I made a trip to the Taste of Bridge Day this year just to track down one vendor: Twisted Sisterz BBQ & Catering.
Hosted at Adventures on the Gorge, the event brings together local food vendors who offer a variety of tasty options for attendees.
I have been trying to check out this particular place for quite some time, so I was excited when I saw that they were listed as attending. I got in line early, purchased enough tickets, and bee-lined right to the barbecue truck. I was one of the first ones in line and ordered the smoked pork sliders, which had a pumpkin barbecue and tangy apple coleslaw. I would've liked some punch your flavors with a bold barbecue and a strong smoky flavor from the pork but besides that, I do like that they had a creative spin on it.
Grade: B
Taco Spot is a food truck-turned-permanent-spot in Fayetteville. Rather than traveling around, I think they have a solid home on Court Street - next to an ice cream spot. Tacos and ice cream, does it get much better?
The menu isn't huge - a few tacos, nachos, rice and beans. But they also have specials that are always creative and look delicious.
They have beef quesa birria tacos, chicken tinga tacos, and barbecue pork tacos. You can get three tacos with rice and beans, so I did that with one of each kind.
The beans, which I'm not usually a fan of refried beans, were good because they were kinda thick and had cheese on top, so points there. And the rice was not dry, which is another common fatal flaw.
My favorite taco was the bbq pork. I like the bit of smoky and sweetness. But they were all good - flavorful, moist and creative yet classic. The chopped onions and cilantro make the tacos so fresh. Solid tacos.
Grade: A
Gourmet cookies are having a moment right now, and one Fayetteville area food truck is making it happen locally.
A few weeks ago, I went to the Gaines Estate, which is a lovely venue that hosts Monday Markets where they invite food vendors, crafters and musicians to set up.
I went when I heard Sugar Attack Cookie Company would be there! The cookies are dished out from a food truck - they're quick, ginormous and have fun flavors.
I went with 5 different kinds: cookies & cream, it's my party, blueberry crisp, cookie monster and strawberries & cream.
These are big, stacked tall cookies stuffed with cookie bits, chocolate chips, buttercream and more. My favorite, though?
The blueberry crisp! It was kinda like my favorite kind of dessert - a fruit crisp, which has the fruit, an oatmeal topping and the buttery brown sugar goodness. This was similar, in cookie form. What's your favorite cookie here?
Grade: A
A wood-fired taco cart named "Polecat" has entered the Fayetteville food scene. Most recently, I was able to stop by Bridge Brew Works to check them out.
Their menu is fairly small: chicken, shrimp, cauliflower or sweet potato tacos. Plus spanish fried rice and elote.
I went for a shrimp taco, which has fire-grilled shrimp, queso fresco, Alabama slaw, avocado crema and tajin, which is a spice blend of lime, salt and chili peppers. Plus spanish rice and elote.
Let's start with the taco: It was bangin'. It was full of fresh, bold flavors, beautiful texture and some nice wood smoke. The spanish rice was a bit dry and not too notable, but the elote - good lord. A whole piece of delicious corn on the cob, covered in queso fresco, slathered in a mayo cream sauce and lots of cilantro. I'm glad no one saw me destroying this, because it was not a pretty sight - but it as delicious.
Grade: A
Let's throw it back to a warmer summer day when my friend Brittany and I were visiting The Pink Pig in Fayetteville. I think this was technically during what would have been Bridge Day weekend, and this spot was slammed.
The Pink Pig, which is the brick-and-mortar location for Fred's BBQ & Catering, looks like it's located in a former auto shop with two large garage door openings, which make it a perfect indoor-outdoor vibe. They also have cornhole outside with various tables and some heaters, too.
As one might imagine, BBQ is their specialty - and it was clear many folks were hungry for it. We waited in line for some time before making our way to the front. And, by that time, I wanted to order everything on the menu.
I ordered the "sloppy mac," which is a pulled pork sandwich with mac & cheese on top of it. I think this is pretty much a standard menu item at so many BBQ places now, and I'm here for it.
Plus, I got a side of Utz Helluva Good chips - I love this dip, so I figured the chips would be good. And, I was right. I kept munching on these while waiting for our food to come out. They kinda served as my appetizer.
Finally, our real appetizers came out: cheerwine jalapeno poppers and pimento cheese jalapeno poppers.
The cheerwine ones were definitely on the sweeter side, but they were still balanced well with salty bacon and the heat of the jalapeno.
