The Capitol Market is one of my favorite places in Charleston.

And I'm fortunate enough to serve on the board.

Over the weekend, it held a farm-to-table dinner to raise money for the nonprofit (did you know Capitol Market is a nonprofit?)

Chef Paul Smith was our incredible chef for the evening, and he prepared a delicious Mediterranean meal.

And we enjoyed this amazing meal outside among the flowers and beautiful sunset at Capitol Market. It was perfect.

The menu for the evening consisted of items from vendors located at the Capitol Market. How cool is that!

While folks were mingling, servers were passing around hors d'oeuvres.

Those included kalamata olive hummus on a tumeric pita.


And there was chicken kafta kebabs.

And dolmathes with tzatziki.

After sampling each of those, it was time to get down to the main meal!


We started with a Seafood Escabeche, which was a combination of shrimp, crab, and mussels paired with crisp vegetables in a spice vinaigrette.

Then for our entree, we had a Mediterranean Surf & Turf with roasted lamb chop and charred lemon barramundi served on a bed of Israeli couscous risotto with local green beans and herb-roasted tomatoes.

Dessert was a Greek Yogurt Creme Brulee - creamy and tart greek yogurt served creme brulee style with stewed dates, a baklava cigar and frizzled with Sekanjebin syrup.



Did you go?

I am not above pulling off on the side of the road when ice cream catches my eye.

That might have been the situation when driving past the Paden City Tasty Freez.

This dairy shop has ice cream, as well as food.

I went for a "candy cream" - their version of a Blizzard - and got a Reese's one.

I don't think you can go wrong with Reese.

It's not every day I get to write about a new restaurant in Wellsburg, so I was excited to hear about Dovetail Fire & Ale opening.

We are a family owned and operated restaurant nestled in the middle of downtown Wellsburg, West Virginia. We serve fresh and wholesome American food with some Southwestern influence. We cook all three meals of the day so you don't have to. Visit us in the morning for piping hot coffee, fresh home-cooked breakfast classics with a Dunson family touch and our delicious selection of baked goods and gourmet cupcakes. Visit us in the afternoon for our selection of mouth watering tacos, crispy chicken, and juicy burgers with an on tap, ice cold, frosty root beer. Or, Join us in the evening where our lunch and dinner menus combine to provide you with several different choices. Need a pick me up? Come take a seat at our bar where you can sit back, have an ice cold brew and relax.We built our business from the ground up to be unique. Dovetail Fire & Ale is all about coming together, eating good food, and making memories. So take some time out of your busy schedule and come visit us at the Dovetail Fire & Ale. We have a seat waiting for you.

I brought both my coworkers and parents together for breakfast here.

I ordered the strawberry waffle special with a side of a hash brown.

Have you been here?

In my neverending quest to visit all of the state's breweries, wineries and distilleries, I have checked another off the list.

Moss Farms Winery & Country Roads Distillery had been on my list for some time because they're in my neck of the woods - Wheeling!

The facility is in a nice, secluded space.

It features a line of wines - Sassy Cat, Sweet White, Strawberry, Sangria, Hulu Dancer, Sweet Red, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, and Fredonia.

And the distillery portion has a number of moonshines.

I had to take home a little of each.

Which is your favorite here?

Miklas Meat Market is a staple in Wheeling

The shop has a selection of meats.

But it also has local products, like coffee.

And general convenience store items you may need.

It took everything in me to not buy that cookbook!

This is a great local shop that I would love to frequent more.

Have you been here?