It seems almost as quickly as Golden Finch became a staple in Morgantown, it quickly vanished. With what seems like an unanticipated departure, Golden Finch posted on their Facebook in November:

Closed
"It's time to say good bye
But I think good byes are sad
and I'd rather say hello.
Hello to a new adventure"
Thank you for your patronage
The Thompsons

I'm not sure if there was something more going on behind the scenes, but it seemed like one day, they just decided to close without warning.

That brings us to Jasmine Grill - the brand new Mediterranean restaurant located in the location - 330 High Street. I couldn't find much about the restaurant online, except this kind of mysterious video. And just the other day, they were added to Urbanspoon. After a quick Twitter search (I'm pretty creepy, I know), I saw two mentions about it and realized it was open, so I dragged co-workers Jake and Tony to check it out with me.

I encourage anyone who lives in Morgantown to try Jasmine Grill on High Street. It's Syrian food and damn is it good.
— Alex (@Scarlet_Spid3r) January 29, 2014

I give Jasmine Cafe a B
— vodka (@vodkamau5) January 30, 2014

@Candace07 I think they just opened today. I think it's better than Med Market
— vodka (@vodkamau5) January 30, 2014

They are in the very, very early stages. Like, I'm pretty sure I went the second day they were open. So, some things probably aren't finalized yet. They took advantage of the large windows at this location by plastering some photos and other papers inside them.

One of which mentions that "Jasmine" is derived from the nickname of Damascus - the capital and the second-largest city of Syria. The sign also says to dine here if you want something authentic, amusing and healthy.

Okay, cool. I walked in and stood awkwardly at the door and asked if we seat ourselves or if we wait to be seated. The gentleman working promptly told me that I order at the counter. Oh, okay. Little different than what I was expecting.

At the counter, they had three menus. I looked at it briefly - but because we were under a watchful eye and I had no idea what to order - then took it back to a table to figure out what I wanted.

They have hummus, grape leaves, falafel, and fries for appetizers. For salads and soups, they have a Syrian oriental salad, tabbouleh and lentil soup. Sandwiches: falafel wrap, kebab sandwich, shish tawook sandwich (marinated chicken, cream sauce in a pita), shaworma chicken (chicken skin strips, cream sauce), potato sandwich and soujouk sandwich (spicy beef on a panini grill). And then there are mixed platters - grilled kebab, grilled tawook (marinated chicken), mixed grilled kebab and tawook, shaworma chicken, and pasta.

I went for the mixed grilled kebab and tawook platter so I could essentially taste two dishes.I ordered that, plus a little spinach pie that were already premade on the counter. They also had meat and vegetable ones. And I ordered a fountain drink.

I paid about $16, with tip, and sat down. A few moments later, I was delivered a piping hot spinach pie. Because it had been made then reheated, the bread was a little soft, but almost in a gummy way.

But it was good - spinach was just the tiniest bit bitter, but seasoned very well.

I was getting fairly thirsty at this point, but we didn't receive our fountain drinks until our main dishes came out. Which is a little odd - if the fountain drink station is right there, should probably just give drinks when you order. No big deal, though.

When my order came out, it was certainly a pretty sight. On the left was a pita with some parsley and spicy tomato sauce inside. Then came a long line of the tawook - marinated chicken - with two grilled tomatoes, some seasoned rice, the kebab, tabbouleh and tomato sauce. They clearly put some thought into balancing the sweet, the salty, the acidic.

I really don't know what this pita thing was - I'm sure someone will correct me. But it had some heat to it. Nice for a little punch of flavor. The tawook chicken was delicious. The chicken is marinated in EVOO and lemon and it was just grilled and seasoned well. Flavorful, moist, good blend of herbs and spices. The rice was also well-seasoned, and I shoveled spoonfuls of it, paired with the grilled tomato, into my mouth.

