Sugar Shenanigans is a local candy and sweets shop currently located in Nitro.



It became very popular when it began offering Dubai bars, which are chocolate bars filled with creamy pistachio and crispy kataifi pastry (shredded phyllo dough, used in Middle Eastern desserts) and was made popular via TikTok.



The shop carries many more trendy candies made popular by social media, as well as some made by other local vendors.



Here are some of those:



Sunrise Bakery - fudge.



Cerealsly Delicious - various flavors of chex mix.



Rise Appalachia - donuts.



Others include M&M Farms and Kara's Sweet Treats.



Some of my favorite purchases include a sweet advent calendar, with a different treat each day.



I also made my own chocolate bar here, which was not only fun, but also delicious.



And this isn't the only place you can get their goodies.



The business also has an outpost at Go-Mart Ballpark. They are open every night of Light The Night, and they even have some different selections here. Soon, they'll be moving into yet another new location. So, another excuse for me to check it out!

Coffee With A Twist is a Christian-based coffee shop that features pretzels on Main Avenue.



They offer a variety of beverages, including lattes, mochas, chais, smoothies, dirty sodas and more.



Food options include pepperoni rolls, pretzels, hamwiches and more.



On my visit, I did a plain pretzel and a blondie to drink. Both serviceable. Decent flavor, but no extra *pop* to make it stand out.



Have you been?



Grade: B

Bake My Day is a macaron shop in Nitro. I've enjoyed macarons from Bake My Day prior to them having a storefront, so I knew I was in for a treat.



"We don’t just have macarons! Stop by for a cup of coffee, check out our huge free selection of used books, and browse goods and wares from local WV vendors! We also host monthly beginner crochet classes, have macaron making parties, live music, a monthly plant swap, arts and crafts events, and much more! We’re a great place if you want to come hang out with friends, find a quiet place to work on your laptop or have a meeting, and we even host private parties!" reads the website.



French macarons are an art, and they are a practice in precision. So, I'm always impressed when people can get that perfectly chewy interior. Signature flavors here include chocolate, bananas foster, caramel macchiato, coconut, cookies & cream, dreamsicle, funfetti, lavender lemonade, lemon, peanut butter & jelly, pistachio, strawberry, plus plenty more seasonal flavors.



I have enjoyed peanut butter & jelly, funfetti and cookies & cream most recently. Just a slight crisp and then chewy interior. Plus feet (the little edges) are key to good ones.



This shop also carries other goodies from home bakers, like Tastes Like Heaven cotton candy. Doesn't cotton candy just always feel like a treat? I'm used to only enjoying it at special events so this makes everything feel a bit more special.



Grade: A

Shima's Family Restaurant is a unique, creative restaurant that features classuc homestyle dishes in addition to "oriental" dishes that have Asian inspiration.



I have ordered takeout from them when they were in a prior location, so I decided to dine in at their newest space on Bank Street in Nitro. It's a fairly narrow and long space with corrugated steel walls. It almost has a diner vibe, but the atmosphere certainly feels comfy.



I ordered the "Chef Special," which lists the description as simply whatever the chef decides to cook up. Sold. I was asked my preferred spice level, and I responded, "none essentially" and, they took it from there. The next thing I know, I receive a beautiful plate full of a variety of delicious bites.



Egg roll. Crab puff. Wings. Chicken lo mein. It was like a variety platter from Heaven, and every single bite was delicious. From sweet and savory to more sour and umami, the flavors of the dish hit all the points, and it was like all the best parts of a buffet. It was a surprise, it was fun to try, and it was all so good.



Grade: A

There's a new restaurant in Nitro that is serving up some monster portions. 1st Place Cafe is a small spot at the corner of 1st and 2nd avenues with dark windows with a handful of parking spots out front.



The interior has maybe a dozen tables sprinkled throughout the space, a couple TVs and the singular neon menu board that lists the options for the day. 



As soon as I walked in, the kinda gentleman running the show that day came out to explain each individual menu item to me - and he did so for each group that walked in. The menu boiled down to burgers, a chicken sandwich and a hot dog that all came with a heaping pile of fries. Drinks are extra.



I went with a cheeseburger, which he had explained is not just ground chuck - but sirloin. I also added a side of the blue cheese sauce he mentioned was developed as part of the chicken sandwich. But, I thought it could be a great dipping sauce for those fries. 



After a short wait, my order was up, and I whisked it away to the car to hurriedly unwrap my meal. The burger was wrapped in paper with a pick in the center to keep it all together. I'm not joking when I say I think this is the largest burger I've ever had in my life. Initially, I thought I could eat it while driving to my next errand. But upon seeing the size, there was no physical way that was going to happen.



Let me try to break it down - the burger is very wide. It's a two-handed experience at best, a fork-and-knife experience more likely. It has a large fluffy bun and a salad's worth of lettuce, tomato, onion and fresh pickle atop a hefty burger patty. There's cheese and mayo and mustard and ketchup and they are not skimpy on any of those ingredients. They combine to make a tangy sauce that just dripped with every bite. It was fresh and flavorful and like a tasty backyard BBQ burger on steroids. 



The fries are softer with a ton of seasonings - including a cajun spice that gives it a little kick. I wouldn't hate mine being more crisp, but the flavor is still good. I enjoyed dipping mine in the blue cheese dressing. This could easily be two meals - but I'm not judging if it's one.



Grade: A

I've been hearing really good things about Guadalajara Modern Mexican in Nitro, so I was looking over the menu when I discovered the description for their shrimp fajitas: "12 jumbo shrimp caught fresh from the Kanawha River grilled with fajita veggies. Served with rice, beans, cema salad and tortillas."



They ultimately said it was a joke...  At the very least, it turned me off from that item. So I opted to try a different dish instead. I ordered the "Enchilada Supremas," which is ground beef, shredded chicken, tinga chicken, and potato enchiladas. They're topped with a mole sauce, lettuce, crema, tomatoes and cheese. Plus a side of queso.



The space was bright and busy, but super quick with my order. First, I dug into the queso dip, which is much thicker and has more heat than other quesos I've had. You can see bits of pepper and spices, which is often absent from otherwise very thin, cream quesos. I did enjoy this rendition with a bit more kick!



The enchiladas were good, except instead of a potato one, I received a pork one. I was weirdly looking forward to the potato one because it's different. But they were all tasty, and I'm enjoying learning about and trying different types of mole. This dish is beautiful - colorful - and certainly filling. The chicken tinga enchilada was my favorite because it was full of flavor.

Grade: B 

Two longtime chili cookoffs came together today - and I was lucky enough to be able to help judge once again.



Wagging Tails and Nitro Ales is an official ICS chili cookoff for Dog Bless, a dog rescue group in WV. And Smoke on the Water is usually held in the summer during FestivALL and raises money for HospiceCare.



Today was the first really chilly day that I've spent outside this season, but that's perfect for chili.



The event had both hot chili and cold beer, as well as a nod to Cassie Johnson, the Charleston Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty last December.



I was tasked with helping to judge the homestyle category. So while waiting for that round to start, I purchased some sample tickets to try some of the other versions.



For example, I checked out some of the verde chilis. Usually these are not my favorite, but the ones I had today were delish! They had great balanced flavors but didn't feel super heavy.



I also didn't get judge the traditional red this year, which is much more standard in terms of ingredients and flavors.



So, my favorite is always homestyle. I think it gives the cooks more leeway to explore their creativity. 



I love getting a chili that has some heat, but also some sweetness and a perfect medium consistency with a variety of ingredients like meat, beans, etc. 



How do you take your chili?