Have you heard of Sali's Market & Deli?



The West Side shop has some fried foods made to order, plus lots of little snacks like drinks and candies.



I visited not too long ago with a coworker to check it out.



I found some unique candy that I hadn't seen elsewhere, so I snatched those up - like the Reese Snack Cakes (which are just ehhh). 



I also ordered a cheeseburger with ketchup, mayo and onion on a grilled bun. The burger was a bit dwarfed by the bun and could use a generous helping of salt. It was just too dry and under-seasoned for my taste. 



The fries did have some seasoning, but they could've gone a few minutes longer in the fryer. I like mine on the crisp side, though.



As always, it could vary by who is cooking that day and other variables like that.



Have you been?



Grade: C

Spaghetti. It's in the name of Gino's Spaghetti & Pizza House, but it's not one that I typically order. In fact, spaghetti is probably my least favorite pasta because I like more pasta to sauce ratio. BUT, sometimes it hits the spot.



When at the Logan Gino's location, I went for spaghetti with meat sauce. I was happy to see mushrooms, but was surprised to see ... meatballs cut in half as the "meat" sauce. I ended up moving those to the side, and the marinara was decent on its own. 



Very decent meal that was tasty, if not a bit odd.

Grade: C

Summersville is home to a restaurant called The Local.



With a name like that, I'm expecting local beer, local music and local food. 



The space gives more of a country bar and grill vibe, and it seems like it's more popular in the evening than during lunch time.



The menu features burgers, fried apps, hot dogs, a couple salads, and two chicken sandwiches. 



To start with, we decided to try some pretzel bites that were topped with salt and had a cheese dipping sauce. I liked that they were cut on the diagonal so it made it a lot easier to eat the individual pieces - which were almost toasted. Cheese was fine. 



Friends opted for a hot dog and different burger, which they both enjoyed. And I may have sampled. 



It's tough for me to ever pass up macaroni and cheese so when I saw macaroni and cheese placed on top of a burger, I knew I needed to try that. First - that bacon blue cheese. I love blue cheese on a burger - I just don't love floppy bacon. It was OK.



For the mac burger, I always appreciate the cheese, but it really needs something to make it pop so I can appreciate that creamy dairy. Like a sriracha or honey or something that helps punch it up. Overall, it was fine - a little cold... but I do enjoy a crispy fry with garlic.

Grade: C

Jerry's Restaurant & Lounge is a mainstay in Grafton with its homestyle food. They have a parking lot out front, a pick-up window and plenty of indoor dining.



Their menu features items like fried appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, hoagiess, burgers, pasta and other plated entrees.



When I was visiting, it was a busy day in town, and they were only serving a limited menu. That nixed most of the entrees and many of the sandwiches. 



I placed an order to pick up and drove up to the curbside window. I went with their meatball and cheese hoagie. While you can opt to add in peppers and onions, I went with just the classic mozzarella topping. 



The sandwich was OK. The meatballs I think needed some more seasoning, as did the sauce. It wasn't bad; it just could use a bit more love. It's probably a good middle-of-the-road sandwich for folks who don't want it too sweet or too spicy or too acidic. I just want more. 



Grade: C

Based in Vienna, West Virginia, this Napoli's is one of the last locations in the area that hadn't I visited.



The menu features pizza, burgers, pasta, and more.



I put in an order in advance, but it was not ready when I arrived, unfortunately. So I ended up waiting for quite a while before my meal was finished.  



I went with a simple spaghetti - not usually my go-to, but sometimes a super simple meal is what hits the spot. 



It also came with breadsticks. Overall, this was an average meal. The service was below average; the spaghetti was a lackluster pile of noodles and mildly flavorful tomato sauce. Not bad, but not notable. Average all in all. 

Grade: C

I used to LOVE love General Tso's chicken. And maybe it's a change in my preference or a change in quality over the years, but I just cannot deal with the chewy, stringy chicken that is so often found in the dish. 



So when I went to China One in Barboursville, I gravitated toward one of my new go-tos: garlic shrimp. I placed an order online and went inside to pick it up. 



Because the restaurant is located in a plaza, parking is easy. There was a little line at the window when I went inside, but it moved quickly. Everyone was there for takeout. 



The garlic shrimp was not bad - a little mushy, but that's not atypical. Lots of green pepper in the veg mix, but I loved when I got a crunchy bite of broccoli or mushroom. The crab rangoons (c'mon, these are a given) were a bit overly fried for me, but they are my preferred fold-over shape. The eggroll was average.



Overall, a fairly standard Chinese takeout meal.

Grade: C

Rio Grande is a popular name for a Mexican restaurant - so much so that there are two in Huntington alone.



I recently visited the 4th Avenue location while in the area and in need of a quick bite. I placed an order online and arrived when it was due to be ready. Unfortunately, the woman working informed me there was some error, so they didn't receive it and just started working on it when I arrived.



So, I sat inside and waited some more while the order was delivered to the kitchen and fired. After some time, my dish came out. The waitress went to fill my drink... but kept looking at it... which made me uneasy. Then, she said she thought they mixed up some of the drinks - I said it was fine and to just give me a coke instead. And then, there was no plasticware to go... which made for an interesting way to eat lunch. 



So the burrito California Burrito is a flour tortilla with grilled steak, french fries, pico de gallo and cheese. And, it was okay. The interior needed crispy fries for some texture, but it was instead all mush and all tasted of oil. I dumped cheese dip on it, which can solve all things. But, I think I'll try the other location next time.

Grade: C

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

After trying just about everything on Gino's menu, I can easily declare that the pepperoni bites are my favorite item.



However, only the Huntington-area locations offer them. So when it was time to finally try out the Barboursville location, I was more than excited to order my pepperoni bites.



These poppable delights are full of pepperoni and topped with romano and garlic butter. They're so good... until they're not. Unfortunately, these ones were baked through the middle and I found myself chewing on raw dough. So, my tummy wasn't happy with that - and I threw the remainder away. Sometimes it's just an off night - or even just an off hour - but this wasn't my favorite rendition. Off to the next location. 



Grade: C

Route 60 American Grill & Bar is definitely heavier on the bar side.



Located in downtown White Sulphur Springs, the bar has a more comprehensive drink list than a dining menu, though it's mostly made up of domestics.



Somehow, in half an effort to be obnoxious, I went with a Smirnoff Red, White and Blue and thought I was hilarious. 



For food, I ordered some mini corndogs, which were standard bar fare. 



For me, this seemed pretty standard, run-of-the-mill local watering hole. 

Grade: C