Have you ever been to a Taco John's? If you haven't spent much time in the Midwest, there's a chance that you haven't. 



While traveling through Ohio, I found a Taco John's location. The Mexican-inspired fast food chain offers tacos, burritos, bowls, nachos and more - standard fare.



I ordered Mexican donut bites, which are little fried bits of dough with sugar - you can't really go wrong, right?



I also tried out a breakfast burrito. Pretty standard, run of the mill burrito with scrambled egg, cheese, potatoes, peppers and sausage. Warm, slightly mushy and pretty average. But, it does the job. 

Hangover BBQ has brought delicious BBQ to Wheeling.



"We are all about BBQ smoking all of our meats low and slow on our 500 gallon smoker. Offering southern cuisine, daily specials and some damn good BBQ. Dry rub only on the meats and homemade sauces on the side. We also have the best craft ice cream sandwiches in town thanks to Leona's. Plus Wheeling’s first Kombucha Bar provided by Neighborhood Kombuchery!" 



I was able to visit this great BBQ spot some time ago and was so excited to finally check it out. 



The restaurant was located upstairs, so I climbed up and looked over the menu once I got inside. They make homemade rubs and Texas-style BBQ.



I wanted to try something different, so I opted for bratwurst with macaroni & cheese and macaroni salad (give me all the macaroni!). 



I had the jalapeno cheddar bratwurst, which had some slight heat, but was not overpoweringly so. It was flavorful, and I tried it with all the different sauces they have.



Atomic 79 (spicy mustard), Appalachian (creamy horseradish), Pioneer (traditional BBQ), Apple Butter (sweet). I enjoyed all of these for different reasons - depending on the vessel. But I went for the pioneer primarily for this one.



The mac & cheese was pretty good, as was the macaroni salad. Love that slightly crisp browned edges of the macaroni that has been baked beautifully.



Something you don't see often: homemade noodles! Is there anything better than a thick, chewy noodle? I don't think so. These came with cabbage and potatoes, and it was glorious. It's hard to find good, homemade noodles, and these were just as good as the BBQ.



And, there was even dessert.



Leona's ice cream sandwiches, based in Pittsburgh, are stacked in a cooler off to the side.  They have quite a selection of artisan flavors. And s'mores are one of my favorite things of all time - so the "chocolate marshmallow/graham" was calling my name.



These are not tiny little desserts. It's a giant sandwich with a perfectly crumbly top and thick ice cream sandwiched between the two layers. It is so, so good. And just topped off the whole experience.

Grade: A

One of my favorite local bakeries in recent memory has closed.



I visited Busy Bee Bakery in Beckley a few months ago and was greeted with happy customers wrapped around the building and a long wait to order.



And that's part of what led to their decision to close. In a Facebook post, the owners noted how all-consuming the bakery became. And that, coupled with some loss and health issues, have led to the end of this chapter.



The bakery itself had beautiful floor to ceiling windows, and the farmhouse chic interior gave way to a bright pastry case full of cupcakes, donuts, cheesecakes and bagels, too.



The creative flavors and attention to detail are really what made me light up at Busy Bee Bakery.



The cupcakes included flavors like "Death By Chocolate with Ferraro Rocher" and "Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla."



Then there was also "Chocolate Caramel with Mini Milky Ways" and Key Lime Pie.



There was cotton candy and blueberry coconut cream and the list goes on and on and on.



I went with Banana Nut Crunch, Strawberry Crunch Bar Ice Cream and Honeycomb Lavender. I thought these were unique flavors that you don't see everywhere, so I was excited to try them.



They each had a good cake base and tons of frosting, and my favorite part was the lovely toppers - a dried banana chip, honeycomb and scooter crunchies. Fun and full of sugar.



I also took a piece of turtle cheesecake home. You wanna talk about indulgent? My gooooodness. Creamy and silky and unreal.



But, wait, there's more: bagels! I didn't eat this on the spot. Instead, I took it home for breakfast the next morning.



But, it's like a feast for the eyes - how fun to see this brightly colored bagel in all shades of the rainbow.



If you had a chance to check it out while they were open, let me know your favorites!



Grade: A

LJ's Hoagie King in Wheeling serves up - surprise - hoagies.



Heroes, grinders, subs, hoagies - whatever you may call these sandwiches- LJ's has them. For me personally, I tend to think of "hoagies" as the cold sandwiches you pick up to go in a convenience store. And subs are the ones you get from restaurants. But that's just my brain.



Either way, LJ's is an old-school restaurant with a U-shaped counter full of regulars who looked toward the door when I walked in. I looked over the menu and ordered an Italian hoagie, which is layered with capicola, ham, lettuce, tomato, onion, dressing, and provolone cheese. This was nicely stacked and had a great proportion of ingredients. The bread was just slightly a bit crunchy, which likely helps with the moisture of the sandwich. But I wouldn't have hated it to be a bit softer. Still a tasty, simple sandwich.

Grade: B

The Bullock Distillery is West Virginia's newest craft distillery, and it's located right in the Elk City neighborhood of Charleston. 



They JUST opened, and I was lucky enough to join a sneak peek before the grand opening with Generation Charleston.



We were able to sample vodka, gin and whiskey. I'm really excited to have a cool local place for young people to visit. They have a small, but beautifully curated, shop of local products, too. 



We took a tour and were able to get an inside look at the production and some ideas for their future direction.



I left with a bottle of whiskey, a small pamphlet book on Appalachian herbs, a local candle, BBQ sauce, and more. 



A really cool place with some strong spirits and great products.



Have you checked it out yet?

Let's do it. Another day, another Gino's location - this time in Weston.



This is one of the few locations that does not have a drive-through, so I placed an order online and picked up inside. 



There's a long walkway back to the counter and then a dining space for those who would like to dine inside. It has that faux Italian theme with red and green and lattice and some greenery.



I want to try some different things on the menu, so this time I went with a sandwich. The Italian Sub comes with genoa salami, cheese, ham, lettuce, tomato, onions, sub sauce, and mayo served on a French bun. It wasn't teeming with ingredients, because you can see the bread kinda overlapping it all. But I don't mind that a whole ton - my focus is more on the combination of it all. It was a bit plain, maybe a bit lackluster. A standard sandwich without a whole lot of pizzazz. 

Grade: C

Sweet Southern Smoke is one of the newest BBQ spots in Morgantown. Located on Earl Core Road in Sabraton, this takeout joint offers pulled pork, pulled chicken, brisket, ribs and smoked sausage. 



I don't know why it's impossible for me to take a clear, quick photo - like the one of this menu - but you can check it out here.



They make a limited amount of food, so they were out of a few things. But, no worries, because they were still smoking all kinds of meats outside that they had plenty of.  I went with ribs - super tender, mac & cheese - fairly average but solid, cornbread - good flavor just a little dry, and the collards - which were heavy on the funk. But a very filling and satisfying meal overall.



Grade: B