The Best of Davis – 2012

Looking for the best pad Thai in town, or a dry cleaner that will pick up and deliver, or the best hotel to stash your visiting grandmother? Then you need to check out the annual “Best in Davis” lists.

The local grand-daddy of the local best of Davis lists is The Davis Enterprise‘s Best of Yolo County. Don’t let the name fool you. While a couple of businesses in Woodland and Winters sneak onto the list, the results are very Davis-centric because, surprise!, that’s where the readers live, eat, shop (hands-down perennial favorite is Nugget Market, to the left), etc. Based on feedback from the subscribers to Davis’s largest local newspaper, this is a pretty comprehensive list covering everything from physicians to hairdressers to dry cleaners to sushi. If it ain’t in here, you probably don’t need it.

The California Aggie also has an annual best of Davis list. It is admittedly student-oriented with categories like best place to dance and best meal on a budget, but it also features best place to plug-in (UCD’S Shield’s Library, also #3 on best place to sleep on campus after the quad and “in class”), which sets it apart.

Davis Wiki used to do a best of Davis list, but the last one was compiled in 2008. Some of the places are no longer around, but it is still a useful starting place, and the comments on Wiki are often illuminating.

If it’s best of Davis food reviews you’re after, Trip Advisor has a lot of local restaurant reviews, as do Urban Spoon and Yelp. Or you can check out our blog post on the topic.