I went to the C.J. Maggie's location in Fairmont a few years ago when it was still around, and I have fond memories of a giant spinach salad - peanuts, egg, tomatoes, mozzarella and hot bacon dressing. Yum.

C.J. Maggie's, which has opened a few restaurants in West Virginia, is well beloved in the state.

A Morgantown one was even more short-lived than Fairmont. Now, only two C.J. Maggie's remain: Elkins and Buckhannon, the original.

C.J. Maggie's boasts a huge menu from wings and fries as appetizers to seven salads with a choice of nine dressings. There are more than a dozen wood-fired pizza choices, like a spinach ricotta and roasted garlic, and a grape ape. Then there's the meat section with steak, roast beef, chicken and biscuits, Italian sausage platters, stuffed pork chops, fish and pulled pork. Then, there are nearly 20 options for pasta - lasagna, linguine and meatballs, alfredo pie, burgundy beef, chicken asiago, super mac, tortellini, jambalaya, marsala chicken and more. Plus side orders, plus tex mex, plus 22 sandwiches - club, buffalo chicken, burgers, Italian hoagies, reubens.

But we actually didn't go there for any of that. I just wanted something with strawberries in honor of the Strawberry Festival, so I ordered a strawberry shake. That is, once we were finally waited on - about 15 minutes after we sat down. That was odd since we were seated immediately. They didn't seem too busy.





Then, it took about another half hour before I received my strawberry shake and the order of dough-knots that a friend ordered. The service was not great. It took about an hour total for a simple shake and an order of flash-fried dough. We had another appointment scheduled, and I didn't want to be late. I think our waitress knew the wait was too much, because she brought out our drinks in to-go cups without even asking.

The good: This damn milkshake was delicious. I know you're really surprised that I was impressed with ice cream. But there was some chunks of strawberry, and the whipped cream. Yum. The dough knots were also good - if you love donuts. I had one, and it was super sweet between the sugar, the chocolate syrup AND the caramel.

The bad: The experience here was a mess. I wish it wasn't, but it was. We were seated almost immediately, but it took 15 minutes for our server to arrive. Then another half hour to receive our food (which shouldn't take that long), then another 15 or so minutes to bring our cards back once we paid. The whole experience was kind of ruined because it was rushed and just not fun. And there were empty tables all around.

So, I'd go back again for a meal. And just hope the experience is better.

Grade: B