A soul food restaurant opened up on High Street called Lin San Soul Food. 



Soul food is special, and I certainly think Morgantown - and West Virginia as a whole - would benefit from having more of this homestyle, homemade cooking that often incorporates family favorite recipes. 



I struggled a little bit to catch them open and then when I caught them open, they weren't actually ready to serve yet. So the timing was a bit chaotic. But once I passed that hurdle, I was excited to see what they were offering.



On this day, it was only mac & cheese and oxtails while I was there. That was OK, because it was what I wanted anyway. The mac & cheese was OK, but not fully warmed up all the way through. That would've helped because the flavor wasn't bad. And the oxtails lacked a little bit of that deep, rich flavor that melts in your mouth. They were still good, but a little tougher than I've had elsewhere. Again, not bad but a little room for improvement. I'm happy to see them there and think some of these kinks can be worked out. 



Grade: C

Fife Street Brewing is a new brewery in downtown Charleston that has helped revitalized the Brawley Walkway area. I've always thought this walkway is cute, with lights hanging above, so it's nice to see some more traffic here.



The brewery is like half indoor-half outdoor with lots of smaller tables set up along windows on both sides. It makes for a really cool environment. 



And the menu fits the vibe. Beers are made in classic styles, with West Virginia twists. There's a solid variety that caters to everyone. I hate when I go to a brewery that just wants to see how hoppy they can make IPAs, and that's all they offer. 



My favorite was the Summers Street Wheat - a weissbier that is super drinkable and perfect along with some of their snacks.



They offer a number of elevated grilled cheeses, though I had a hard time picking which one I wanted. I ultimately went with the "Black Friday," which has roasted turkey, spinach, muenster cheese, on multigrain. Served with cranberry-mayo dipper, and I also asked for some of the homemade french onion dip for the chips (HINT: get the french onion dip and dip literally anything into it. So good). 



The sandwich was pretty good - I'm always a sucker for the turkey/cranberry combo. Though I would love just as much an equal portion of the mayo. I ended up using the french onion dip, though, for everything I could. That fattiness pulls it all together. Tasty beer, good grub, great atmosphere - what more could you want?



Grade: A

Another day, another hot dog joint.



Drummy's Bar & Grill in St. Albans opened in 1994 and is known for their hot dogs, but they do have sandwiches and pizzas.



The space is a bit underground but not far off the main street in St. Albans. It's a bit dark with low ceilings - definitely a dive bar vibe. But I felt welcomed and the atmosphere was light.



I ordered a hot dog with everything, which, here, means chili, mustard, slaw and onions. That's a true West Virginia-style hot dog. This was a decent hot dog - a touch messy, but hot, a nice mix of ingredients (if not a big heavy on the mustard) and good chili flavor.



Grade: B

The Mixing Bowl in Barboursville just recently moved from a storefront to a cottage bakery, and I wanted to make sure to share the goodies I got from them.



First off, I was super excited they were doing actual meals. I was able to order a breakfast burrito, as well as a sweet treat.



I think it's tough for bakeries to have a ton of inventory because those items have a short shelf-life. There has to be some real guesswork analysis involved of figuring out exactly how many cupcakes or donuts to put out to make sure you don't run out but don't have leftovers that didn't sell. So while there may not have been a ton of variety, the items that were available were good. 



My cupcake was fabulous - I love anything with cherries.



And my breakfast burrito was good. I didn't receive the fruit topping that was supposed to go on top of the biscuits, but they were good on their own. That bit of sweetness would've helped with the savory burrito. Still, satisfying and filling.

Grade: B

Luigi's is a new-ish restaurant in the Huntington area that serves Italian food.



I am a big fan of Italian food and grew up with lasagna, spaghetti, etc. In fact, my great-grandfather was an Italian immigrant.



In both the Northern Panhandle and North-Central West Virginia, there is a big Italian influence and lots of amazing Italian food.



But here in Charleston, not so much - so I alway think there's room for more. Especially in the Metro Valley.  



