Best of Palo Alto 2017
Weekly readers find the hippest, grooviest businesses in town

This year's Best of Palo Alto 2017 takes a trip back to the Summer of Love on its 50th anniversary as we celebrate local businesses that embody the free-thinking, creative spirit that defined much of Palo Alto during the rise of the counterculture in the 1960s. These are retailers, service providers and restaurants that have pushed the boundaries to go above and beyond the status quo and shatter the notion of "business as usual." Some were here before the community experienced its first Palo Alto Be-In at El Camino Park. Others opened during the height of the counterculture movement and became hangouts for local notables, including Joan Baez, Ken Kesey and the Grateful Dead. Others opened as recently as last year. But all stand out above the rest, according to the 23,409 votes cast by Weekly readers who selected this year's winners. In this issue, find out which restaurant is the primo place to spend your bread on Sunday brunch, where you're apt to find today's "Counter culture," and where to go to have your vintage Birkenstocks repaired (if you still own a pair). From dining to dentists, read on to find out who readers picked as their favorites in 83 categories. Also, discover which stand-out businesses have won their categories five in years in row and have been inducted into our Hall of Fame.

Editor: Linda Taaffe
Writers: Elinor Aspegren, Shawna Chen, Jocelyn Dong, Sue Dremann, Elena Kadvany, Karla Kane, Elizabeth Lorenz, Anna Medina, Jamey Padojino, Gennady Sheyner
Publicity and Logistics: Virida Chiem, Jonathan Bravo