"In 1965, Hal Guthrie, a proud Auburn Alumni, opened the very first Guthrie’s as a drive-in restaurant in Haleyville, Alabama. In 1978 Hal walked into his restaurant and announced to his wife, Melissa, and four children that they were going to start serving chicken fingers. But not just any chicken fingers. The golden fried standard of chicken fingers–marinated and fried to perfection. Hal realized that he had to have a delicious, totally irresistible dipping sauce to accompany his perfectly golden fried chicken fingers. He held a contest among his younger children, Hud, Joe Kelly and Anna Margaret, to see who could create the best sauce. Hud’s sauce won. Little did they know that this sauce would make restaurant industry history," according to the website. Huntington is home to one of these new drive-throughs so I had to try one of the chicken boxes with toast and crinkly fries. I think these were good - nice crispiness on the chicken. Fries not so much. But DQ is my gold standard for chicken strip baskets, and this wasn't quite there. Grade: B

I tried out NMC, which is a meal prep service in the Charleston-Huntington area. Each meal is $7 and under 500 calories. There's a good variety, and all you have to do is heat them up. I figured this is a perfect solution for those super busy weeks where it's tough to find time to cook dinner, but you also might not want to spend the money ordering out. Bonus points that it's in a portion-sized container so it can help with those diets. And, they deliver for $5.



I reached out to them last week and ordered 6 meals for the week: Seafood Pasta - Tri-colored rotini with shrimp and crab with some veggies and a mayo-based sauce, Turkey Enchiladas Stuffed Peppers, 3 Meat Lasagna with Broccoli - with zucchini, Hibachi Chicken with Fried Rice and Mixed Vegetables, Pork Egg Roll Bowl and Honey Jerk Chicken.



Everything was pretty solid, even though it was "healthy." My favorite was the stuffed peppers because there was a lot of flavor, and I also enjoyed the seafood pasta for something different. I'm not crazy about the skin on the chicken or grilled chicken in general, but not bad. This week, I'm going to be trying the following:

CAPRESE PASTA (vegan)

BUFFALO CHICKEN STUFFED PEPPERS
424 CAL. C15G, P 466. F 22G

SWEDISH MEATBALLS W/MASH & GREEN BEANS
465CAL. C 48G, P 32G, F 236

CHICKEN TERIYAKI & STIR FRY VEGGIES
P 32G. F 14G. C 26G, 350 CAL

HOT HONEY SALMON W/S. POTATO & BROCCOLI
P 30G. F 5G. C 46G. 367 CAL

BBQ PULLED PORK C.MAC
P19G, FI4G, C30G, 308CAL

"Poppies fish and chips are fun, a guilty pleasure and an old fashioned Great British classic. For mouth tingling, lip smacking, ketchup pouring, gravy drowning indulgence we are the experts at all things fish and chips," according to their website.



I had to try some traditional fish & chips while in London. Traditional British fish and chips consist of battered and deep-fried white fish, usually cod or haddock, served with thick-cut chips. The dish is commonly seasoned with salt and malt vinegar and often accompanied by sides like mushy peas, tartar sauce, or pickled onions. In some regions, curry sauce or gravy is also popular. Fish and chips are typically purchased from a takeaway shop, known as a “chippy,” and served wrapped in paper.



Poppies takes its name from born and bred East-ender Pat ‘Pops’ Newland who captained the ship and steered it on its way. Pops career began in the fish and chip business aged 11, when he got a job on the Roman Road cutting up The Daily Mirror newspaper to wrap fish and chips in for takeaway. Half a century on, Pops realized his lifelong dream and founded his own place in Spitalfields using his passion for fish and chips, decades of experience and love of British popular culture to create an award-winning restaurant filled with warmth, charm and retro memorabilia collected throughout his life.



The fish was indeed white and flaky, though not batter-crisp like I hoped. Similarly, the chips were thick and flavorful with the malt vinegar, but no crisp to speak of. Flavors on point, texture could use some work -- at least for me.



