Home Built Go Karts

Open House to Spotlight West Virginia-made Foods, Wine

This week, an open house at the Inwood Farmers Market will allow visitors to sample all kinds of goods from across the Mountain State. The June 25 event happens from noon to 5 p.m. at the market at 178 Pilgrim St. in Inwood, just off Exit 5 of Interstate 81.

The market, which is operated by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, also will show off its newest items for the garden, including herb garden kits, soil-testing gear, vegetable and flower seeds and gardening accessories.

Also at the open house, visitors will have the chance to review displays from local and state government offices on concerns about the Chesapeake Bay watershed, how to set up a water-recycling rain barrel, the cost-share program for septic tank pumping and other environmental programs.

For more on the open house, call manager Faye Roberts at 304-229-5011.

Chef a star in Atlanta

The founder of Lot 12 Public House in Berkeley Springs was among a handful of celebrity chefs in the spotlight at last month’s Atlanta Food & Wine Festival.

Damian Heath, who is known for using local ingredients to create upscale Southern comfort food, called on ramps and morels to create hush puppies, vichyssoise and other menu items for the festival.

The Greenbrier was the only other West Virginia restaurant featured at the May 12-22 event, a showcase for the best food and wine from D.C. to Texas.

Heath studied at the Baltimore International Culinary College and trained in Europe before working at the Yellow Brick Bank in Shepherdstown and at top-shelf restaurants in the Carolinas. He returned to his native Berkeley Springs to open Lot 12 with his wife Betsy in 1999.

The restaurant, located in a lovely restored Depression-era home at 17 Warren St., debuts its new summer menu this week. For more, see www.lot12.com .

Bank marks 140th anniversary

The Bank of Charles Town this week wrapped up a celebration of its 140th year. The $300 million commercial bank, which opened its doors in the spring of 1871, is headquartered at 111 E. Washington St. in downtown Charles Town.

In 2001, the bank expanded into neighboring Berkeley County.

Motostrano Blog: Helmets For Home Made Go-Karts

The current issue of MAKE Magazine (a personal favorite) has a feature article on home-built go-karts and backyard racers ( Roll Your Own ). Fun-packed home made creativity and fun with tools, many of us had these as a kid, either motor or pedal powered. Deep back in the dark dank crevices of my memory I can recall some kind of wooden gravity car that me and my dad worked on and I test-piloted down the hill in front of my house as a young boy. Whether it was the fact that it probably had no brakes, or possibly that the moving mammoth American cars of the 70's that I had to dodge in the middle of the street had no brakes, the cart didn't last long and I quickly moved on to safer activities, like skateboarding. MAKE covers some great ideas, gives some detailed build-plans and parts lists for making some awesome motorized fun. Making the stuff was half the fun. Riding and crashing it was the other half of the fun. And of course, back then, no one wore helmets while doing this kind of stuff and I nodded my head reading Mark Frauenfelder's commentary "It probably goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway: Wear a helmet! When I was a kid, no body wore helmets when they rode bikes, skateboards, go-karts, or minibikes. Please don't make that mistake today". Being in the business of selling protective motorcycle gear, a motorcycle store is often the single place a professional neighborhood go-kart racer can turn to for a decent helmet and some gloves. And, we've served a lot of suburban asphalt racers over the years. Dads reviving old contraptions that have been stored in the attic at grandpas for years, new fab models with the latest in power-drill motors and light weight frame constructions.

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