The Kissel Stop Cafe is a very cute coffee shop that I stopped in for breakfast.

The menu includes coffees, espressos, chai, smoothies, frappes, Italian sodas, steamers, scones, eggs, muffins and sandwiches for lunch. It's the perfect little spot to get a cup of joe and get some work done.

I had trouble deciding between the tempting blueberry muffin and a more substantial sausage and cheese croissant. So, I got both.

The muffin was perfect. It was encased in a dark paper and topped with large sugar crystals. Inside, it was moist and full of blueberries. It was a damn good muffin.

The sandwich wasn't bad, either. The sausage was just OK, but the croissant was was toasted nicely, and there was a good amount of cheddar.

A nice little place to get a quick drink or snack in the Elkins area.

Grade: A

The Forks Inn houses both a restaurant and an inn in Elkins. While I didn't get a chance to check out the inn, I certainly had a chance to check out the expansive menu.



It was a pretty busy night at The Forks Inn when I chose to visit, but we were still seated nearly immediately toward the back in a dimly lit booth. The restaurant features wooden floors, accent walls and details. Every chair was filled with a happy person dancing or singing or catching up with old friends - it really set a certain atmosphere here.



The dim lighting proved challenging for my photos, but that did not hamper my good time. Sorry about that.

The menu features entrees like a smoked pork loin, stuffed flounder, popcorn-crusted trout, steak au poivre vert and a housemade pasta. Our first bite was a bred basket full of both a white bread, as well as wheat bread.

Then, my entree, which was a pasta special of the day with farfalle pasta, a creamy cheese sauce with mushrooms and chicken. My mouth waters thinking about this dish. That sauce was so rich and creamy, I imagine I gained 10 pounds just looking at it. But it was incredible. The pasta had the perfect amount of chewiness so it soaked up some of the sauce, and the mushrooms added a great earthy flavor. If you want to make me happy, it's easy - make this dish for me.

The side of swiss chard - the vegetable of the day - was far less impressive. Meh. Swiss chard isn't something I typically see as a vegetable of the day. And it was ... odd.

But then dessert redeemed. I ordered the warm apple date turnover with mascarpone cheese and finished with caramel cream and toasted almonds.

Just wow. I can't really think of a better cold evening dessert. It was very warm with a tasty apple-date mixture housed in this soft dough topped with a sweet, milky sauce. The toasted almonds were a perfect texture addition. It's not a conventional dessert for me (think brownie, ice cream and caramel mmm), but this was homey, comforting and like a hug in dessert form.

If you find yourself in the Elkins area, make this place a must-visit stop on your list.

Grade: A

I attended the Mountain State Forest Festival, one of the largest and oldest festivals in West Virginia, earlier in October. The festival aims to celebrate the beauty of the mountains and valleys during autumn.

There was so much going on - including quilt shows, tree exhibits, art shows, a carnival, and the royal coronation of Queen Silvia.





In typical festival fashion, there were so many food vendors offering everything from Italian sausage sandwiches and pizza to BBQ and ice cream AND there were pepperoni rolls!! I was busy stuffing myself at area restaurants, so I didn't partake in the festival offerings, but I still wanted to share some of my favorite photos from the weekend.

Brewstel is a brew shop and hostel -- not a brewery, per se. They have a number of West Virginia beers on tap where you can fill your growler. They also have supplies, some bottles and more.

They also used to apparently brew their own beer, but because West Virginia, they were unable to do that. I hope legislation changes that allows them to do that because ... well, that's cool.

The brew shop is open Sunday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., closed Monday, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

I made it to the Elkins Custard Stand! I had tried to come here previously, and they had closed unexpectedly. And considering I'm set on trying all the different Custard Stand locations, I needed a second visit to the Elkins location. 

This location has a large dining area that looks similar to a diner with a few people sprinkled a bit. After perusing my 24 flavor options, I went with a peanut butter cone. Peanut butter is pretty tasty, I must say. But you can't go wrong with any of the flavors. Just one more location to go: Webster Springs!



Grade: A

To kill some time in the area, my friend and I drove up to Snowshoe to check out a restaurant there. Snowshoe has a number of restaurants. The Foxfire Grille was pretty busy, so it seemed like a good option.

They have burgers, bbq and more. But we just wanted a snack. We ordered the buffalo chicken dip because, well, I friggin' love buffalo chicken dip, and also our waiter told us it was quite a long wait for entrees so appetizers would be a good idea. No problem.



This wasn't bad. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. There were a few odd, harder chunks of chicken. But for the most part, it was cheesy and decent. Nothing too memorable, but nothing bad either. It's tough to mess up buffalo chicken dip.





Grade: B

The Elk River Inn and Restaurant is a large cedar building containing five guest rooms and a restaurant complete with bar. The restaurant, which has found its place on the 101 Most Unique Places to Dine in WV list, is not open nightly for dinner in the summer and fall. Instead, they have special dinners monthly. I was fortunate to be in the area on a day when they were hosting their "Apple Harvest Dinner."



We arrived earlier than our dinner reservation, so we sat at the bar with a glass of wine. As we were finishing up, it was perfect time to be seated.



The dining area featured fresh flowers at each table, and dried flowers were hanging overhead. Napkins were perfectly folded, and light wooden floors and beams flooded the area.

We began with a basket of warm bread and butter before moving onto an appetizer.

I opted for the housemade sausage and artisan cheese plate with crisp sliced apples and toasted walnuts; the slow roasted herb encrusted pork loin with caramelized apples and red onions, butternut squash risotto and wilted greens; and the dessert of apple pie served with salted caramel walnut vanilla ice cream.

The appetizer was quite good with some spicy house sausage, walnuts, sharp hard cheeses and some soft creamy cheeses. There was a nice jam and some toasted crostini and apples that hit on all different tastes and textures. It was well-rounded.

My entree was lovely, too. The pork was good, save for a few fatty bits. The risotto was very good, and I loved the hint of sweetness with the onions and apples.

Dessert was less of a pie and more of a crumble - but delicious nonetheless. A caramelized shard of sugar stuck in the top amidst brown sugar crumbles and a quickly melting scoop of ice cream. Very nice finish.

This was a great dinner - and at a very reasonable price for three courses. If you want to check them out, just be sure to check their calendar to find when they're hosting dinners if its in their off-season!

Grade: A