Capital Cocktail Classic toasts newcomers
And I wasn't the only food critic to praise Lost Creek Farms dessert!
The Capital Cocktail Classic presented by WV Fund for the Arts returns to Charleston from 4-7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, with two new restaurants joining this year’s elevated tapas-pairing pub crawl benefiting 12 local arts organizations.
Now in its seventh year, the event invites ticket holders to visit four downtown restaurants during that three-hour window to sample a special drink and food pairing at each location. And at the end of the night, they get to vote on which place served the Best Cocktail, Best Tapas and Best Pairing of the night.
Newcomer Ursus Brew Works at 207 Hale St. will offer a Blackberry Margarita with tequila, Cointreau, Grand Marnier and fresh lime with blackberry simple syrup. Guests will enjoy it with a stuffed poblano pepper topped with cream cheese, brisket, bacon, aged cheddar, pico de gallo, garlic butter and homemade blackberry BBQ sauce with a buttermilk crema.
First-time participant Prime 101 at 101 Capitol St. is mixing up a yet-to-be-named play on a French 75 featuring organic Prairie Gin, lemon and a splash of Fresca to go with its breadcrumb and parmesan-crusted mini crabcake atop a Tajín street corn salad with sriracha and lemon.
Sam’s Uptown Café at 28 Capitol St. will serve a Tito’s vodka-based Bloody Mary Bisque cocktail (think of it as a blend of a Bloody Mary, gazpacho and tomato bisque) with a bacon salt rim, plus a bacon and lemon garnish. That will be paired with a crock of potato-encrusted cod in a chive, leek and lemongrass cream topped with breadcrumbs, gouda, parmesan, gruyere and sage butter with a balsamic glaze.
And Fife Street Brewing at 180 Summers St. is featuring a Pomegranate Whiskey Maple Smash made with Maker's Mark and a blend of pomegranate, orange and lemon juices with an orange slice and mint garnish. It will accompany half a bacon, bleu cheese and apple butter grilled cheese served with potato chips.
I was invited to a “sneak-peek” pub crawl to sample all four pairings a few weeks ago, and I can attest this year’s Capital Cocktail Classic guests are in for a delicious good time.
I definitely have my own picks for this year’s winners, but don’t want to influence any votes beforehand. We’ll see how these four restaurants stack up that night – and what the people say as a result.
Tickets for the event, which includes all four tastings and the ability to vote, are a steal at $60. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the event’s Facebook page or https://fundfortheartswv.ticketspice.com/capital-cocktail-classic-2026.
More love for Lost Creek Farm's “tomato sandwich” dessert
Remember when I raved about the unique (and phenomenal!) “tomato sandwich” dessert featuring salt-rising bread, fresh tomato sorbet and Duke’s Mayonnaise ice cream that I recently enjoyed during a lovely dinner at Harrison County’s Lost Creek Farm?
Turns out Pittsburg Post-Gazette dining critic Hal B. Klein was at Lost Creek two weeks earlier praising that same memorable dish.
In an article published Sept. 30 on “The Best Dishes in Pittsburgh,” Klein wrote about his first visit back to the West Virginia farm in seven years.
“Throughout six courses of a meal overlooking the following valleys of Harrison County, Mike Costello and Amy Dawson spoke about the people who have farmed and foraged these fields and mountains for hundreds of years and tied those stories to what we ate,” Klein wrote.
“Later, we sat in awed silence eating dumplings with wood-roasted chicken, charred celery and frizzled greens, while listening to an audio recording of Costello’s late mother talking about the dish’s history,” he recounted. “We finished with a riff on a tomato sandwich so potent I’ll carry it with me until next summer: Dawson’s salt-rising bread (an Appalachian staple dating to the late 1700s), tomato sorbet and mayonnaise ice cream.”
Tickets go fast, he told readers, encouraging them to “buy them the minute next year’s dinners go on sale.”
I couldn’t agree more, Hal, and you clearly have good taste!
Black Sheep closes the curtain on brunch
This is a blow to local brunch lovers.
Black Sheep Burrito and Brews at 702 Quarrier St. in Charleston will no longer be open on Sundays, ending what was once one of the area’s best brunches – and one of the few true brunch options available in town.
With only a day’s notice, Black Sheep announced on Facebook Saturday that this past Sunday would be the restaurant’s last Sunday open for its popular brunch menu.
Regular hours moving forward remain 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, X, Instagram and Pinterest as “WV Food Guy.” He can be reached at wvfoodguy@aol.com.
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