There's a brand new Irish pub in downtown Hurricane, and it's making a splash in the Guinness already. 



Hurricane has a small, but strong, downtown with some really stellar restaurants, and Connolly's Irish Pub is the newest addition.



They're still in their soft opening phase and were just serving select parts of their menu when I went - but I just couldn't wait to get my hands on fish & chips.



I can't say enough good things about the service. I placed an order to go, they got me taken care of, paid for, and out the door in a number of minutes. The food was good, too. The fries are like those crispy batter-fried fries that have a nice seasoning on them - nice crunch. The fish also had a nice batter. I do wish it was just a bit thicker to get some real tooth-sinkable bites of white flaky fish. But, of course fillets vary, and I'm excited to try more.

Grade: A 

Baked - Craft Wings in Hurricane has been a long time coming. The sign has been up for some time, but the "open" sign metaphorically finally turned on within the last couple weeks. 



Located in the Mid Valley Square area, the restaurant has plenty of parking and is sandwiched between other local favorites Whiskey Taco and Hiro. 



Baked - Craft Wings kind of reminds me of a quick-service restaurant you might find in a marketplace or student union. It has a simplistic, but industrial feel with just a few pieces of artwork and those trendy slat back side chairs that are everywhere now. 



The menu is very straightforward: wings, tenders, sandwiches and waffle fries. That's it. But they do mix it up with the sauces: buffalo, spicy buffalo, bbq, spicy bbq, garlic parmesan, buffalo parmesan, tangy gold, lemon pepper, mango habanero and sweet chili.



I went with a chicken sandwich - which was really just two tenders on bread with pickle - as well as waffle fries. I also ordered sides of garlic parmesan, baked sauce, sweet chili and tangy gold.



The chicken was on the well-done side, but that's better than the alternative. Their baked sauce is like a mayo/ketchup mix that was my favorite of the bunch. The others were pretty thin for a dipping sauce and instead probably make sense for a sauce on the wings. The waffle fries were OK - I actually wish they were crispier. Overall, not bad. Straightforward. If you're looking for a simple tender, this could be your place. 

Grade: B

The Juice Box just opened in Hurricane and is serving up juices, smoothies, acai bowls and more. 



I just so happened to stumble upon their grand opening weekend when I saw a sign on the interstate exit. It's something new for the area, so I was excited to check it out.



The space isn't huge, but there is a little seating, counter area and refrigerated juices. The juice cleanses and super healthy smoothies aren't necessarily my thing, but those smoothies were calling my name.




When I saw the tropical smoothie had banana, pineapple, mango and coconut milk, I knew it would be perfect for a warm day. 



And, I was right. It was cold and sweet - but not too sweet. It was refreshing and didn't make me feel too guilty - like a DQ blizzard might. 



Either way, whichever your preference, I'm sure you can find something here to enjoy.



Have you been?

I stumbled upon Oma Goodness on Facebook, and I love to support a local business - especially when they're offering sweets! 



"Oma Goodness is a home based candy business that offers homemade goodies from your childhood. Fantasy fudge, no-baked cookies, potato candy, hard rock candy, coconut bon-bons and more! It is all custom made, all by hand." 



I ordered some milk chocolate buckeyes (yum!) and some cool whip candy, because it sounded fun! She even threw in an extra St. Patrick's Day-themed candy sucker because it was near the holiday! The buckeyes were delish. I always love a good buckeye. The cool whip candy was kinda reminiscent for me of a Three Musketeers. Have you tried this tasty home business yet?

There are about ... oh... three dozen or so Gino's locations that I haven't yet been to. So, when I'm in an area that has one I haven't been to, I'm trying to knock it off my list. 



In Hurricane, the Gino's is right off the exist, so it made the perfect pitstop for dinner while driving through the area. I put in an online order for a small pubwich - which they are known for - and went through the drive-thru. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy. 



Once I was home, I dug in. I admit - my expectations weren't high. I thought there may be too much breading or too much iceberg lettuce. But, I was so super pleasantly surprised by this sandwich. The ham pubwich has ham, mozzarella cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato and sweet onion. It was perfectly portioned. They were not skimpy on the melty mozzarella. But it was fresh and not too dense. I actually can't wait to try another one at a different location.

