Everybody loves pizza, right? Well, *most* people love pizza (sorry, lactose-intolerant friends). This means there are a LOT of opinions on pizza. Do you like a super thin crust or a thick, puffy crust? Sweet sauce or slightly spicy sauce? Tons of toppings or minimal? We all have our own preferences, and I always try to keep an open mind to new styles. And, I tend to get my standard cheese pizza with mushrooms as a benchmark. So, let's check out a new-to-me spot in Huntington.



Monty's Pizza in Huntington calls itself the "Cadillac of Pizza Places." OK. I called in a small with mushrooms and made my way to the building. It looks kinda old school from the outside, and I was happy to see the drive-up pick-up window. That makes things easier in these COVID-19 times (and, let's be honest, outside of those times, too). So, I dug in right away. It's a thinner crust that they cook to dark golden brown. There was ample stringy cheese and I liked the sauce; it was fairly subtle and mild. Overall, it made for a decent pie. Pretty standard, solid pizza.

Grade: B

The Woods is a downtown Huntington bar and restaurant. Heavier on the restaurant portion these days.



Dawn and I stopped by while in the area. The space has a cool vibe between Gatsby-esque decor and lots of bright green, live plants all over. It's clear the space was really being used more as storage, since there's no dine-in, but there was a special area set up right in front to place and pick up orders.



The menu has sandwiches, salads, and pizzas, primarily. A few things that caught my eye were the the BBQ tofu pizza, chicken & capicola sandwich, and spicy fried pickles. 



But I was most excited about the "Build Your Own Pepperoni-Style Rolls." They come two per order with cheese, and you can add two toppings - any from the pizza toppings selection! So, think bacon, sausage, chicken, capicola, ham, feta, anchovies, cheddar, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, pineapples, green olives, black olives, spinach, banana peppers, jalapenos and tofu. 



So I went with a standard pepperoni roll - so I can try the original - then, of course, one with mushrooms. I must say, these were both pretty decent. It took a looong time for these to come out, so they weren't super hot. BUT, I loved the dough that was sprinkled with herbs, and there were slits in the top that let out the air so you don't get that giant pocket. Plus dipped in marinara - very tasty. This, of course, was just an appetizer, though.



I also ordered a fried green tomato sandwich with housemade pimento cheese. Very good. Again, not warm, though. But a tangy pimento cheese was a perfect complement for those fried green tomatoes. There's a reason this is a classic pairing. 



Grade: B

East Flavor is a Huntington restaurant that opened in the fall in a space that many of my Huntington friends say is "doomed" - 322 10th Street. What they mean by this is that there are a lot of restaurants in this space that ultimately fail. 



Truthfully, I feel like this is the case for many towns. And, I'm always rooting for the new ones to change the trend. East Flavor is no exception, so I placed an order online to pick up at the restaurant. At this time, I felt more comfortable getting food to go - but still wanted to support this new restaurant. My quick view inside showed a large space, lots of finished wood and teal accents with small decorations. 



I ordered pad thai, tempura don and an Angry Dragon roll. I keep hoping I'll find a pad thai that lives up to my dreams of some favorites in Morgantown, but this just wasn't quite it. It wasn't bad, but it was a little bland. But, I also know this is probably not their specialty.



The tempura don was on the "danburi" list, and I was curious about it. It was tempura prawns and veggies on top of rice with house sauce, but mine was missing a sauce. But, tempura anything (fried anything) can't be too bad.



Finally, the Angry Dragon roll has shrimp tempura (sensing a theme?), spica tuna, avocado, topped with spicy crab salad and spicy mayo. I enjoyed this the most of the bunch. But I also rarely turn down sushi? Very yummy.

Grade: B

I'm not sure who Grumpy Gary is, but I do know he now has a restaurant in the Huntington area. Or, maybe someone just likes him enough to name a restaurant after him. 



Either way, I stopped here to check it out. The interior was closed due to COVID-19, but there were a few tables outside where we could enjoy our food. We placed our order, waited for some folks who were taking up the tables and were finally able to eat our dishes.



The menu here is heavy on biscuits - topped with everything from sausage and bacon to pinto beans and fried chicken breast. They have other breakfast items, burgers, appetizers, salads and pizza. On this particular day, they had just come out with their "Grumpwich," which has flaked ham on a pizza dough seasoned with garlic, basil and oregano, topped with onions, lettuce, tomatoes, provolone and mozzarella cheese. 

You may be familiar with pubwiches or wedgies, and this is similar. It's a pizza as the top crust of a sandwich. It was pretty good - though certainly messy. And definitely filling. The top was super cheesy and the crust itself was flavorful - like it had herbs in it. The experience of trying to eat while having folks smoking nearby or napping on tables was not great, but I would come back to try a biscuit. 

Grade: B

The Milton Flea Market is an interesting place. You'll find everything from primitive decor and medical scrubs to vape supplies and antiques.



They also have their share of food-related products - like baked goods, jerky and even some fresh produce.



However, there are two places that are more like restaurants or food stands that I wanted to check it out.



First, let's stop at Rocky's World of Ice Cream. They have a permanent set up in a small walk-up space at the market.



On this particular day, they were serving lemonade, shaved ice and other treats to beat the heat.



I went with a lemonade, which was perfect to sip while walking around. Plus, I knew there was more ice cream in our future.



Next up was Fatima's Thai Rolled Ice Cream. This is a really cool find in a flea shop. Rolled ice cream kinda became trendy, but I don't know if there are currently any places serving it in Charleston. So, this was a pleasant surprise.



In addition to ice cream, they have snacks like hot dogs, fries, nachos, pulled pork bbq, etc. 



But when in Rome... so I decided to go with an ice cream. I started with a strawberry base, and then we added maraschino cherries. Side note: Why don't we have more cherries in the store? I want cherries year-round. 



They did their thing by rolling it out on the cold stone, then chopping and rolling up and then topping it with these Pirouline cookie rolls. It was good! 



Have you been?