Finally had a chance to try a farm to table dinner at Fish Hawk Acres:

A New Appalachian Clam Bake at the Farm Thursday, July 13, 2017 6:00 PM

To Start a Great Evening:
Rappahannock River Oysters meet Rock Cave: Oysters Roasted with Bacon, Spinach, Onion & Hollandaise Sauce

MENU
A Big Green Salad with Pati’s Heirloom Tomatoes and Cucumbers Dressed with a Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
Maine Lobster with Butter and Lemon
Aunt Carolyn’s Grilled Chicken
Corn on the Cob Marinated with Butter, Pecorino Cheese, Fresh Parsley, Lemon and a Touch of Chili
Herb Roasted Fingerling Potatoes from Lupe’s Field
Romney Peach Cobbler With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Seattle, the birthplace of the hipster, is known for its teriyaki.

FOR NEW TRANSPLANTS, THE SIMPLE DISH DOESN'T FIT THE NARRATIVE OF THE SHINY, NEW CITY (THRILLIST).

It's a bit ironic that something as simple and Americanized as teriyaki was so prominent in a city now known for its super hip, urban eats. And, the hipster attitude in Seattle has crowded out lowbrow places such as teriyaki joints - but nonetheless, it's still part of Seattle's fabric.

Sweet and sticky with sauce, all Seattle-style teriyaki stems from the basic formula Toshihiro Kasahara developed when he opened his first shop, Toshi’s Teriyaki, in 1976. The meat, traditionally chicken thighs slippery and brown from marinade, gets slapped on a hot grill. The high heat caramelizes the sugars, crisping the meat and leaving it with a crunch of barely burnt soy on the outside. Sliced into bite-size pieces, it’s served fanned out across a molded mound of white-as-snow rice, the sauce seeping down between the grains. The salad, like the meat, is sweet and crunchy, the iceberg lettuce and slivers of carrot and cabbage reminiscent of coleslaw, with only the rice vinaigrette separating it from old-school American picnic fare.

Nonetheless, I did a quick search to find a decent remaining teriyaki shop - they're like fast food in Seattle - and Kyoto Teriyaki was the closest. I ordered my chicken teriyaki, plus an egg roll. It comes with white rice and slaw salad. There was a giant bottle of teriyaki at the table that I slathered on, and I thought it was great! It's not a complex meal, but the chicken was moist, slightly crisp on the outside, and the teriyaki was sweet. If teriyaki joints were as plentiful here as they are in Seattle, I'd be in trouble.

Grade: A

Such a fun evening at the Mountain State Food Tours - Adelphia, Celsius (with drink!), Noah's, Ichiban, a sample from JQ Dickinson & The Peanut Shoppe, and Ellen's.

Cam's Ham is a local favorite restaurant in Huntington.

The restaurant has a famous flaked ham sandwich that I finally got the chance to try.

Cam’s Ham, a Huntington classic was founded in the 1950’s. Same family owned for over thirty years and have maintained an old-fashioned diner aesthetic with Coca-Cola and NASCAR memorabilia.

Two of the most famous signature homemade choices are the hand cut and battered onion rings, and Cam’s Original Sugar Flaked Ham Sandwich, made of thin flakes of lean ham stacked on a toasted Grecian bun and garnished with lettuce and a sweet based secret sauce.

With Cam’s Ham homemade menu classics, the family owned and operated diner is sure to remain a favorite in our community.

Starbucks is a big deal in the PNW, since it was started here. We went to the original location, but then we stumbled upon the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room.

On Friday, December 5, 2014, Starbucks opened the doors to an all-new coffee experience: The Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. You'll find it at 1124 Pike Street, in Seattle, Washington. It is a place where you can experience coffee from the unroasted bean to your cup of coffee. You can watch it being roasted. You'll see the burlap sacks it comes in. You can watch it being loaded into the green coffee loading pit. You can buy it scooped at the coffee scoop bar. You can experience your coffee as a pour over, Siphon brewed, Clover-brewed, a shot of espresso, espresso beverages, and more (SOURCE).

How cool is it to go to the place where the beans are roasted? Plus, you get to try new, artisan drinks in this beautiful space.

The menu features coffee beans from all over, awesome concoctions and a beautiful show, too. I ordered a "barrel aged con crema," which had whiskey barrel-aged Sulawesi brewed hot as a pour-over with barrel-aged vanilla syrup and a cascara-sugar cold-foam topping.

It was fantastic! We sipped while walking around to see the baristas putting on displays and the coffee beans roasting. I bought a pour over cone so I can make more at home.

Just a very cool experience to stumble upon. Definitely cooler than the original Starbucks, in my opinion.


Grade: A