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For the third year in a row, we asked readers of The Botetourt View to pick The Best of Botetourt. The votes poured in; more than double the number in 2010 and more than 14 times the number of votes we got our first year. So there’s a lot more competition. In some cases, we had repeat winners, we’ve noted those with an asterisk (*) who won last year, as well. Those with a double asterisk (**) have won all three years. But we also had some new winners — and some new categories, too.
So without further ado, here’s who you picked as this year’s Best Of . . .

Best place for breakfast
1. Blue Collar Joe’s
2. Cracker Barrel
3. North Star

Best coffee
1. Blue Collar Joe’s*
2. Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea
3. McDonald’s

Best place for lunch
1. Blue Collar Joe’s
2. Bellacino’s
3. Three Li’l Pigs

Best value for the money
1. Blue Collar Joe’s
2. Read Mountain Mercantile
3. Camp Eagle

Best iced tea
1. McDonald’s
2. Bojangle’s
3. Hardee’s

Best pizza
1. Pizza Hut
2. Lil Cucci’s
3. Papa John’s

Best place for a fancy meal
1. The Rhein River Inn
2. Pomegranate
3. Three Li’l Pigs

Best restaurant to take the kids
1. Country Cookin**
2. Bellacino’s
3. Three Li’l Pigs

Best place for happy hour
1. Rancho Viejo**
2. Pomegranate
3. Three Li’l Pigs

Best place to buy wine — New Category
1. Kroger
2. Blue Ridge Vineyard
3. Pomegranate

Best place to go after a game
1. Pizza Hut
2. Bellacino’s
3. Wendy’s

Best place for a first date
1. Pomegranate*
2. Buchanan Theatre
3. Three Li’l Pigs

Best place for a family hike
1. Roaring Run**
2. Appalachian Trail
3. Peaks of Otter

Best place to take the kids for the day
1. Roaring Run
2. Troutville Park
3. Camp Eagle

Best place to go for a bike ride
1. Greenfield
2. Troutville Park
3. Carvins Cove

Best spot for a picnic
1. Troutville Park
2. Roaring Run
3. Blue Ridge Parkway

Best fishing spot
1. James River**
2. Middle Creek campground trout pond
3. Arcadia

Best sports event
1. Football
2. Basketball
3. Lord Botetourt football, James River football (tie)

Best coach (school sports)
1. Mike Goad, James River boys basketball
2. Tater Benson, Lord Botetourt football
3. Greg Emerson, Lord Botetourt football

Best coach (non-school sports)
1. Gary Crawford
2. Greg Emerson
3. Ron Bryant

Best place to keep fit
1. Botetourt Athletic Center**
2. Curves
3. Green Ridge Recreation Center

Best teacher
1. Jenny Griffin, Breckinridge Elementary School
2. Amanda Marshall, James River High School, Family and Consumer Sciences
3. Tracy Humbert, Cloverdale Elementary School, first grade

Best school staff member
1. Dave Moran, BTEC
2. Pam Thompson, BTEC
3. Judy Dudding, Lord Botetourt, and Martha Alphin, James River (tie)

Best bus driver
1. Elaine Kyle
2. Mr. Walker, Cloverdale bus 5
3. Diane Ferguson, Colonial Elementary

Best school event – high school
1. Lord Botetourt JV baseball
2. Football
3. James River After Prom

Best school event – elementary and middle school
1. Greenfield Haunted House
2. Cloverdale Elementary Spring Festival
3. Read Mountain Middle School softball

Best place for music lessons
1. Mike Lee
2. Cheryl Lunsford (The Guitar Dojo)
3. Blue Ridge Academy of Music

Best place to go trick-or-treating
1. Fincastle**
2. Buchanan
3. Weatherwood

Best place to take relatives from out of town
1. Downtown Buchanan
2. Blue Ridge Parkway/Peaks of Otter
3. Apple Barn

Best place to meet new people
1. Church**
2. Buchanan
3. Fincastle Baptist Church

