I love a good food festival.



Ribfest has been a Charleston institution for 20 years. It has been in various forms and locations, but I finally got the chance to check it out this year while over at Shawnee Sports Complex.



There were a half dozen or so rib vendors, with the only West Virginia representative being Dem 2 Bros. And a Grill. I know (and love) Dem 2 Brothers, so I wanted to try some different vendors.



Ideally, I wanted to try like a single rib from each one, but they don't sell that small of a quantity. So, I started with Johnson's Hickory Smoked BBQ. It's interesting to see the culture of these events - they have these huge displays of all the awards they've won, and this one caught my eye. 



They had a "boneless rib sandwich," which I thought sounded easy to eat and at $6, I could afford some other offerings. What I didn't realize is that this was essentially a McRib... The sauce was good though.



Then I went to another places: Cowboys Barbeque & Rib Company. I got their "taster" at $9. These were delish, but they can really be a full meal! I didn't need more after this. Super tender and flavorful, these ribs hit the spot.



Here are the other vendors I didn't get a chance to try. 



Where did you go?

It's the best time of the month! The monthly subscription box from J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works! 



Appalachian Glass - Glass Bird
A small glass bird 2" long and 1.25" tall. Comes in either Light or Dark Blue. Hand blown glass from Weston, WV. These little birds are perfect for your window sill.

Appalachian Naturals - Organic Cranberry Sauce
A traditional favorite made & grown organically here on the East coast. Cape Cod grown certified organic cranberry sauce with a touch of sugar. Excellent served with meats or mixed in your favorite hot cereal!

Appalachian Wax Works - Honeycomb Soap
These adorable guest soaps make washing your hands a breeze! Sold individually and each soap comes in gift bag shown. Available in a sweet, aromatic Raw Honeycomb fragrance.

Finch + Flourish - Pumpkin Greeting Cards
Illustrated heirloom pumpkins notecard box set, includes 8 cards + envelopes. Printed on 92lb earth-friendly white corn paper, with recycled craft paper envelopes. Blank inside. Cards measure 5 x 3.5" when folded. Designed and printed in Pittsburgh, PA.

Imladris Farms - Apple Butter
This jam is made on a 6th generation farm in western North Carolina. The berries are all locally grown. The Apple Butter uses Western North Carolina apples, a "southern" spice profile, and is slow cooked for hours for the perfect texture and flavor.

Southern City Flavors - Cornbread Mix 
A true Southern dish made with old fashion Stone Ground Yellow Corn meal and a true southern recipe that any true Southern cook would love.

It's been years since I first saw a sign for Karubees coming soon to downtown Charleston. After a brief stint in Dunbar, the restaurant has officially opened on Lee Street.



Karubees is a Jamaican restaurant that features menu items like jerk chicken & shrimp, curry chicken & shrimp, goat, oxtail, brown stew, red snapper, salmon, veggies and more. 



"Kerry G. Martin is the owner and founder of Karubees. Kerry's passion for cooking stemmed from his granny where he was basically the assistant in her kitchen. The first job he learned was how to properly clean meat. Since he was raised by his grandparents, he was taught to sew clothes, grow crops, clean, garden, mix cement, gravel, and cook. Ultimately, the goal was to provide the people in the area of Charleston, WV Jamaican food from his new restaurant in town. Kerry was born on the island of Jamaica on the 28th day of June in 1977. When Kerry was 10 years old he left Jamaica and landed in the Bronx, New York, where he grew up from ten until he was twenty-three years old. Kerry's first child was born in 2000 and he left New York in 2001 to move to Charleston, WV. where Kerry later attended West Virginia Junior College. After several years Kerry realized that Charleston, WV was not the city he wanted to live in with his family. Therefore, he decided to move to Columbus, Ohio in 2005. Later attended DeVry University in the Columbus Campus, where he later obtained his Bachelor of Science in Network and Communication Management with a 3.62/4.00. Kerry is a proud father of six wonderful children, whom he adores, and he works hard to take care of."



They offer a variety of combo plates, but I wasn't keen on the cooked cabbage or rice - I wanted to try the meat so I ordered three different sides: jerk shrimp, curry chicken and oxtails. It came out to about $40, which I think was a bit high for three small styrofoam containers. But let's get to the flavor. The jerk shrimp has some HEAT. I thought this would be my favorite, but the spice had my lips tingling. 



Instead, I loved the curry chicken way more than I anticipated. It didn't have the same kind of heat - just a little kick - and the chicken was so tender, it quite literally fell off the bone. Any fat or cartilaginous pieces just melded with the meat to make it moist and flavorful. There were also some veggies mixed in, with a tough of sweetness - so tasty.



Finally, the oxtails. These are the tails of cattle and can have a deep rich flavor - almost like short ribs. The flavorful sauce was my favorite part of my meal. There is a good bit of fat around the oxtails - when I got a bit of meat, it was delicious. Overall, all three of these dishes had some great flavor, and you should see which ones you like best.

Grade: B

When I travel, I like to plan things out. Not just for my sanity, but because it's a way I show love to my friends and family. I like help make things easy and pick things I think people would like. When I planned a trip to Farm Up Table, I was sure it was going to be a crowd-pleaser.



I had tried their food truck in the past, and I enjoyed it. But I had done my research on the place to make sure they had a menu with a variety of things for everyone to enjoy: fried rice balls, crab dip, salads, sandwiches, shrimp & grits, and more. 



After a long day, I was starving, so I started with Nona's Fried Rice Balls, which are parmesan risotto with baby peas surrounding fresh mozzarella rolled in breadcrumbs and fried crunchy. They were served with fresh tomato sauce. 



These were pretty dense - I wouldn't have minded some more creaminess inside. It was a pretty thick bite. But the flavor was there, and those peas were crucial. It was salty and unctuous in the best way.



For my main entree, I went with a muffuletta. It's not an option you see often in West Virginia, so I was super excited to try it. 



It may be an unfair benchmark that the only other traditional one I've had was at the original in New Orleans. First of all, this sandwich was huuuge. And it had the standard components - all of which were tasty! I just think the bread needed a little work; it felt apart and struggled to stand up to the pile of ingredients. I couldn't finish it in one sitting, but I definitely enjoyed leftovers.



Friends enjoy some other offerings - like these fries topped in cheese and a cuban sandwich. Which they enjoyed. 



I finished the meal with banana dessert that was delish.



Have you been?

Grade: B

I've eaten more Gino's Pizza in the last year than I have in my entire life. As I work my way through the various locations, I discovered there is some slight variation - but not a ton, really.  



In Point Pleasant, I placed an order for a small pizza loaded with toppings. If you've read any of my blog posts about pizza, you likely know I'm a mushroom topping-only person. But a friend recently shared a supreme-topping pizza, and it hit my adult tastebuds differently. 



So I ordered a pizza with mushrooms, black olives, onions, banana peppers and sausage. I gotta say - those toppings with a bit sweeter sauce than usual - was a good combo.

Grade: B