He’s there when people frolic in the waves on Fort Lauderdale Beach. He’s partying in the clubs on Hollywood Boulevard. He’s watching when shoppers buy clothes or shoes or furniture in out-of-the-way stores. He’s checking out CityPlace and Sawgrass Mills and the Galleria. He keeps a sharp eye on all the Broward-Palm Beach politicians and journalists and city officials. He’s tasting the food and sampling the drinks. He’s the Gnome — your all-seeing guide for the eighth-annual Best of Broward-Palm Beach. The Gnome knows. He knows a little taco joint in Lake Worth where you can get the best cheap lunch. He can direct you to the perfect cup of tea — whether you’re in Broward or Palm Beach. You said pho? He’s got the best pho restaurant in South Florida. He knows all the haunts, the bars, and the restaurants. He can tell you where to go for that perfectly poured Guinness. Ladies, he’ll clue you in on where to meet single men who own yachts. He can introduce you to some of Broward and Palm Beach’s most fascinating characters — smart, worldly people with some thoughts of their own about the cream of the crop: a popular blues singer with a yen for health food, a hulking competitive eater who knows about reptiles, a club owner with a passion for amateur soccer. So follow the Gnome. He’s got hundreds of selections, some of them predictable, some of them surprising, all of them fascinating. Get the “best of” while they’re hot.