Best park
1. Troutville Park**
2. Greenfield
3. Blue Ridge

Best place to access wi-fi
1. Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea**
2. Three Li’l Pigs
3. Cavalier Automotive

Best reason for living in Botetourt
1. The scenery**
2. People
3. Small town

Best church outreach program
1. Fincastle Baptist Church
2. Young Life
3. Bonsack Baptist Church

Best community event
1. Mountain Magic
2. Buchanan Carnival
3. Relay for Life

Best place to hear local music
1. Buchanan Theatre
2. Pomegranate
3. Three Lil Pigs

Best local politician
1. Larry Ceola, Fincastle District Supervisor
2. Terry Austin, Buchanan District Supervisor
3. Steve Clinton, Amsterdam District Supervisor

Best parks and rec activity
1. Fishing carnival
2. Troutville Park
3. Greenfield Easter Egg Hunt

Best new thing in Botetourt County in the past year
1. Tinker Mountain Music
2. CL Asia
3. Blonde & Co.

Best customer service
1. Read Mountain Mercantile
2. Blue Collar Joe’s
3. Cahoon’s Florist

Best hair salon
1. Pzaz**
2. New Reflections
3. Mane Perfection

Best nail salon
1. Pzaz**
2. Classic Nails
3. Elite Nails

Best place to get pampered
1. Pzaz*
2. New Reflections
3. Blonde & Co.

Best place to get your car fixed
1. Troutville Automotive*
2. Cavalier Automotive
3. Fleshman’s Service Center

Best preschool or day care
1. Mill Creek Child Care Center**
2. Fincastle Preschool
3. Bonsack Baptist Weekday

Best dentist
1. Dr. Fremont Vess*
2. Dr. Michael Adams
3. Dr. Misty Lenk

Best family physician
1. Dr. Elizabeth Polk*
2. Dr. Kenneth Luckay
3. Dr. Clarke Andrews

Best pharmacy
1. CVS
2. Kroger
3. Downhome Pharmacy

Best lawyer
1. Buck Heartwell
2. David Spigle
3. Ronnie Clay

Best plumber/electrician/home repair service
1. R&R Guttering
2. Austin Electrical
3. Appliance Medic

Best place to go for financial advice
1. Bank of Botetourt
2. Bank of Fincastle
3. Michael Wade of Edward Jones

Best lawn service or landscaping service
1. Botetourt Lawn Express**
2. Earl Eubank’s Lawn Service
3. AJS Landscaping

Best place to shop for antiques
1. Read Mountain Mercantile
2. Buchanan
3. Kelly’s Real Deals

Best bargains
1. Read Mountain Mercantile
2. Dollar General
3. Wal-Mart

Best place to buy unique gifts
1. Read Mountain Mercantile
2. Cracker Barrel
3. Apple Barn II

Best place to buy fresh food
1. Ikenberry’s**
2. Kroger
3. D&J Produce

Best dry cleaner
1. Valley Cleaners**
2. Air-Lee Cleaners
3. A Cleaner World

Best convenience store
1. Thriftway (Troutville)
2. Old Mill (Fincastle)
3. Stop-In (Daleville)

Best insurance agent
1. John Alderson Agency
2. Richard Pauley
3. Larry Wood (of Farm Bureau)

Best real estate agent
1. Pete Wood (RE/MAX)
2. Todd Wampler
3. Rodney Spickard (RE/MAX)

Best real estate firm
1. RE/MAX Allstars
2. Long & Foster North
3. Wampler Realty

Best pet grooming / pet sitting / pet boarding
1. Botetourt Veterinary Hospital*
2. The Pet Place
3. Country Pet Grooming

Best place to work — New category
1. Little Caesar’s
2. Read Mountain Mercantile
3. New Reflections

Best thing not on this list
1. Thriftway
2. Middle Creek Campground
3. Bella Pizza

Here’s who won in 2010 and 2009.

Got an idea for a category we should add in 2012? Let us know!