The kebab was like a long sausage. It was pretty flavorful, but I had some trouble cutting it with the plastic cutlery. There were also paper plates, which don't really elevate the overall impression of the restaurant. Splurge on some forks and knives so I can cut the meat easier. But it was pretty tasty. It wasn't, however, totally cooked well-done. Rarely will I ask for something well-done, but unless it's a fresh cut of meat, I'd rather have it cooked well. Sausages, especially made of a few different types of meat - lamb and beef in this case (I don't think pork was in it) - make me feel more comfortable if it's cooked through. Steak? Give it to me medium. Fresh cuts of meat only have bacteria living on the outside. If it's mixed up like a sausage or kebab, it gets everywhere. If I trust a place, I'll order the medium-well burger. But anyway.

The tabbouleh - fresh parsley, mined onion, lemon and EVOO - was perfect when I wanted a something light, fresh to a bite. And the tomato sauce was perfect for adding some heartiness and robust flavor. I appreciate the thought that went into my meal to round out flavors.

Tony had a sandwich he was a pretty big fan of. Surprising, considering how much he hates everything else. Here's what he had to say:

"The Shish Tawook Sandwich is a great example of two cultures coming together in one dish. It’s basically an Americanized version of traditional Syrian food. The star of the dish was the chicken, which was marinated nicely in citrus and curry flavors. The sandwich, which was more like a wrap or burrito made from pita, also had french fries, garlic cream sauce, a sauce similar to ketchup, pickles and cooked mild peppers on it. It was unexpected, surprising and I would definitely get it again. Try it if you're not so sure about Syrian food."

With a few tweaks - like cutlery and making sure the food is cooked all the way through - will take this place to the next level. So far, though, I was pleasantly surprised with a well-thought out menu, some new additions and some creativity.

They're open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. They can be reached at 304-291-7878.

Grade: B

I don't really know what's going on with this space located on University Avenue. In the plaza, on the left side, have been a series of terrible Middle Eastern restaurants. Is it the same family reinventing this place? Is it a few different family members trying their hand at something new? Is it a coincidence?

I don't know, but it's terrible. When I first tried it, it was Albasha, then it was La Baba. And now, it's the Gulf Grocery Mediterranean Food and Juicebox.

I totally went in here with an open mind. I walked in. A couple guys were sitting at a table playing chess right in front of us. To the right were some shelves full of grocery product. In front and to the left were a haphazard buffet and the Juicebox menu.

From what I gather, Juicebox is just the little juicebar inside. I'm guessing the buffet falls under the grocery store title. Anyway. I went up to the front and asked what was in the buffet, since they had lids. The man behind the counter was very nice, but didn't speak the greatest English, so what I got out of the conversation was rice and some sort of meat. To be expected. I told him I'll order a juice first and the buffet.


I ordered their cocktail juice, which looked to be some sort of strawberry and banana combo. Yum. the man behind the counter called to one of the guys sitting down to make the drink. The guy sitting down pointed to a premade drink sitting in a tray with two others. The man behind the counter went over, picked it up and handed it to me.

Um, what?

How long has this been sitting here? Why is it already made? It's just sitting out on the counter. Not being refrigerated or anything. Just no.

My friend ordered the same drink, but since there wasn't another sitting on the tray, they actually went back and made hers. During this process, I felt my appetite for the buffet dwindle. It seemed he forgot about it, too, so I looked at the grocery section while I waited for her nice and fresh juice to be made.

I stumbled upon some cool items, but then I saw something not so cool - some Laughing Cow cheese. Just chillin'. On the rack. Not refrigerated. I mean, this stuff does need to be refrigerated, right? Something just didn't sit well with me about that.

I had taken one sip of my drink, which was actually good. But my brain couldn't overcome my stomach. I was concerned about my drink sitting out. And now this cheese on the shelf.

When they returned from the kitchen with my friend's drink, they had two styrofoam containers they gave to her. We told them we didn't want the buffet, but they shook their heads and said it was on the house. They didn't tell us what it was. But we took it.

