Stoked Coffee is a local coffee shop with locations in Parkersburg and Marietta, the latter of which I visited recently. The original is at 302 Pike St. and is the smaller, longtime Marietta location. It has an enormous selection of flavor combinations. Their signature is the Stoked Mocha, which combines espresso, milk, white chocolate and caramel, which I ordered hot. It’s definitely on the sweeter side, with the white chocolate and caramel giving it more of a dessert-coffee feel than a traditional mocha. The espresso still comes through, though, keeping it from tasting like straight-up melted candy. I paired it with a bagel, which came simply with a packet of cream cheese on the side. I promptly made a mess of trying to open the packet, so the most memorable part of the experience may have been cleaning cream cheese off everything. Grade: B

Yemen Coffee Hut is a small coffee shop on Merchant Street in downtown Fairmont serving Yemeni coffee, tea, pastries and other specialty drinks. The big draw is the Yemeni coffee. The family behind the business has roots in Yemen, and manager Abdel Almadrahi told WBOY that he grew up around coffee in Yemen and that his family grew coffee. They source their beans from Yemen. Traditional Yemeni coffee tends to have spices such as cardamom, giving it a noticeably different flavor and aroma from the typical American coffee-shop cup. Some of the more interesting things on the menu include:

* Muofawar — medium-roast coffee with cardamom and cream
* Qishr — coffee husks/cascara with ginger and cinnamon
* Sanani — a Yemeni coffee preparation
* Adani Chai — Yemeni black tea with cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and milk
* Black Yemeni Tea — cardamom and cinnamon
* Turkish Coffee
* Arabic Coffee I ordered a cocktail smoothie (a fruity blend of strawberry, mango and banana), egg & cheese sandwich (sliced hardboiled eggs with cream cheese on a crusty baguette) and dubai chocolate. Loved that drink and wish the sandwich has some more seasoning. Grade: B

Whimsy is a small, local catering business operating out of one woman's West Side home. She posts a menu on Facebook, accepts orders and then schedules a pick-up window. The menu for the week I ordered included:

32oz Ginger Roasted Butternut Squah & Heirloom Carrot Soup w/toasted Pumpkin seeds on side.

32oz Wild rice pilaf w/Peas & Crispy Beets.

1dz Almond, Raisin Cinnamon sugar Pastry swirls.

Individual “Reese” Madness w/Crushed peanut butter Oreos, chocolate fudge,and Peanut butter mousse. Have you tried anything?

Cass Trading Company is a restaurant, convenience store, gift shop and lodging option located in Cass along the Greenbrier River. The convenience store carries snacks, drinks, groceries, fishing supplies and other items for visitors and locals.The shop also has West Virginia-made products, including jams and jellies, honey, maple syrup, fudge and baked goods. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a menu that includes burgers, pizza, sandwiches, wraps, salads and other casual meals. I stopped in for lunch and ordered the fish and fries, which made for a simple, filling meal after spending time exploring the area. The fish was a nice, flaky white cod with a mild flavor, although the meal was a little on the greasy side. The slaw helped cut that. Grade: B

Hillsboro Public House is tucked into the small Pocahontas County community of Hillsboro, where a historic building has been transformed into a welcoming restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The building itself has plenty of character, dating back to its days as Moore’s General Store and retaining details such as pressed tin ceilings, original wood floors and old shelving. For breakfast, the menu goes beyond the usual biscuits and gravy and eggs with options like the Bagels & Lox, a simple combination that lets the ingredients do most of the work -- and is coincidentally one of my favorites. The Bagels & Lox starts with a toasted bagel topped with cream cheese and smoked salmon, then gets finished with capers and red onion for a little salt, bite and freshness. The capers add that briny punch that works particularly well with the salmon, while the red onion brings enough sharpness to keep each bite from feeling too rich. Plus a brownie for dessert. Grade: B