For the second year in a row, we asked readers of SWoCo to pick The Best of Southwest Roanoke County. The votes poured in; four times as many as last year. In some cases, we had repeat winners, and we’ve noted those with an asterisk (*). 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 reason for living in Southwest Roanoke County:
1. The schools*
2. The people
3. The scenery

Best place for breakfast:
1. Famous Anthony’s*
2. IHOP
3. Brambleton Blend

Best coffee:
1. Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea*
2. Starbucks
3. Mojo Café

Best iced tea:
1. McDonald’s
2. Hardee’s
3. Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea

Best pizza:
1. Frank’s Pizza*
2. Grace’s
3. Bellacino’s

Best place for lunch:
1. Brambleton Deli
2. Panera Bread
3. Elderberry’s

Best place for a fancy meal:
1. Carlos*
2. Luigi’s
3. 419 West

Best restaurant to take the kids:
1. Famous Anthony’s*
2. Chuck E.. Cheese’s
3. Country Cookin’

Best happy hour:
1. Annie Moore’s*
2. Brambleton Deli
3. 419 West

Best place to go after a game:
1. Buffalo Wild Wings
2. Brambleton Deli
3. Annie Moore’s

Best place for a first date:
1. Montano’s
2. Carlos
3. 419 West

Best place for a family hike:
1. Peaks of Otter*
2. Mill Mountain
3. McAffee’s Knob

Best place to go for a bike ride:
1. Blue Ridge Parkway*
2. Roanoke Greenway
3. Wasena Park

Best spot for a picnic:
1. Blue Ridge Parkway*
2. Mill Mountain
3. Garst Mill Park

Best place to keep fit:
1. Roanoke Athletic Club*
2. YMCA
3. Gold’s Gym

Best place to go trick-or-treating:
1. The Gardens and Groves
2. Penn Forest
3. Tanglewood Mall

Best place to take relatives from out of town:
1. Mill Mountain Star*
2. Downtown
3. The Homeplace Restaurant

Best place to meet new people:
1. Church*
2. Downtown
3. Annie Moore’s and Brambleton Deli (tie)

Best park:
1. Garst Mill Park*
2. Darrell Shell (Penn Forest Elementary)
3. Longwood and Green Hill Park (tie)

Best place to access wi-fi:
1. Panera Bread*
2. Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea
3. Starbucks and at home (tie)

Best place to take the kids for the day:
1. Mill Mountain Zoo
2. Mill Mountain
3. Chuck E. Cheese’s

Best place to hear local music:
1. Annie Moore’s
2. Brambleton Deli
3. Blue 5

Best church outreach program:
1. Church of the Holy Spirit
2. North Roanoke Baptist Church
3. Penn Forest Christian Church

Best community event:
1. Kevin Jones’ Broadway on Thin Ice*
2. Festival in the Park
3. Local Colors

Best local politician:
1. Bob Goodlatte, 6th District congressman*
2. Fuzzy Minnix, Cave Spring school board member; Butch Church, Catawba District supervisor; John Edwards, state senator
3. Bob McDonnell, governor

Best parks and rec. activity:
1. Soccer and youth sports (tie)
2. Little League baseball
3. Basketball and football (tie)

Best Coach (non-school sports):
1. Mark Meyer , Roanoke Star U16 Boys Elite soccer
2. Ricky Gregg, baseball
3. Roy Lax, Valley AFC U16 girls soccer

Best Coach (School sports):
1. Billy Hicks, Cave Spring boys basketball
2. Roy Lax, Faith Christian School girls soccer
3. James Brown, North Cross boys and girls soccer

Best Teacher:
1. Dustin McCollum, Hidden Valley high school
2. Debbie Hill, Roanoke Valley Christian School
3. Heather Lawrence, North Cross

Best School Staff Member:

1. Rhonda Stegall, principal at Hidden Valley; Tammy Newcomb, principal at Green Valley; Debbie Hill, fourth-grade teacher at Roanoke Valley Christian; Ken Nicely, prinicipal at Hidden Valley Middle School (tie)
2. Loraine Lange, school superintendent; Glen Waldron, Cave Spring Middle; Mary Beth Gregg, Cave Spring Elementary (tie)
3. Eunice Morrison. Herman L Horn; ) Jodi Poff, Cave Spring Elementary; Anne Currin, Cave Spring Elementary (tie)

Best bus driver:
1. Ben Boone, Cave Spring ES/Hidden Valley
2. Joice Holt
3. Sharon Smith, Oak Grove

Best school event – high school:
1. Football
2. Cave Spring basketball
3. Cave Spring football and homecoming (tie)