Considering the experience thus far, I didn't really want to take a chance on the food at this point. Which is unfortunate because it smelled good. But I think it was chicken and rice? But I don't really want to take the chance. Food poisoning is the worst.

I feel like this a pretty unfortunate set of circumstances. Their food could be great. But some things are lost in translation. It could be some cultural differences. I could be totally ignorant and that type of cheese can just sit on shelves to be sold. The drink could not have been sitting there super long. But, as a customer, I don't know any of this. And when I have other options that appear more safe, I'm gonna go after that.

And I feel bad that they were genuinely trying to be cool and give us some food, and that's super sweet. And I want them to do well. But this just isn't it.

Tips: Make EVERY drink fresh to order. I felt shafted my friend got a fresh drink and I didn't.

Don't have cheese - that I usually see in a refrigerator - sitting out on a shelf. Seems odd.

Don't have your employees just sitting around playing board games. I feel like I'm interrupting something private. Don't feel as welcome.

Invest in some buffet trays that are good quality. They look like an afterthought and make me wonder what the quality of food is like.

Grade: D

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

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've had to have passed the Mediterranean Market more than 100 times while living here in town. Located right on High Street, it's a prime location for college kids, young professionals and more who pass this location daily. It is just one of those restaurants that slipped through. Until recently.

When you walk in the restaurant, it's almost as if you're not really downtown. It's enormous inside. It's so big, in fact, that I didn't even know exactly how to navigate it. Once I walked further inside, I saw the area where you can order, which is in the far back corner.

There is a menu up on the board behind the counter. They have lots of greasy fast food and more ... salads, appetizers, pita sandwiches, specialty sandwiches, wraps, paninis and desserts. While you can order things to go, we decided to stick around.

I got ordered the gyro platter, picked up a drink from the cooler, moved down toward the register to pay, and found a seat near the window.

I love having the ability to people watch from the comfort of an air conditioned place. Our food came over fairly quickly, and in front of me was some gyro meat, pita, as well as some hummus, tabouleh, feta and olives.

I made my own little sandwich with the meat and lettuce. I haven't had a gyro like this for a long, long time. Back when I lived in Wellsburg, the Applefest would have those food trucks and every year I would get a gyro. I looked forward to it because it was sensational. This one from Mediterranean Market rivals it.

The meat is perfectly seasoned, tender, moist and full of flavor. The thick pita bread housed the meat and salad. Perfecto. I would've liked some more dill and cucumber for that tzatziki sauce, but it was delicious none the less. The tabbouleh was fresh, and the hummus had a delightful slightly nutty, lemon/garlic flavor.

It was a tad on the pricey side, but I really enjoyed my meal, as well as the restaurant overall. The service could use some improvement, but overall a nice option for downtown dining.

Oh, and their desserts looked to die for. If I had any room, I would've been all over that.

Grade: A

I noticed a new sign reading "La Baba" in the plaza behind Hibachi on University Avenue, where Albasha was located. After much digging, the only information I could come up with about La Baba is its Facebook, which stated it was open for dinner and looked to be of Middle Eastern cuisine.

I trekked over with a couple friends to check it out. They have a handful of tables in the center, with a bar area along the back. It looked as though they had just opened, but I asked the girl working and she had replied they had been open for two months.

The counter had four, maybe five, serving trays and a few bowls on the counter. It all looked so temporary. It wasn't built into the restaurant. In fact, when my friends and I stepped in, they pulled a few plates out of a refrigerated area and put them on the counter. They only offer a buffet here, which is $10. You can get a drink out of the refrigerator for another $1.50 - no fountain soda.

The girl working asked us if we had been there before, and when we replied no, she took us up to the counter and told us what each of the items were. Apparently they change daily, but they didn't look like it. The "buffet" included some meat pies, spinach pies, a chicken dish, a beef dish, dolma, tabbouleh, hummus, baba ghanoush, pita from a bag, baklava, and awamat. These would all be great if they were all good, but I found very little here that I actually enjoyed.

