And the Top of the Town award goes to...

It's a still night on Michigan Avenue. A crowd gathers in anticipation. They heard this could be the night. Wait a minute — is it? Could it be? Yes! A plume of white smoke emerges from the chimney of City Pulse headquarters. The people of Lansing have selected the 2015 Top of the Town winners.

(OK, the process actually involves a lot of spreadsheets, vote counts and long hours by our intrepid office staff. But the plume of smoke thing would be so cool, right?) Top of the Town juggernaut Horrocks Farm Market garnered the most overall votes for a second year in a row, collecting a grand total of 9,124 votes spread across 10 categories and taking first place in Beer Shop, Florist, Gardening Center, Local Grocery Store, Michigan Made Products, Organic/Natural Shopping, Produce/Farmers Market and Wine Store.

The second place spot belongs to Top of the Town upstart Zoobie’s Old Town Tavern. The bar, which reopened in 2013, has emerged as one of Lansing’s hottest watering holes. Zoobie’s received 4,676 votes in eight categories, and took first place in Happy Hour, Pub/Tavern, Cocktails and Bartender (Caitlan McSweeney).

(Its sister restaurant, the Cosmos, had a strong showing as well, despite opening just four months ago. The pizza joint racked up 2,414 votes, won the New Restaurant category and placed second in the Pizza category behind Lansing Italian stalwart Deluca’s.)

Rounding out the top five vote-getters are punk-rock breakfast mecca Golden Harvest (3,973 votes, first place in Restaurant Wait Staff, Breakfast and Diner), burger and brew hangout Crunchy’s (3,273 votes, first place in Burger and Karaoke), and Soup Spoon Caf (2,868 votes), who wrested the Gourmet title away from last year’s winner, Dusty’s Cellar.

In music, Starfarm and Root Doctor continued their reigns of Top of the Town domination. Starfarm has placed first in Cover Band every year since 2010, and Root Doctor has won Original Band (2013-2015) or Blues Band (2009-2012) since the contests inception.

Weeklong music festival Common Ground has also won every year, but it may want to watch its back: the festival barely edged out the popular East Lansing Art Festival by a margin of just five votes.

In TV News Personality, the departures of perennial favorites of Evan Pinsonnault and Jason Colthorp left the door open for WLNS’ Jane Aldrich to swoop in and claim the top spot.

Speaking of perennial favorites, Kwik Car Wash took first place in Carwash/Detailing for the third year in a row. While “Kwik” may not be the best adjective for the business — it’s common to see a line of cars 10 to 15 deep on a nice afternoon — its attention to service and detail has earned it the top spot in the hearts of Lansing car owners.

Gov. Rick Snyder takes home his second Worst Politician title, while Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero — who regularly places high in both Best Politician and Worst Politician categories — took third place in the category.

Bernero can console himself, however, with his first-place finish in the Comedian category, a title he wins much to the chagrin of Lansing’s working comedians.