The First Baptist Church of Charleston has a commercial kitchen and space to sell food, as well as a space to eat it. So, some local cooks have used the commisary kitchen to do just that - like BG'z LA Street Tacos on Tuesdays.



On Wednesday, the pastor himself gets in on the action with "Wing Wednesday" where you can enjoy a wing dinner complete with two sides, a drink and a roll for just $10.



Wing flavors include mumbo, hot, bbq, lemon pepper dust, hot mumbo, honey drizzle and plain. Sides can vary, but I've seen mac & cheese, collard greens, potato salad, mixed vegetables, broccoli rice casserole, jambalaya, cheesy redskin potatoes and more.



AND, they have dessert. If it's your first time there, you get a dessert for free! Banana pudding, cakes, cookies - the works. And they have a good variety of drinks. I love having the options of Brisk, Sunkist, Crush - mix it up a little.



I initially was going to ordeer BBQ wings, but thankfully the woman taking my order knew better and asked if I had tried "mumbo," to which I replied no. She said if I liked sweet and sour, I would like it. I took her up on it, and God bless that woman, because those mumbo wings were fire. It really is like a sweet and sour, but so much better. It's maybe even sweeter, but also maybe more sour, too, so there's a deeper complexity that just makes me want to keeep taking another bite. The mac & cheese was stellar - nice and creamy, a touch swweet - just the way I like it. The greens were even great. I'm not huge on greens, but they cooked these in a way to take some of the bitterness out, but still provide that nice bite in between all the other rich flavors on the dish. All that plus a roll, a tasty Grape Crush and a free banana pudding? This may be the best deal in town.

**At the time of this writing, I do think they raised their price to $12, but it's still the best deal in town. Also look for their Fried Fish Fridays.



Grade: A

There is a bright teal food truck making an appearance in Kanawha City lately. It is dishing out the unlikely duo of coffee and hotdogs, but the name pulls it all together: The Beanie Weenie.



Beanie options include a peanut butter coffee with strawberry drizzle, a mocha coffee with peanut butter drizzle, and the one that caught my eye was The Dudded Milk: caramel coffee with chocolate and caramel syrup. (Side note: Milk duds are one of my favorite candies).



My coffee was quite tasty. Sweet, milky, and no hint of bitterness. Just well-rounded satisfaction.



I ordered the Country Roads hot dog, which is a deep-fried hot dog with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. I don't know that I noticed a big difference with the deep-fried hotdog, and I wish the slaw was a little bit more cohesive and had something to hold it more together. It was a bit piecey, rather than a paste consistency.



Overall, not a bad meal if you are in the mood for brunch: breakfast - coffee and lunch - hotdog.



Grade: B

Taco Tuesday has taken on a new meaning in Charleston with BG'z LA Street Tacos. This pop-up vendor is using the commercial kitchen at 432 Shrewsbury (First Baptist Church) every Tuesday and you do not want to miss out.



They offer 3 chicken or steak tacos along with rice and beans for just $10. I went for one chicken and two steak so I could get a taste of each. Plus, there are a whole variety of salsas to top the tacos with.



YUM. They're like homestyle tacos, but with the benefit of tons of options for sauces. I could pass on the beans next time and double up on the rice - which was moist and flavorful. The tacos had well-seasoned meat, fresh veggies and they were piping hot to order.



Grade: A

You may not think of great food when you think of bowling alleys, but a local one has been rated as one of the best for their hot dogs.



Galaxy Lanes sells hot dogs, as well as wings, tenders, pretzel bites, cheese bites, nachos - the works. I found my hot dog to be average - a steamed bun would have kicked this up a notch for me. But I did love my cheese bites. If there's a hot pepper cheese bite in the nearby vicinity, I will find it.



Grade: B

Wandering Wind Meadery in Charleston is "a small batch artisanal meadery tucked into the mountains in the heart of Appalachia." There are only a handful of meaderies across the state, so it's exciting to see one here in Charleston.



You may be asking: What exactly is mead? At it's core, it's simply honey wine: honey, water, and yeast fermented into an alcoholic beverage. But then that's where creativity is added - through fruits and other flavors.