Everything tasted as though it was old and sitting in that pan for days. The sauces were nearly coagulated. The dolma was soft and mushy. The awamat, those crisp doughnut balls in syrup, are usually a favorite because they're so sweet, were so hard I had to use some pressure to shove my fork into it. I even tried eating it - only to be surprised with that thick syrup mixed with oil. Not good.

I barely even used my buffet privileges, trying another plate, because there really wasn't anything that was that great. I took to the rice since I was starving, and I think it's difficult to mess up rice.

While the girl helping us was very sweet and attentive, I just was not pleased by the food. It was old, hard, bland and not worth my money. But they did have some other people in the restaurant, so maybe it's just not my cup of tea.
 
Grade: D

I have only been to Ali Baba's once during my time in Morgantown. I don't remember much of the visit, except it was with one of my best friends who is no longer with us. I'm also pretty sure I wrote about it for the newspaper. (Edit: I did, three years ago)

It's located in the airport - not beside it - IN the actual airport. So you drive and park in the passenger area. It's odd to see the lack of security around the airport and whatnot. You enter the building and go up to the second level and follow the signs. It's like a miniature abandoned airport. There was no one around when my friend Mel and I first walked in, and we were essentially walking through empty terminals. It was strange. But then I saw a flashing sign reading "Ali Baba's," and suddenly this building was re-energized.


The large dining room is draping in beautiful reds, golds and greens. Some interesting lighting fixtures and draping make this a warm, inviting environment. Our server came over, menus in tow, to welcome us. I had a good idea of what I wanted from looking at their website, but I continued to narrow down my choices. I was immediately drawn to the Ali Baba specialties, of course. One of which was spinach lasagna. Interesting - lasagna at a Mediterranean restaurant? But it was a specialty. I was too curious to not try it. It came with a salad - a Mediterranean salad: hummus, baba ghannouj, tabbouleh, or tahini. I opted for the hummus. But I needed some more Mediterranean flavor, so I ordered an appetizer of samboosas, too.

After a few minutes, we were greeted with two small plates - hummus for me and baba ghannouj for Mel. I'm pretty picky with my hummus, as I feel like it's just usually bland and strong. But I really enjoyed this hummus - the flavors were more subtle. The little kalmata olive on the top was also a nice touch. The texture of the mashed chickpeas was like whipped or pureed, and it's blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Served with pita bread, I ate my entire serving.


Shortly thereafter came our entrees. Mel got a kabob, and I got my lasagna - layers of pasta stuffed with spinach, onions and ricotta cheese, topped with marinara sauce and provolone cheese for $12.95. It tasted straight-up Italian, but I did love it. It was a large chunk, creamy, with a pretty flavorful sauce. I was impressed. I also tasted Mel's kabob - which was grilled chicken. I love that grilled, slightly smokey taste. Yum.

I asked our server where the samboosas were, and he went to check on them. Apparently there was some miscommunication, but they came out a few minutes later. I didn't mind eating them alongside my entree anyway. The samboosas were mega greasy (I soaked them in my napkin), but after that, the crispy fried thin pastry was delicious, stuffed full of the spicy meat and onion mixture. It came with a yogurt dipping sauce. Delicious!

For dessert, it was knafa - shredded dough stuffed with a mixture of sweetened ricotta cheese. Baked. Goodness. I love ricotta, so I was probably already sold on this one. But I like the depth of this dish. It was creamy, warm, gooey, creamy .. all those other words that make you say "mmm." Our waiter even gave us dessert on the house - most likely because the samboosas came out late. So I only paid around $20 for my meal.

If it's not along your main route, take a detour one evening. It'll be worth it. Oh, and we got to see airplanes taking off and landing right from our table. How awesome! I can't wait to get home and have my leftovers after this.

Grade: A