Coneflower Creamery is an award-winning shop that handmakes their ice cream in Omaha, Nebraska.

"Crafted with creativity and a love of real, local ingredients, our ice creams, waffle cones, and heck, even the sprinkles are made in our own kitchen. We put time, passion, and pure ingredients into our sweet delights, and the results are worth it! What we don’t make ourselves we bring in from the best shops sharing our passion for quality ingredients." "Our classic flavors include traditional flavors like Vanilla Bean, Cookies and Cream, Dark Chocolate, and Salted Caramel and a blend from our friends across the street at Archetype Coffee. We also pay homage to butterbrickle, first introduced in the 1920s by the Blackstone Hotel." There was a long line to enter the ice cream shop, so after waiting for quite some time, I was excited to finally see the inside and all the different options. It was worth it for Yelp’s #1 Ice Cream Shop in America (2023): Coneflower Creamery was honored as the top ice cream shop in the United States, based on customer reviews and ratings on Yelp. Their famous flavor is BLACKSTONE BUTTER BRICKLE - "One of our classics and most popular, Blackstone Butter Brickle, is based on the famous butter brickle ice cream created at the Blackstone hotel. Our version is loaded with housemade toffee that is covered in chocolate." The Blackstone Butter Brickle features house-made toffee coated in dark chocolate, mixed into a sweet cream ice cream base. This combination creates a delightful blend of sweetness, saltiness, and buttery goodness. Grade: A

Goodies serves all-day breakfast alongside a diverse menu of American comfort classics— think egg sandwiches, burgers (including a unique “Breakfast Burger”), wraps, fried seafood, Belgian waffles, pancakes, hot dogs, salads, and house-made desserts like rice pudding.



All I wanted here was a strawberry milkshake. It was a bit tangy - like maybe it was made with yogurt. Just a little different. Still lightly sweet and satisfying.



Grade: B

The Freefolk Brewery is owned by husband and wife, Jeff and Sarah Edwards. Freefolk is nestled in the heart of the New River Gorge and celebrates the Appalachian vibe and culture. Jeff began experimenting with fermentation in his Morgantown, WV backyard in 2014. He started with a 15-Gallon system that he cobbled together from a few garage sales. What started as a hobby soon progressed as he fell in love with the process of creating beer. After spending a lot of years in Morgantown raising their son Seth, Jeff and Sarah decided it was time for a change and moved to Fayetteville and opened the brewery in downtown Fayetteville. With the help of Freefolk’s co-founder, WV artist Jamie Lester, they filled the space with handcrafted steel features, wood, and concrete and covered the walls with painted murals. The original brewhouse was 3.5 bbl and some of the first brews were Moondog’s Blonde Ale, Trucker Speed IPA, and Orange Oswald SMaSH IPA. The Freefolk brand and team quickly grew and in the fall of 2022 they upgraded to a 20 bbl brewhouse. The production brewery found a second home in Hico, WV - 9 miles north of the original location. I had previously visited the Fayetteville location, which is now shuttered. So, I was excited to visit the Hico location and have been here a few times over the last couple years. During my first visit, there was a cryptid festival going on, and the entire space was opened to vendors, artist and food trucks. They had limited food and drinks, but I still enjoyed both. I was especially pleased to see a West Virginia pepperoni roll served with a side of marinara. These were cut on a bias and warm. Topped with parmesan. Tasty. I returned recently now that they have an on-site pizza shop: Ample Pizza. There were a handful of pizza options available: margherita, pepperoni, cherry tomato & ramp. I went with the fig, prosciutto, and goat cheese pizza. It had caramelized onions and a balsamic drizzle, as well. There was a ton of goat cheese and not quite enough fig. Overall, I enjoyed the pizza and would like to try some of the other options. Have you been? Grade: A

Urban Chislic opened in Sioux Falls in 2018 with a bold idea: to take South Dakota’s beloved state nosh, chislic—deep-fried cubes of meat with roots in German-Russian tradition—and give it a modern, urban twist. The restaurant featured a lively, sports-bar-style atmosphere with graffiti art, creative lighting, and a menu that let diners mix and match proteins like beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish, and even bison with a wide variety of rubs and sauces. Beyond the traditional dish, they offered playful takes such as chislic nachos, the “Regret Burger,” and rotating specials that drew enough attention to land the restaurant on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Guy’s Grocery Games. After six years, the restaurant permanently closed in August 2024. I was fortunate to check it out before then, though, and tried the sweet BBQ chislic with bison and sauteed seasonal vegetables. The meat itself was a little chewy, but I enjoyed the sauce. Grade: B

Bagel Bin in Omaha is a beloved institution known for bringing authentic New York–style bagels to the Midwest since 1977. Family-owned and community-driven, the shop bakes hundreds of dozens of bagels daily, offering everything from classics like garlic and poppy seed to sweeter options like cinnamon apple and blueberry. Beyond bagels, they serve hearty sandwiches -- such as the Denver Omelet on an everything bagel—along with house-made cream cheeses, challah, pastries, and even lox. I ordered an asiago cheese bagel - one of my all-time favorites - with garlic herb cream cheese. The asiago cheese bagel is golden and fragrant, with a toasty crust that crackles slightly under each bite and a chewy, tender interior. The sharp, nutty flavor of the melted asiago baked across the surface adds richness and just the right amount of salty bite. Paired with garlic herb cream cheese, the combo is unbeatable—the spread is silky and tangy, with garlicky warmth and bright pops of fresh herbs that balance the bagel’s bold cheesiness. The kugel was a disappointment. Served cold, it had a dense, plastic-like texture that made each bite feel heavy and unappealing. The usual comforting sweetness and richness were missing, leaving it bland and one-dimensional. Instead of being creamy and satisfying, it tasted flat and lifeless, more like leftovers that had been sitting too long than a dish made with care. Grade: B