Grade: A

You may have heard of Belknap Dough Company when they were a large, black food truck doling out hot pizza pies. But now, you can get those same delicious pizzas all the time on Main Street in Hurricane. 



Dawn and I visited the brick-and-mortar location, which is a lovely space with dark wooden floors and a window into the kitchen that has a wood-fired pizza oven as a centerpiece. 



The menu features a pepperoni roll, charcuterie trays, salads and, of course, pizza. Cheese, pepperoni, sausage, margherita, bianca, Hurricane haze and "Main Street Pepperoni" are the pizza options.



There were a few things that captured my attention. First, I started with the pepperoni roll. Is there anything better than that cheese pull? Yes, a hot, stringy cheese pull that is enveloped in pepperoni and covered in a golden brown dough. 



I love a good caprese salad. This was perhaps less of a salad and more kababs. Cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and balsamic reduction drizzled over the skewers made for a delicious, fresh bite. 



And for pizza - the one that stuck out to me was the "Main Street Pepperoni" because it's the most different: San Marzano red sauce, pepperoni, ricotta and hot honey drizzle. Fresh ricotta is one of my favorite pizza toppings - and the hot honey drizzle was perfect on the crust to give it some ooomf. What is your favorite pie here?



Grade: A

During one of Hurricane's recent "Food Truck Fridays," I made the trip west to check out some new grub.



Saved by Grace BBQ is a Hamlin-based food truck that has been quite active in the Metro Valley area. I was excited to see them scheduled fairly close to me, so I made a beeline when I arrived. Apparently others had a similar thought, though, because they were running low on many of their regular items.
Fortunately, I was still able to try some of their BBQ. 



I went with the pulled pork nachos, which included nacho cheese, BBQ sauce and jalapenos. It's quite the sight. A huge portion, doused in BBQ and cheese, with a layer of pulled pork spread across the top. It was like a race to get a bit of each flavor in every bite before it all went soggy. It was tasty - though those jalapenos had some extra heat (there are some seeds there!). 



And, a side of pepperjack cheese bombs never disappoints. I love these things; they remind me of memories going to the drive-in theater. Fried cheese, what could be better?



To wash down all this heat, I ordered a fresh-squeezed strawberry lemonade from the booth next to the food truck. I'm not sure if there was an official name, but I couldn't leave them out. They rounded out this meal of deliciousness. The huge drink was $5, fresh and made to order. 



Grade: A

After traveling around the state, we're rounding up the final couple Tudor's locations and the final couple biscuits I've yet to try.



We're getting into some pretty basic biscuits on the Tudor's Biscuit World menu, like today's shaved ham biscuit in Hurricane (did you know they have three different kinds? classic, shaved and country ham?).



Shaved is the best, in my opinion. What makes it even better? Cheese.

Grade: B

Happy Belly Foods is a new lunch spot in Hurricane. They have a food truck and also a location in The Commons at Valley Park.



They focus on homestyle cooking and slow-smoked meats. You can find Mexican options, sandwiches, breakfast and sweets.

While here, I decided to go with a quesadilla with their housemade queso, sour cream and salsa. I wanted some of their pinwheels, but they didn't have them that day. Next time!

And, I also got a box of their homemade truffles.

The quesadilla was pretty tasty - including the smoked chicken. It had a nice kick of cheese in there. The truffles were a bit heavy-handed, but had some good flavors.

Have you been?

Grade: B

Valley Cakes & Cafe is a new bakery in Hurricane that serves up beautiful cupcakes, sweet treats and other lunch options. They're open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. so when I had a recent weekday off, I stopped in to check it out.

The space is absolutely adorable, with teal walls and a dozen steel table and chairs spread throughout the dining area. The bakery case was full of some lovely cupcakes: Boston creme pie, raspberry, cookies & creme, chocolate chip cookie dough, peanut butter, cinnamon roll and more.

Their lunch menu consists of sandwiches and other light fare. I couldn't decide on which cupcakes I wanted, so I picked three: raspberry, cookies & creme and chocolate chip cookie dough.

Each of these starts with a sweet vanilla base and topped with a healthy helping of icing with a small accent on top. So not only are they absolutely stunning, they are so, so tasty.

Which is your favorite?