Lynchburg Living

Editor's Letter

By Johanna Calfee

It’s 2 p.m. and Bill’s Pastry and Cake Shop on Bay Street in Lynchburg is packed. The smell of danish in the oven is heady–enough so that anyone with “iffy” insulin levels may just pause with concern that the aroma alone might set off a sugar high. One by one, customers make their way towards the check-out counter; every eye is glued to the glistening confections behind the glass. And there are oh so many to choose from.

Of course, the choice was a much simpler one for many of Lynchburg Living’s readers when it came time to vote for the “Best Desserts” in town for 2010. Bill’s Pastry and Cake Shop won–perhaps that smell is more powerful than they realize.

The “Best of” competition is always one that we at Lynchburg Living delight in watching, and the 2010 results are no exception. The process goes like this: We simply open up the ballot in the magazine and online, dump the selections in from the year before and create a space for you to write in new selections. Then, we watch your votes stream in–”hands off” is our motto. When the voting deadline has passed, we take a look at the final tally and report the results. Really, it’s about the easiest our jobs get all year long!

This year, we were pleasantly surprised by some new businesses that staked their claim in the competition and also delighted to see that some of the “oldies but goodies” are still who you consider to be the best around. As in years past, fierce rivalry broke out in several categories, with mere votes separating the first, second and third place winners. Meanwhile, some of the first place holders in other categories left the competition in the dust.

So, who have you deemed the “Best of Lynchburg 2010″? Click on the “This City” link for all the results. Remember, if you don’t see who you consider to be the best at the top of the heap, there’s always next year to rally the necessary votes. And if you didn’t vote, perhaps the lure of great, local prizes will rein you in next year.

Of course, if you ask me, one of the best things about Lynchburg is the fact that we have so many wonderful shops, tourist destinations, restaurants and personalities for whom to vote. It’s part of what makes our quality of life here so refreshing. Well, that, and those ridiculously tasty pastries.