Morgantown has no shortage of great brunch places these days, but there's something to be said about a place that churns out homemade bagels on which to consume cheesy eggs, crisp bacon and smoked salmon.

00Bagel, the homemade bagel company, has been hosting brunch on Sundays at 123 Pleasant Street for quite a while now, and I just recently had the opportunity to stop by. It's a rare thing for me to see 123 during the daylight but it's also pretty cool to see the old brick, the neat colored glass and plants surrounded the piano.

Walk to the back, place your order (the menu changes weekly), pay and find a seat. I walked up toward the window so I could people-watch as I chowed down. I stopped at the bar to get a water. After just a moment, they delivered a picture perfect bagel.

So, I had ordered their 00Breakfast Bagel with bacon, egg and cheddar. If their specialty is bagels, I gotta let that show through, right?

This was piled high with thick-cut bacon, tons of oozing, melty cheddar and egg on an everything bagel. And, it was pretty damn good. These bagels are even better than I remember them, so I was very pleasantly surprised with my sandwich.

Good proportions, the bagel had so much "everything" on it, that I'm pretty sure I had poppy seeds in my teeth for the rest of the day. But, I am not complaining. Worth it.

They have a lot of other cool options, too, especially if you're a bit adventurous. And, the next time I see a bagel + lox on the menu, I'm getting my butt there ASAP.

Have you been? What's the best thing you've ordered?

There's still a good bit of construction happening, but Morgantown welcomes another Starbucks. I'm patiently awaiting the opening of Bourbon Prime Steakhouse, which will be replacing Regatta.

Boston's favorite burger joint is a no-frills, beer-serving, late-night piece of deliciousness. Tasty Burger has a few different locations throughout the city, and we made it a point to stop at one nearby before I headed out of town.

Born behind Fenway Park in Boston, Tasty Burger instantly became one of Boston’s favorite neighborhood Burger joints. Tasty Burger represents the fruition of our goal to create a Modern Fast Food Burger restaurant with the old school sensibilities of the great early places that created the genre. We took a look back in time to the late forties and fifties to study the process, energy and enthusiasm that made the humble hamburger America’s favorite food. We studied hard in our attempt to give this national sandwich a Boston relevance and vernacular. 

In the process we learned to love the burger world and the entrepreneurial spirit that drives it. Our Mission is to create a fresh flavorful flat patty burger, made from the finest all natural American beef. We have visited the pastures of family ranches where our cattle graze to get a first hand understanding of where great beef comes from. Our all natural beef meets HFAC third party review standards at all stages and is NEVER given any growth hormones or antibiotics. The steer are grass fed and finished on a 100% grass and grain diet, for an uniquely savory steak flavor. We apply this same level of care to our homemade Buns made in the old Sunbeam Bread factory, from scratch sauces, proprietary Hot Dogs made locally and all of our fresh daily ingredients. All this with the goal in mind of offering a complete menu with similar options and price point to the most familiar fast food places, but prepared with a more individual attention to quality ingredients. We wish to operate with professionalism, focus on details and quality at a fair price (Tasty Burger).

Tasty Burger has a few menu items - the 1/3 lb. certified all natural beef burgers, the "sack of 5 burgers," crispy chicken sandwiches, all beef dogs, salads and side items like nuggets, onion rings, french fries and tater tots.

The location we went to had an upstairs that looked like a retro diner, and then a darker downstairs that had games -- and served alcohol. Clearly, that's where we headed. The tables were stocked with Tasty Fry Seasoning and Spicy Tomato Ketchup - neither of which I was impressed with. The seasoning had some cinnamon and brown sugar, and the ketchup had a little zip.

I ordered "The Big Tasty," which came with cheese, lettuce, pickle, red onion, tomato, and Tasty sauce. I also got an order of the tater tots, which are "deep fried, grated potato." The burger was pretty good. I liked the toppings, and there was plenty of cheese. I wish the burger had a touch more seasoning; a bit more flavor. But, not bad.

The tots were good. Definitely on the greasier side, but a nice thick crunch to them was certainly satisfying. Overall, a pretty decent burger joint. Not the best I've ever had, but a solid contender.

Grade: B

If you found a place that had unlimited books, coffee and beer, you'd never leave, right? Well, look no further than Hurricane, West Virginia.

Books & Brews specializes in ... wait for it... books and brews, as in coffee AND beer. The used book store and cafe sits on Main Street in Hurricane. The walls are lined with gently used, brightly colored books, and the counter in the back lists tons of different coffees available - broken down by beans, brewing methods, espresso, tea and other drinks. The space has nice lighting with a very cool vibe.

They have a solid craft beer menu that features local breweries, Bell's Brewery, Flying Mouse, Great Lakes, Founders, Oskar Blues and more. 

So, I ordered one of their specialty lattes - s'mores, as it was one of their top sellers of the moment. I also went ahead and ordered a snack so I could get a feel for the place. Most of the menu items have classic novel names. I ordered the grilled cheese sliders made up of provolone, mozzarella, swiss, and smoked gouda served on sourdough with a side of marinara.


As I waited on my order, I found a spot on the long high table area. And, we busted out the game of "Guess Who." This game wasn't in my library as a child, so this may have been the first time playing it ever. I love that they have tons of games for children -- and adults -- to play in this cool space.

My latte was very good. They even gave me a little latte art. This ginormous cup was filled with a velvetty smooth, sweet latte that I had trouble finishing. It was super tasty, but I had had my fill of caffeine at that point. Delicious, though.

The sliders were also tasty. It's straight comfort food, so it's tough to mess up a grilled cheese and marinara. I think a little bit more buttery bread would put this into the "heaven" category. Still, good.

So, I'm super into this place. I think if I lived here, I would literally spend all my money on coffee and snacks. This is a great place to get some work done, have a beer, pick up a new book or even play a game with friends.

Man, I wish I had something similar to this locally, because I would never leave.

Have you been? What did you think?

Grade: A

Huntington's hipster burger joint, The Peddler, is back to flipping patties -- with extra cool ingredients.

The Peddler, along with Backyard Pizza, went up in flames a few years ago but has recently reopened -- much to the pleasure of locals. And me.

The Peddler is a cool place, with an arcade upstairs and game-themed decor. It's also supposed to be opening a brewery, Cootie Brown Brewing Company, in the near future.

After playing a few games, we went downstairs to browse a menu and order some burgers. The menu features some really tasty-sounding one like the "Big Texas" with beef patty, brisket, blueberry BBQ, cheddar, onion strings and candied jalapeno. Then, there's the "El Camino" with beef patty, housemade pimento cheese, tomato, field greens and aioli. I ultimately went with the "Brass Monkey," which has a beef patty, sliced banana, smoked applewood bacon, cream cheese and Thai peanut sauce. A friend got the duck fat fries, which I was more than happy to try.

This burger, as crazy as it sounds, was so flipping good. I had never had cream cheese on a burger, but I don't know if I ever want to have another burger without it. The banana and Thai peanut sauce were a perfect flavor combo -- plus the salty bacon gave a nice crisp bite.

The duck fat fries didn't do a ton for me; they tasted kinda like regular fries? But, they're not bad. Fries are fries.

I really liked this burger place. I love the creative burgers, especially the one I ordered, and the idea of an arcade + brewery is great. I could see myself spending an evening there -- if it were just a bit closer.

Grade: A