The Best of the New River Valley 2012

For the seventh year in a row, we asked readers to pick The Best of the New River Valley. The votes poured in, nearly 50 percent more than a year ago and more than double the number we had just two years ago. In some cases, we had repeat winners — those are denoted with an asterisk (*).

So, without further ado, here’s what you picked as this year’s Best Of . . .

Best place to go trick-or-treating
1. Downtown Blacksburg
2. New River Valley Mall
3. Woodbine in Blacksburg

Best place to take relatives from out of town
1. Cascade Falls
2. Mountain Lake
3. Virginia Tech

Best place to take the kids for the day
1. Cascade Falls
2. Caboose Park
3. Aquatic Center – Christiansburg

Best place for a family hike
1. Cascade Falls
2. Pandapas Pond
3. Huckleberry Trail

Best place to meet new people
1. Church**
2. Downtown Blacksburg
3. Up on the Roof Socials

Best park
1. Caboose Park, Blacksburg
2. Bisset Park, Radford
3. Randolph Park, Dublin

Best reason for living in the New River Valley
1. Friendly people
2. Mountains
3. Beautiful

Best place to take the parents for a day
1. Mountain Lake**
2. Virginia Tech
3. Cascades

Best church outreach program
1. Christ Episcopal Church – Blacksburg
2. Micah’s Backpacks
3. Blacksburg United Methodist Church

Best community event
1. Steppin’ Out – Blacksburg
2. Wilderness Trail Festival
3. Blacksburg Brew Do

Best local politician
1. Nick Rush, state legislator
2. Don Langrehr, former Blacksburg councilman
3. Ron Rordam, Blacksburg mayor

Best parks and rec. activity
1. Swimming lessons
2 Hiking
3. Christiansburg Aquatic Center, Rec Center and Baseball Park

Best new thing in New River in the past year
1. Barber & Beauty Hair Salon
2. Volvo created 800 new jobs
3. Frosty Parrot Frozen Yogurt

Best teacher
1. Gretchen Distler – Blacksburg Middle School, language arts and social studies
2. Melanie Fain – Kipps Elementary, fourth grade teacher
3. Amelia Tuckwiller- Christiansburg Primary School, first grade teacher

Best school staff member
1. Kim Irby – Belle Heth Elementary
2. Julia Wharton – St. John Neumann Academy
3. Debbie VanDyke – Blacksburg Middle School Lori Walls – Blacksburg Middle School (tie)

Best bus driver
1. Quentin Edwards – Bus 17  Kipps
2. Eric Burlingame – Christiansburg schools
3. Mike Roop – Radford High School

Best coach (school sports)
1. Coach Tim Cromer – Christiansburg High School football**
2. Steve Ragsdale – former Giles football coach
3. Frank Beamer – Virginia Tech football

Best school event – high school
1. Christiansburg Blue Demons Friday Night Football
2. Prom
3. Homecoming

Best school event – elementary and middle school
1. Field day
2. Kipps Elementary Festivals
3. Christiansburg Primary School Spring Carnival

Best place to go for a bike ride
1. Huckleberry Trail
2. New River Trail
3. Pandapas Pond Trails

Best spot for a picnic
1. Duck Pond – VT
2. Claytor Lake
3. Bisset Park

Best fishing spot
1. New River**
2. Claytor Lake
3. Pandapas Pond

Best coach (non-school sports)

Special honoree: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech football
1. Cory Carroll, Roanoke Star Soccer Club
2. Steve Orndorff
3. J.R. Brown, Riverlawn Dukes Basketball

We had an interesting situation here. We intended this as a place to recognize coaches for rec league teams or travel teams or other teams outside the normal line-up of school sports. Instead, who should get the most votes? Frank Beamer! Perhaps voters figured since he’s not a high school coach, he should qualify here? We decided to resolve the dilemma by recognizing him a “special honoree.” Also of note: That means the winner is with the Roanoke Star soccer club, but it draws players from the New River Valley.

Best sporting moment of the past year
1. Christiansburg High School football plays in state title game
2. Radford wins state championships in both boys and girls basketball (2011)
3. Virginia Tech football beats Miami

Best place for breakfast
1. Cracker Barrel**
2. Carol Lee Donuts
3. Gillie’s

Best coffee
1. Starbucks**
2. Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea
3. Lucie Monroe’s

Best burger
1. Mike’s Grill**
2. Five Guys
3. Dude’s Drive-In

Best pizza
1. Sal’s**
2. Papa John’s
3. PK’s

Best buffet
1. Amelia’s
2. Pizza Inn
3. India Garden

Best fine dining
1. The Palisades Restaurant Restaurant
2. The River Company
3. The Farmhouse

Best place to celebrate
1. The Palisades Restaurant Restaurant
2. Bull & Bones
3. Kabuki

Best family restaurant
1. The Palisades Restaurant Restaurant
2. Macado’s
3. Cracker Barrel

