Best Of

BEST-CASE SCENARIO

For our annual celebration of the deep veins of greatness running beneath OC's way-too-easy-for-lazy-people-to-stereotype surface, we decided to make it what it really is: An instruction manual for wringing every last drop of flavor, excitement, laughs, sex, herbal remedies, rock & roll, and even more herbal remedies out of the Orange County experience. And we've included not only our readers' picks for the very best of everything, but we've also asked 12 of our most-fascinating neighbors for their top 10 survival tips.

So, no matter what your circumstances are—starving at 5 a.m. in Westminster, stuck on the 91 freeway, looking for a way to decorate your Day of the Dead altar, desperate for a pickup-soccer game in Anaheim—just stay calm. If you've got this issue in your hands (in print or online), then move quickly and quietly to the appropriate Best of OC item, where you'll discover that living here truly is your best-case scenario.