Weinkeller is a craft winery that serves fresh, local food from the Niagara Falls area.



The concept is different, in that you essentially choose three or five items from the menu (no two entrees, but you can do two appetizers or desserts). Many of the items have additional upcharges, but it is a take on a prix fixe menu that I've not seen before.



Three choices for $60 was a little easier for me to stomach than going up to $70. And, I wanted to stick with the ones that would add an upcharge on top of it.

So, I started with Fried Goats Cheese, which had roasted garlic cloves, oven dried cherry tomatoes and rosemary truffle honey.

Oh my god, this is one of my new, all-time-favorite appetizers.


Hand-carved New York steak - 8 oz. certified angus beef - grilled with bernaise sauce. Plus french fries. Not bad.

Dessert was a cheesecake with a fruit spread that was tasty!

There's one restaurant that sits right on the cusp of the falls, and that is the aptly named Top of Falls Restaurant.



This restaurant is located on the American side and in the state park, so that also helps make it unique. Unfortunately, we weren't really seated near the falls so we didn't get a great view.



But I did get to try something new: Beef on Weck. This is apparently a Western New York staple, with sliced seared beef, horseradish, au jus on a salted NY caraway roll.



This was pretty standard and exactly what I thought. The horseradish was less of sauce and more of straight horseradish, which was interesting. Have you tried it?

Charleston's newest coffee shop, VOID, has opened on the West Side.



This shop is sleek, modern and a little mysterious. It's brewing coffee in a whole new way for the capital city.



The shop boasts "new molecular brewing techniques, to allure your senses." Paired with a cool, hip design, this place is a welcome addition.



The menu is split into two main parts: traditional and "mods." The mods are modern takes on coffees, like the "Earth," which is a deconstructed macchiato, house syrup, milk, espresso layered on top marked with foam and chocolate.



Then, there's the VOID drink, which says it is "everything, anything or nothing."



Essentially, it's a surprise! And it changes. I ordered it and loved it. To me, it almost tasted buttery?



And, the Void comes with a little special note! Have you tried it yet?

So, this post is less about the food, but more about me wanting to show off all the cool stuff we did while in Niagara Falls. But, I want to center it around the ice cream shop at the Cave of Winds attraction.



The ice cream I got was Perry’s Niagara Delight flavor: vanilla ice cream with caramel swirls, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate covered peanuts and praline peanuts! How cute is that?



So, the ice cream was unique since that flavor can only be found in Niagara Falls. But, the place where it took place was also super cool!



Cave of the Winds is an attraction that is essentially a boardwalk that is on the edge of the American Falls and even has a few spots that weave in and out of the falls. So, you can get a taste of what it's like to be in them!



Here's a view of them from the top - I was up here on an island between the falls. So neat!




And here's a view from the Maid of the Mist, which takes you right up to the Canadian Falls - where it feels like you're in them!




This is from the island between the falls!



Seeing the falls just a little bit upstream where it's rockier.



This is from the Journey Behind the Falls attraction where we walked behind the falls - and right up beside them here!















Have you been?

The large yellow-green Golden Delicious apple is a favorite for apple butter, apple sauce or even salads. Founded in Clay County in 1912, this apple was the state’s second major contribution to the apple industry.

That’s right, second. Although the more popular Golden Delicious is designated as the state fruit, there’s another apple that blazed the sweet fruit path: The Grimes Golden.

The Grimes Golden apple, which is a large, round, greenish-yellow apple, was founded in early 1800s growing on the farm of Thomas Grimes in Wellsburg, West Virginia. Local legend states that the Grimes Golden apple tree grew from a seed planted by John Chapman — known as Johnny Appleseed.

The Grimes Golden is thought to be the parent of the Golden Delicious, which has largely replaced the Grimes Golden in terms of popularity despite its crisp, tender texture and sweet flavor that makes it perfect for applesauce, cider and desserts.

Being a Wellsburg native, the Grimes Golden has become a point of pride for me. Growing up, I looked forward to the Wellsburg Applefest, which celebrates the city’s connection to the apple. There, I would get my face painted, devour a caramel-covered apple and browse the vendor booths for trinkets.

The Grimes Golden Park, which commemorates the location of the first Grimes Golden apple tree, sits just a few miles from my childhood home.

And, perhaps my first memory of local food came from my neighbor’s very own Grimes Golden apple trees — or at least, that’s what we believed them to be at the time.

The border between my yard and the neighbor’s was always covered in little green-yellow apples, speckled with dark spots or wormholes. One late summer day when I was around 10, my dad decided to show off his culinary prowess with those ever-persistent apples and tasked me with gathering up as many as I could in a basket.

I remember picking through the ones that had fallen victim to deer or other pests and squealing when I found a perfectly round apple free from blemish. Once I felt like I had collected enough, I ran inside the house to showcase my bounty. That’s when the magic began.

My dad pulled flour, sugar, cinnamon, butter and brown sugar from the cabinets — just whatever he had on hand. He fashioned together a crust, never measuring a thing, and whipped up an apple filling after peeling what seemed like a million small apples. Two hours later, we had a hot, homemade apple pie that was created right before my eyes.

I remember being amazed that we could make a delicious meal from the fruit next door. I was so impressed that my dad could create a pie just with what we had available — no recipe, no fancy ingredients. Just some time, some patience and some skill. It really opened my eyes to place-based food and instilled at a young age the importance of local food.

There’s something special about eating food not only rooted in history and location but also crafted by a loved one. I often think of this moment when I’m able to — on the rare occasion — pull off a great meal. And, I think of it as I continue to seek out Appalachian foods that help define who we are and where we come from.

When looking up the best breakfast places in Niagara Falls, there was one place that came up time and time again: Blueline Diner.



This NHL-themed restaurant serves all the standard breakfast items: omelettes, bacon, pancakes, sandwiches and more.



I went with the eggs benedict, which came with English muffin, 2 poaches eggs, w sides of peameal bacon and hollandaise. And a TON of fried potatoes on the side.



This was the first time I had peameal bacon before, so that was interesting. What's your favorite breakfast item?

The first dinner I had at Niagara Falls was AG at the Sterling, a well-known farm-to-table restaurant.



This restaurant helped set the standard for incredible cuisine in the area. The whole front page of their menu is dedicated to this concept and even lists many of their local vendors.



This restaurant came on the heels of a double-wing stop in Buffalo, so I wasn't super hungry, but I was definitely wanting a few little tastes.



The entrees featured delectable items like quail and blueberry barley risotto, hand rolled pappardelle and mulled cider glazed duck.



You can do a full prix fixe menu with beverage pairing or do more a la carte.

But, first we started with some warm bread - one with fruit and one more savory. Delicious.



Then, a small cold fish palate cleanser from the chef.



I ordered the Harissa rubbed wild boar fusilli with forest mushrooms, root parsley pesto and "Dark Side of the Moo" cheese. This was unbelievable. Perfect bite to the pasta, but fresh. I still think of this dish.



Then, for dessert, I had the Spring Rhubarb Trifle, which came with diced rhubarb gateau, custard, rhubarb gelee and salted caramel pearls. So yummy!