Cozumel has a small empire in the Kanawha Valley area, extending north to Ripley. The Ripley restaurant moved locations since my last visit, so I figured it was time to stop by. My partner got takeout and brought it home for dinner. We enjoyed the Cozumel dip, which is their white cheese queso dip with ground beef and pico de gallo. This was a nice level up from the standard cheese dip. I do wish it was a bit thicker, but that didn't stop me from indulging.

I also tried the Cozumel pasta, because penne is not something you see every day on a Mexican menu. Grilled shrimp and chicken are cooked with onions and mushrooms on a bed of penne covered in a queso sauce. And, it was pretty good. I love the queso so adding pasta to it made it even better. I think there was actually too much chicken for the balance. But good, nonetheless. Grade: B

The Downtowner is a restaurant in downtown Ripley that is cash-only and focuses on homestyle food.



Think baked steak, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, fried bologna, philly cheesesteak, ham & cheese, soups, etc.



I went with a cheeseburger and fried mushrooms. Sometimes a diner burger just hits. It was not super thick, so it gets slightly crispy on the edges. Almost like a smashburger but thicker still. I just would have liked the cheese meltier.



The mushrooms were solid. I am nostalgic for fried and breaded mushrooms because we used to get them at DQ growing up. I don't know many DQs that serve them anymore. All they needed was a dipping sauce, preferably with horseradish.



Grade: B

Sam's Hot Dog Stand has over 45 locations in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Georgia. The basics of every Sam's location includes beef hotdogs, steamed buns, and their chili – mild or spicy. Some locations will add specialties like pork barbecue sandwiches, fries or other sides. On my quest to visit every West Virginia location, I stopped at the Ripley one and ordered my standard hotdog on steamed bun with chili slaw, mustard, and onions. The assembly of this hotdog was ultimately its downfall; the chili on the bottom subbed through the bun and left it falling apart in my hand. I also wish the mustard was below the slaw to help keep it all together. Flavor, though, was pretty standard minus the mustard playing a starring role because it was right on top. Grade: B

The Mountain State Art & Craft Fair is a wonderful multiday festival near Ripley that showcases artisans, trades, food and more. Here are some of the food-related vendors who participated:

Angie's What's Poppin' Shop, The Boba Bus, DARN Good Candies, Ellison's Mountain Heritage Nursery, Fruits De La Rose / Oldham Sugarworks, Hill & Holler Herbal Company, Howe Sweet It Is, Legacy Foods, Mountain Top Fudge Factory, Mrs. Mel's LLC, Nana's Kitchen, The Noshery, Ronk Family Maple Syrup, Sassy Gals Gourmet Treats, Stone Road Vineyards, Sugar Bottom Farm, The Sweeter Side of the Feud Winery, The Twisted Sister and Uncle Bunk's LLC.


THE JERKY HUT
Definitely want to check out the teriyaki flavor.


REX'S CALZONES LLC
They served Pepperoni & Cheese Calzone, Everything Calzone, Steak Calzone, Soft drinks & Bottled Water. I ordered a pepperoni & cheese calzone and was fairly impressed. The dough was soft, the chunks of pepperoni inside were ample and cheese coated the interior. Greasy, but not overly.


THE DONUTMAN
They offef a dozen mini donuts; I went for just the plane. But I would have loved a vanilla or caramel dipping sauce. They were very soft and lightly sweet.


STUFFED: GOOD FOOD
They have a variety of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Italian, Ham, Buffalo Chicken, Appalachian (with bacon jam), Chicken Bacon Ranch, Pepperoni Rolls with side of marinara dipping sauce. I went for the buffalo chicken, grilled cheese cheese. there were nice hunks of white meat, chicken, but I wish there was more buffalo sauce and oozy, cheesy cheese.


LANHAM ENTERPRISES
Shaved ice is always nice on 90° day.


SYCAMORE SWEETS
Smoothies, Bagels (bacon, sausage/egg), Chicken/ Tuna Salad Sandwich, Cupcake/Brownies, Pepperoni Rolls. I got a tres leches cake. It was a nice dessert, but it was not nearly as moist as I would like a tres leches.


