It's always fun to discover a new restaurant - for me, at least. And on one of my most recent trips to Morgantown, I stumbled upon Uncle Mike's Bar-B-Que.

Located in Westover, this BBQ restaurant once started as a hot dog cart - called Summertime Hot Dogs - and has now expanded to include pulled pork, brisket, smoked kielbasa - and hot dogs.

While I do love pulled pork, I think you can almost get a better feel for a place by trying the brisket because it requires a certain finesse. So I went with a brisket platter with sides of Mike's Mountain Man Beans and potato salad (forgot my cornbread, so I'll have to try that next time).


The flavor of the brisket was great. There were some burnt end pieces of bark, which were nice. Admittedly, the owner said the trainees need a bit more work with slicing the brisket. But as long as it tastes good, I'm happy. And those pork & beans had a bit of heat, but they were good. The potato salad was tasty, too, though those carrots are a bit crunchier than I'd like. Overall, a good plate.

Wildflour has been an amazing food truck in the Fairmont area and recently opened a brick-and-mortar space in town.

Set with picnic tables and colorful umbrellas, the building is so cute and quirky.

Inside, there are booths around the dining space and tables in the center. There's a long list of specials as soon as you walk in and more on the back chalkboard.

I ordered the "Bleu and Gold Forever" from Comfort Foods, which is homemade shells and cheese with buffalo chicken, and bleu ranch drizzle, along with a side of fresh fruit.

This dish has some great flavors going on. To kick it up even another notch, I would have this much warmer, weed out some of the chewier pieces of chicken and double the amount of green onion. That really brings out some more notes of flavor! Yum.

There's a new restaurant in Weston called The West Fork Eatery.


It is a breakfast and lunch restaurant that serves up dutch babies, chicken and waffles, and crepes.

The interior is the cutest - dark wood, industrial feel with a center bar area that opens to the kitchen.


I stopped by for breakfast quickly and ordered one of their homemade blueberry muffins - always one of my favorites. I tend to like mine very moist, but this one was still tasty with big bites of blueberries.

For my main dish, I went with a savory dutch baby, which is similar to a pancake and popover with welled edges. This one was filled with spinach and herbs, and a side of butter.

The texture of this dutch baby was perfect. It has a nice, firm, yet smooth texture, and the flavor was very mild. I added some salt to bring some out, and that helped. Onions would take this dish over the top.

Overall, a really cool environment and some unique menu items. Have you been?

The Fuel Counter is a make-your-own sandwich, salad and pizza shop that has a location in Huntington.

And, they recently opened up another location in Barboursville. It's a small space, but perfect for takeout.

So I went with a pizza: red sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms, fig and balsamic glaze.

Have you been?

Barboursville has a bunch of great places to eat.

Recently, I was in the mood for sushi so I made my way to Shogun Japanese Steakhouse.

While you can opt for the hibachi grill, I perused the sushi menu.


And, I went with the West Virginia roll - crab, cream cheese, shrimp tempura and all the sauces.

And, a Turtle Roll, which was much the same but deep-fried.

Have you been here?

The Bakerie is a new bakery in Hurricane that it housed in the same building as a kids' play area.

Decked out in teal and white, The Bakerie specializes in cakes and other goodies.

When I visited on this day, they had a case full of cupcakes, cookies, and more.

Some that caught my eye include a blueberry cupcake. I've had a blueberry muffin, of course, which I love, but never a cupcake, I don't think. It was delicious. Like a muffin - but better.

And then there was the cookie dough cupcake. Cookie dough icing is everything you're imagining - and then some.

And, the one I was most excited about: personal peanut butter pie with Oreo crust. Yes.

What's your favorite thing here?

Barnyard BBQ has three restaurants in the area: Cross Lanes, Hurricane and Milton. I visited the first. This is my second. And the third is still on my list.

Well,  I had ordered ahead and picked up - but took in all the crazy scenery while here.

It's certainly a fun environment with neon signs, giant roosters, and other creative decorations all around.

But I ordered corn fritters, pulled pork sandwich and sides of potato salad and cole slaw.

Just look at this place.



Have you been here?

Fairways has a reputation in Hurricane for being a delicious restaurant, which is attached to a gas station and coffee shop.

Because I was heading back to Charleston, I called in an order for the fried goat cheese and honey, as well as lobster macaroni & cheese.

They also have a variety of Greek dishes, seafood and other pastas. There's really a little bit of everything.

The fried goat cheese with honey and pita is always so great. I added extra honey.

And the mac & cheese was multicolored cavatappi with little pieces of lobster throughout.

I've been to the Halfway Market in Milton.

But I didn't realize they had a second location in Hurricane.

So while in the area, I stopped in to check it out.

Here's more about the market from their website: "The Halfway Market was established in 1970 by Boyd and Betty Meadows. It was originally a produce market, however over the years it has evolved into a market of specialties. Not only is there a large selection of fresh produce, we also carry Amish jams and canned items, Amish furniture, and Amish cheese. We also carry quilts, handbags, fudge, dried fruit, trail mixed, bulk spices, bulk foods, homemade apple butter, Amish made sorghums, and honey. Don’t forget to check out the great greenhouse that is stocked with perennials, and seasonal annuals."


There are lots of produce, like apples, oranges and more.

And there are lots of canned goodies - like chowchow, pickled eggs and more.

Plus lots and lots of candy.