Yummi Japan in Princeton is a takeout sushi spot all the way at the (nearly) very bottom of the state.
You can simply place an order online and pick it up through a plastic enclosure that was erected during COVID19. Not sure how long they plan to keep this up - if not indefinitely - but it's possible it could already be down.
The menu includes teriyaki dishes, rice bowls, yakisoba, sushi rolls, smoothies and boba. I ordered a spicy crab meat roll, which had spicy crab, tempura crunchies and seemed to be missing spicy mayo so a bit dry. But fine.
And I also ordered shrimp hibachi, which also would've been better with some sauce. But, noodles, shrimp, veggies, all good. Would've been great with teriyaki.
Grade: B
When someone told me recently their favorite food in town comes from a gas station, I was not surprised.
Why? Some of these small towns may not have a locally owned restaurant, but they likely have a gas station. And there's a good chance that the granny down the street brings her pepperoni rolls there to sell. Or, maybe that granny is serving up daily specials in a small restaurant space off to the side.
The Corner Gas 'n Grill in the Pax/Mount Hope area takes it to the next level, though. Not only do they have a restaurant inside, but they even do catering, buffet dinners and more. The general menu features breakfast staples like eggs, biscuits, bacon, etc. Plus salads, sandwiches and plated dinners like fish, chopped steak, shrimp and chicken strips.
I went for a simple cheeseburger and onion rings. And, it was freshly made, toasted bun, a good amount of onion, ketchup and mayo. Solid burger. The onion rings were pretty good too - I like mine in a slightly sweet coating and these did not dissapoint.
Grade: A
Mountain Mama's Kitchen, located in Huntington, serves up homestyle food in a rustic environment.
And, surprisingly, a lot of it now is seafood: homemade fried jumbo shrimp dinner, salmon nuggets, shrimp alfredo, etc.
When I was there, I ordered an oxtail alfredo with sweet potatoes and mac & cheese. The kitchen was a little disorganized and running behind when I was there, but I was happy to wait for this unique dish. It's not a combo you see often - and I don't see oxtails in general anyway. Oxtail is rich and tender and can be quite delicious when done right.
This version was OK. I do like the bed of creamy pasta, though I think it needed some more punch of flavor to hold up to oxtail. The oxtail was good, but the greasiness leeched out which was not so pleasant coating everything. Both sides and the cornbread were solid.
Grade: B
Bodegas are a thing in larger cities; they're small grocery stores and often in Spanish-speaking communities.
So my interest was piqued to find East Beckley Bodega in Beckley - even more so to find out they operate a small kitchen called Kiayla's Grandma's Kitchen.
I thank Door Dash for this discovery. The store itself had some empty shelves but did have some more unique snack items that aren't always easy to find.
The store did have a few pastry goods like slices of cake available for sale, but I was there a bit later in the day so not sure how well they would have held up at that hour. Regardless, I put in an order for a cheeseburger and mac & cheese.
So, overall, it was decent. I was kinda like a backyard bbq burger, which is totally fine, just a bit unwieldy. The bun was a bit too soft to handle this monster of a burger, super thick cut tomatoes and onions made it a bit difficult to eat. The burger itself could have benefited from some more seasoning, but I was happy they were generous with the portions.
The mac & cheese was clearly homemade with some baked cheese pieces in there and the pasta was broken down a good bit from the cooking. But with a ton of cheese, how could I not enjoy it? Not bad.
Grade: C
Clendenin is booming. There's some development happening there, and one of my most recent visits included a stop at Elk River Baking Company.
This little bakery has expanded to offer breakfast, lunch and dinner since I've been there.
They had a case full of little treats. From chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies to one that immediately caught my attention: the pecan toffee cookie.
So that one was delicious, with that buttery toffee flavor. Plus a fruity shortcake bar and some little odds and ends - all super tasty. Homemade, rustic and quite tasty.
What have you tried?
Grade: A
'Tis the time of year for caramel-covered apples. And I've heard about Ruth's Big Apples recently, so I reached out to see if I could purchase one of my own. She offers a variety of different kinds: Apple pie, pumpkin spice, m&m, Reese's, peanut, turtle, toffee coffee, Oreo, as well as regular caramel and chocolate.
I don't think that I learned until I was an adult that you are supposed to cut pieces of the apple instead of just biting directly into it. But, as I cut off pieces of this apple, I quickly devoured each one. It had a thick caramel coating, plus tons of chocolate and nuts. It's a great combination of sweet and salty. It was over-the-top delicious.
I wanted to pull together a collection of maple syrup producers (like honey). So let's go!
