I'm a little late to the party on this one, but the area's first indoor craft beer, food and music festival is on tap this Saturday at the South Charleston Community Center.
Replacing the Fund for the Arts' Brews, Blues & BBQ festival, traditionally held on the University of Charleston lawn in late June, Saturday's new Rhythm & Brews Festival will feature more than a dozen craft breweries (each offering multiple beers) plus live music from William Matheny, Porch 40 and John Inghram's Slugfest.
And while music and beer will play key roles during the event - just as its name suggests - chairman Alan Kuhlman said he also wanted to have an eclectic mix of local food options available to guests.
With Mi Cocina de Amor, Black Sheep Burrito and Brews, Dem 2 Brothers and a Grill, The Olive Tree Cafe and Island Teriyaki on board, by golly, I think he's got it.
The event runs from 6 to 10 p.m. (doors open at 5:30) and you must be 21 or older to attend. Tickets are $35 and include admission, five 12-ounce beers and a commemorative 14-ounce beer stein. All proceeds from the event will be dispersed to 12 area arts organizations.
For more information, visit rhythmandbrewsfest.com or look up the event's Facebook page.
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Remember the dramatic turn of events I shared a few weeks ago when a representative from New Zealand (Jesse Ball) showed up at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, only to discover that his competition water (shipped in advance) never made it?
This led to 48 hours of frantic phone calls to airports, shipping companies, customs officials and the TSA, which resulted in multiple conflicting stories about where his water really was.
Well, get a load of this update I just received this week.
"Thought you might like to know this footnote to the story," Jill Klein Rone, the festival's longtime producer, told me. "I emailed Jesse and finally heard back that Waiheke's water was found - and was on its way to Canada instead!"
But it gets worse.
"You may have heard of the flooding in New Zealand," she continued. "I actually saw a video of flooding on Waiheke Island, where the water plant is, and Jesse said the company's entire building and plant were destroyed by flooding! He said it was 'a bit of a curve ball, but nothing we can't handle.' They plan to rebuild and join us again next year, hopefully with their water."
Wow, that poor guy! But the fact that he's handled so much adversity with such a positive attitude is inspiring.
If Jesse does make it back next year, I'm buying that man a drink. And it won't be water.
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Reader Ginny Miles reached out to me hoping to track down a treasured recipe from her past. I'm afraid I'm no help on this one, though, so I'm hoping someone out there can come to my rescue.
"I need help finding a recipe from an eatery of long ago," she wrote. "It's for salmon croquettes with a creamed pea sauce, and I hope I will be able to enjoy them once again!'
Ginny said they were served at The Coffee Shop on Washington Street East, across from where Charleston High School was located.
"Every Friday they had salmon croquettes with creamed pea sauce and they were divine," she said, adding that she discovered them while working in an office in what is now the Appalachian Power Park, so it would have been in the late 70s or possibly early 80s.
"Is there anything you can do to help or should I just start trying all of the different recipes I can find online? And admittedly, no recipe has anything like a creamed pea sauce."
That's a new one for me, too, but I know someone out there is going to pull through for us!
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I had a great time at last week's seventh annual Covenant House Chef's Challenge, a worthwhile gala at which local chefs donate their time, ingredients and talents to create an elaborate five-course meal consisting of ingredients you'd typically find in most standard food pantries.
More than 350 guests gathered at the Charleston Civic Center to enjoy free-flowing drinks, live music, a silent auction and a menu of "New Appalachian" creations by Rich Arbaugh from South Hills Market and Café, Dennis Harris from Edgewood Country Club, Evan Wilson from Ichiban, Tim Urbanic from Café Cimino Country Inn, John Wright from Bridge Road Bistro and Todd Jones from the Civic Center.
I enjoyed every course: noodles with mushroom ragout, stuffed pork loin with apples, bread pudding with vanilla whiskey sauce and, especially, South Hills Market's silky winter squash soup.
But it was the vegetarian option that really caught my eye - and that I wish I had tried.
Bridge Road Bistro's giant mushroom quinoa-stuffed acorn squash with roasted vegetables really turned heads out our table.
All in all, another great event shining a much-deserved spotlight on a group that does so much for people in need.
Steven Keith writes a weekly food column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and an occasional food blog at blogs.wvgazettemail.com/foodguy. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or by email at wvfoodguy@aol.com. You can also follow him on Facebook as "WV Food Guy" and on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as "WVFoodGuy."