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TOP THREE SPOTS TO GET OUTDOORS

1)Bur-Mil Park
5834 Bur-Mil Club Rd., Greensboro
(336) 373-3800 General Park Information
www.greensboro-nc.gov/departments/Parks/facilities/regionalparks/burmil/
Bur-Mil Park offers wildlife education and family aquatic centers, picnic shelters, outdoor tennis courts and more than four miles of hiking and biking trails. Don't have a bike? No problem. You can borrow one of the 20 Trek Classic cruisers Dasani Water Company recently donated. The deposit is $10, which you'll get back when you return the bike. Borrowers must be 18 - kids at least 13 to ride.

2) The Dan and Mayo Rivers
Dan River Adventures
724 Webster Rd. Stoneville
(336) 427-8530
www.eagle-falls-outfitters.com/
Rockingham County boasts the best river fun in the area. Dan River Adventures is one of a number of outfits that will rent you tubes, canoes and kayaks and introduce you to leisure, history and wildlife on the river.

3) The Arboretum at Lindley Park
Within Lindley Park at Market Street and Starmount Drive, Greensboro
(336) 373-2199
www.greensborobeautiful.org/Arboretum.htm
The Arboretum is a crown jewel of Greensboro's park system. With 17 acres including woodland, wildflower trails and the rose garden, you'll probably want to plan more than one day trip to take it all in. Check the park's Web site for the dates of its gardening education series.

TOP THREE BURGER JOINTS IN GREENSBORO

1) Beef Burger
1040 W. Lee St., Greensboro
(336) 272-7505
The last surviving remnant of what was once a mighty 1950s burger empire, Beef Burger on West Lee Street is a Greensboro institution beloved of everyone from grease monkeys and day laborers to slumming hipster kids from UNCG. Its vintage sign and exterior aren't kitsch - they're as real the smell of the old-school burgers and fries and decades-old grease stains. A stomach-busting super burger, fries and a drink will run you less than $5 - if you don't count the damage to your arteries.

2) Fincastles Diner
215 S. Elm Street, Greensboro
(336) 272-8968
www.fincastles.com
There's no lack of great places to eat downtown these days - but nothing hits the spot after a night of bar hopping on Elm like a burger at Fincastles, a throwback diner that offers up steak burgers, fries and shakes. Want some distinctively southern fare? Order the Sweet Carolina burger and fried pickle chips. If you're feeling adventurous, try the Joel Burger - a double burger with lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and pimento cheese.

3) Church Street Drive-Inn
3434 N. Church Street, Greensboro
(336) 621-2682
Also known as "What-a-Burger" (not part of the chain), this joint earns its name. As a work of breathtaking architecture it makes the dingy Beef Burger look like the Sistine Chapel, but wrap your mouth around one of their thick, greasy burgers and you'll forget all about the decor.

TOP THREE PLACES TO EAT BREAKFAST (ALL DAY)

1) Tex & Shirley's
708 Pembroke Road, Greensboro (336) 299-9315
4005 Precision Way, High Point (336) 882-4005
www.texandshirleys.com
Tex and Shirley's is beloved of Triad college students because of its Wednesday pancake nights. All you can eat buttermilk pancakes for $2.29? Yes, please. When not refueling students in mid-week term paper panic, the restaurant with locations in Greensboro and High Point serves breakfast - including a staggering array of pancakes and waffles - all day long. Try one of their huge omelets - but don't bet on finishing it.

2) Smith Street Diner
438 Battleground Ave., Greensboro, NC
(336) 379-8666
Just a few hours after the bars all close in downtown Greensboro, the Smith Street Diner opens. On weekends you can get breakfast until 3 p.m. And let's face it: any day you wake up after noon is a good day for biscuits and gravy or a country ham biscuit.

3) Jake's Diner
4220 W. Wendover Ave., Greensboro
(336) 297-4141
Jake's Diner on West Wendover sits next to a Waffle House. They're both open 24 hours, but that's more or less where the similarities end. Cleaner, friendlier and tastier, Jake's is everything a diner should be and even has a drive-through. As long as you're eating breakfast in the mid-afternoon go ahead and try the pie with a scoop of Hershey's ice cream.

TOP THREE PLACES TO HAVE A MARTINI

1) Much Restaurant & Martini Bar
113 South Elm St., Greensboro
(336)370-1311
www.muchrestaurant.com
If you're looking to dance, go to its upper level disco Heaven or next door to the N Club and Red Room. If you're just looking for a good martini, go straight to the bar at Much. It's a little strenuously hip - torches provide the principle light at the bar, there are fire shows and belly dancing on the weekends - but the bartenders know what they're doing with a drink. They can make any of the legions of sugary, fruit-flavored martinis you'd like, but this is one place where you can also get a simple, solid gin or vodka martini. The crowd is diverse - grad students, real-estate types, even city politicians. A good drink brings everyone together.

2) Speakeasy Tavern
1706 Battleground Ave., Greensboro
(336) 378-0006
Not a big martini fan? With more than a dozen specialty martinis on the menu, you're going to find something here to love. They're all half-price on Thursdays. Try the La Dolce Vita Martini, made with Godiva, Stoli Vanilla and cream, a little Kahlua and a cherry. If you don't like that there's no hope for you.

3) Speakeasy Jazz
410 W. 4th Street, Winston-Salem
(336) 722-6555
www.speakeasyjazz.net
Come for the jazz, stay for the more than 50 martinis on the menu. Seriously. A Caramel Apple Martini and a little Thelonious Monk will cure just about anything.

TOP THREE DATE SPOTS

1) Undercurrent Restaurant
327 Battleground Ave., Greensboro
(336) 370-1266
http://undercurrentrestaurant.com
It's hard to miss with this place, a Greensboro favorite for many years. Small enough to still feel intimate, large enough that you won't be waiting weeks to get in and the food and wine are phenomenal. Have drinks at the excellent bar, start with the shrimp and lobster spring rolls and let them recommend a wine with the dill seasoned sea scallops or the lamb. Oh, and save room for the roasted peach stuffed dumplings.

2) Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
3342 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro
(336) 294-7790
www.flemingssteakhouse.com/
New to Greensboro, but making a run at being the city's best steakhouse. Pricey, but well worth it. The place has a luxe and intimate vibe that is all out of sync with its placement in a huge shopping center. That's a good thing.

3) 223 South Elm
223 South Elm St., Greensboro
(336) 272-3331
www.223southelm.com
Small, romantic, distinctly Southern. There's nothing that isn't terrific here, but three small words must be said: fried green tomatoes.

TOP THREE USED BOOK STORES

1) Edward McKay Used Books & More
1607 Battleground Ave., Greensboro (336) 274-4448
115 Oakwood Drive, Winston-Salem (336) 724-6133
www.wefeedyourhead.com
When you're talking used books in the Triad, you have to talk Ed McKay's. The Greensboro location is more than 10,000 square feet of used books, VHS, DVD, video games, CDs, vinyl and more. Have books you'd like to get rid of? Bring them in for cash or credit (to replace the books you just purged). You can find everything from mass market paperbacks to the rare and out of print and they even have a large children's and young adult section. Parking is a little rough, so get there early if you're going on the weekend.

2) Pages Past Used & Rare Books
1837 Spring Garden St., Greensboro
(336) 574-1877
If you're looking for something a little rarer than a tattered James Patterson paperback, this is your place. Rare, out of print and beautiful books are a specialty. Ten to 15,000 volumes worth.

3) The Book Rack
2668 Lewisville-Clemmons Road, Clemmons
(336) 766-9493
A smaller version of Ed McKay's, The Book Rack has a great selection of used paperbacks, children's books and series novels.