Luigi's is located along Route 60 in a plaza, so parking is easy. The interior was basic, but roomy. The menu is huge to accommodate all of the possible Italian dishes you might think of - and then some: pastas, pizza, strombolis, subs, seafood, salads, wings, fried appetizers, the list goes on.



I started with some garlic knots with cheese. These poppable bites were delish dunked in some marinara. These are familiar at many area restaurants, so nothing out of the ordinary. But a solid start.



My entree came with garlic bread, which is fine. I like mine more soft and just drenched in butter.



And a simple side salad was not skimpy on the croutons or cheese, so I can't complain.



My main entree was fettuccine carbonara. I have really high expectations for carbonara, because one of my all-time favorite meals is carbonara from Puglioni's in Morgantown. This wasn't quite as creamy and indulgent, but it wasn't bad. I wouldn't hate a bulb more of garlic, but that's just my own personal preference. If you're in the mood for some rich, satisfying pasta, this will still hit the spot.



Grade: B

I recently visited the Cardinal Market in the Morgantown Mall.



This market hosts a bunch of local vendors - with everything from bath and body products, food products, toys and home decor.

I've been to the original Cardinal Market location in Vienna, which I loved. So, as soon as the Morgantown one opened up, I was there.  

Here are some of the goodies I picked up:



Jade's Scratch Sweets - these peanut butter balls - or buckeyes - were delish.



Tiff's Magical Cookie Creations - beautiful sugar cookies; I went with a a WV one. 



T&T Kernels - so good! Kettle corn, which is like sweet and salty, is the perfect middle ground.



Shana Cakes - Who doesn't love a good macaron? Especially when they're not easy to come by! Tasty.

Crumbl Cookies have been really popular on social media recently, but the closest one to me is in Morgantown. That means when I was in town recently, I had to make a quick stop.



I placed an order online, thankfully, because there was quite a line when I showed up. Crumbl's whole thing is that they offer a new lineup of cookies each week. I decided I wanted one of each on this particular week. 

"Each week, our menu rotates to give you 4-5 different specialty flavors to taste and enjoy. But don’t worry, our famous Chocolate Chip will always be available for you to enjoy!"

When I visited, there was a raspberry crumble cookie, a chocolate cupcake one, a s'more cookie, a pink sugar cookie, a chocolate chip and salted caramel one. I thought they were all OK. I liked the caramel, but was not crazy about the spice cookie. I think the sugar one was actually my favorite. What's your favorite one?

I'm pretty sure at some point I've tried bubble tea and/or ice cream at the Morgantown mall, but I couldn't see an official review. So, let's get to it. 



XiCha Bubble Tea & Hershey's Ice Cream is located in the food court beside Wong's Wok. The two must be connected in some way because they seem to share workers and a POS machine. There is a variety of ice cream, but I went for a strawberry milk tea with some mango popping boba. It was really quite good. I'm not a fan of tea, but the milk tea takes away the flavor of tea. Instead, it was like a strawberry milk with some little pops of juicy citrus. What's your favorite combo here?

Grade: A

Howe Sweet It Is has honey, beeswax products and other goodies involved bees!



I can't wait to try this sucker - have you had anything from them?  

Held at the Charleston Convention Center, the Capital City Art & Craft Show is sponsored by the Kanawha City Lions Club.



Fun fact: I was the president of the Leo Club in middle school. They do great work. 

This show has a number of food vendors that I thought would be cool to check out. 

Pastor Jack's Homemade Fudge 

I ordered some caramel praline and tiger here - and it was sinfully good.









Mrs. Mel's French Macarons

I tried some of the hot cocoa, apple and more - all so tasty! 



Nana's Kitchen



Dark Hollow Foods



Sugar Bottom Farm



Sassy Gal's Gourmet Treats



Uncle Bunk's



Tipsy Roo's



Hannahbug's Chocolates



The Jerky Hut



Ronk Family Farm



Goldilocks Grazing Boxes



RiCa's


What was your favorite?