I'm rounding the last corner on my trip to try all the drive-in restaurants in West Virginia. If you haven't been following along, West Virginia has just about a dozen drive-in restaurants left in the state. I love that there are some of these restaurants still leftover from a different era - more than a half century ago - when eating out wasn't the norm, and a trip to the restaurant was spent in your car with carhops on roller skates bringing trays full of burgers and shakes to you.

The first drive-in restaurant was Kirby's Pig Stand, which opened in Dallas, Texas, in 1921. In North America, drive-in facilities of all types have become less popular since their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, with drive-throughs rising to prominence since the 1970s and 1980s.

Most of the remaining drive-ins are located in the southern part of the state. I've made my way to the Sterling Drive-In in Welch, the Pinnacle Drive-In in Pineville, the Tunnel Drive-In in Williamson, the King Tut Drive-In in Beckley, the Frostop Drive In in Huntington, Jim's Drive In in Lewisburg and Biggie's in Grafton (the last two have not yet posted at the time of writing this post).

That means I just have a couple left in the Huntington area, one in Bluewell and THREE left in Logan. I'm much more likely to get to Huntington or Bluewell along my travels, so I planned a specific trip just to get to Logan (because who actually ever travels through Logan regularly?) to try these drive-ins.

Yes, Logan has three drive-in restaurants. At first glance, I thought it was strange, too. However, it makes more sense once I read that all three are owned by the same family. According to the article, Jay Mayhorn manages Janet's Park & Eat, Parkway Drive-In, and, the most popular, Morrison's Drive Inn. John Morrison opened Morrison's Drive Inn eatery in 1947. Jay Mayhorn's grandfather, Leonard Refeitt, started working there the next year and would eventually become the owner. When he died, ownership passed to Robert Mayhorn, Jay's father.

All three have similar menu items, but they each have their own recipes. And for a town of 1,779 to support three curbside restaurants in 2015? That's pretty cool. I wanted to try all three.

I met up with my friend BJ Hatfield to embark on a back-to-back-to-back lunch at Janet's Park & Eat, Parkway Drive-In and Morrison's Drive Inn. Up first was Janet's Park & Eat (mostly because it opens the earliest). Janet’s is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sundays.

The restaurants was fairly quiet when we first pulled up. In fact, I wasn't sure they even actually offered curb service anymore. They assured us they did, and later on as we were leaving, I did see a carhop taking an order on a paper pad, running it to the kitchen and returning with hot, often fried food. But for this first stop, we actually went inside.

There are a few separated dining areas with old-school booths. We grabbed a seat nearby and a server immediately stopped by. The menu spans everything from a 10 oz. ribeye and oysters to spaghetti and meatballs and chicken livers. I remember reading that the three restaurants are known to have good hot dogs, good cheeseburgers and good chicken. So, why not spread the love? I ordered the breaded chicken specialty sandwich here. BJ opted for the "Whatchamacallit," which had fried bologna, salami, lettuce, and onion.

Considering I still had two more lunches to eat after this one, I didn't get the "basket" option. When my sandwich came out, I realized that maybe I should have gotten the chicken planks to get the chicken that everyone was talking about, because this was a chicken patty. But, it was actually really tasty. It was lightly breaded but not dry or minced. It was tasty.

As for BJ's whatchamacallit, I think he was happy, too.




Grade: A

Jim's Drive In, one of the last remaining drive ins in the state, is located in Lewisburg and serves up burgers, hot dogs and milkshakes in true drive in style - from the comfort of your car. While many of the drive ins in West Virginia have a very small indoor dining area, Jim's is strictly car-centric, though there is some outdoor seating.

This is the first drive in I've been to where I actually ate in my car. Luckily, I was close enough to the front of the restaurant to see most of the menu. Besides that, I always do my research and knew they have their "famous ranchburger," which has sweet pickles, a slice of ham, cheese, tomato, purple onion, lettuce, tomato. Add a side of onion rings and a caramel milkshake, and my mouth is watering as I type these words.

I waited for just a little bit before my food was brought out. Again, I had never actually driven up to a drive in before. So. I didn't realize they actually attach the tray to your window. I thought it just hugged my door somehow. Imagine that awkward moment when the carhop has my food on a tray. I look at her. She looks at me. I look at her. She asks me if I can roll up my window a bit. Oh. OH. Okay. Sorry.

It's kind of nice having a little bit of privacy while dining out. It's the best of both worlds: having someone else cook for me, but being able to wear whatever I want and listen to music I want. The only downside is crumbs in your car. BUT I was in a rental. So.

The milkshake was delicious. Like, so delicious. Caramel + ice cream = me in love.

The burger wasn't bad. I didn't love the ham or sweet pickles on the burger. But, minus those, it's a pretty standard burger, so I wasn't unhappy. It's a good burger. The onion rings were also pretty solid - nice, crisp, not too much residual grease.

I think next time I could just opt for a regular burger. Because it in and of itself is pretty darn good.


Grade: B

My quest to finish trying all the drive ins in West Virginia has ramped up ever since the Charleston Gazette-Mail started their drive-in series. What I would give to be doing that assignment! Trying all the drive ins left in the state has been a bucket list thing of mine, and I have about six done and five more to go.



Biggie's, located in Grafton, is the only drive in remaining in the northern part of West Virginia. We made the quick drive out from Morgantown and pulled into a spot. We waited for a few minutes, but nobody came out - so I'm not sure if they still do curbside service or not. My stomach wasn't willing to find out. We went inside and looked over the menu of options.





