The Valley Collective is a boutique retail shop located in Putnam Village at 499 Putnam Village Drive in Hurricane, West Virginia, featuring gifts, home décor, apparel, and products from local makers. There are a number of vendors, including: KM Designs, Soblit Refinished LLC, Appalachian Kind, Mountain Sisters Creations, A Little Hint of Home LLC, Taes Hidden Treasures, David Hager Photography, Missy’s Makings, Em’s Creations, Chef’s Signature, Kaitlyn’s Handmade Haven, BamBillow Co., Hylen Homemade, Blissful Creations, Y’allternative Revival, Fuzzy & MommaBear, KG Keychains, K-Bell Kreations, We B Fryin Snacks, Penny Blue Co., Her Corner Studio, Wild Wick Candle Co., Mountain Mini Bows, Morg’s Jewelry, Element 304, Most of Every Mile, Mother Fudger, Cheryl Tolley, Golden Hoop by Chaos & Co., Shamrock Custom Laser Engraving, Highland Blu, The Willy Nilly Pilla Factory, DyeDuo WV, Death’s Head Leatherworks, Two Peas in a Tee, Burnin’ Bills Engraving, Sugar Hive Cookies, Olive Branch Mercantile, Made With TLC, Jeannie’s Wreaths, Jennifer Gallagher Art and Sharon’s Original Oil Paintings. In addition, many were also food producers. Eslick Acres - freeze-dried candies Pops by Rachel - cake pops Pursenelly Yours Gifts - hard candies Sugar Hive Cookies Handmade hy Courtney Ardoin - sugar cookie Momma Bear's - Cajun Seasoning Grandma Stacey's Kitchen - seasoned salts Have you been?

Hilltop Fresh Meat Market is a family-owned fresh meat market located at Hilltop Fresh Meat Market on South Church Street in Ripley.



The market is veteran-owned and features locally sourced products, including beef from Ranson Ranch in nearby Fairplain, along with fresh meats, produce, eggs, cheeses, and pantry staples.



Inside, the market combines a traditional butcher counter with refrigerated display cases, deli selections, and shelves stocked with locally made and Amish products.



The retail space includes fresh meat displays, deli counters, coolers for cheeses and specialty foods, and aisles filled with preserves, spices, baking ingredients, and seasonal produce.



The market offers hand-cut beef, pork, poultry, deli meats, cheeses, seafood, game meats, fresh eggs, locally sourced produce, baked goods, and packaged meat bundles for customers stocking their refrigerators or freezers.



Menu selections include ribeye, prime rib, filet mignon, New York strip, pork chops, bacon, chicken, bison, elk, lamb, deli salads, Amish cheeses, homemade spreads, pickled products, jams, jellies, maple syrup, and other regional grocery items.



One of the shop’s signature offerings is its hand-cut ribeye steak, which is cut to order with generous marbling that develops a rich crust when seared while remaining tender and juicy through the center.



In addition to individual cuts, Hilltop Fresh Meats offers freezer-ready meat packages, gift cards, discounts for veterans, first responders, and EMS personnel, and a selection of locally produced fruits, vegetables, herbs, rubs and preserves.



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Angie’s What’s Poppin’ Shoppe is a gourmet popcorn shop located at 500 South Church Street in Ripley offering a wide variety of sweet and savory popcorn flavors.



Inside, shelves are stocked with colorful bags of popcorn alongside displays of nostalgic candy, bottled sodas, and other specialty treats that give the shop the feel of a traditional candy store.



The shop features dozens of gourmet popcorn varieties ranging from classic buttery and cheesy recipes to dessert-inspired, spicy, and candy-coated flavors.



Menu selections include options such as dill pickle, garlic parmesan, cheddar, caramel, kettle corn and rotating seasonal flavors.



One of the standout flavors is Garlic Parmesan, which coats freshly popped popcorn with a savory blend of garlic seasoning and parmesan cheese that creates a crisp texture and a rich, cheesy finish.



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Gritt’s Farm’s Low Country Boil is one of the farm’s signature summer dining events -- and my favorite. Chef Stevie Owens brings a seafood feast to Buffalo. The event is held outdoors and combines a chef-prepared meal with live music, goat visits and a relaxed evening on the farm. Guests reserve tables for two, four or six people. Each table received a shared menu that began with Low Country Poutine — Old Bay-seasoned fries topped with cheese curds, andouille sausage gravy and shrimp. That was followed by a classic seafood boil featuring shrimp, snow crab, mussels, Angelo’s sausage, Gritt’s sweet corn and red potatoes. Dessert was a Peach Pie Pail, made with vanilla soft-serve, baked peach crumble, cinnamon-sugar pie pieces and peach topping!

YUM!

The Fort Bar & Grill is a restaurant located at 100 Cantley Drive in Charleston's Fort Hill neighborhood.



The restaurant serves dinner Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and lunch and dinner Friday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., while remaining closed on Tuesdays.



The dining room combines the feel of a neighborhood tavern with a steakhouse and includes a full bar featuring whiskey, wine and craft cocktails.



The menu includes appetizers, salads, hand-cut steaks, seafood, chicken, ribs, smash burgers, sandwiches, desserts, and a selection of classic and signature side dishes.



We started with the buffalo crispy chicken bao buns, which weren't super on the crispy side. But that's not too bad. We had another app and a side of brussels sprouts; neither of which were super impressive.



One of the restaurant's featured menu sections is its lineup of house-made smash burgers, which are served with fresh house-cut fries and include options such as the Black & Bleu, Whiskey Bourbon Smash, Backyard BBQ Smash, Mushroom Swiss Smash, and Firestarter Smash.



I went with the Hot Honey Pimento Smash, which has 2 wquality all-beef patties, deep fried pimento cheese bites, topped with hot honey, jalapeno peppers (or banana peppers), crispy onion ring, lettuce and tomato. This was a lot of fried flavor, so I was hoping to get some more of that honey. But still pretty tasty, regardless. The sticky date pudding for dessert was decent.



Grade: B