If you've ever picked up a pepperoni roll that has colorful writing on the front denoting if it was regular, cheese or hot pepper cheese, you might have had a Home Industry pepperoni roll.
The legendary bakery is featured in my book, and they're known for having their products in Sheetz throughout the area. Not only that, but I love the ones they make with sauce and peppers already inside. So tasty.
Not too long ago, they moved locations into a much larger warehouse on Mount Clare Road in Clarksburg.
So, I wanted to check them out and try some of their other offerings - like their donuts. I tried one that was jelly-filled, and it was delish.
But they have plenty more - powdered, sprinkled, etc. Plus, they have plenty of other goodies - like these pretzels I picked up.
What's your favorite thing here?
Camp Virgil Tate is a 4H Camp in Charleston that also hosts a variety of events, like meetings, retreats, and even weddings.
They have partnered with Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective to provide some of their delicious baked goods for sale. They have pepperoni rolls, pierogis, quiche, and breadsticks available. So, I put in an order for some pierogis and pepperoni rolls. Unfortunately, the pierogis were delivered to a different location, so I didn't get those. BUT, I did get the pepperoni rolls!
These are packed full of pepperoni and cheese - no giant air pocket here. They're dense and have this garlic herb butter sort of wash, and they are pretty tasty. Have you tried?
I came across Mindy's Kountry Delights on a list of locally made products. The cottage food business is based in St. Albans and features a variety of sweets like baked goods, candies, jellies, jams and other snacks. I found her on Facebook and asked to place an order.
She makes a little bit of everything, so I just let her know what kinds of things I like - milk chocolate, caramel, etc., and asked her to make up a platter for me. And, she did just that. She delivered it to my door (contactless!) and it was full of milk chocolates, soft caramels, chocolate-covered peanut butter balls and these O'Henry bars that have peanut butter and chocolate and like oats? Just delishhh.
If you haven't checked out her tasty treats, give her a try!
Clendenin has a few little hidden gems that I've had on my to-try list for some time. And, recently, I was able to mark a few off - like Savor the Flavor.
This bakery recently expanded its space, and I would guess its offerings, too!
They really have a wide variety to choose from.
Think: donuts, cream horns, apple turnovers, breads, pepperoni rolls, cinnamon rolls - and even sandwiches!
So, I needed to try a few things. Let's start with a pepperoni roll.
This was a pretty large roll, with a an air pocket in the middle, but the bread was the perfect depth so it didn't get too dry but got all those tasty spices soaked in the bread.
We each have our pepperoni roll preferences!
Then, I tried the brownie. This giant brownie was a tad on the dry side and had chocolate chips - which most people would love.
But my fav is those corners that are crispy around the edges and fudgey in the middle!
Also, I tried the chicken salad "cone-wich," which was in this really cool breaded cone thingy. It made for the perfectly portable snack.
Finally - the flavor stack. This was my favorite. There's something special about a really solid sandwich. This had a variety of lunchmeat, cheeses, lettuce, tomato and mayo. It was all fresh, varied in texture and stacked high, for sure.
Grade: B
Harts is a small town in southern West Virginia that recently found some news coverage for one of its restaurants. Creeker's Diner and Dana's Sweet Selections Bakery are a two-for-one deal. On either side of the space, there are counters. One is for the diner side, and the other is for the bakery side.
Creeker's has a diner feel with checkered floors, bright red vinyl seating and old-school car decorations. They serve up burgers, loaded fries, sandwiches and fried appetizers.
But I've heard their burgers are where it's at, so I ordered a classic with American cheese, onion, tomato, ketchup, and mayo. Plus a side of tater tots. And maybe an order of hot pepper cheese balls (I love hot pepper cheese balls!).
The burger was clearly hand-pattied and homemade. There was a great blend of spices that made it flavorful. Tater tots were good, and the hot pepper cheeseballs are always a favorite.
Then I ventured to the other side of the space to check out all the sweets.
The case was full of pastries, donuts, cream horns, cookies and small cakes. I got some cake balls that were strawberry cake AND fondant, and they were delicious.
There are even some tasty desserts from another bakery - Tammy's Custom Cookies - there. And, I tried a chocolate dipped rice krispie treat.
Grade: A
Barboursville is home to some hidden gems, including Sweet & Sassy bakery.
The bakery is fairly nondescript, save for a sign outside that says the name of the bakery. I walked in through the gate and knocked on the front door. After I was welcomed inside, I walked to the left and saw the small shop.
The case was stocked with fresh cupcakes: confetti, white wedding, strawberry, chocolate mint and more.
So three cupcakes caught my eye: the strawberry, the confetti and the white wedding.
The strawberry was my favorite - super fresh and fruity and moist. The other two were more similar. But all tasty.
Grade: B
Valley Cakes & Cafe is a new bakery in Hurricane that serves up beautiful cupcakes, sweet treats and other lunch options. They're open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. so when I had a recent weekday off, I stopped in to check it out.
The space is absolutely adorable, with teal walls and a dozen steel table and chairs spread throughout the dining area. The bakery case was full of some lovely cupcakes: Boston creme pie, raspberry, cookies & creme, chocolate chip cookie dough, peanut butter, cinnamon roll and more.
Their lunch menu consists of sandwiches and other light fare. I couldn't decide on which cupcakes I wanted, so I picked three: raspberry, cookies & creme and chocolate chip cookie dough.
Each of these starts with a sweet vanilla base and topped with a healthy helping of icing with a small accent on top. So not only are they absolutely stunning, they are so, so tasty.
Which is your favorite?
Sweet Mama's is a new bakery in Hurricane that features baked goods, custom orders, cakes and other fun confectionaries.
Currently, they're open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. So, when I had a recent weekday off, I made a trip out to check them out.
The bakery is located in a large plaza that has been home to many restaurants and shops.
And this shop is small, but bright and filled from wall to wall with sweets.
Cases were filled with cookies, like oatmeal raisin and ones topped with sprinkles.
There were macarons in flavors of raspberry, birthday cake, pistachio, salted caramel and chocolate.
There are mini bites of apple or cherry pie.
They have cakes and even mini cakes made of carrot cake, chocolate mousse and more.
Plus tons of creative fun snacks like chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered marshmallows, hot chocolate mix and more.
They also had croutons and pepperoni rolls (with or without cheese). Of course I tried one of each - lots of breading - but still flavorful. I also got a rainbow cake bite, a chocolate florentine, two macarons and a chocolate mousse cake.
There truly is so much variety that they've packed into a small space!
And everything was top-notch!
Grade: A
All work property of Candace Nelson. Powered by Blogger.