During a trip to Fayetteville - when it was a touch warmer - my friend Bri and I stopped at Wild Art & Wonderful Things. 



This lovely shop has some amazing local art and products. I ended up scooping up some West Virginia-themed coasters, and one of which is a puzzle. I am also dying for one of these topographic maps. Just stunning. 



And, to top it off, they also have kombucha. I'm always a little weird about kombucha, I think, because I don't understand it. I lowkey wonder if it's gonna upset my tummy because "bacteria," but I know there is good bacteria!! Someone tell me why I shouldn't worry about this.



But, all of that aside - this was tasty! It was so summery with that little bit of sour and it made me actually enjoy the flavor - which can't always be said. I would drink this just for fun! Have you been here?

Forgive me for not getting a photo of the outside of the building - because it's one of those places that you've probably driven by in Parkersburg but may have not set food inside. George's Place is located near the mall in Parkersburg and is a family-friendly bar that features some Mediterranean dishes. 



The interior looked pretty standard for a bar & grill, though I was only inside for a few minutes to pick up my to-go order. Let's dive in, shall we? We are starting with grape leaves stuffed with rice and ground beef and served with a side of yogurt. Grape leaves definitely have a bit of a sour flavor that I have come to love - but paired with that yogurt? Delish.



Then, I went to another extreme for dinner - stuffed shells. But first, a quick salad with fresh spring greens, cut tomatoes and red onion. Solid for a complimentary salad.



And then there is some garlic bread that was a bit sad, but it tasted fine nonetheless. 



Now, the entree. This was a bit different from what I am used to. The shells were stuffed with chicken, veggies, tomatoes, onion, mozzarella and marinara. I typically have some sort of ricotta and mozzarella mixture inside, but this was okay. I would've loved some more punches of flavor - maybe something like fresh herbs and getting that creaminess from the cheese. Still a decent dish for a bit different take on it.

Grade: B

 Who doesn't love cheese?!



Located in Martinsburg, Shepherd's Whey Creamery produces fine artisan goat milk cheese. I've actually wanted to visit this place, because how cute are goats?! Plus, there aren't a tonnn of places to find the cheese. And I figured getting it right from the source would be best. But, COVID-19 of course has thrown a wrench in things ... AND THEN I actually discovered some along one of my adventures.



While at Hawk Knob in the Lewisburg area, I noticed they had a few different types of goat cheese from Shepherd's Whey Creamery in the fridge. So, I bought both types I saw - an asiago and "Winter's End." 

ALPSIAGO: The newest cheese to our line up is our Alpine Style Cheese Alpsiago. This cheese inspired by the Italian Cheese: Asiago, is aged 12 months and is made in a large 16 pound wheel. This cheese has a unique texture and flavor that is unlike any of our other varieties. It has a bit warm and tangy flavor this cheese has become a favorite at our markets and here at the farm.

WINTER'S END: Winter’s End is a Shepherd’s Whey original. Steeped in beer from a local micro brewery at hooping and ages 5-9 months. It is a dryer sharp nutty cheese with a flavor similar to a Parmesan.

Have you tried either?

There are no lengths I'm not willing to go to in order to try a new (to me) restaurant. Such is the case when I had a craving for Chinese food, but I could only justify it if I could produce new content for my blog. And since I've tried all the Chinese restaurants in the Charleston area, I was led to Montgomery.



China House Xiu Hunan is the only, I believe, Chinese restaurant in Montgomery, so it has the market cornered. It was previously named Potamkin and has had decent reviews over the years. During COVID-19, they do not have indoor dining, so it looked more like it was used for storage and it had dim lighting. 



I had put in an order online, and when I got there, they said it was ready. But then I waited another 15 minutes or so. Once I got my bag stuffed full of food, I sped home (not literally, in case there are any cops reading) to try it out.



Let's start with the pad thai. This is one of my favorite dishes, but I just have not found a good version in the Kanawha Valley. It's a bit bland, the texture overall is just a bit mushy, and I'm looking for the nutty, sweet, chewy dish I love. And this just wasn't it. 



Next up, I tried honey chicken. I probably ate the most of this - it has the sweet tangy flavor of a General Tso or Crispy Chicken entree you might expect. It's not all white meat, though, which I was hoping for. I also don't think this one exactly agreed with my tummy.



Finally, we also tried the coconut shrimp. The coconut sauce came on the side, which was nice. But the breading for the shrimp was soft and mushy. So, I tried to pick off most of that and just dip the shrimp in the sauce. It wasn't too bad that way.



This place did have a few different items - like a crab eggroll. This had a stick of crab in the middle and like stuffing filling up the remainder. I really liked it. 



Then, of course I had to try whatever a cheese eggroll is. And, it's essentially the cream cheese in crab rangoons enveloped in a spring roll wrapped. I liked it!



And to top things off, I tried the crab rangoons. I think I liked the eggroll one better, because the rangoons are super hard around the fried edges. But the filling - always good.

Grade: C

Gino's Pizza and Spaghetti House has a number of locations throughout West Virginia, and while they may not be quite as ubiquitous as Tudor's, they're probably not far off. In fact, they're usually attached to one another.



The locations do vary slightly from one to the other. Some have independent owners (I believe), which means they can switch up some of the menu items. In this case, I went for a calzone with cheese and mushrooms. You can see it's a litttleeee extra done, especially on the bottom. And I would not have hated some more filling, but I still ate every bite. 

Grade: B