Sabaidee Thai, located in Clarksburg, is a new addition to the dining scene, and while in the area, I wanted to check it out. They had a really simple online ordering process, so I placed my order via phone and walked inside to pick it up.



The interior was a bit dated, but decorated with some Asian-inspired art. They were a bit flustered when I walked in - not sure why - but after waiting a few minutes, they turned their attention toward me. My order was ready and waiting on me, so I received that and went on my way.



I ordered a few appetizers to snack on. First up were these "crab blankets," which were crab rangoons. They were standard - not a ton of flavor, aside from the oils from the wrapper. 



Then, I tried the pork dumplings, which I thought would come with more flavors of sauce. These kinda ended up being a little gummy - but the flavor was okay. 



Finally, I had a spring roll, and it was decent. Overall, I think I have super high standards for Thai food, because it's one of my favorites. This was average.

Grade: C

I really love seeking out small mom & pop restaurants off the beaten path. That's often where you'll find some of the best food. With that in mind, my friend Bri and I made a little trip to Clendenin to check out Momma Payne's Diner. 



We parked outside and entered the building. It was a little awkward because there wasn't a sign saying to seat ourselves or wait for someone to seat us. So, I went the safest way I know, which is to sit at the counter.



The dining space is one open large space that has tables and chairs sprinkled about. There were some random odds and ends decorating the place with a car and retro theme. Photographs of the flood decorate the counter. It truly is devastating to see what this community went through just a few years ago. 



After some awkward "where are you from?" conversation and clearly being outsiders in this small community, we were able to place our orders.



I went for the "Mac-N-Bacon Burger," which, as you might guess, is topped with bacon and mac & cheese. 



After a hefty wait, my burger arrived. It was an average size with a helping of mac & cheese tumbling iver top and a couple slices of crisp bacon. 



Overall, I'd say it was fairly average. I would've loved some sort of sauce like an aioli or something to pull it all together. Without that, it's a bit dry.



They also have a mini shop where they have sauces, cheese, butter and more. Overall, an average meal that has a nice comeback story that might be worth a try if you're in the area. 



Grade: C

There are no lengths I'm not willing to go to in order to try a new (to me) restaurant. Such is the case when I had a craving for Chinese food, but I could only justify it if I could produce new content for my blog. And since I've tried all the Chinese restaurants in the Charleston area, I was led to Montgomery.



China House Xiu Hunan is the only, I believe, Chinese restaurant in Montgomery, so it has the market cornered. It was previously named Potamkin and has had decent reviews over the years. During COVID-19, they do not have indoor dining, so it looked more like it was used for storage and it had dim lighting. 



I had put in an order online, and when I got there, they said it was ready. But then I waited another 15 minutes or so. Once I got my bag stuffed full of food, I sped home (not literally, in case there are any cops reading) to try it out.



Let's start with the pad thai. This is one of my favorite dishes, but I just have not found a good version in the Kanawha Valley. It's a bit bland, the texture overall is just a bit mushy, and I'm looking for the nutty, sweet, chewy dish I love. And this just wasn't it. 



Next up, I tried honey chicken. I probably ate the most of this - it has the sweet tangy flavor of a General Tso or Crispy Chicken entree you might expect. It's not all white meat, though, which I was hoping for. I also don't think this one exactly agreed with my tummy.



Finally, we also tried the coconut shrimp. The coconut sauce came on the side, which was nice. But the breading for the shrimp was soft and mushy. So, I tried to pick off most of that and just dip the shrimp in the sauce. It wasn't too bad that way.



This place did have a few different items - like a crab eggroll. This had a stick of crab in the middle and like stuffing filling up the remainder. I really liked it. 



Then, of course I had to try whatever a cheese eggroll is. And, it's essentially the cream cheese in crab rangoons enveloped in a spring roll wrapped. I liked it!



And to top things off, I tried the crab rangoons. I think I liked the eggroll one better, because the rangoons are super hard around the fried edges. But the filling - always good.

Grade: C

Quick Bites is a new restaurant along University Avenue in Morgantown. It's located right across from the Life Sciences Building at the light. This building has been home to 5 million different restaurants since my arrival in Morgantown in 2007 (yikes!). But, none have been all that memorable.



Quick Bites seems to be specializing in burgers, with the Cowboy (cheddar, BBQ, onion rings), Sunrise (mozzarella, caramelize onion, egg), and the Diablo (pepper jack, jalapenos, buffalo sauce). The inside seems like it will be a late-night college hangout.



They also have some fried apps: french fries, chicken tenders, onion rings, etc. So I wanted to try a little bit of Column A and a little bit of Column B. First up, the mushroom swiss burger. It's a little mushed because it was in my bag in transport, but the flavor remains. A decently seasoned burger, a healthy slice of swiss cheese and some sauteed mushrooms made for a solid little burger. A little ketchup made it even better.



And, here are some macaroni & cheese bites. I always want these to be better than what they ever are. In concept, they sound great. I love macaroni & cheese. But in execution, they're always a little bland, a little greasy and a little dry.

Grade: C

Davis' Place is more of a bar than grill, in my opinion, but nonetheless, I've heard good things about the food so when I found myself in Huntington recently, I put in a to-go order.



The menu has fried appetizers, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches and wraps.



Because it's a bar, I figured wings would be a great way to go. So I ordered boneless BBQ, as well as an order of "fried cheese" - but that has now been replaced with regular mozzarella sticks.



The wings were okay. The sauce didn't have enough flavor for my liking - but not bad. The mozzarella sticks were okay, too. Package marinara and standard taste.


Grade: C

There is a brewery right in Pike Place Market, which is pretty cool.

It's as old as I am, but The Pike Brewing Company is pretty lively. There were lots of folks eating and drinking throughout the sort of sprawling dining area.

We came just for some drinks, though.

We each ordered the sampler, which came with Pike Naughty Nellie, Pike Place Ale, Pike IPA, Pike Kilt Lifter, Pike XXXXX, and Pike Monk's Uncle.

These were all a bit underwhelming for me. Heavy or bland or just not all that exciting. I didn't mind the golden Nellie beer, but even then, not super exciting.

So, we were definitely in search of a good brewery - maybe a bit further away from the touristy area of Pike Place. Nothing especially bad here, but nothing I got excited about either.




Grade: C

With all the traveling, this year has been a little crazy for me. I've been all over the country and had the opportunity to try some really cool food. Most notably, I've finally found really good tacos in Austin.

So, the bar was pretty high when I tried Los Agaves in Seattle.

They offer traditional Mexican street food, and I ordered a single taco al pastor, which has grilled pork, pineapple and onion.

And, it was fine, but a bit too greasy for my taste. That kind of was the overarching flavor here, so I thought this one was just OK this time around.



Grade: C

We just talked a lot about Austin, but guess what? I made another trip not too long ago over to Seattle So, I'll talk a little bit about some of the great food I got to try there.

But, first, we had to get there. Our flight had a layover in Denver, so I made a beeline for the food court area. The first thing that caught my attention? City Wok.

City Wok has some basics, so I went basic with sweet and sour chicken, as well as an order of Krab Rangoon Won Tons. These wontons were decent - not super crispy, inside was pretty average.

Same could be said for the main entree. It was just kinda neither here nor there. A little more flavor would've been nice in the sauce. But, not bad. Just pretty middle of the road. I suppose that's what's expected from airport food. But now I can say I (kinda) ate in Denver!



Grade: C