They have burgers, hot dogs, fish sandwiches, chicken salad, ham sandwiches, BLTs, chicken sandwiches plus tons of sides like coleslaw, applesauce, deep-fried mushrooms (mm), broccoli and cheese, hot cheese balls, corn nuggets, onion rings and more.



I ordered two hotdogs (I feel like that's a very drive-in thing to do) with "everything," which included chili, mustard and onions. I also got slaw for an additional charge. And I ordered a side of small cheddar cheese balls. Deep-fried cheese, how can you pass that up?

My hotdogs were pretty good! The sauce was a little different - chunks in a very thin sauce so it wasn't the same overall consistency. But the slaw was delicious, and the bun was steamed. The cheese balls were delicious. Hot, cheesy, crunchy - what more do you need in life?

Biggie's does take Visa and Mastercard. They are open 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. seven days a week.

Grade: A

As part of my effort to complete adventures from the 55 things to do in the Mountain State list, I convinced Tom to accompany me to southern West Virginia to see the Coal House in Williamson and check out the grave of Devil 'Anse' Hatfield, as well as stop in Matewan and try the Tunnel Drive-In. It was a first me to travel through Lincoln, Logan, Boone and Mingo. Woo!

1) The Devil Anse Hatfield grave is in the middle of nowhere, but we found it without too much trouble. I realize how tough it is to not rely on my phone in an area where I have no idea where I'm going. I'm actually surprised I didn't get more lost. We climbed a hill to see that guy right over there ----------------> and nearly died on the muddy hill, but it was worth it to see this near-life-size statue of Hatfield. Fun fact, my friend BJ is a relative.

2) The Coal House is pretty cool. It's, well, a house made out of coal and is also home to the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce. Inside, I bought a coal pig. The whole Hatfield/McCoy thing is a huge thing in this area of the state, so I figured a pig would be fitting considering it is rumored that a stolen pig is what helped start the war between the families.

3) Matewan, of Matewan Massacre fame, had a nice little area devoted to the history of the massacre, as well as more Hatfield/McCoy stuff. I bought the book on Matewan there, because it seemed fitting.

OK, food!



The Tunnel Drive-In is one of the few drive-ins left in the state. It's located in Williamson, and it took me a few tries to find this place. The address has it listed on the road down below (so I thought), but I happened to look past the road and saw it, thankfully. As soon as I pulled up, my car was beside none other than Don Blankenship himself sitting in his Beemer eating some drive-in food. I was a little shocked.








After some awkwardness about omfg, that's Don Blankenship in the car beside me, we figured out what we wanted from the menu and went inside to order. After being in my car for hours upon hours, I didn't want to sit in there to eat, too.

I wanted to order the Tunnel burger, considering the namesake, but they were out. I found out it is a 1 lb. burger, so I'm glad they were out. Somehow, they weren't out of regular sized burgers, so I ordered one of those instead with a side of fried mushrooms. And a strawberry milkshake.

My burger was not bad - the burger was kind of dwarfed by the size of the bun and a giant piece of tomato. It was definitely well done, bordering on crispy, but a slice of cheese masks some of that. But a burger is a burger. It's still good because you can't mess up a cheeseburger too terribly bad.

The mushrooms were aplenty, and the ranch dip wasn't a bad touch. I don't know if I've ever dipped mushrooms in ranch? It worked, but I kind of liked them all on their own.

The perfect touch was a strawberry shake. I can't tell you the last time I had one, but it was so delicious. What goes better with a burger and a side of fried food than a smooth, sweet shake? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing.


Grade: B

There aren't many drive-ins left in West Virginia. Maybe that's why I have a fascination with them. They're like these remaining artifacts from a different time, still preserved in areas.


On a recent trip to McDowell County, I drove through Pineville in Wyoming County. In addition to the area being known recently for a "documentary," Wyoming County is also home to the Pinnacle Drive-In.

While I discovered that you can remain in your car in the parking lot and a carhop will come out to you, I didn't realize that. So, we went inside. There are only a few tables inside, but a few cars had been waited on outside. That's clearly the preferred method here.

The menu has sandwiches - BBQ, grilled cheese, ham - as well as specialty sandwiches - pizza submarines, giant cheeseburgers, Italian submarines. Plus dinners, seafood dinners, soups, salads. It's pretty run of the mill. Their big-sellers are the hotdogs or the "submarine," which is turkey salad, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and cranberry sauce. That sandwich sounds a lot like another in the nearby area. Scott, my coworker, ordered that. But I went with the hotdogs.


The weenie wonks over at the West Virginia Hot Dog Blog have a more comprehensive look at the hotdogs, but I'll do my best here. I LOVED the buns - which are these buttered and grilled. They are definitely more bun for your hotdog, but they hold up well with all the toppings. I ordered chili, slaw, mustard and onions, but my slaw was nowhere to be found. I didn't realize this until later because I was super hungry (and late), so I didn't want to fuss.

I liked the flavor of the chili (not so much a sauce), and I liked their own little spin on the hotdog. It was more filling, and the bun had a little crisp, which I liked. Overall, I think it was pretty good. I think slaw could've taken this up a notch. Pinnacle is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed Sundays.

Grade: B

Looking over the menu, there are sandwiches and dinners and the like. But their "Signature Sterling Sub" is where it's at. It has cranberry sauce, bacon, lettuce, tomato and their special "spread" on a deep-fried bun.

The owners say that no one ever guesses correctly what's in the spread, and few people do know. But it seems to be a pork mixture. Let's hope.

But it's good! It's different, but it's tasty. A little bit of sweet, some crunch, some fresh and something ... odd. The spread isn't entirely noticeable since there are so many toppings, but it's definitely worth it to try and get a taste of the local food culture. It's fun, and I appreciate it for what it is.




Grade: A