Here are some of their offerings:

- Irish Sailor's Mead: Everything you hear about in the old Irish sailor shantys when they long for home... It's several flowers from the fields of Ireland, Juniper Berries, and Citrus to fight the scurvy aged over Bourbon Barrel Oak

- Clover Honey Traditional: Citrus and Coriander aged over Toasted French Oak

- Triple Berry Mocha: Berries and Chocolate aged over Toasted French Oak

- Peach Ginger: Peach and Ginger aged over Toasted French Oak

- Mango Jalapeño: Mango and Jalapeño aged over Toasted French Oak

- Cherry Hibiscus: Cherries, Hibiscus and Vanilla aged over Toasted Cognac

- Concord Grape Pyment: Our equivalent to a dry red table wine. Concord Grapes, hints of Vanilla and Lactose to round out the edges aged over Toasted French Oak



I tried the Clover Honey Traditional, which was quite tasty. A touch sweet, but certainly not as sweet as you might imagine "honey wine" would be. And most are on the dry side! They also have specific options available only to members - which is an interesting strategy. I wonder how many members they have now. 



Bonus: There were tasty treats from Jovial Confections, which were all delish!

I may be weird, but I get excited when I get to try a new caterer.



Because, you can only check their food out in certain circumstances. You can't just decide to order a meal whatever you want. There has to be an event with food, and you have to hope that it's not just a generic provider.



I got lucky I had a recent Junior League of Charleston event where we celebrated our centennial anniversary. And one of the highlights for me was getting to eat food from Tastefully Dun.



We were able to enjoy crabcakes, antipasto skewers, fig and goat cheese crostini, stuffed meatballs, and, my favorite, a Swiss almond dip that I could have eaten the entire container of.



Plus, there were desserts: Macarons and fruit tartlet bites. I wish I could have dinners like this all the time. Just a bunch of hors d'oeuvres and I'm happy especially when they contain a lot of cheese.



Have you had the opportunity to enjoy any food from Tastefully Dun?



Grade: A

I was pleased to stumble upon Love Joy & Create at an event held at Base Camp Printing Company recently. I had not heard of them before, but the scent of delicious goodies led me right in their direction. Here's everything they had available: peanut butter bars, chocolate chip cookies, cheesecake, lemon sugar cookie, snickerdoodle and brownies. There's something about a brownie that makes it one of the ultimate desserts. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate chips within the brownie, but I understand I'm in the minority. This was a good rendition of a brownie that wasn't too sweet. Then, we also had a cheesecake bar. CHEESECAKE. BAR. I think that's enough said here. How perfect is this for when you just want one piece and don't wanna make a whole cheesecake? Delicious. And, finally, the peanut butter and chocolate bar. Who doesn't want a grown-up version of a Reese Cup? This wasn't as saccharine sweet as candy version, but it was just as satisfying. Grade: A

Tickers & Timbers is like an adult Chuck E. Cheese. Based in Barboursville, the axe-throwing & escape room business recently expanded to Charleston.



My friend Beth and I went to check it out. I've done axe throwing before. And escape rooms. And a rage room. And a paint splatter room. But never a neon, black light painting experience.



So, we painted up a storm, which mostly ended up as a wet canvas that was just a mixture of all of the colors. But after work, we grabbed a meal.



The menu is pretty basic with sandwiches and pizza. So we went with a classic pepperoni pizza, and some bread and cheese sticks.



These were both fine. They were pretty tasty after working up a bit of a sweat, and they're satisfying when you work up a hunger. But overall, maybe a tad greasy and the crust didn't speak to me.



Grade: B

There's an adorable little coffee truck in Charleston callee Luna Coffee that is setting up downtown and at events.



She has a littke seating area where you can enjoy one of the signature drinks. I ordered "Into The Wooda," which had mocha, toasted marshmallow and brown sugar cold foam. It may be my new favorite drink in recent memory. Absolutely divine. Just the right amount of sweetness and all of the cozy.



Grade: A

Toward the end of last summer, I discovered B.K.S. The Pa'TeO at the corner of Ruffner and Washington. This space features a few different food vendors hawking their delicious goods, and I was excited to check it out again this summer, but I haven't seen the space as busy.



"B.K.S. The Pa’Teo is the name of the development. B.K.S. stands for “Best Kept Secret.” Pa’Teo is merely an alteration of the standard patio spelling," according to the newspaper. The whole space is the brainchild of J.Z. Ali, who sells his own food right under the main banner. He's known for his Mr. Choo-Choo's Hot Dog at area events. But at this space, his business's menu is expanded.



He offers barbecue, beef ribs, hamburgers and brisket, as well as the trademark hot dogs. I wasn't sure what to go with, so they hooked me up with this lamb sandwich with lettuce, cheese, onion, cucumber and more. It's kinda like a lamb gyro meets grilled cheese. 



Definitely a bit different, and definitely enjoyable. I do like the cold ingredients in a gyro paired with the earthy flavor of lamb. But with the oozy cheese, this was a whole different experience.



Have you been here? What's your favorite dish?



Grade: B