The United States produced 4.16 million gallons of maple syrup during the 2018 harvest. This does not reflect industry potential as it was a weather-related, poor production year. According to the USDA, of the 13 states involved in maple syrup production, West Virginia produced the least amount with 8,000 gallons in 2018. (For reference, Vermont produced 220 gallons of maple syrup for every 1 gallon produced by West Virginia.) While 2018 data shows West Virginia as the smallest producer, industry sources cite the state’s maple tree inventory and a large amount of untapped trees as a huge resource and viable growth commodity. Maple sap and syrup offer strong links to the local and cottage food movement and agritourism. For instance, the recent creation of “Maple Days” supports the maple industry and has the potential to spur more growth. [SOURCE]
- Back Creek Farms
- Barbour Farms
- Blue Rock Farm
- Bowers Maple Farm
- Camp Hidden Meadows
- Canaan Valley Maple
- Cassell's Sugar Shack
- Cedar Run Farm
- Cool Hollow Maple Farm
- Country Roads Maple
- Creekside Farms
- Croagh Patrick
- Daniels Maple Syrup
- Dave’s Backyard Sugarin’
- Dry Fork Maple Works
- Eisentrout Farms
- Ellett Valley Maple
- Estep Branch Pure Maple Syrup
- Family Roots Farm
- Fifth Season Farm
- Flanigan Family Maple
- Fort Warwick Farm
- Frostmore Farm
- Future Generations University
- Gaea Farm
- Gauley River Maple Works
- Grandpa Tom's Maple Farm
- Gray Farms
- Great Oak Farm
- Halstead Farm Maple Products
- Heasley Homestead
- Henthorn Maple Farm
- Highland View Farm
- Hill n’ Hollow Farm & Sugarworks
- Hillsboro Maple
- Hitt Farms
- Indian Water Maple Company
- Jack Mountain Maple
- Kettle Lick Syrup
- Lanagan's Lodge
- Laurel Fork Sapsuckers
- Loafer's Glory Resort and Event Venue and Dry Run Spirits Distillery
- Lost Ridge Farms
- M&S Maple Farm
- Maple Grove Farm
- Minner Family Maple Farm LLC
- Mongold Walnut Farm
- Moonhaven Farm
- Moonstruck Maple
- Mountain State Maple
- Mozark Mountain Tree Farm
- Nahwya Farm
- Nightfall Ridge
- Novak Farms
- Peaceful Pines Farm
- Rustic Rock Maple Farm
- Rockhaven LLC
- Ronk Family Farm
- Samara Farm
- Simply Hickory
- Starry Nights Farm
- Stemple Brothers Farm
- Stone Hollow Farm
- Sunrise Farms
- Spruce Knob Maple
- Sweetcreek Sugarworks
- Tarheelbilly Farm
- Toms Creek Family Farm
- Valley Farm
- Walnut Creek Farm
- Wagon Trace Farm
- W.I.T. Farm
- We Bee Sappin
- West Virginia Veteran Produced
- Yew Mountain Center
DRAFT is a restaurant & bar in Morgantown that has a bit of a sports bar bend - large TVs, subscriptions to the local networks and some creative drinks like the giant mimosa table tower we saw as soon as we walked in.
I went with my friend Kayla for brunch, and we were excited by both the food and drinks. I started off with the Bloody Mary Board, which came with a Bloody Mary prepared with Absolut peppar vodka plus tons of accoutrements - onion cheddar, shrimp, bacon, horseradish pickles, sweet pickled peppers, cocktail sauce. This is the best part of a bloody mary, so I was in heaven. It's mostly just snacking and using the bloody mary as a dipping sauce.
For my main meal, I went with the chicken & waffles. You know how the chicken and fish at Long John Silver's kinda taste the same because they're all using the same batter? I kinda had that effect here. Both the waffles and chicken were cooked to the same color and all covered in powdered sugar. I did like the waffles - they were the crispy, Belgian kind that have a bit more chew.
What's your favorite thing here?
Grade: B
Giuseppe's has been a mainstay in Mount Hope for years, though it's gone through some openings and closings. And most recently, they seem to have shuttered their doors.
Hopefully they can make a comeback. But in the meantime, let's take a quick look at the Italian restaurant from my last visit.
The interior has some traditional decor, red and white checkered tablecloths and a menu full of classics. I went with a cheese ravioli in a blush sauce, which came with salad and breadsticks.
This is comfort food to me. The pasta is rich and carb-tastic. I do wish maybe some fresh herbs or something was there to add a bit of brightness to the dish. The house dressing is tasty and punchy, though I would've loved something other than iceberg. And my breadsticks - covered in butter and cheese - were delish - if not a little unevenly baked.
Overall, a classic, homestyle Italian. restaurant with a good bit of history that I hope returns.
Grade: B
Have you ever been to a murder mystery dinner? I've been to one on a train before, but recently enjoyed a more "traditional" version at the local Holiday Inn with my friend Erin.
Hosted by the Murder and Merriment company, the actors played out a few scenes and mostly went from table to table having convos with the attendees and leaving clues.
The food? It was catered by the hotel, so it included salad with ranch or Italian dressing, penne with marinara, chicken lasagna, garlic bread and pecan and pumpkin pie. They also had a number of holiday cocktails. It was pretty standard for hotel catering - though they do have a restaurant that I want to check out at some point. Have you ever been?
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