The much-awaited Lebanese Bistro has finally opened after more than a year of rumors and buzz. Located in the former Careyes Grille (and a number of other restaurants in the past couple years), the Lebanese Bistro shouldn't have had a hard time surpassing the quality of its predecessors, but unfortunately, I think it, too, fell flat.

With all the time this place has taken to open, I was expecting a lot maybe. I would walk by it nearly every day since it's right near work. And when I saw the grand opening on Facebook, I convinced my coworkers we had to go immediately.

Candace, haven't you learned to not go on opening day? Or opening week? It's never as good.

No, I'm an idiot.

So we go in. They have a lunch buffet. Sign me up - get to try a little of everything. It is nice inside - some exposed beams and an open area. We were seated back in a corner area, and we made our way to the front for the buffet. I should note they did have a small lunch menu to choose from, but since they seemed to be touting the buffet, most of us ordered that.



The front bar had cool offerings like hummus, tabouleh, baba ghannouge and more. They had a couple soups, including a lentil soup and a single bar full of items: green beans, chicken with onions and green peppers, kefta, falafel and fries - the fries kind of threw me. But what do I know.

This is the first time - I think - that I've had Lebanese food. So from those of you who actually know what you're talking about, please enlighten me. But I wasn't impressed. Most of the things I tried were extremely dry. That could be because it was buffet quality, where they make large batches and don't always measure out seasonings precisely. It could've been a rough day because it was when they were brand new. It could be this cuisine of food.



The hummus is probably my most favorite that I've had anywhere. Falafel was hard and dry. Chicken was okay. Kefta also dry.

Desserts - they have honey cake, two kinds of rice pudding, baklava, etc. The best one I had was the baklava, for sure. It was tasty - NOT dry. Rich, moist, flaky. I also liked the light rice pudding. The dark, not so much.

I'm very meh on this place overall. Yes, I know, I'm good with the words. But it's hard to get inspired to write about food that just wasn't... inspiring.

Grade: C

Grade: C

Someone explain to me the difference between Mediterranean and Middle Eastern. Because what I usually associate with each seems to be interchangeable. And Greek food for that matter.

I tend to think of olives, pasta, feta as Mediterranean. And hummus, falafel, kebabs as Middle Eastern. But that's not a hard and fast rule.

Regardless, Sahara Restaurant is a Middle Eastern restaurant in downtown Charleston. They have a nice lunch buffet - which isn't too far from work - so a friend and I decided to fill up on pita and roll ourselves outta there.

The lunch buffet runs Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Friday, the Buffet runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The dinner buffet is Friday 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.




There's a long hot bar with some lemon chicken dishes, pasta, kebabs, rice, eggplant and others. To the side is a cold bar with some hummus, baba ghanouj, etc. plus some desserts. It's a pretty good spread with a decent variety for lunch. I do think there could be a little more. And it's the perfect time to try something new if you're not familiar.

I got some grape leaves, meatballs, garlic Parmesan pasta, curry, hummus and pita. It seems to spread to some American dishes, so a hybrid of sorts. The buffet offers a variety of flavors and dishes to choose from. Great quality ingredients, spices and recipes here.

I was a fan of mostly everything I tried, and nothing stood out to me as undesirable. That's rare - usually I try one or two things that I'm not crazy about. Pretty good all around.

It's not a bad price, but if you're not used to spending $10 or so on lunch, you might look elsewhere.

Grade: A

I went home recently for Father's Day, and in my family of three, whoever's day it is that we're celebrating, that person gets to choose where we have dinner.

So, my dad chose Chinese. I wouldn't say the Northern Panhandle has a a wide selection of Asian food. Growing up, we didn't have any options for that until a small take-out shop opened up in Follansbee during high school.


Before then, our only options beyond local diner food, fast food or Italian were Pittsburgh, really. I remember going to work with my dad one day and eating lunch from a Chinese street vendor. It was the first time I ever had an eggroll, and it was my first exposure to any sort of ethnic cuisine.


Which, I think, is why Chinese food remains my favorite. And the fact that I didn't grow up with that variety makes me interested in trying as many new places as possible.

Just dropped a little knowledge on ya.

So the Imperial China Buffet is relatively new at the Ft. Steuben Mall. I want to say it came in when I was in high school? I guess that's not relatively new anymore. But the mall in Steubenville was the closest mall to us, and even though it was kind of sad, we would go in high school if we didn't feel like traveling the extra half hour or so to Pittsburgh's mall.

This Chinese buffet is good by the area's standards. There is decent variety, with a couple different islands, and they have the basics like General Tsos, Coconut shrimp, crab cheese rangoons, lo mein, etc.

They even had some basic sushi rolls.

There wasn't anything that was exceptionally prepared, though I did have a half-dozen stuffed mushrooms. And I really think it's a good option in the area. And, it might even be better than some of the places I've been to in Morgantown.

If you're looking for a Chinese buffet in the area, it's probably the best bet.

Grade: B

After reviewing at least a dozen Chinese buffets, you'd think I'd have this down to a science, right? Well, the truth is, a Chinese buffet is a lot like a fast food joint. You can expect the same kind of food across the board, but the quality differs.

Main Tin is in South Charleston near a cluster of other restaurants, and it's only the second Chinese buffet I've heard about in Charleston. I stumbled into it by accident, actually.


The front of the restaurant looks like a simple take-out place. But behind that is a buffet restaurant. While most of the basic offerings were there, they were not necessarily the most fresh. Maybe we caught them at a bad time.

But it's fine. It's good for what it is. I'd be happy if there were more offerings, more fresh offerings and if they had something a little different, too. A girl can only have so much General Tso's, believe it or not.

Grade: C

A Chinese buffet is a guilty pleasure for everyone - admit it. They're disgustingly delicious. Full of calories and dripping in thick, flavorful sauces. They also have that kind of ick factor of it being a buffet. But alas.

The only Chinese buffet that I have discovered so far is one at the Kanawha Mall. My friend Matt and I were feeling some Chinese on this particular day and traveled across the river to sink our teeth into those troughs of food.

I think there were about three rows of islands full of sauce-drenched chicken, beef and pork. Fried egg rolls, chicken, and crab rangoons are also aplenty.

It seemed fairly fresh - they brought out a few new bins while I was at the buffet. They have a sushi portion, but I'm a little more hesitant to say that it's fresh as well. All in all, it is pretty good, but I think some more options, some fresher options and some made-to-order options would be killer. For what it is though, not bad. I enjoyed my go-to General Tso's, as well as the egg rolls and the crab rangoons.

Grade: B