Our annual compendium of all that’s bright and beautiful in Tampa Bay (plus all that’s bad and tacky) has everything you need to know and more.

Best new restaurant? Check.

Best place to buy sneakers? Check.

Best way to go completely batshit crazy? Check again.

Plus this year, in the spirit of our favorite supermarket tabloids, we give you:

Alien invasions!

Cyborg politicians!

A ghostly apparition on a Cuban sandwich!

And plenty of other sensational headlines that are without exception totally and gloriously FAKE!

But everything else in Best of the Bay is absolutely reliable: picks from our critics, results from our Readers’ Poll, and Best-of choices from the Planet’s tireless staff, who tasted those martinis, rated those politicians and scoured the Bay – just for you.