MAIN SQUEEZE
Fresh squeezed lemonade and lemonade with assorted flavors. The lemonade was more on the tart side, but the giant container kept me hydrated for the day.


JAW'S BBQ!
Jaws pulled pork sandwich, Jaws pulled pork dinner, Jaws pulled pork Nacho deluxe, Jaws Hog Hides, Unks Lemon Shake-ups, Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, Jaws Noodles. I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich, which was already soft up and tossed with slaw. I liked that it was already perfectly moist and flavorful with that sauce.


STACI'S SALES LLC (Monie's Sweet Things)
Cotton candy, Candy Apples, Caramel Apples, Popcorn, Caramel Corn & Flavored Popcorn, Soft drinks, Slushies. All the classic fair foods I got a bag of cotton candy to take home because it's a you don't get many places. It was interesting to me that the middle flavor was banana; that's not something I recall.


S&S CONCESSIONS
Bloomin Onions, Polish & Italian Sausages, Philly Chicken, Philly Steak, Corn Dogs, Fries, Funnel Cakes, Lemonade, Sweet Tea. This place had by far the longest line, so I wanted to get something quick and simple. I got a corndog, which says fair to me because you don't often get them elsewhere. I like that they seemed freshly made based on texture.


JARHEAD FARMS
Pear Syrup, Pear Jelly, Marionberry Syrup, Red Fruit Syrup, Red Fruits Jam, Blue Damson Plum Syrup, Blackberry Syrup. They had lots of delicious looking jams, jellies and apple butter.

Samurai Hibachi & Sushi in Ripley is a Japanese and Asian fusion restaurant that runs the gamut of offerings - from teriyaki and bento boxes to ramen and poke.



The space is one that has seen many restaurants come and go. But it's easy to find with plenty of parking. Inside, it is not unlike other similar restaurants in the area. Bar seating, high-tops and red/black hues dominate:



I ordered Cheese Wonton (5), Lava Drops, Chicken Teriyaki and Strawbery Thai Boba.



These lava drops were pretty tasty bites of deep-fried sushi with spicy mayo and eel sauce on top. A nice combo of salty/sweet.



The teriyaki left a bit to be desired. I think the sauce could be more viscous so it could adhere to the chicken. Plus, a few gristley pieces turned me off.



Wontons were decent (but could have used more filling), as was the strawberry boba. The ginger salad is always a no for me. What's your favorite item?



Grade: B

Angie's What's Poppin' Shoppe is a Ripley-based popcorn shop that I caught out at a festival. They had a number of popcorn flavors available - from dill and cheddar to skittles and toffee. The flavor list is long and wide, and they hope to expand in the future.



I tried the garlic parmesan flavor, which was addictive. It was difficult to choose because there were so many options that sounded delicious. I would love to try a sweet version next. That might have to be when I go visit the physical location in Ripley.



Grade: A

If there is a Chinese restaurant in West Virginia, there's a good chance that I will travel to find it eventually. I love all the Asian food, but I have a soft spot for a Chinese comfort food. And I will often travel great lengths to find it, and I justify it because it's a new restaurant that I can feature on my blog.



When I found myself in Ripley recently, around lunchtime, I put in an order at the China Buffet to go. It doesn't appear as though they are doing the buffet or dine in anymore since Covid, but you can still get takeout.



I went with my usual order of crab rangoons. I also went for the General Tso's chicken, but I asked if it could be made with white meat chicken as opposed to the dark meat that's often found in this dish. They could not do the all-white breaded chicken, but they could do the grilled chicken that is often seen in dishes like chicken and broccoli. So it was not as chewy and definitely a more tender cut of chicken. I always enjoy the sauce that comes with this dish because it is sweet and a little sour and just thick and delicious. It would have been even better with a higher quality protein. The crab rangoons were decent. They were a little over-fried, but with enough cheese filling, anything can be good.



The eggroll was very average, as tends to be the case with many of these local restaurants. I had a good eggroll not too long ago and I have been chasing the high ever since. But most of the ones in our area tend to just have a ton of cabbage and not a whole lot of flavor. Aside from the oil. That tracks here. Not bad.



Grade: B