I don’t have to tell you the COVID-19 pandemic has been rough on most small businesses. Food businesses have been hit hard with less foot traffic, traveling, indoor dining and more. Recently, I stopped by a West Virginia small butcher and shop and also decided to order some pepperoni rolls from a new Pittsburgh, PA bakery. All the food was so good! Not only did I get a break from cooking by own food, the experience was really fun.
Farmer’s Daughter

I have long followed Farmer’s Daughter, a whole animal butchery and full service grocery in Capon Bridge, WV. Pre-Covid, I had plans to make it to one of their many food events at the shop. This month I finally was close enough to for a lunch detour! First, this place is the cutest. They have local food and art products (and PLEASE get the La Vache’s Fleur de Sel caramels — they are so so good). For lunch I picked up one of their small menu sandwich choices of the day. It was a version of a Philly Cheesesteak but so much more. Amazing beef, homemade cheese sauce, peppers, onion, homemade pickles and the best hoagie bread you can imagine. Please follow me to the next photo for Droolfest 2021.

This sandwich was every bit as good as it looked. The meat was perfectly done and filled the sandwich, the pickles — well they were just the best– the cheese sauce was on point and from someone who doesn’t even love hoagies, I could eat this most days of my life. Yum. Please so check them out and support their cool biz. (And for real, get those salted caramels and maybe some good kombucha) Check them out here: https://www.farmersdaughterwv.com/
Rolling Pepperoni

The next small business I was excited to test out was Rolling Pepperoni — a pepperoni roll bakery from Pittsburgh, PA. This bakery is owned and operated by an Elkins, WV native. It is a unique shop that really focuses on stories and history of Appalachia. In their own words, “Rolling Pepperoni is breaking bread across Appalachia to unite rural and urban communities.” I love their connection to old traditions and new spaces as shown in their website full of Appalachian stories as seen on each wrapper featuring stories and artists from West Virginia. I love seeing West Virginia success stories and I had plans to stop by the bakery the next trip to Pittsburgh. Since all trips were halted this year, I finally decided to order a shipment to try out many of their different rolls – both traditional and new. https://www.rollingpepperoni.com/

These rolls were so delicious. I have tried a lot of pepperoni rolls in my day and these were fantastic. I purchased traditional, mini, as well as some with each pickles, hot peppers, tapenade, and even a vegetarian rolls of spinach and feta. Although they were all delicious the pickle and the hot pepper rolls resonated most with me. If you are in Pittsburgh or are just craving some great pepperoni rolls, try Rolling Pepperoni and support a small WV native business.
The last thing I must share is the best way to prepare them. While pepperoni rolls are good plain, natives know there is an even better way to enjoy them and that is smothered in Olivero Peppers and mozzarella cheese. Once covered toast until the cheese is melted and enjoy the best meal/snack ever. (I also recommend hot dog sauce/chili, but Olivero Peppers are my favorite).
Enjoy some West Virginia food from small businesses soon. If you are interested in video reviews, check out my Instagram Account @the_wild_west_virginian and watch the video reviews of both the Farmer’s Daughter sandwich and Rolling Pepperoni rolls.