Miss Ruby's Corner Market in Charleston provides fresh, healthy, and locally sourced food at discounted prices to support low-income families. "Miss Ruby’s Corner Market was born out of a vision to make fresh, healthy, and local food accessible to everyone, especially those in Charleston’s lower-income communities. It started with a simple idea—growing food in urban spaces to help provide fresh produce to families who often struggle to find affordable, nutritious options. Over time, this vision blossomed into a storefront designed to serve as both a grocery market and a community hub." "Our founders, Dural Miller, Alecia Allen, and the KYFC team, are passionate about supporting local farmers, promoting health, and giving back to the Charleston community. With the grand opening just around the corner, we’re excited to bring this important resource to the neighborhood—offering not only fresh produce but a variety of healthy, locally sourced products at discounted rates to ensure that everyone has access to what they need to live healthy lives." Chef Ke is at the helm of the kitchen and is offering sandwiches, salads and other specials. On this particular day, Chef Ke was offering walking tacos with choice of chips and toppings, which included: buffalo chicken, pulled chicken, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, chipotle ranch, ground turkey, cheddar, jalapeños, black beans, ranch and taco sauce. I got a Doritos walking taco with buffalo chicken. Tasty! And my coworker got one with lettuce, tomato, cheese and ranch; it looked delish. While I was there, they had fresh strawberries, plums, blueberries, peppers, avocados, and more. Plus, they have a variety of frozen goods, bakery items and general convenience items. They are also offering occasional dinners, like spaghetti or chicken alfredo with sides of garlic bread and salad. I can't wait to come back to try some of those. Grade: A

Thai Fusion in Barboursville offers "delicious, authentic Asian cuisine created by master chefs and served with a smile."



The menu is wide and varied, so I picked a few of my favorite dishes listed across the various categories: appetizer, entree & sushi.



Crab Rangoon (5) - Crispy wonton wrappers filled with cream cheese and crab mixture, served with sweet and sour sauce. These were a great version - a lighter fry, which saved the roof of my mouth and the integrity of the mixture inside.



Sweet and Sour Chicken - Stir fry with bell pepper, onion, pineapple and carrot. The Thai version of this dish has a thin sweet-and-sour sauce and usually a sort of shredded chicken. It is so craveable.



Lobster Tail Roll - tempura, avocado, cream cheese, eel sauce. this was quite the presentation. It was built with lobster tails, but the flavor profile was a familiar favorite. Creamy, a little sweet, crunchy. All fresh.



Grade: A

"In 1924, Benjamin Tillman “Pop” Byrd, Sr., at the age of 28, began baking his famous Scotch Oatmeal cookies in beautiful Savannah Georgia. He had a small bakery downtown near City Market and delivered the fresh cookies to stores around town in his Model T Ford. Typically, the cookies were sold out of large glass jars at ‘2 for a penny’. Pop’s cookies quickly became a favorite among locals and several more items were added to the bakery lineup, but nothing was as unique or as popular as the Scotch Oatmeal cookie. As the business grew, Pop decided to move the bakery closer to home on the outskirts of town, a little community called Sandfly. In 1929, he converted a tin-sided barn into a larger bakery which he lovingly named 'Byrd’s Famous Cookies,'" reads the website.



Byrd's Famous Cookies still bakes their traditional family recipes in small batches, with the highest quality ingredients. Their shop offers a collection of southern delicacies and gifts.



They offer an extensive variety of flavors and options. From their famous Key Lime Coolers to their classic Chocolate Chip cookies, they have it all. Almond shortbread, cinnamon sugar and "Cookie's Cookie" - Love our classic Scotch Oatmeal Cookie? To celebrate of our 100th anniversary in 2024, we created a fun take on our original Scotch Oatmeal Cookie and added a punch of creamy butterscotch chips and indulgent dark chocolate.



I went for Salted Caramel Cookies - Golden crisps that will leave you hootin' and a'hollerin for more. Crammed with buttery caramel morsels and a pinch of sea salt.



These crispy little bites were buttery and sweet. Kind of addicting!



Grade: A

Gyro King is a Mediterranean restaurant that is part of The Market in downtown Huntington. Gyros, of course, must be the specialty so I perused that portion of the menu and ultimately landed on an original gyro. The original gyro consists of ground lamb and beef with tzatziki sauce and lettuce. I didn't realize beef is part of the traditional gyro, because I thought it was just lamb on the spit. But, the combo of the two mixed with spices and seasonings and shaved thin from the spinning loaf make up the bulk of the gyro. It was fine; not stuffed with toppings or bursting with flavor. But a simple, straightforward, utilitarian gyro. Grade: C

Here’s my latest column for HD Media:

Mountain Dew has long been the preferred beverage in Appalachia.

It has just taken on a few different forms over the years.

In the first part of the 1900s, “Mountain Dew“ referred to moonshine, the illegal, potent whiskey.

In the latter part of the 1900s, “Mountain Dew” referred to an electric green citrus soda high in caffeine.

Both, though, have deep roots in the Appalachian Mountains.

Bubbly Beginnings

In the late 1920s, a Knoxville, Tennessee, entrepreneur named Max Licht developed a brand new soda. At the time, soft drinks were rising in popularity as an alternative to alcohol and were even often touted as medicinal.

Licht’s soda was clear, like moonshine, but contained no alcohol. He playfully named the drink Mountain Dew in its honor.

“Mountain Dew” had been used for generations to describe homemade whiskey, often produced in secrecy in the remote mountains of Appalachia.

Do The Dew

The concept was revived in the 1940s when Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman created their version as a mixer for alcoholic beverages.

In 1947, the brothers began selling it to the general public. Like the earlier version, it was a clear and caffeine-free citrus soda.

That all changed in the 1950s when the Tip Corporation of Marion, Virginia, acquired the rights to the drink and reformulated the beverage with a sharper citrus profile, bright color and tons of caffeine.

Appalachian Affair

Up until this point, Mountain Dew was a regional product, primarily consumed in Tennessee and nearby areas. Advertisements played up its Appalachian roots and ties to moonshine. The company's mascot was "Willy the Hillbilly," and the label included a blurb touting its "flavors specially blended in the traditional hillbilly style."

While these campaigns were criticized by some for reinforcing stereotypes, they also played a significant role in increasing the drink’s popularity in the very region they parodied. Mountain Dew’s irreverent tone and bold flavor resonated with Appalachians, many of whom saw the beverage as a product that reflected, even if imperfectly, a part of their cultural identity.

Pepsi purchased the soda in 1964. While the soda went nationwide throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Mountain Dew simultaneously became increasingly entrenched in Appalachian communities. Its availability, and strong association with regional pride helped cement its place not only as a popular refreshment but also as a kind of cultural badge.

Flavor Of The Future

It is now the fifth most popular soda in the United States, with Appalachia accounting for a significant portion of Mountain Dew purchases.

In fact, Appalachia may love Mountain Dew too much. Some public health experts believe the soda negatively impacts the region's health and coined the term "Mountain Dew mouth" to describe tooth decay from drinking too much of the soda.

Regardless, Mountain Dew’s popularity continues to grow. Mountain Dew is a billion-dollar brand with a wide array of spin-off flavors, national promotions, and high-profile sponsorships.

And in Appalachia, the soda retains a stronger connection. From its tongue-in-cheek connection to moonshine to its place in our cultural lexicon, Mountain Dew’s roots run deep in the hills and hollers of Appalachia.