Best overall restaurant
1. The Palisades Restaurant Restaurant
2. Sal’s
3. Bull & Bones

Best Italian Restaurant
1. Sal’s**
2. Olive Garden
3. Zeppoli’s

Best steak
1. Outback Steakhouse**
2. The River Company
3. Texas Roadhouse

Best seafood
1. Poor Billy’s**
2. Red Lobster
3. Cabo Fish Taco

Best vegetarian
1. Gillie’s**
2. Oddfellas Cantina
3. India Garden

Best place for organics
1. Annie Kay’s
2. Blacksburg Farmers Market
3. Eats Natural Foods

Best Asian
1. Kabuki**
2. Sake House
3. India Garden

Best Mexican
1. El Gran Rodeo**
2. Alejandro’s Mexican Grill
3. Cinco de Mayo

Best wings
1. Buffalo Wild Wings**
2. Bull & Bones
3. PK’s

Best live music venue
1. Floyd Country Store**
2. The Palisades Restaurant Restaurant
3. The Lyric

Best new restaurant opened in 2011
1. Cook-Out Restaurant
2. Cafe MeKong
3. Sakura Steakhouse and Sushi

Best happy hour
1. Bull & Bones
2. Sharkey’s
3. PK’s

Best karaoke
1. The Farmhouse**
2. Top of The Stairs
3. Bull & Bones

Best late-night menu
1. IHOP
2. Waffle House
3. The Cellar

Best beer selection
1. Kroger
2. Vintage Cellar
3. Bull & Bones

Best wine selection
1. Vintage Cellar**
2. Kroger
3. The Palisades Restaurant Restaurant

Best first date
1. The Lyric**
2. Bull & Bones
3. The Farmhouse

Best cheap date
1. Virginia Tech Duck Pond
2. The Lyric
3. Macado’s

Best romantic dinner
1. The River Company
2. Mountain Lake
3. The Summit

Best place to meet people
1. Church**
2. Steppin’ Out
3. Downtown Blacksburg

Best place to watch the game
1. Bull & Bones
2. Buffalo Wild Wings
3. Sharkey’s

Best hair salon
1. Meredith’s
2. Tivon
3. Barber & Beauty

Best spa
1. Tivon**
2. Meredith’s
3. New Dimension Salon & Day Spa

Best place to get a tattoo
1. Ancient Art Tattoo
2. Hot Rod Tattoo
3. Rendevous Tattoo

Best pharmacy
1. CVS**
2. Kroger
3. Walgreens

Best grocery store
1. Kroger**
2. Wade’s
3. Walmart

Best golf course
1. Pete Dye River Course
2. Blacksburg Country Club
3. Draper Valley Golf Club

Best place to swim
1. Christiansburg Aquatic Center
2. Claytor Lake
3. New River

Best kids’ birthday party spot
1. Christiansburg Aquatic Center
2. Adventure World
3. Caboose Park

Best place to work out
1. Outside**
2. The Weight Club
3. Christiansburg Recreation Center

Best movie theater
1. Regal Cinemas**
2. The Lyric
3. Starlight Drive-in

Best neighborhood
1. Blacksburg Country Club**
2. Village at Tom’s Creek
3. Brush Mountain Estates

Best apartment complex
1. Foxridge**
2. Smith’s Landing
3. Knollwood

Best family physician
1. Dr. Richard Shepherd**
2. Dr. Jeremy Freeman
3. Dr. Bob Stockburger

Best pediatrician
1. Dr. Timothy Walker
2. Dr. David Berry
3. Dr. Chris Stapleton

Best preschool or day care
1. Rainbow Riders
2. Blacksburg United Methodist Preschool
3. St. Mary’s Little Angels Preschool

Best lawyer
1. Greg Campbell**
2. Jimmy Turk
3. Chris Tuck

Best dentist
1. Dr. Chris Huff**
2. Dr. Damon Thompson
3. Dr. Mike Ankrum

Best veterinarian
1. Casey Jones**
2. Marta Downey
3. Mark Dahlman

Best auto dealership
1. Duncan**
2. New River Nissan
3. Auto Master Auto Sales

Best auto shop
1. Auto Master Tire & Service
2. South Main Auto
3. Duncan

Best builder
1. Hill Thomas Builders
2. Altizer Construction Company
3. Green Valley Builders Inc.

Best real estate agent
1. Mike Eggleston of the Mike Eggleston Team**
2. Jeremy Hart of Nest Realty Group
3. Priscilla Morris of Long & Foster

Best real estate company
1. Long & Foster**
2. Coldwell Banker Townside
3. Re/Max 8

Best landscapers
1. Valley Landscaping**
2. Grass Assassins
3. We Mow

Best thrift shop
1. Goodwill**
2. YMCA
3. Once Upon A Child

Best thing not on this list
1. English Meadows Assisted Living Community
2. Tuckwiller Mural at Giles Community Hospital
3. Tuck Chiropractic Clinic

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