Rounding out my trio of brand-new BBQ spots in Charleston is Smoked Up, Sauced Out.

Located in South Charleston, this restaurant replaced Lem's Meat Varnish - but it is still selling their sauces. 


It is takeout only, which I didn't realize, so make sure you have somewhere to go to chow down on your lunch.

For my entree, I went with pulled pork nachos and got sides of the tangy gold, and sweet & smokey BBQ. I think putting the actual BBQ on this will make it a bit saucier and delicious, but this was still solid. I wouldn't hate the cheese to be melted and more sour cream. But not bad.

Grade: B

Oryza is one of my favorite "new" restaurants in all of Morgantown.

When they first opened in the Suncrest area, I fell in love. And now, they've opened a second location at the University Town Centre.



Oryza is a fast-casual Asian grill concept where you order at the counter, they make it right in front of you, and it's all fresh.

You choose from a few options:
1) Format: Bowl, Salad or Wrap
2) Protein: Chicken, Spicy Chicken, Steak, Chicken & Pork Meatballs, or Organic Tofu
3) Veggies (pick 3): Black Beans, Sauteed Vegetables, Asian Green Beans, Charred Corn, Kale, or Egg
4) Sauce: Garlic Yum, Ginger Yum, Spicy Yum, Sambal Salsa, Thai Curry, or Sweet Sriracha Red
5) Toppings: Herb Salad, Carrot, White Raddish, Cucumber, or Cheese
6) Finish: Sesame Seed, Crispy Garlic, Crushed Peanut or Thai Chili
So I went with a bowl with red rice, with chicken, suateed vegetables, Asian green beans, charred corn, garlic yum, cheese and crispy garlic.
 
It's just delicious - and fairly healthy! That is, until you add a caramel tart (and you should add a caramel tart).

Grade: A

All of a sudden, there's an influx of BBQ into Charleston. I mentioned the new counter service spot in the mall. And, now, there's Danny's BBQ Stand - from the former mayor of Charleston.

Located on Quarrier Street, the restaurant is plastered with momentos and memories from Danny and seats a handful of tables.


The menu features ribs, BBQ sandwiches, salads and a couple sides. It's a small menu that's reasonably priced.

The ribs appear to be the best-seller so far, so I ordered those, with sides of baked beans and cole slaw. I'm typically not a baked beans fan, but I wasn't sure of another side and decided to give it a go.

The meal was plated right in front of me, and I was on my way back to the office to dig in. 

Ribs aren't typically my BBQ of choice. But these... were really good. They were so tender that I could use my fork - and not get messy. The BBQ was smoky and just a touch sweet.

The baked beans were surprisingly good, too. Maybe I'm just becoming accustomed to them. The slaw was standard.

Though I know some folks are either excited considering the former mayors politics or not so much, I just wanted to check out the food. And I think you might like it, too.

There's a new Chinese buffet in town, and it's already making waves.

China King, located in South Charleston's Riverwalk Plaza, faces the main road, but there's parking around back and the entrance is off to the side.

The buffet features classics like General Tso's, Beef & Broccoli, and American favorites. There's also a sushi bar and hibachi, too.

One item that stood out to me was an egg tart of sorts - not something you usually see on the buffet!

What's your favorite thing here?

Smokin' Barnyard is a new restaurant in the food court at the Charleston mall. Serving up bbq staples, the restaurant features chicken, brisket, pulled pork and burgers.

While on my lunch break, I stopped by to check it out. It wasn't too busy, but it was clear they were still getting the hang of things. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with slaw. I must have missed the BBQ sauce, so mine was a bit dry - save for the cole slaw.

Overall, the sandwich was fairly average with a mixture of fatty pieces and meat. Next time, I'll be sure to hunt down the BBQ.

Grade: C

Happy Belly Foods is a new lunch spot in Hurricane. They have a food truck and also a location in The Commons at Valley Park.



They focus on homestyle cooking and slow-smoked meats. You can find Mexican options, sandwiches, breakfast and sweets.

While here, I decided to go with a quesadilla with their housemade queso, sour cream and salsa. I wanted some of their pinwheels, but they didn't have them that day. Next time!

And, I also got a box of their homemade truffles.

The quesadilla was pretty tasty - including the smoked chicken. It had a nice kick of cheese in there. The truffles were a bit heavy-handed, but had some good flavors.

Have you been?

Grade: B

Rawabi is a brand-new restaurant on High Street in Morgantown. It replaced Jasmine Grill. It serves up Mediterranean food, including falafel, gyro, kebab, shawarma and hummus - or those just tend to be my favorites.

My friend Sam and I went to check it out right when they opened. They weren't open at the time I thought they would be, so we killed some time and came back to see all the lights on and folks dining inside.

So, we walked in to the large space. Lots of images of food on the walls and decorations. There's a large cooler in front that displays fresh fruits and other prepared items.

The menu is a good size, so I spent some time looking through it.

Main entrees include shish tawook and shawarma. Traditional plates included lamb shank and roasted chicken.
 
Then, there are sandwiches like falafel wrap, gyros, kebabs, and more. Plus, they have a ton of coffee - including Turkish coffee, which Sam enjoyed.

It's pretty strong - but take a look at that beautiful serving ware!

But wait, there's more! Hummus, kibbeh, fries, tabbouleh, grape leaves, and then fatayer - which looked beautiful and I don't think I've ever had before. I ordered the veggie platter 1, which had hummus, falafel, grape leaves and tabbouli and tahini sauce. Plus the cheese fatayer.

The veggie platter was great - I especially looove the garlic sauce and the grape leaves were great.

The fatayer is kinda like a cheesy bread, but even more herby and tasty. Then, we were even treated to little bites of baklava! Can't get enough of all the goodies here.

Grade: B

Valley Cakes & Cafe is a new bakery in Hurricane that serves up beautiful cupcakes, sweet treats and other lunch options. They're open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. so when I had a recent weekday off, I stopped in to check it out.

The space is absolutely adorable, with teal walls and a dozen steel table and chairs spread throughout the dining area. The bakery case was full of some lovely cupcakes: Boston creme pie, raspberry, cookies & creme, chocolate chip cookie dough, peanut butter, cinnamon roll and more.

Their lunch menu consists of sandwiches and other light fare. I couldn't decide on which cupcakes I wanted, so I picked three: raspberry, cookies & creme and chocolate chip cookie dough.

Each of these starts with a sweet vanilla base and topped with a healthy helping of icing with a small accent on top. So not only are they absolutely stunning, they are so, so tasty.

Which is your favorite?