Kel’s Tavern is an American restaurant in Charleston’s Elk City district on the West Side. It opened in September 2025 at 222 West Washington Street, taking over the former Sergio’s Italian restaurant space, which had previously housed Books & Brews. The restaurant is connected to another Kel’s Tavern in Ashland, Kentucky, and focuses on elevated tavern food at relatively approachable prices. Its menu combines familiar American comfort food with some more creative appetizers and entrees. The dining room retains much of the layout from its previous occupants, with high ceilings, an open seating area and a prominent turquoise accent wall. A stage was also added to accommodate live music. The menu includes items like ribeye, bourbon-glazed salmon, fried chicken, fish and chips, pork chops and traditional sides such as broccoli casserole and baked macaroni and cheese. The Big Bang Shrimp ($13) featured Captain Morgan-battered fried shrimp tossed in a sweet, warm, tangy sauce and topped with fresh scallions. The shrimp had a golden fried coating beneath the generous layer of creamy orange sauce, combining sweetness and tanginess with the crunch of the batter. The Buffalo Chicken Empanadas ($13) were filled with spicy Buffalo chicken, fried until golden brown and drizzled with Kel’s house ranch dressing. The crispy pastry pockets combined the heat of Buffalo chicken with the cool, creamy ranch sauce. Pimento Cheese Fries: A generous serving of french fries topped with creamy pimento cheese. The Southern-inspired appetizer combines crispy, salty fries with rich, tangy cheese and the mild sweetness of pimentos. Meatloaf: A hearty serving of homestyle meatloaf accompanied by sides of Kel’s Corn and broccoli casserole. The meatloaf had an OK flavor, but I wish it was more moist. Kel's corn is whole-kernel corn served in a seasoned sauce, which was different. And the broccoli casserole was less ooey-gooey casserole-like than it was a mushier broccoli with crunchies on top. Points for effort, another visit to determine execution. Grade: B

Sippin' Suite is a locally owned specialty drink shop in Winfield, specializing in colorful, customizable nonalcoholic beverages. It focuses on drinks such as dirty sodas, loaded teas, energy drink combinations, refreshers and boba. If you're not familiar with dirty sodas, they typically start with a familiar soft drink, such as Dr Pepper, Sprite or Coke, before flavored syrups, cream and other additions are mixed in. The result is a customized soda with flavors that can resemble everything from fruity candy to dessert. I turned my attention toward the dirty lemonade menu. I went with "Watermelon Sugar," which had lemonade, strawberry, pineapple and sweet cream. I really enjoyed this because it was sweet and fruity -- which I find more refreshing than soda. It's a little treat that is tasty, pretty and fun to concoct. What's your favorite drink here? Grade: A

Here's my latest column for the newspaper:

Every autumn, the search begins for the perfect pumpkin in the patch: round and evenly shaped, bright orange, with a sturdy stem that curves just enough to give it character.

It is the pumpkin made for front porches, hayrides and photographs.

In Appalachia, the perfect fall squash historically looked a little different.

It was big, oddly shaped and not particularly orange. Its bottom was broad and bulbous, its neck long and sometimes crooked, and its pale skin was streaked with green.

It’s a squash made for feeding a family, keeping well beyond the fall harvest and moving easily between sweet and savory dishes.

Cushaw squash bears little resemblance to the picture-perfect pumpkins of fall, but it proves far more useful. That’s why it’s been around for so long.

The cushaw commonly grown in Appalachia belongs to the species “Cucurbita argyrosperma,” which was domesticated thousands of years ago in Mexico.

It traveled north long before European settlement and became an important part of Indigenous agriculture across portions of North America.

Appalachia was one of the places where cushaw found an enduring home. It became a familiar sight in gardens across the region.

Seeds were saved from one growing season for the next, shared with neighbors and handed down through families. With those seeds came the knowledge of when to plant, when to harvest and how to use it in family recipes.

Cushaw can be roasted, stewed or mashed. It can become soup, bread, butter and preserves. Add sugar, eggs, dairy and warm spices, and it becomes cushaw pie. Clean and roast the seeds, and it becomes a snack.

Or, maybe all of the above. A single large cushaw can easily weigh 10, 20 or even 30 pounds and yield several quarts of cooked, mashed squash — enough for soup, an entree and dessert, with plenty left over.

Cooked cushaw can be refrigerated for a few days or portioned and frozen for longer storage. An uncut cushaw can last even longer, keeping for weeks or even months in a cool, dry place with good air circulation.

In an era before refrigeration and supermarkets stocked with produce in January, a crop that could sit for weeks or months and then become dinner — or dessert — had clear value.

