Best place for kids’ clothes 2013: Old Navy

Old Navy Barracks Road Shopping Center 984-0167 oldnavy.com Runner-up: Whimsies Barracks Road Shopping Center 977-8767 whimsieskids.com A child will grow at a steady rate of 2″ to 2.5″ per year from ages 2 to 12. In other words, that’s a lot of clothing. Parents know that when they want to buy in bulk, Old Navy […]

Best chiropractor 2013: Doug Cox

Doug Cox 1006 E. Market St. 293-6165 coxclinic.com Runner-up: Scott Wagner 147 Zan Rd. 978-4888 cvillespineandsportsinjury.com The founder of chiropractics, D.D. Palmer, described the body as a machine and reasoned that the parts could be manipulated to provide a drugless cure. That was in 1896. That mindset is still the driving force behind the industry […]

Best place for antiques 2013: Circa

Circa 1700 Allied St. 295-5760 circainc.com Runner-up: Consignment House 121 W. Main St. 977-5527 consignmenthouse.net In 2011, a man from Tulsa, Oklahoma, came to PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow” with five Chinese carved cups made from rhinoceros horn and found out that they were worth more than $1 million. He didn’t find them at Circa (though we […]

Best yoga studio 2013: Bikram Yoga

Bikram Yoga 109 Fifth St. SE 220-1415 bikramyogacville.com Runner-up: ACAC 200 Four Seasons Dr. 978-7523 111 Monticello Ave. 984-3800 Albemarle Square Shopping Center 978-3800 1015 Heathercroft Cir., Suite 100 (Crozet) 817-2055 acac.com Death Valley, the hottest, driest, and lowest place in North America reaches temperatures well over 120 degrees on the reg. In 1913, one […]

Best place for last-minute gifts 2013: Cha Cha’s

Cha Cha’s 201 E. Main St. 293-8553 chachawithme.com Runner-up: The Virginia Shop Barracks Road Shopping Center 977-0080 thevashop.net Talk about an impulse buy: Richard Burton once bought Elizabeth Taylor a $960,000 jet they had flown in the day before. You won’t find anything like that Downtown favorite Cha Cha’s, but you will find a few […]

Best place to buy a car 2013: Brown Automotive

Brown Automotive 1357 Richmond Rd. 817-3380 brownautos.com Runner-up: Carmax 1448 Richmond Rd. 295-6351 carmax.com The very first automobile race in the United States was held in Chicago in 1895, with Frank Duryea winning with the average speed of 71.5mph. All of the cars on offer at Brown Automotive reach that speed (and higher!), but the […]

Best place for a man’s suit: JoS. A. Bank

JoS. A. Bank Barracks Road Shopping Center 244-0015 josbank.com Runner-up: Men’s Wearhouse Charlottesville Fashion Square Mall 29th Place 973-8094 menswearhouse.com Fitting a suit is a fine science. Shoulder width, chest size, and arm length have to perfectly sync up to ensure that you look less like George Costanza and more like George Clooney when you […]

Best hiking trail 2013: Humpback Rock

Humpback Rock Runner-up: Monticello Trail “Humpback” is a bit of a misnomer, because hiking actually exercises almost all parts of your body—legs, knees, ankles, arms, hips, butt, abs, shoulders, and neck —instead of leaving you with a, well, humped back. Most folks can climb the four-mile trail in two and a half hours, which is […]

Best golf course 2013: Birdwood

Birdwood Golf Course 410 Golf Course Dr. 293-4653 boarsheadinn.com/golf Runner-up: Old Trail Golf Course 4594 Golf Dr. (Crozet) 823-8101 oldtrailgolf.com “Hit it. Hard.” That’s a simple enough instruction for Birdwood’s finishing hole, but the 18-hole course at the Boar’s Head is anything but simple. A par-72 course, it recently received a 4.5-star ranking on Golf […]