Listen, I may be as tired of Gino's as you all are of hearing me talk about it. But, we are on this mission together. And it has brought us to West Hamlin. I do love pasta, though, the options at Gino's are usually pretty limited. But on this particular day, I decided to try the lasagna, which I have had before. It was just like I remember. Pretty average, in general, but not bad. The pasta is well done, and it's not unlike the kind that you may find at many frozen sections of grocery stores. Not bad for a fast food pasta, but don't expect the same comforts of home that you would find with a homemade version. 



Grade: C

A food court is not typically where you go for a delicious meal. Typically, it’s more of a matter of convenience and proximity - at least for me.



That’s not to say there isn’t good food court food; I’m just saying it’s important to manage expectations. Recently, I was at the mall in Bridgeport - arguably one of the best in the state - with a grumbling tummy, So, I stopped by Eastern Wok and ordered General Tso’s with lo mein. And it was right on par with my expectations. The chicken was a bit chewy, the sauce sticky sweet, and the lo mein a bit overcooked. As a whole, it was average. Catching a meal here earlier in the day may solve a few of those issues.



Grade: C

Morgantown is not lacking in exciting, new restaurants. They come in all kinds and flavors - pizza and Asian and milkshakes and Mexican. While in town a bit ago, I stopped at Rio Jalisco.



The restaurant, located at the University Town Centre, is very similar to the other Mexican restaurants in town. There are a zillion menu options that are various combinations of tacos, burritos, fajitas, etc. You get complimentary chips & salsa. Add margaritas, and you have a solid college kid audience.



That said, nothing was bad. The chips were crisp. The salsa had just a touch of heat and was super thin.



Instead of arroz con pollo, I went with steak: rice, steak and cheese dip. I usually scan the menu for anything doused in cheese dip. But even cheese dip in this case couldn't save the chewy, gristly steak. Now, I don't expect super high end quality meal for the price, but I ended up with chewed up and spit out steak more often than not. 



Grade: C

Burgers & Bites in Morgantown is a restaurant that focuses on - you guessed it - burgers and bites. I went to a location in downtown Morgantown previously, which was OK. But I discovered this new location at the mall. I thought that I would check it out. I kept it simple with just some chicken tenders. They were dressed in a barbecue, which was pretty average. I was surprised that it did not come with a dipping sauce. But, these were just fine overall. I don't know that I would make a special trip out to try these, but they are just fine in a pinch.



Grade: C

Riverside Cafe is a bar and grill in Winfield that I think most. would consider a dive. Kinda dark, kinda loud, filled with locals. 



I went with my friends Liz and Dwight; we pulled up these like Adirondack chairs that were more fun to lounge in than try to sit and eat. We were off in the newer section of the building, which was nicer, but loud and hard to get the attention of someone to serve us.



But when we did, I ordered the Riverside Sampler with hot pepper cheeseballs, pretzels with beer cheese, and bang bang shrimp - which were really just breaded cocktail shrimp.



I typically enjoy all these things individually, but they were pretty average individually. The shrimp were a bummer, and I typically like the cheese balls with a bit more heat. And the pretzels were fine - the beer cheese was average too. In general, I think the flavor could've been bumped up on all of these. But, not bad.
  
Grade: C

Bodegas are a thing in larger cities; they're small grocery stores and often in Spanish-speaking communities.



So my interest was piqued to find East Beckley Bodega in Beckley - even more so to find out they operate a small kitchen called Kiayla's Grandma's Kitchen.  



I thank Door Dash for this discovery. The store itself had some empty shelves but did have some more unique snack items that aren't always easy to find.



The store did have a few pastry goods like slices of cake available for sale, but I was there a bit later in the day so not sure how well they would have held up at that hour. Regardless, I put in an order for a cheeseburger and mac & cheese. 



So, overall, it was decent. I was kinda like a backyard bbq burger, which is totally fine, just a bit unwieldy. The bun was a bit too soft to handle this monster of a burger, super thick cut tomatoes and onions made it a bit difficult to eat. The burger itself could have benefited from some more seasoning, but I was happy they were generous with the portions.



The mac & cheese was clearly homemade with some baked cheese pieces in there and the pasta was broken down a good bit from the cooking. But with a ton of cheese, how could I not enjoy it? Not bad.



Grade: C

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