Butternut became nationally ubiquitous. Acorn became a supermarket staple. Pumpkin became the commercial symbol of fall. Cushaw remained something people knew because somebody in their family grew it.

Cushaw is a squash that modern agriculture largely passed over, but Appalachian gardeners sure didn’t.

Market Mixer is Capitol Market’s signature annual fundraising event, bringing together community members, local businesses and supporters for an evening of food, drinks, live entertainment and celebration. Held at Charleston’s beloved year-round farmers market, the event showcases the flavors and experiences that make Capitol Market a community gathering place while raising critical funds to support its mission of connecting people with local farmers, small businesses and fresh food. Proceeds help sustain the Market’s operations, programming and continued growth as a cornerstone of Charleston’s community and economy. Food comes from the students at Carver Culinary, and vendors inside and outside also gave away goodies.



Ham & Collard Greens Cornbread Bites



Roast Beef Crostini with Chimichurri Sauce



Mini Autumn Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches



Sautéed Shrimp with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Green Pepper Romesco Sauce



Sweet Corn Soup, Brown Butter Popcorn, Paprika Oil



Mushroom Goat Cheese Phyllo Cups



Roasted Carrot Hummus with Crudité



Kale Crunch Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette



Apple Cider Blondies



Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies



Sushi Garden
Variety of sushi



Gritt's Farm
Sparkling Apple Cider







The Purple Onion
Cookies and mints



The Wine & Cheese Shop
Prosecco and rose



Bogey's at Capitol Market
Banana bread pudding



Holl's Chocolates
Truffles



Mea Cuppa
Coffee samples & cookies



Johnnie's Meat
Asian inspired ground duck meatballs, BBQ bacon burger meatballs, kangaroo jerk meatballs



WV Marketplace
Mini honey dipper



Soho's
Arancini, meatballs and crab cakes

Grandpa’s Cheesebarn & Sweeties Chocolates is a longtime roadside attraction in Ashland, Ohio, just off Interstate 71. Part specialty grocery store, part candy shop and part tourist destination, the family-owned business has been drawing travelers since 1978. "The rich history of Grandpa’s Cheesebarn started with Grandpa Yarman, who in the early 1900s sold his only possession (a portable RCA radio) for his first wheel of Ohio Swiss and opened his own Yarman’s cheese house in West Salem, Ohio. Grandpa Yarman smoked his own country hams and bacon. Word of his unique way of smoking meats along with his reputation for quality spread throughout Ohio. His daughter, Vera, met Grandpa Baum and the two of them began to reconstruct Grandpa Yarman's dream. Grandpa Baum followed the same path as Grandpa Yarman and sought out the best cheese makers in Ohio. He explored new areas in Ohio to obtain the best Colby, Swiss, baby Swiss and many other types of local cheeses. In 1978, Grandma and Grandpa Baum, along with their daughter, Ronda, and her husband, Dick Poorbaugh, opened Grandpa’s Cheesebarn in Ashland, Ohio. In 1991, Grandpa Baum sold his store “Wonderland of Food” in West Salem and joined Ronda and Dick working full time at Grandpa’s Cheesebarn. Under the watchful eye of the new Grandpa and Grandma, Grandpa's Cheesebarn has become a favorite among local and traveling customers alike. On the heels of the successful store in Ashland, the family opened a second location, The Best of Grandpa’s Cheesebarn, in 2015 in Norton, offering the same Ohio-made foods. The Best of Grandpa’s Cheesebarn is now the fourth-generation version of this family business. Operated by Mistie Poorbaugh, Ronda and Dick’s daughter, she shares the same passion as her great grandfather to offer the best quality products at affordable prices. Mistie grew up working in the family business while in school and then pursued a degree in business education from Ashland University. She taught business at the high school and collegiate levels and operated several YMCAs before coming back to family business in 2015 to run the new store." The two-story barn specializes in cheeses, including Ohio-made Swiss, aged cheddars, smoked varieties and imported selections. Shelves are also stocked with smoked meats, sausages, jerky, jams, jellies, pickles, maple syrup, honey, baking mixes and other specialty foods. Cheese sampling has long been part of the experience. The lower level houses a café serving casual lunch items, along with homemade ice cream. Sweeties Jumbo Chocolates was added in 1995, expanding the family's food business into homemade chocolates and confections. The neighboring shop features fudge, chocolate-covered pretzels, buckeyes, nut clusters, turtles, truffles, chocolate-covered marshmallows and old-fashioned candies. Its chocolates and fudge include recipes developed by the family, with homemade caramel and cream fillings among its specialties. Sweeties is also a stop on Ohio's Buckeye Candy Trail. Every single cheese I tasted was delicious and unique. Have you ever been? Grade: A