There's a cute little building in Point Pleasant on 1st & Main that I've always wanted to see something cool open up in - and recently 1st & Main Burgers & Fries did just that.  



The burger (and fries) joint has a walk-up window for you to place your order and park benches outside to enjoy your meal.



The menu  features smashburgers with a variety of toppings. The weirdest one to me - which of course is the one I ordered - was "The All 4-1 Burger" which included a burger, hot dog, hot dog sauce, onion an American cheese.



The hot dog was split open, which made sense for the burger. I was wondering how it was all going to come together. So instead of fighting as the main protein, the hot dog just seemed more like a topping - like bacon. The burger was a little extra crispy, but I liked it overall. 



My friend went with The Main Classic, which was standard with lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup, pepperjack cheese and fried onions. I snuck a bite and enjoyed this one one, too. Both pretty straight-forward, decent homecooked burgers. 

Grade: B

Stewart's Country Kitchen & Bakery in Point Pleasant is moving soon, so I wanted to be sure to showcase them before they do so. 



The homestyle restaurant isn't going too far, though, so no worries. I was excited to check this place out because they have a pick-up window, which makes it easy for me to check them off my list while passing through the town.



The menu features favorites like smothered chicken, burgers, and one of my personal favs: meatloaf. I got it with spuds two ways: mashed potatoes and potato salad. It was a bit dried out and I would've liked three times the amount of sauce - but the mix of onions and peppers inside was good and well-seasoned. A serving of bread pudding was pretty dense and could've benefitted from some sauce or fruit inside. Again, though, I enjoyed the flavors.

Grade: B

Our favorite cyptid - the Mothman - hails from Point Pleasant, which I will take any excuse to visit. I firmly believe they are ripe for some really great restaurants.



When Ichiban 2 opened, I took the opportunity to check it out. The pan-Asian restaurant has everything from sushi rolls and hibachi dinners to yaki udon and Chinese food. You can order right online and have everything ready when you arrive.



I ordered some of the crispy crab wontons and the Ichiban roll - their namesake: shrimp tempura, spicy kani, seaweed salad, crunch w. soy paper, topped w. spicy mayo eel sauce.



The wontons were standard. I think I'm in the minority here when I say I'm not crazy about the crispy ends and just want the filling. So I tend to gravitate toward a different shape that limits the crispy edges - but, this had substantial filling and it was good.



The sushi roll was a bit different - with the pink paper and seaweed salad inside. I enjoyed that it was a little bit of a twist on something familiar; the texture became a bit soft and I like when there's variation. It was good, and I'd eat again - just nothing totally out of the box. But a decent option for town. 

Grade: B

The Mason Jar in Point Pleasant has a little bit of everything - including some tasty snacks.



They have some more commercial products, but there are also goodies from local folks, too. 



I had to try some of this root beer.



And maybe collect some more Mothman merch. 



Have you been?

I've eaten more Gino's Pizza in the last year than I have in my entire life. As I work my way through the various locations, I discovered there is some slight variation - but not a ton, really.  



In Point Pleasant, I placed an order for a small pizza loaded with toppings. If you've read any of my blog posts about pizza, you likely know I'm a mushroom topping-only person. But a friend recently shared a supreme-topping pizza, and it hit my adult tastebuds differently. 



So I ordered a pizza with mushrooms, black olives, onions, banana peppers and sausage. I gotta say - those toppings with a bit sweeter sauce than usual - was a good combo.

Grade: B

There are quite a few Sam's Hot Dog Stand locations in southern West Virginia that serve up steamed buns, all-beef hot dogs, chili and slaw to make the iconic West Virginia hot dog. The most recent Sam's location that I discovered is in Point Pleasant. It's located in a small strip with a few other businesses. I actually didn't go inside, but rather went through the drive through. It was odd, though, that there wasn't a menu posted outside to order from. 



I knew what I wanted anyway - the traditional WV slawdog. The bun was less steamed and more hard. Maybe stale? Maybe a previous toast? Either way, I like the steamed bun, and this one had a bit more slaw than I'd love. Overall, though, still a good version of a slawdog. Flavorful chili, good slaw consistency, not bad.

Grade: B

Point Pleasant is a funky little town, so it's fitting to have a funky little shop that offers various types of game and other products.



B & J's Market is located on Sixth Street and has exotic meat, seafood, sauces, spices and vegan options, too! 



On this visit, I simply wanted to take a look around to see what was what.



I didn't bring a cooler with me; otherwise, I definitely would have tried some of the bison. But they have so much more than that: ostrich, emu, frog legs, rattlesnake, duck, boudin, kangaroo, alligator ... and the list goes on! 



Many of those can be found in the form of a jerky if you want to give it a taste first! 



Which one would you try?

I have been trying to make my way to What's The Scoop in Point Pleasant for an embarrassingly long time. I love the town, and I actually enjoy the drive a lot, too. My main hurdle is that the ice cream shop doesn't open until 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and I'm an early bird so I'm usually in and out of town before 2 p.m.



Alas, I made my way there this past weekend, and I was very excited to add another Mothman-themed treat to my repertoire and explore the quirky town. 



What the Scoop serves cookie sandwiches, shakes, floats, and crazy over-the-top shakes, too. They also have other special goodies like macarons, banana splits, cupcakes, and waffle cones and bowls. They have a "Men in Black" - lots of chocolate - shake and a "Mothman" - mint - shake. 



As much as I would love to sit and indulge in a giant shake, I looked at smaller options that are more portable. And *voila* there is also the Mothman bowl, which is a waffle bowl with three scoops of your choice of ice cream, topped with whipped cream, two cherries for eyes and two chocolate bars for wings.



Also, lol at these "Mothman droppings" for sale. 



For my Mothman bowl, I ordered three scoops of the "s'mores" ice cream, which was perfection in a (waffle) bowl. I love s'mores, I love Mothman, I love ice cream. You just really can't get much better. Plus, this s'mores ice cream had little marshmallow filled chocolate cups. Try it. 

Grade: A

McHappy's Doughnuts has a few locations around the Mid-Ohio Valley, but their newest one is in Point Pleasant. And, it sure looks new.



The storefront has tall glass windows and a modern vibe. The cases were packed with all kinds of tempting sweets.



From mini cakes and eclairs to donuts and "pizza squares" from sister restaurant Napoli's, there were so many goodies to choose from.



I decided to try out a few different items: a cherry danish, a cookie and a banana nut dessert.



Everything was delish. The pizza square was not my favorite - maybe I'm partial to pepperoni rolls. But it wasn't bad. 



Grade: A

I wonder if I can ever try all of the Tudor's in West Virginia. Probably not, but I'll try.

After my last order in Smithers, I'm now on a Politician kick - egg, cheese and bologna.

What's your favorite biscuit? Let me know in the comments below!

I have a few tidbits left from a recent Point Pleasant trip that I wanted to wrap up. I went during the Bikes, BBQ and Bluegrass Festival - where there was music playing down by the river and a few BBQ tents and food vendors downtown.


One of the coolest things I saw while down there was this mural of the Silver Bridge.

Also, I finally marked off "seeing a bunker" on my WV bucket list in the TNT Area.

Finally, the local DQ has their own special spin on hot dogs. I got one with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. But the sauce is one of the more unique - and favorite - ones I've had. It's more tomato-based and kinda sweet. Almost reminiscent of a housemade ketchup. I loved it!