Best school event – Elementary and Middle School:
1 Cave Spring Elementary Carnival*
2. Pumpkins on the Playground (Penn Forest)
3. Oak Grove Elementary Spring Festival (tie)

Best apartment community: *New Category*
1. Sunscape
2. Cedar Point
3. Pebble Creek

Best hair salon:
1. Licensed to Cut
2. Azario Salon
3. Glo Salon

Best nail salon:
1. Perfect Nails
2. Q Nails
3. Beauty Bar

Best place to get pampered: *New Category*
1. Licensed to Cut
2. Zee’s Salon
3. Pure Spa

Best car wash:
1. Tanglewood Auto Wash*
2. Brambleton Car Wash
3. Cave Spring Auto Wash

Best place to buy a car: *New Category*
1. Berglund Automotive
2. Brambleton Imports
3. Haley Toyota

Best place to get your car fixed:
1. Cave Spring Auto Body *
2. Brambleton Auto
3. Crescent Heights

Best place for music lessons:
1. Kelley’s Music*
2. The Bandroom
3. Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio

Best preschool or day care:
1. Cave Spring Baptist*
2. HoneyTree
3.Covenant Presbyerian Preschool

Best dentist: *New Category*
1. Scott Ward and  Bill Deyerle (tie)
2. Steven Sowers
3. Hunting Hills Dentistry, Andy Henritze, Gary Roach, Greg Wright (tie)

Best family physician: *New Category*
1. Donald Smith – Brambleton Family Medicine
2. Ella Youngblood
3. Stephen Morgan, Kevin Kelleher at the Cave Spring Family Practice, Lisa Deyerle (tie)

Best pharmacy: *New Category*
1. Walgreens
2. Medicap and CVS (tie)
3. Kroger

Best lawyer:
1. Mark Skolrood*
2. John Lichenstein
3. David Bullington

Best plumber/electrician/home repair service:
1. Richardson Plumbing & Heating
2. David Funk
3. Wisler Plumbing

Best place to go for financial advice:
1. BB&T
2. Jason Bialek (Atlantic Mortgage)
3. Greystone Financial

Best lawn or landscaping service:
1. Varsity Landscaping*
2. GreenUp
3. Valley Landscaping

Best place to shop for antiques: *New Category*
1. Goodwill
2. Roanoke Antiques Mall
3. Black Dog Salvage

Best bargains:
1. TJ Maxx*
2. Goodwill
3. Hidden Treasures

Best place to buy unique gifts:
1. Chocolatepaper*
2. Steger Creek
3. Edible Arrangements

Best place to buy fresh food:
1. Fresh Market*
2. Kroger
3. Downtown Farmer’s Market

Best place to buy women’s fashions:
1. Stein Mart
2. Talbot’s
3. Vivendi

Best dry cleaner:
1. Air Lee Cleaners
2. Harvey’s
3. A Cleaner World

Best jeweler:
1. Fink’s*
2. Frantz Diamonds
3. Jewell’s

Best florist:
1. George’s
2. Petal Pushers
3. Blumen Haus

Best convenience store:
1. Country Store*
2. Countryway
3. Stop-In

Best insurance agent:
1. Mark Meyer (Allstate)
2. Jack Sale (State Farm)
3. Steve Nash (Allstate)

Best real estate firm/brokerage: *New Category*
1. Long and Foster
2. MKB
3. RE/MAX Valley

Best real estate agent:
1. Beth Wilson
2. Curtis Burchett
3. Tim Toohig

Best veterinarian:
1. Cave Spring Vet*
2, Big Lick Vet
3. Vets to Cats

Best pet grooming/pet sitting/pet boarding service:
1. Clip & Dip*
2. The Happy Dog
3. Yuppie Puppie

Best tattoo studio:
1. Star City Tattoos*
2. Danny’s Ancient Art
3. Alex’s New Tattoo

Best frame shop:
1. Frame N Things*
2. The Frame Connection
3. A.C. Moore

Best customer service: *New Category*
1. Licensed to Cut
2. Frantz Diamonds
3. Berglund Automotive

Best value for the money: *New Category*
1. Classic Floors
2. The Frame Connection
3. About Pets Center

Best new thing in Southwest Roanoke County in the past year:
1. Kira*Kira
2. Bojangle’s
3. Goodwill, SoRo Grille, Burger in the Square (tie)

Best thing not on this list: *New Category*
1. Kira*Kira
2. Henri Kessler
3. The Yard Baseball and Softball Training Facility

Got an idea for a category we should add in 2011? Let us know at news@swo-co.com.