The Mountain State Art & Craft Fair is a giant arts and crafts fair just outside of Ripley. Tons of artisans and vendors set up shop at the Cedar Lakes Conference Center selling wares, goodies and other treats.



Folks like Blue Smoke Salsa were there. I always go for mild versions of their salsas, but sweet peach and sweet onion are both stellar. Robin Hildebrand began the company more than 20 years ago by making salsa recipes from her garden. She had a commercial kitchen approved in the basement of her home, but grew out of it and moved to a facility in Ansted. In 2011, Blue Smoke's future was uncertain, but the West Virginia community gathered around the business via social media. Then in 2012, Blue Smoke Salsa partnered with White House Foods. If you haven't tried the salsa yet, get thee to a grocer and get some.



Thistledew Farm was also in attendance selling honey, beeswax and other bee products. They are a staple in West Virginia, and their honey can be found at various stores.



I hadn't heard of Plain Jane's Country Cookin' out of Clay before, but they had a lot of great products! They had dry seasoning mixes, various jellies and some old-fashioned candies.

There were also many wineries and local organizations selling snacks. The American Culinary Federation, West Virginia Chapter was selling pepperoni rolls that were absolutely delicious. It was like a garlic breadstick but filled with slices of pepperoni. Absolutely delicious.

Mountain Top Fudge was incredible. I had a pecan praline, which had the caramel in the center. So, soooo good.

Overall, such a nice time. And, as I was leaving, I realized there was covered bridge on the property. Not many of those left in the state.

Ripley is known to have West Virginia's biggest celebration for the Fourth of July. I made the trip to see what it is all about and discovered all the goodness of a small town celebration - parades, fireworks, local vendors and fair food.


They had everything from sandwiches to popcorn and everything in between. I didn't really dabble too much, because there was an arts and crafts fair just outside of town I wanted to attend, too. But I did scope out some restaurants to visit soon: The Downtowner, Crabby Patty's and Fratello's.

The sandwich was piled high, with a fried mass at the center. I dug into the fried green tomato, but I mostly could only taste fried. I'm not sure if the tomato wasn't very flavorful, or if it wasn't a thick enough piece to have any of the flavor shine, or if it was cooked too long and turned a bit mushy and melded with the breading - or maybe a combo of all three. Either way, I wish I could taste the tomato itself.

The pimento cheese and slaw were both flavorful, though. Pretty good - but a few tweaks would make it great.


Grade: B

Figaretti's Restaurant is well-known in the Wheeling area. While I had never been, I had heard of the restaurant for years and even saw the pasta sauce sold in the local grocery store. So when I was traveling through Wheeling, Tony and I stopped for dinner.

The interior is dim, and the booze seems to flow freely. Lots of locals seemed at home here and answered by name. In typical Italian restaurant fashion, some bread and butter were brought to the table. The bread was average; the olive oil/balsamic/parmesan mixture was nice.

The house salad is where it started to pick up for me. Nice fresh greens, crisp red onion, firm tomatoes - and a dressing that I loved. The vinaigrette was tangy and full of flavor.

Tony ordered the house-made tortellini (I think). Which was super good. The pasta was smooth and thin and filled with a lovely cheese mixture. Very good.


I went with the stuffed rigatoni - mostly because I don't think I've seen that anywhere else. The house sauce is quite good. It has a nice flavor with a blend of herbs and spices. The pasta was much thicker - chewier - than the other dish, but it, too, is filled with a delicious cheese mixture. And the meatball, while I didn't like it upon first bite, I kind of liked it more afterward once I got a full feel for the flavor and texture. Pretty good.

Italian restaurants are a dime a dozen in North Central (and Northern) West Virginia. But there's a reason why this one has been around for some time - it's good, homey and filling.

Grade: A

I first heard of Bloomery SweetShine earlier this year when they decided to close their doors in response to state regulations that they claim made the business unprofitable. Legislation was introduced to help minimize the problems they were experiencing, and they opened back up shortly thereafter.


Since I was in the area, I swung (is swung a word?) by for a tasting. We arrived as a party was finishing up, so we took a quick tour of the greenhouse beforehand and saw the lemons growing. Then, as it started to rain, we went inside to begin our tasting. One straggler stayed back from the crowd and, shall we say, she probably had a bit too much limoncello.



Bloomery Plantation Distillery produces Bloomery SweetShine, which is a line of fruit cordials. After the owners took a trip to Italy in October 2010, they were on the search for the best limoncello in America. That quickly translated into a mission to make their own. They bought land for the distillery, started growing lemons and raspberries from their own farm and produced limoncello, with more than 20 international awards. The SweetShines also include a chocolate raspberry, a peach shine, their proprietary raspberry lemon and a cremma lemma.

Our bartender - or "fun"tender as they say - was fun, he showed us some great drinks we could make with the various limoncellos, and I ended up leaving with a raspberry limoncello. They're all quite tasty, and they all mix well to make even better drinks. What's your favorite?