"Latin American Fusion" family restaurant is how Summersville's Original Flavor Bistro bills itself, with influences from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and more.
That is a lot of ground to cover - and the expansive menu reflects that: Arepas, cachapas, street food sandwiches, Polish sausages, mofongo, yucca, plantains, and a whole host of entrees that include churrasco steak, pork chicharron, fried swordfish and more.
I tried an empanada platter, which had 5 one-inch half-moon fried corn pastry stuffed with one of each: shredded roast beef, cheese, chicken, black bean and pork. These were also served with 5 different sauces: Rose Sauce (mayo-ketchup), Garlic Sauce, Chimichurri Sauce, Guadacaca Sauce (avocado), and Aji Spicy Sauce. I absolutely love the variety here, but they were a bit too oily for me, which was the overwhelming flavor.
We also tried a cachapa with cheese, which is a sweet cornmeal pancake cooked in butter and filled with white melted oaxaca cheese. I enjoy the touch of sweetness here and would love a flash of freshness, too.
Also had a Reina Pepiada, which is an arepa with pulled chicken, mayonnaise, and avocado. This is a savory cornmeal pocket and the pulled chicken is a cold chicken salad. That surprised me, because I was thinking a hot pulled chicken sandwich. But, not bad.
Patacones Sampler - 4 fried plantain green topped with 1 chicken, 1 pork, 1 beef and 1 shrimp, topped with coleslaw. This was fun, too, because it was a nice sampling of so many different flavors. All of which are good. The crispiness loses some crisp when the ingredients are piled on, but maybe I just n eed to e aat more quickly next time.
Grade: B
Let's hit up yet another Gino's location - this time in Summersville.
I went with an old stand-by: the wings in the tangy gold sauce. I really enjoyed the sweetness with a bit of tang. My only downside was that they were a bit on the dry side. Dipping them in blue cheese really helped, though!
Grade: B
Summersville is home to a restaurant called The Local.
With a name like that, I'm expecting local beer, local music and local food.
The space gives more of a country bar and grill vibe, and it seems like it's more popular in the evening than during lunch time.
The menu features burgers, fried apps, hot dogs, a couple salads, and two chicken sandwiches.
To start with, we decided to try some pretzel bites that were topped with salt and had a cheese dipping sauce. I liked that they were cut on the diagonal so it made it a lot easier to eat the individual pieces - which were almost toasted. Cheese was fine.
Friends opted for a hot dog and different burger, which they both enjoyed. And I may have sampled.
It's tough for me to ever pass up macaroni and cheese so when I saw macaroni and cheese placed on top of a burger, I knew I needed to try that. First - that bacon blue cheese. I love blue cheese on a burger - I just don't love floppy bacon. It was OK.
For the mac burger, I always appreciate the cheese, but it really needs something to make it pop so I can appreciate that creamy dairy. Like a sriracha or honey or something that helps punch it up. Overall, it was fine - a little cold... but I do enjoy a crispy fry with garlic.
Grade: C
The Vault On Main in Summersville is a new-ish restaurant and wine bar located in a former bank: Nicholas County Bank.
My friend Sara and I went earlier this year to check it out. The building commands quite the presence standing in the middle of town with lovely stonework and giant windows.
The interior of the building is beautiful with iron details, wood accents and marble. They also have the bank vault available, but I did not see the inside, unfortunately. The tables and chairs are basic, but the bank itself is absolutely lovely.
The menu has bank-themed sections like "Stocks & Bonds," and "CEO's Choice." They have salads, a few entrees and sandwiches - depending on the day.
We went on a weekend where there was a brunch option, but I wasn't to try something with a bit more substance. I was excited to see the special was a cheeseburger meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corn.
I don't really know what cheeseburger meatloaf is, but I knew I wanted it. The meatloaf had some tasty herbs on top and I loved the onion inside. I would've preferred more seasoning in the meat itself (salt, please!), but the potatoes were well-seasoned, and the corn was fine, too. Overall, a solid meal, and I wouldn't mind trying some more options. What's your favorite thing here?
Grade: B
Jackson's Meat Shop is an interesting amalgamation of items.
It's in a a quiet shopping plaza with plenty of parking, and it has a huge space.
It's kind of used haphazardly, though.
As soon as I walked in, I was met with dim lighting and what looked like storage - thought it was the front of the store.
The ceiling was covered in plastic, and there was a room full of candy - with clearance Christmas candy. I'm not sure how often the product turns over in this store.
The meat shop was fully stocked, though. I'm not exactly sure if they butcher or process, but there were a few different brand names.
I didn't try anything on this visit, but I loved the little bite-sized meat and cheese packs.
And maybe some of those interesting-looking cheeses.
Have you been?
Fresh Start Market Co. is a market in Summersville that has plants, veggies, value-added products and more in a small space.
They opened just before the pandemic began and had to pivot quite a bit.
But they're open and busy - at least when I visited.
They have a lot of different things to purchase.
Whether you want lavender or apples, Fresh Start Market Co. had it.
They even have honey.
And corn - which is early in the season.
There's also tons of flowers!
So many goodies.
What have you purchased here?
All work property of Candace Nelson. Powered by Blogger.
