Thomasi McDonald, Jane Porter, Geoff West