Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin samples some buffalo tofu from Keeley Steele’s Bluegrass Kitchen, which had a stand set up at Capitol Market for the Bon Appetit Appalachia map unveiling.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State and local tourism officials are hoping a new digital and printed map that will be distributed throughout the 13-state Appalachian region will help drive business to 21 selected culinary destinations in West Virginia.
The map, dubbed “Bon Appetit Appalachia,” was created by the Appalachian Regional Commission and appears as an insert in the summer 2014 edition of Food Traveler magazine.
The print edition features 283 locations throughout the 13 states with the online version containing closer to 600. Destinations range from restaurants that use local ingredients to farmers markets to vineyards and breweries, among other things.
The map was publicly rolled out during an event at Capitol Market on Tuesday afternoon that was attended by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and state and local officials.
Locally, three locations were featured — Capitol Market, the East End Bazaar and Bluegrass Kitchen.
Bluegrass Kitchen’s sister restaurant, Tricky Fish, is a fourth local destination included in the online version.
“We feel really honored,” said Keeley Steele, who co-owns Bluegrass Kitchen and Tricky Fish with her husband, Jon.
She was also one of numerous vendors from across West Virginia at Tuesday’s event.
“This is just a really good thing for our state,” she said…
