Seeing as how it's now officially 2008 — which, by the way, is both the International Year of the Potato and the International Year of Sanitation (thanks, U.N.!) — we figured it was a good time to pay a visit to the Houstonist Favorites page and see what your favorite Houstonist posts of 2007 were.
>> Most commented: "R.I.P.: Houston-born Anna Nicole Smith"
February was sort of a high-water mark when it came to, um, unique local celebrities: Not only did lovelorn ex-astronaut Lisa Nowak hit the headlines that month, but so did stripper/model/actress/devoted wife Anna Nicole Smith, who kicked the bucket at a Florida hotel on Feb 8. Mary Jane Poorman's innocuous obituary ended up being a sort of cyber-rallying point for Anna Nicole fans, who left a whopping 445 comments that ranged from the oddly sweet ("I don't know what she died of yet, but I believe it was from a broken heart") to the cautionary ("Seek help ... before you end up like Anna") to the downright blunt ("One slut down, and over a million more to go"). Even Aiken's army couldn't match that.
>> Most recommended: "A Conversation with the Fearless Critic"
The Fearless Critic Houston Restaurant Guide was near the top of our Christmas list, and apparently our 11 readers were into it, too: Judy Le's mid-December chat with Robin Goldstein and Alexis Herschkowitsch logged a bunch of reader recommendations. If your idea of haute cuisine is a Monte Cristo at Bennigan's, the guide might not be your cup of tea, but if you're hardcore foodies like we at Houstonist, pick up a copy immediately. And take us to dinner at Da Marco, wouldya?
More after the jump ...
Though nothing drew as many comments as Anna Nicole's death, a couple of political events did get some readers talking. 
In March, we took a look at state Sen. Dan Patrick's proposal to pay women who gave their kids up for adoption, and the following month we checked in on Patrick again after he walked out of the Senate chamber so he wouldn't have to hear an Islamic leader's prayer — and both times we were reminded that people either love Patrick or, well, don't. Other things you guys commented on: the city's smoking ban, the aforementioned Mrs. Nowak, the delights of Lower Westheimer, The Great Houstonist Donut Quest and a fictional interview with a certain fictional hotelier.
So what else did you recommend to your fellow readers? Drinking. And drinking. And drinking. Seriously, we're right there with you. 
The demolition of historic buildings also touched a chord as we discussed the totally symbolic action of declaring the River Oaks Shopping Center, River Oaks Theater and Alabama Theater city landmarks (the jackasses Philistines at Weingarten Realty Investors went on to flatten a section of the River Oaks center, as you'll remember) and the last days of the Harvey Houck house in Braes Heights (which was demolished in the spring). You liked our interview with funny man Judah Friedlander, the vagaries of love in the big city and the classic Psalm for Allen Parkway.
Thanks for all the comments and recommendations in '07, and we hope you'll keep giving us feedback in 2008. Remember, you can always check up on the current most recommended and commented posts at the Favorites page, and you can also subscribe to our weekly or monthly Favorites RSS feeds. Happy new year!
add to digg
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
Post a comment (Comment Policy)