Charleston is one of my favorite places during the summer. There are so many festivals and events that really show off the community. One of my favorites is Taste-of-ALL, which brings a bunch of area restaurants together and allows them to serve up small portions of food in exchange for tickets. Tickets are 50 cents each, and no item costs more than 6 tickets ($3).



I got a sheet of 20 tickets ($10), plus a few extras that my dining companion bequeathed me.

Let's talk about some of my favs.

Four Points by Sheraton: Lobster Roll with Appalachian Ramp Stew
The in-house kitchen for the event location brought it. Lobster rolls are so few and far between in West Virginia that I'm always happy to see them, period. But this one was tasty regardless. It was a nice buttered roll and inside was this pocket of lobster salad

Bluegrass Kitchen: Blueberry Buttermilk Pie Bite
Bluegrass Kitchen had their famous blueberry buttermilk pies in bite-size form, so of course I had to get a bite. I am obsessed with this pie - sweet, creamy, amazing - so this was clearly one of my absolute favorites.

Ichiban: Almost Heaven Maki
Blue crab, shrimp, spicy mayo and scallions make up one of my favorite rolls from Ichiban. Ichiban, who was outside, provided a nice change of pace with a light bite.

Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream: Butter Pecan
If there's no caramel to be found, butter pecan is easily my most favorite ice cream flavor. And, Ellen's does it right with giant hunks of pecans swirled into the sweet, buttery ice cream.

Black Sheep Burritos & Brew: Pork Belly Bao Buns with Pickled Onion & Mirin-Ponzu Glaze
I appreciate Black Sheep taking a bit of a gamble with a pork bun. And, overall, the flavors here really worked.

Bistro Food Truck: Meatballs
This mini meatball slider was a bit cool by the time I got it, but simple and tasty.

Holl's Chocolate: Two-piece box of chocolates
Holl's Chocolates, which is my favorite chocolates here in West Virginia, had chocolate-covered strawberries, as well as small boxes of chocolate truffles. I got one of the small boxes of chocolate truffles, and one was milk chocolate and one was dark chocolate. I love the milk chocolate. But I never a huge fan of dark chocolate. That said, both are still delicious and I can only hope that next time I'm in the Parkersburg area I snag a box with milk chocolate and caramel.

Did you go? Did you have the best time? Because I did, and I did 😊