After a tumultuous birthday, my good friend Brittany Erskine demanded we have lunch today. I was happy when we decided on The Wharf restaurant, one I haven't been to. The restaurant is fairly new - it used to be the Boathouse Bistro (but I never got the chance to go there). It's situated in the Wharf District of Morgantown, near the river. As excited as I was to try the food, I was a little hesitant because I actually tried to write a story for The Daily Athenaeum about their opening (July, I believe), but the management was not to receptive of the idea. That turned me off, but I went in with an open mind. 





We went for lunch, so the place was fairly empty. There was one business-looking man having a drink, but other than that, just us. So, we were able to seat ourselves, and we decided on a window seat overlooking the river. Not only does this allow me to snoop, but the table itself was made of these fantastic stones to the right. They were filled with reds, greens, blues, yellows and whites - they were all absolutely beautiful and looked expensive.

The waiter was a very personable and friendly guy who chatted us a good bit, but not too much like many. I hate that. Anyway, as soon as we received our drinks, he brought out two complimentary ribs. He said they are simply taste-testing for a competition they enter for ribs. I typically don't eat ribs because I don't like them, but, of course, I tried one. It was so tender that it fell off the bone - this, I am good with. The sauce wasn't my favorite. It had a sweeter taste instead of tangy, but it was cooked to perfection, and the texture was flawless. We then filled out comment cards to help them out.

I ordered the Wharf original sandwich, which was basically a huge fish sandwich. It came with two sides. I got the hush puppies and a red potato salad. The sandwich was a little too large; it contained two fillets that were falling apart when I tried to pick it up. I opted to make it into a fork-and-knife sandwich. It had tomato, lettuce and apparently tartar sauce, but I didn't find it. The fish was amazing tasting - very fresh and flaky. However, it's fish, and it needs some sort of sauce to accompany it. I wish it had a healthier (or any at all) helping of tartar on the sandwich because between two large buns, the dish was dry. I also prefer my fish sandwiches on long hoagie buns and not a tall typical sandwich. The hush puppies had very savory seasonings, and reminded me of cornbread. The potato salad was also on par, with a mustard-based sauce that hit all the right notes. 




Finally, we shared a peanut butter ice cream /brownie dish. The ice cream tasted very buttery, and the brownie was kind of hidden. I like my ice cream-brownie ratio to be a bit more equal, but it was tasty nonetheless. I was very full by this point, so I surrendered my spoon to let Brittany finish it off. Had I been less full, it probably would have been much more satisfying. The waiter really made the experience great - he wished me happy birthday (and wrote it on my check), and kept us entertained the whole time. He is a native of Morgantown and WVU grad.

Grade: B