Despite being absolutely stuffed from noshing all day, I splurged for dessert, too: CARAMEL STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING WITH 1 SCOOP OF ICE CREAM.



Wow. Talk about rich, sweet, heavy and oh so satisfying.



Grade: B

Salt Fest celebrates West Virginia’s salt-making heritage with artisan vendors, live music, and food trucks. Some of the food vendors included: Angelos Italian Sausages, Crunchy Fruit Queen, Hernshaw Farms, Kona Ice, Little Jimmy's Italian Ice, Moonstruck Maple, Mountain Juice, Mountain Studio, Mrs. Mel's, Sugar Bottom Farms & Villa DiTrapano Inc. There were three I had my eye on, starting with Is It Really Sour Though. These sourdough-based treats range from banana bread to blueberry scones. Next up was Holt's Jewell & Company, which is a local catering company. They were offering pepperoni rolls, lattes, and -- my choice -- strawberry Dubai cup.

The "Dubai Chocolate Bar" is a viral milk chocolate bar filled with a creamy pistachio and crunchy knafeh (shredded phyllo pastry) filling. It gained popularity on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and has become a sought-after treat and spawned spinoffs, like a strawberry cup. Sweet and crunchy and unique. Finally, I made my way to Vanik's Coffee. The small local company roasts their own coffee beans. And, they were offering coffees made-to-order, as well. I tried their Rome Coffee, which included a light brown sugar syrup, lime and sparkling water. Different, but refreshing. Did you have a chance to check it out?

Charley West BBQ Fest returned for its 8th year with: live music, $10 for 10 tasting tickets, cold drinks, and of course ALL the BBQ. I was fortunate to judge and test out my new Kansas City Barbeque Society Certified Judge training. There was both competition and backyard divisions. Competition Division included Gettin’ Piggy with it 304, Dakota Farmer, & Stills n Squeals BBQ. Backyard Division included Brad Schmalzer, Notorious P.I.G., Blue Creek BBQ, DKays, Curry's Backyard BBQ, Barry Wood BBQ & Midnight Smoker. Each competitor provided ribs, pulled pork, sauce and a wild card. I will say that I think the backyard division is fun because they stray little bit further outside the box. And that's also why wildcard is my favorite category because you never know what you're going to get. Some options this year included a smoked cheddar sausage, a berry salsa poundcake, Brisket and shrimp, and even a bacon wrapped Oreo. If you didn't check it out this year, be sure to mark your calendar for next year! BEST RIBS

Backyard:
1️⃣ Curry's Backyard BBQ
2️⃣ Bradley Schmalzer
3️⃣ Midnight Smokers / David Mincer

Competition:
1️⃣ Dakota Farmer
2️⃣ Stills & Squeals
3️⃣ Gettin' Piggy With It


BEST PULLED PORK

Backyard:
1️⃣ Bradley Schmalzer
2️⃣ Curry's Backyard BBQ
3️⃣ Notorious P.I.G.

Competition:
1️⃣ Dakota Farmer
2️⃣ Stills & Squeals
3️⃣ Gettin' Piggy With It


BEST SAUCE

Backyard:
1️⃣ Curry's Backyard BBQ
2️⃣ Bradley Schmalzer
3️⃣ Notorious P.I.G.

Competition:
1️⃣ Stills & Squeals
2️⃣ Dakota Farmer
3️⃣ Gettin' Piggy With It


BEST WILD CARD (Smoked anything & everything!)

Backyard:
1️⃣ Bradley Schmalzer
2️⃣ Curry's Backyard BBQ
3️⃣ Midnight Smokers / David Mincer

Competition:
1️⃣ Gettin' Piggy With It
2️⃣ Stills & Squeals
3️⃣ Dakota Farmer


🗳️ PEOPLE’S CHOICE!

Backyard:
1️⃣ DKAYS / Don Kinder
2️⃣ Bradley Schmalzer
3️⃣ Midnight Smokers / David Mincer

Competition:
1️⃣ Stills & Squeals
2️⃣ Gettin' Piggy With It
3️⃣ Dakota Farmer