'Tis the time of year for caramel-covered apples. And I've heard about Ruth's Big Apples recently, so I reached out to see if I could purchase one of my own. She offers a variety of different kinds: Apple pie, pumpkin spice, m&m, Reese's, peanut, turtle, toffee coffee, Oreo, as well as regular caramel and chocolate.

I don't think that I learned until I was an adult that you are supposed to cut pieces of the apple instead of just biting directly into it. But, as I cut off pieces of this apple, I quickly devoured each one. It had a thick caramel coating, plus tons of chocolate and nuts. It's a great combination of sweet and salty. It was over-the-top delicious.

I wanted to pull together a collection of maple syrup producers (like honey). So let's go!



The United States produced 4.16 million gallons of maple syrup during the 2018 harvest. This does not reflect industry potential as it was a weather-related, poor production year. According to the USDA, of the 13 states involved in maple syrup production, West Virginia produced the least amount with 8,000 gallons in 2018. (For reference, Vermont produced 220 gallons of maple syrup for every 1 gallon produced by West Virginia.) While 2018 data shows West Virginia as the smallest producer, industry sources cite the state’s maple tree inventory and a large amount of untapped trees as a huge resource and viable growth commodity. Maple sap and syrup offer strong links to the local and cottage food movement and agritourism. For instance, the recent creation of “Maple Days” supports the maple industry and has the potential to spur more growth. [SOURCE]

• Authentic Appalachia
• Back Creek Farms
• Barbour Farms
• Blue Rock Farm
• Bowers Maple Farm
• Camp Hidden Meadows
• Canaan Valley Maple
• Cassell's Sugar Shack
• Cedar Run Farm
• Cool Hollow Maple Farm
• Country Roads Maple
• Creekside Farms
• Croagh Patrick
• Daniels Maple Syrup
• Dave’s Backyard Sugarin’
• Dry Fork Maple Works
• Eisentrout Farms
• Ellett Valley Maple
• Estep Branch Pure Maple Syrup
• Family Roots Farm
• Fifth Season Farm
• Flanigan Family Maple
• Fort Warwick Farm
• Frostmore Farm
• Future Generations University
• Gaea Farm
• Gauley River Maple Works
  
• Grandpa Tom's Maple Farm
• Gray Farms
• Great Oak Farm
• Halstead Farm Maple Products
• Heasley Homestead
• Henthorn Maple Farm
• Highland View Farm
• Hill n’ Hollow Farm & Sugarworks
• Hillsboro Maple
• Hitt Farms
• Indian Water Maple Company
• Jack Mountain Maple
• Kettle Lick Syrup
• Lanagan's Lodge
• Laurel Fork Sapsuckers
• Lavender Hill Roost
• Loafer's Glory Resort and Event Venue and Dry Run Spirits Distillery
• Lost Ridge Farms
• M&S Maple Farm
• Maple Grove Farm
• Minner Family Maple Farm LLC
• Mongold Walnut Farm
• Moonhaven Farm
• Moonstruck Maple
• Mountain State Maple
• Mozark Mountain Tree Farm
• Nahwya Farm
• Nightfall Ridge
• Novak Farms
• Oldham Sugar Works
• Peaceful Pines Farm
• Rustic Rock Maple Farm
• Rockhaven LLC
• Ronk Family Farm
• Samara Farm
• Simply Hickory
• Starry Nights Farm
• Stemple Brothers Farm
• Stone Hollow Farm
• Sunrise Farms
• Spruce Knob Maple
• Sweetcreek Sugarworks
• Tarheelbilly Farm
• Toms Creek Family Farm
• Treats from Trees
• Valley Farm
• Walnut Creek Farm
• Wagon Trace Farm
• W.I.T. Farm
• We Bee Sappin
• West Virginia Veteran Produced
• Yew Mountain Center

DRAFT is a restaurant & bar in Morgantown that has a bit of a sports bar bend - large TVs, subscriptions to the local networks and some creative drinks like the giant mimosa table tower we saw as soon as we walked in.



I went with my friend Kayla for brunch, and we were excited by both the food and drinks. I started off with the Bloody Mary Board, which came with a Bloody Mary prepared with Absolut peppar vodka plus tons of accoutrements - onion cheddar, shrimp, bacon, horseradish pickles, sweet pickled peppers, cocktail sauce. This is the best part of a bloody mary, so I was in heaven. It's mostly just snacking and using the bloody mary as a dipping sauce.



For my main meal, I went with the chicken & waffles. You know how the chicken and fish at Long John Silver's kinda taste the same because they're all using the same batter? I kinda had that effect here. Both the waffles and chicken were cooked to the same color and all covered in powdered sugar. I did like the waffles - they were the crispy, Belgian kind that have a bit more chew. 



What's your favorite thing here?



Grade: B

Giuseppe's has been a mainstay in Mount Hope for years, though it's gone through some openings and closings. And most recently, they seem to have shuttered their doors.



Hopefully they can make a comeback. But in the meantime, let's take a quick look at the Italian restaurant from my last visit.



The interior has some traditional decor, red and white checkered tablecloths and a menu full of classics. I went with a cheese ravioli in a blush sauce, which came with salad and breadsticks. 



This is comfort food to me. The pasta is rich and carb-tastic. I do wish maybe some fresh herbs or something was there to add a bit of brightness to the dish. The house dressing is tasty and punchy, though I would've loved something other than iceberg. And my breadsticks - covered in butter and cheese - were delish - if not a little unevenly baked.



Overall, a classic, homestyle Italian. restaurant with a good bit of history that I hope returns.

Grade: B

Have you ever been to a murder mystery dinner? I've been to one on a train before, but recently enjoyed a more "traditional" version at the local Holiday Inn with my friend Erin.



Hosted by the Murder and Merriment company, the actors played out a few scenes and mostly went from table to table having convos with the attendees and leaving clues.



The food? It was catered by the hotel, so it included salad with ranch or Italian dressing, penne with marinara, chicken lasagna, garlic bread and pecan and pumpkin pie. They also had a number of holiday cocktails. It was pretty standard for hotel catering - though they do have a restaurant that I want to check out at some point. Have you ever been?