Rise + Restore Coffee Co. is a family-owned coffee shop in Mineral Wells that also offers dine in and drive-thru service. Drink options include lattes, refreshers, smoothies, teas and more. I ordered a peach sunrise refresher, which features peach, pomegranate and orange juice. This had a great mix of sweet with tangy tartness. For snacks, they offer several kinds of bagel sandwiches: chicken salad, egg salad or buffalo chicken on an original, everything or jalapeno bagel from Box Bagels. My buffalo chicken everything bagel checked all the satisfactory boxes - some punchy sauce or crumbles of blue cheese would have pushed this into "exceeds expectations" range for me. Grade: B

Mintage Vintage is a market that hosts more than 100 artisans seasonally in the Parkersburg area. The open-air market spans a number of buildings at the 4H campgrounds in Mineral Wells. There is everything from stickers and clothing to dog treats and food. Of course, food.


Valley View Apiary & Breads
Valley View Apiary & Breads was a new one to me! These breads looked so good.
Sweet Ash Cookies
These beautiful custom sugar cookies are almost too pretty to eat. But don't worry, I will be devouring these carrots.
Wood Chipps BBQ
I started my day with some pulled pork nachos, complete with cheese sauce, bbq sauce, ranch, jalapenos, and, of course, pulled pork. I would've loved these even more if those toppings were layered, but tasty nonetheless.
Farmhouse Kitchen & Bakery
These pastries and baked goods made it hard to choose because each one looked delicious. I ended up going with a Reese Peanut Butter cup brownie. I'm still working my way through that beast.
Philly Twist
Braided soft pretzel with a variety of dips; I went with the honey mustard. A soft pretzel is one of those simple delights because they're not readily available everywhere. It makes me think of a carnival or other event.
Mama Maria
I was pleasantly surprised to see a locally made marinara sauce from Bridgeport. In addition to the sauce, there was also meatball mix and the base for the sauce. If you want to put your own spin on it. I've already been using the sauce as a dip for pepperoni rolls.
Willowbrook Cottage
Speaking of, I snagged a little round pepperoni roll from this bakery. They had mozzarella and pepper jack cheese. Nice for a snack sizespeaking of, I snagged a little round pepperoni roll from this bakery. They had mozzarella and pepper jack cheese. Nice for a snack size.
Fluffy Hippo
I think one of my favorite confections is homemade marshmallows. They don't last as long as the commercial ones, of course, but you can get such interesting flavors. Here, I tried a peanut butter and jelly. The texture is probably off-putting for a lot of folks, but it was so satisfying for me. Like flan, but with more bite.
Timmy’s Originals
As "home of the Smashburger," this food truck made it easy on me. I knew what I had to order. I got one smash burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, and ketchup. I don't think that it was as flat as I expected from a smashburger, but it was still tasty.
Leslie's Grub Shack
Hands-down, my most favorite bite of the day: a sloppy joe. It was the perfect blend of sweet and tangy, and the huge portion kept me full all day. I'm still thinking about it days later.
Kettle Pop Company
Last, but not least, who doesn't love some kettle corn?

Napoli's Pizza has a few locations in the Mid-Ohio Valley area, and I was ready to check out something other than pizza.  



This time, I was after a meatball sub. I placed an order at the Mineral Wells location to be ready at a specific time, but there seemed to be some confusion, and I ended up waiting about an additional 20 minutes.



That's no problem - as long as it's worth it. Was the meatball sub worth it? Eh, it was not my favorite. The meatballs seem like the frozen kind that have that certain "pre-packaged" flavor that's hard to shake. The bread was a little extra done - but thankfully there was a good amount of stringy mozzarella. Standard, utilitarian sub that can fill the belly but maybe not totally satisfy the tastebuds.

Grade: C