It's hard for me to put anything about pimento cheese, though. I love me some pimento cheese. And the cheesiness with salty, crispy bacon and soft, spicy jalapeno = a recipe for perfection.
Now, let's get to the sandwich. First and foremost, it does not come with sauce. There are some sauces at the table to use: a tangy golden, a regular and then some others. So, the sandwich was actually pretty dry - even with the mac & cheese - until I doused it in BBQ.
With that, it was pretty tasty. I really like the tangy gold BBQ sauce. The pulled pork was tender but not super flavorful - same with the mac & cheese, so the BBQ is what really gave it that zing.
Grade: B
Fayetteville has no shortage of amazing restaurants, and there's one that keeps changing it up. You may remember the New River Curry House, which opened to much fanfare. They have since rebranded and expanded their offerings as part of Wanderlust Creative Foods.
"Our concept is simple: Serve high quality food at a fast pace and affordable cost. We have hand picked dishes from around the world that we will know you will love. Our menu is Wanderlust, just like you!" their Facebook reads.
My friend Brittany and I went to check it out. They actually weren't open at the time listed, but after browsing around town for an hour or two, we came back and they were ready. The interior is cozy with some eclectic decor. She ordered a Caesar Salad, which came with a large parmesan crisp. I don't think that's kale? But she seemed to like it well enough.
After looking over the menu full of samosas, tacos, lamb burgers, Turkish spaghetti and chicken tikka masala. I started off with naan dumplings, which were by far the biggest hit of our meal. It had seasoned chicken and veggie filling wrapped in naan dough and fried. It was served with hot pepper jelly and candied peppers. It was a beautiful combination of textures and flavors. And I especially appreciated the local touch with hot pepper jelly.
For my entree, I went with Chicken Pimentos. Pimento cheese is one of my buzz words that when I see it on a menu, I go for it. So, I assume the word pimento drew me to this offering. This is a different take on the pimento pepper than I'm used to seeing: seared chicken breast and thigh in a white wine reduction sauce with pickled cherry peppers over rice. It was still a straightforward chicken breast, but I loved the pickled peppers.
Grade: B
Studio B Art Boutique Wine & Beer Gallery is a really cool shop in Fayetteville that has everything from WV products and clothing to beer and wine. There's really a lot here, but, of course, I wanted to focus on the food and drink part.
First, let's talk Mountain Top Tea, which is produced by Berkeley Springs Brewing Company. These are beers brewed with tea, like Mandarin Orange Rooibos, Green Tea or Earl Grey. So they're like sours but with these tea flavors. If you are a tea fan, this could be a good try!
Then, I also wanted to collect the beautiful line of cans from Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company. I need the Green Bank Fruited Gose, 35 Pale Ale and would love Bat Boy! If anyone knows where I can get these cans, give me a head's up!
During a trip to Fayetteville - when it was a touch warmer - my friend Bri and I stopped at Wild Art & Wonderful Things.
This lovely shop has some amazing local art and products. I ended up scooping up some West Virginia-themed coasters, and one of which is a puzzle. I am also dying for one of these topographic maps. Just stunning.
And, to top it off, they also have kombucha. I'm always a little weird about kombucha, I think, because I don't understand it. I lowkey wonder if it's gonna upset my tummy because "bacteria," but I know there is good bacteria!! Someone tell me why I shouldn't worry about this.
But, all of that aside - this was tasty! It was so summery with that little bit of sour and it made me actually enjoy the flavor - which can't always be said. I would drink this just for fun! Have you been here?
There's a new restaurant in Fayetteville aptly called "The 304."
This restaurant is in a small space and has some fun takes on regular menu items, like a grilled cheese french dip.
After seating myself, I looked through the menu. My first choice was the "soul rolls," which have collard greens, roasted chicken, yellow saffron rice, and black eye peas with a cherry Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce.
And, wow, yes, they were just as delicious as they sound. Perfectly crisp on the outside with a super hearty and flavorful inside.
Then another one of their specials they had was a sloppy joe cheeseburger. And for some reason, a sloppy joe just sounded perfect. So I ordered one without the cheeseburger and added American cheese AND pimento cheese.
W-O-W. The sweet and tang from the sloppy joe with the creamy cheese was delish. This should go on the menu because I would order it again and again. Do yourself a favor and try it - with a side of tots doesn't hurt.
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