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

Coffee on Main is a fairly new coffee shop in Beckley that not only offers coffee, but also pastries, sandwiches and more. 



Unfortunately, they will be closing their doors so I wanted to make sure I share my lovely experience here. 



The inside is cozy and a bit rustic. I started with an iced coffee with caramel. I didn't see any real specialty creations, so I kept it simple. And, it was good! 



And a good blueberry muffin is one of my weaknesses, so when I saw it, I knew it was coming home with me. 



This, too, was tasty. I love when it has that sugared top that gives some texture, but this was straight-forward and good.



Nothing too crazy, nothing out of the norm. But solid and satisfying.



Grade: B

The Pink Pig has been bopping around the southern part of the state - from Fayetteville to Huntington to Beckley - and I was lucky to catch them open a few months ago in their Beckley location. 



I've had their food in a few different locations, so it's no surprise I knew what I wanted: these delicious jalapeno poppers covered in bacon and some pasta salad. These are flavorful and satisfying. The ambiance and service left a bit to be desired but no major complaints.



They also had some products for sale - like Blue Smoke Salsa and Moon Pies. That was a fun little throwback. 



Overall, a tasty meal. But I don't think they're currently open, and it's tough to keep track of when they are.

Grade: B

Guess what? As of the time of this writing, I have officially visited all of the Gino’s locations in the state. I just have a few more to share here. 



On this day, I visited one of the Beckley locations, and I’ve really grown to enjoy their pizza. So I got one with just mushrooms, and it was a little extra-done. I liked it; it gave some more crispy texture and lots of stretchy cheese. Solid pie. 

Foxglove Bakery is a home bakery based in Beckley that came across my radar when I ordered the Hungry for Humans game.



The bakery is featured in the game, so I knew I had to try it out. I found the bakery on Facebook and direct messaged them to find a current menu and flavor options. I ordered 3 pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting, 3 peanut butter cookies, 6 pear galettes with caramel drizzle an 6 apple hand pies with vanilla bean drizzle.



The pumpkin cookies are one of the best cookies I've ever had. I had serious doubts I would even like them because I'm not typically into pumpkin desserts (besides pie), but these were so moist, so delicious and so flavorful. 



The galettes and handpies have the same type of filling, but teach were tasty in their own right. 

Grade: A

While driving through Beckley, I saw The Bumbler Bee Baker - The Cake Box set up alongside the road.



I couldn't resist that sprinkled truck, so I stopped to check out what was up for sale. There were plenty of cupcakes, cinnamon rolls and pepperoni rolls.



The one that stuck out to me, though, was the "What Not Cup." It was a layered dessert with almond cake, cream and strawberry puree. This is really a smart idea for any cupcakes that may not turn out right - just crumble them up for a whole different dessert. And, I liked this even more than a traditional dessert - it's all contained, easier to eat and I get to decide how much of each component I want in each bite. The cream and strawberry were on point. I do think the cake portion was a bit dry, so some moisture there would've made this perfect. 



Grade: B

Merry Land Express in Beckley is a Chinese restaurant that serves up standard Chinese-American fare.



The menu does have some interesting items that you might not see everywhere like fried bananas sesame balls and even curry chicken.



They do have a buffet available but I opted for some takeout options.



The first thing that we started out with was the fried cheese wontons which are always go to for me because they are delicious and each place does them just a little bit differently. I think that I'm the only person who doesn't love the actual fried portion of the wonton so I really appreciate the foldover style as opposed to pinched style because I feel like you get more filling. These were good but I do miss the crab that is often found in other wontons. The egg rolls were standard and had a lot of cabbage filling.



I also ordered the sesame shrimp, which is shrimp, breaded and fried, covered in a spicy, sweet sauce with sesame seeds on top. I have been avoiding chicken that tends to be stringy or chewy because it's just not sitting well with me lately. But shrimp kind of avoids those issues. I do wish that there was a little bit less breading. because that can overtake the flavor. But otherwise, I still enjoyed this dish. I liked the sauce. And I really like the little bit of texture that the sesame seeds add.

Grade: B

Kozy Farm's Sweets is an adorable Beckley bakery serving up cupcakes, mini cakes, cookies and coffee. 



When I was visiting, the cupcakes are what caught my attention. They were bright and stacked and just calling my name.



Now, typically, I'm not a cupcake person. They're fine, but not the first thing I gravitate toward. But these ones were so visually delicious. 



The cherry one was easily my first choice. Cherry is a very underrated fruit, in my opinion. I also have a hard time finding it in grocery stores. Bring back the cherry! 



The cupcake was absolutely stacked with ribbons of icing. A drizzle of chocolate. A gummy cherry. It was fun and tasty.



I also went with a strawberry lemonade cupcake, which was topped with a candied wedge of lemon. How adorable is that? And let's be honest, when it comes to cupcakes, we are more so eating with our eyes than with our tastebuds.



And while they didn't have their "mini cakes" available, I did spy with my little eye some bread pudding. And, you know bread pudding is one of my guilty pleasures. 



They had a maple pecan that I knew I had to have. And, honestly, the bulk inside was fairly dry and would have benefited greatly from a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream. 



Still, this Beckley bakery is adorable and had some fun sweets. I'd like to try some others next time to make sure I'm really getting their flavor.



Grade: B