Taste of West Virginia in Morgantown showcased best of local food

By Candace Nelson - 11:53 AM

Taste of West Virginia in MorgantownThe American Red Cross West Virginia Region hosted the "Taste of West Virginia in Morgantown" Thursday evening which pit local area restaurants against one another to see who has the best bites in an effort to raise money to support the American Red Cross.

Taste of WV in Morgantown
Courtesy of Cafe Cimino



Because I am a lucky duck, I was fortunate to be able to once again judge this year's competition - and with great company! Nikki Drake, WV Radio, “Jack and Nikki in the Morning,” 102 WVAQ; Anne Hart, Owner & Executive Chef, Provence Market Café; and Tim Urbanic, Owner & Executive Chef, Cafe Cimino County Inn - who happens to have a quote in my book! Also, Jamie Ames, WV Radio, “Just Jamie,” 102 WVAQ was our emcee for the evening.

Taste of WV in MorgantownDonors included March-Westin, Mylan, First Energy, Spilman, Thomas & Battle, The Dominion Post, Jackson Kelly and Thrasher.

Taste of WV in MorgantownWe were served all kinds of great goodies all evening - but judges were only allowed to judge based on one item from each of the vendors, so I won't have a comprehensive list here (though I did try to sneak the additional snacks from all the other places!

Taste of WV in Morgantown







Atomic Grill 
Smoked brisket with tons of seasonings and white BBQ horseradish sauce

Taste of West Virginia in Morgantown

Taste of West Virginia in Morgantown

Taste of West Virginia in Morgantown

Taste of WV in Morgantown

Taste of WV in Morgantown

Emi's Edibles

Almond cake with vanilla frosting with blackberry or apricot filling
White Chocolate Lemon Ginger
Milk Chocolate Frangelico
Dark Chocolate Cherry Bomb

Taste of WV in MorgantownTaste of WV in MorgantownHill and Hollow 
Mincemeat Moonpie with Backbone Farm pork, scuppemogs, ground pumpkin seeds and sorgum between buckwheat wafers, with white chocolate-pawpaw ganache
Potato candy

Taste of WV in Morgantown
Flying Fish & Co.
Seared Yellowfin tuna with black and white sticky rice, sesame coating, mango ginger and avocado wasabi, and tobiko on top.

Taste of WV in MorgantownPeppeBroni's Pizza
Apple Medley Pizza - White sauce, Granny Smith Apples, red onions, minced garlic, spinach, feta
PeppeBroni Pizza - Pepperoni, jumbo pepperoni, margherita pepperoni, fried pepperoni

Taste of WV in MorgantownTaste of West Virginia in MorgantownTaste of WV in MorgantownSargasso 
Bao buns with Cantonese Char Siu Pork (BBQ), quick pickled vegetables, radish, carrot, cilantro, green onion and scallion
Cold sherried cantaloupe soup
Mini cheesecakes

Taste of West Virginia in Morgantown
Table 9 
Smoked salmon bruschetta with red onion, fresh basil, balsamic on top with micro mustard greens, everything bagel seasoning

Taste of WV in Morgantown
Tailpipes 
Smoked brisket meatball, Texas BBQ, ancho chile, smoked garlic, peimno cheese spread, pickled red onion, Kings Hawaiian bun and pepper relish

Taste of WV in Morgantown
Tin 202 
Farm fresh deviled egg with whipped chili goat cheese bacon fat, homemade bacon all from local farms

Taste of WV in Morgantown
Tutto Gelato Café 
Deconstructed tiramisu with tiarmius gelato, chocolate chunks, coffee beans, and lady fingers

Taste of WV in Morgantown
WVU Alumni Center 
Lobster sandwich with bacon, lettuce and tomato
Lobster mac & cheese

My thoughts:
Atomic Grill is doing some new cool things I definitely want to check out soon. Loved seeing new vendor Emi's participate - and those truffles were delish. Hill & Hollow had one of the most unique items, and I wish there had been a most original category. Flying Fish's avocado wasabi was the bomb. I love PeppeBroni's apple pizza - so unique. Sargasso did something you don't see a lot of here, and it was nice. I loved Table 9's summer take on a salmon bagel. Tailpipes had my absolute favorite dish of the night, and I wish I could order that from them. Tin 202 went all out on the local ingredients - very simple dish put together in a complex way. Tutto Gelato dressed up their gelato, which I loved. And the Alumni Center always goes all out - I mean, lobster!

Winners
Taste of West Virginia - Sargasso
People's Choice Award - WVU Alumni Center
Best Sweet Dish - Tutto Gelato Cafe
Best Vegetarian Dish - PeppeBroni's Pizza
Best Savory Dish - Sargasso
Best Bite - Tailpipes
Best Presentation - Table9

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