If I could afford it, my regular diet every day would be a charcuterie board. I love snacking, and cheese may be my favorite food group. Paired with fruit, pickles, and other fun nibbles, it's perfection on a plate - or board.
I just learned of KSBoards in Charleston and put in an order as soon as I could. I ordered a small munch box, which included meats, cheeses, spreads and fruit. There are a few different options - like brunch or other snack trays - but this one had me written all over it. And look how cute the little utensils are!
Ordering was super easy - simply go to the Facebook page, open the Google form, select what you want, receive an invoice then pay! They even did free contactless delivery - which was perfect.
The Bonne Maman preserves were delish, plus there were crackers, salamis, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, a creamy spread, these cute leaf cheeses and more cheese, olives, pickles, nuts and chocolates! It was so, sooo good. What's your favorite addition to a charcuterie board?
Ray's Rub is a new seasoning blend located in Morgantown that I've been wanting to try. Why this one? Well, it's an all-purpose seasoning blend - meaning it works on beef, pork, turkey, chicken... and the list goes on.
I got lucky and won some on an Instagram contest - 6 to be exact! So, they made perfect little presents for my boyfriend, friends and parents. So, we could all try a little bit.
And - so far, so good! I've used it to season ground beef - and it added some nice flavor! And, maybe, just maybe, it might make an appearance on my Thanksgiving turkey. We shall see. But if you, like me, appreciate an all-in-one, versatile spice that punches up the flavor of everything just a bit - give it a try.
Taste-of-All looked a little different this year, but I wanted to share some of the delish meals the Generation Charleston group enjoyed!
It was more like a progressive dinner where we stopped at a bunch of different restaurants and had bits and bites at each.
Our group started at Mea Cuppa at the Capitol Market. Here, I enjoyed a WV Salt + Maple coffee, which was delicious. Love the little bit of salt to bring out the sweetness of the maple.
Next, we made our way to The Block for an appetizer. I went with the Skillet Blue Crab Dip, served with fried pita triangles.
This was such a huge portion that we had to get extra pita. But it was really tasty. I know some people "yuck" seafood and cheese ... but there's a time and place. And, it's right now. With wine.
Finally, we made a last minute reservation at 1010 Bridge to chow down on our entree.
1010 Bridge is one of the town's most exciting new restaurants, with delicious meals left and right. On this night, they had the bucatini on special.
It was phenomenal, and topped off with a lavender cocktail? Delish. Where did you go for this year's Taste-of-All?
When there is ice cream, I will, in fact, travel. And, a while back, I headed over to St. Albans to check out the Crafts of the Coal ice cream truck. While they're currently done for the season, they are doing pints to order! I wanted to be sure to share a little about them before I forgot (and as I'm slowly making my way through my blog backlog).
They had been sitting up next to Crawford Field in St. Albans, dishing out cold treats on warm days. The menu had fairly standard ice cream options like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. But the "WV Pothole" seemed to be their specialty with chocolate ice cream, black-tar fudge and chunks of chocolate asphalt. Sara had this and seemed to enjoy it.
That might be a bit of chocolate overload for me, so I went with cookie dough and added Butterfinger pieces on top of it! Why not? Combining cookies and peanut butter and crunchies made for a unique, but delicious, combo.
What would your concoction be?
Grade: A
There is just ONE more Tudor's location to visit after this one in Bluewell. Bluewell is not a place I travel to often, so it took me some time to work this into my schedule.
After some time away from the biscuits, I decided to return to my new favorite: The Politician. This biscuit was a bit different with a half a slab of bologna and an unmelted slice of American cheese.
So, maybe not the best version. But the biscuit here was delish! Fresh, fluffy and cooked perfectly.
Grade: B
This location in Elkins has been a few different restaurants, but most recently, it's King's New York Pizza & Restaurant.
I was first drawn here because I saw on their menu that they offer Chicago-style pizza. I've only seen that a couple times in all of West Virginia, so I wanted to try it out.
Unfortunately, they weren't serving the Chicago-style during the pandemic with their limited menu. But they still offered their signature New York-style crust. So, I went with a small pizza with mushrooms.
The sauce was a bit sweet, and the crust was soft and chewy - in the best way. I enjoyed this pizza for what it is. I can appreciate the crispy to the soft and everything in between. This had a nice chew to the crust and flavorful toppings.
Grade: A
Have you seen these trendy "Hot Cocoa Bombs"? The first ones I saw were on Facebook from Kelly's Cupcakes and Confections. As soon as I saw these, I thought they looked fun and delicious and I needed them.
After a little planning, I placed my order for six hot cocoa bombs: cookies & cream, white chocolate and salted caramel. Look how beautiful they are!
While the concept is to drop them into warm milk, and they burst open and reveal marshmallows that then float to the top... I didn't have that experience with any of them. Probably due to user error. But, they were delicious and fun, nonetheless.
Buster's Blazin' Grill was located nearby recently, so my friend Sara and I went to go check it out. They specialize in burgers, but also have hot dogs and BBQ, as well.
These aren't just regular burgers. They have themes - like the southwest burger with onion rings and BBQ sauce. OR the Buster's Blazin Burger with spicy cheese sauce, spicy pickles and jalapenos.
I went with the "Moose," which had two patties, melted cheddar cheese, American cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, house sauce on a brioche bun.
The first couple ingredients are to be expected and help make a good burger. That house sauce, though, made this a phenomenal burger. I don't even know what it was, but it brought a sweetness with some tang that was just perfect.
Grade: A
Ansted's Tudor's Biscuit World is a tricky, tricky location. I tried to knock them off my list months ago, but they were closed - not sure if it was COVID-19 related or not. But, when I went to check them out most recently, they were open thankfully.
So, as I take a leave of absence from biscuits, I looked over the lunch menu to see what piqued my interest. And, I see Tudor's version of a chicken strip basket. I've had this before, so I know it's bangin. But let's see how this location does.
And it was delish. Maybe a tad on the itty bitty side, but still fried goodness that hit that comfort food spot.
Grade: B
So many things have changed over the past year with the onset of the pandemic. One of which is dining out. It's a huge part of my life, and I've been consistently trying to find ways to support local businesses during this time while also keeping them and myself safe.
So bear in mind that while visiting these restaurants recently, I may not be getting the most of the experience. But, it's likely similar to what you'd experience, too. While driving through Elkins, I called in an order to Sakura Japanese Steakhouse to go.
Let's start with crab rangoons, of course. Crunch on the outside, creamy on the inside. With a side of sweet sauce.
I went with a simple California roll with crab, avocado and cucumber. I also ordered a Sakura Roll - shrimp tempura, spicy crab, seaweed salad, crunch, wrapped in soy paper, topped w masago, spicy mayo & eel sauce.
I gotta say - I know what I like. These were both solid, standard. They weren't mind-blowing or necessarily the most flavorful renditions I've had. But they were good and I wouldn't hesitate to try them again.
Grade: B
So, I didn't have a reason to drive to Akron recently. Except. There's a DiCarlo's Pizza there. So, that became my reason to visit Akron. And, it's the last DiCarlo's location I hadn't visited.
This large, stand-alone location had a huge parking lot all on its own and kinda seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. But it was decorated with DiCarlos-themed art, so I was here for it.
In typical fashion, I ordered a couple pieces with mushrooms.
After a bit of a wait, out came two beautiful squares topped with fresh cheese gently melting overtop. I appreciate the abundance of cheese on these two pieces; the sauce was standard and the crust was on the crunchier side. 10/10, as always.
Grade: A
Markets are my happy place. My dream is going from stall to stall, getting a bite at each place to create a full meal. That's why, when Dawn and I heard about Center Street Market juuuust opening, we headed that way STAT.
Center Street Market, located in Hilliard, Ohio, is home to a handful of restaurants, as well as Crooked Can Brewery.
Ready? Let's go check it out.
The Cheesecake Girl
The Cheesecake Girl has a bunch of different kinds of cheesecake, including little mini bites like cookie dough, buckeye and brie & fig. I loveee the mini option so I can try a few flavors - and they were all fantastic. The cookie dough had a brownie crust, the buckeye is Ohio's best dessert, and the brie & fig is a perfect flavor combo. Also while here, they had a little stand of Uncle Giant's Tokels, which apparently are Filipino in origin. They're like buttery shortbread cookies that are crumbly.
Bakes By Lo
Bakes By Lo had these giant homemade cookies staring at me. There were really only a handful of flavors, but they all sounded so good. The dried cranberry and macadamia nut was speaking to me. Just slightly tart paired with sugary cookie and buttery nutty. So good.
Dumplings of Fury
Dumplings! Dumplings of Fury has a location in Seattle and Hilliard... odd mashup? BUT, one of the stops I was most excited for. I ordered the "Shrimp and Chive" dumplings, which were perfectly pan-fried and plump and tasty. And, I also went for the pork belly bao, because there are so few places to get bao buns in West Virginia, and this included the pork belly, cucumber salad, peanuts and green onion. Mmmm.
Rime Time
Are artisan popsicles the new trendy thing? If you're Rime Time, that answer is yes. They have a really cool list of flavors like blueberry lemonade, avocado, and my choice: peanut butter and jelly. I was shocked at how good this really was. I'm not a peanut butter superfan, but this creamy popsicle with pops of sweet fruity jelly was perfect.
Coffee Connections
Apparently I'm really into lemonade lately, because even at Coffee Connections, I went with a blueberry pomegranate lemonade. So refreshing for a warm day.
Al's Delicious Popcorn
OK I said earlier that popsicles might be trendy, but gourmet popcorn may be even more so. Al's Delicious Popcorn has over 65 flavors. I chose the s'mores, because of course. It was pretty sweet - I would've liked some more salt, but very tasty nonetheless.
Meatball Mafia
W?HO? doesn't love a good meatball?! I could've taken the easy way out at Meatball Mafia and had just a single taste of a meatball. But, let's be real, I had to go with a full Uncle Junior, which is a meatball sub with provolone/mozzarella. This just hits the spot.
There are a couple places that I'll need to check out on the next visit, like the Crooked Can Brewery, Pita bilities and Two Step Tacos.
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