Let's keep this short and sweet. I have tried to visit Novichenks on and off for several years and have not been able to order food for one reason or another.



I have seen evidence of a menu once existing. It consisted of fried appetizers, wings, sandwiches, and that's about it. Very short. One page. But elusive to me on every trip. Whether there wasn't a cook in that day, or they weren't operating the kitchen, or they couldn't deep fry. Whatever the various reasons, I've only ever been left with a drink. Maybe it's a me problem.



So, my vodka cranberries have been satisfactory. The space is definitely geared toward locals, and I don't feel a huge pool to visit again in the future. In this case, not because of bad food, but just sheer lack of it.



Grade: D

Does anything say "summer" more than a lemonade truck? It's Tarty Time is a Morgantown-based lemonade truck that sets up at events. There are more flavors, than just lemon, though, like pomegranate, guava, and blood orange. The prickly pear caught my eye, because this is some thing you typically see in Arizona. It is sweet, but it's tart, and it gives you that balance that makes you keep wanting to come back for more. Definitely a must-have for warm summer evenings.



Grade: A

Cereal bars have become trendy in the last several years, though they do seem to have fallen out of favor more recently. A few months ago, I stopped by Morgantown's rendition of a cereal bar: "Day & Night Exotic Cereal Bar." It seems like they're currently closed, at least temporarily. But, I want to share a little bit about it - because I do think it's neat. 



Let's take a step back to talk about what a cereal bar is - tons of different, unique, fun kinds of cereal, usually different kinds of milk and even the option to make the cereal into a cereal or coffee drink. These could be hard-to-find cereals, or you can mix and match cereals. It's a novelty, really, but that's what makes it a fun experience. 



Day & Night is located on High Street and seemed to be a bit inconsistent with its hours. Once I finally caught them open, I walked inside to find not another soul there. I looked around for a while to take in all the options. They offer both bowls and shakes, so I kept that in mind as I perused the cereal options.



There was Reese's Puffs - always good - but theen others like Hershey's Kisses, Elf on the Shelf, Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch, and Cinna-Graham Toast Crunch. French toast crunch used to be one of my favorites.



Some maybe looked less appetizing - like Nickelodeon Slime. Though, as a kid, I'm sure I would have loved it. Plus, there were some vintage boxes that I think were just for display. Pretty neat looking, though.



Lucky Charms Honey Clovers caught my eye because Lucky Charms are great - at least the marshmallows. The bland cereal part is less exciting, but if they are honey-flavored, now we're talking. 



I went for the Liquid Gold shake, which had peanut butter crunch, honey clover lucky charms and cookie butter. It was a bit messy and sticky, but that's to be expected when dealing with sugar on sugar on sugar.



It was a sugar bomb, for sure. A once-in-a-while treat that is a bit whimsical. One thing to note, much like cereal itself, it does get soggy. And when that happens, it's just no good.



Grade: B

The Breakfast Caffe is a small restaurant on Blue Horizon Drive.



It is tucked away just out of the main traffic area and near some former businesses and hot spots. If you weren't intentionally coming out this way, there's a good chance you would miss it.



I placed an order online, but they were pretty busy so I took a seat inside and waited for the food to be done. The decor is minimal, but I think they're still finding their way. The menu, of course, has breakfast staples, like eggs, bacon, and pancakes. But the eggs Benedict caught my eye, because it's one of my favorites. That, plus a side of loaded hashbrowns, called my name.



I will say, it may have been the strangest eggs Benedict I've ever had. The eggs were like fried instead of poached. The hollandaise was not topped, but kind of thin and running about and broken. The hash browns were well done, but not necessarily super crispy.



So, they have some room for improvement. At the end of the day, nothing was bad. It was fried eggs on an English muffin and potatoes, and that's a perfectly fine meal. Not what was expected, but not bad.



Grade: C

I recently attended a pizza-making workshop at Nonno Carlo in Morgantown with one of my best friends, Lisa. 



It was seriously one of the coolest experiences I've had in recent memory. Not only was our instructor - an owner of the restaurant - super knowledgeable and personable, he was fun and funny, too! 



We started off by tasting the nuances between different olive oils and what to look for. We also learned how to make fresh mozzarella very simply - and left with our own homemade fresh ball of mozzarella!



We used dough they had already made in house, and we floured our space and learned how to stretch it appropriately. Then, it was time for a very simple tomato sauce, basil and fresh mozzarella. One of the most difficult parts was gettin the pizza on the peel to go into the oven.



When it was finished, it could be topped with balsamic reduction, olive oil, parmesan or salt and pepper.

 
It was really fascinating to hear about how simple, yet intricate the requirements are to be a legitimate napoletano pizza. Did you know that most "San Marzano" tomatoes aren't actually San Marzanos? They're just in the "style" of San Marzano. The real ones are grown in a small area around Naples only.



And, the pizza is supposed to be buffalo mozzarella only. AND, did you know that burrata is just ricotta and fresh mozzarella? I learned SO much! AND, fact of the day was that Giuseppe Argiro (commercial creator of the pepperoni roll) was an explosives expert. 



And the pizza? Delicious. Fun. Entertaining. Educational. I think I might go again!

Brittany Furbee is a local chef who has made a name for herself in the competitive food world. 



"I leapt into the national food scene in 2017, when I was selected to compete on the Food Network show Cooks vs. Cons. Despite having no professional experience, I beat two experienced chefs to win the show and a $10,000 grand prize. The experience set into motion a very exciting year for me that included winning a national recipe contest and competing in the world’s largest food sport event, the World Food Championships," she writes on her website.



But because Brittany is not at a restaurant or other place where we can all try this award-winning food, she put together a prix fixe tasting menu that featured some of these greatest hits! 



I was excited to meet up with friends Katie and Todd to enjoy all of these delicious dishes. 



And, honestly, everything was so good. But perhaps some of my favorites were the catfish - because I've never been a fan of catfish. The soup blew me away with flavor; I didn't know chicken soup could taste like this. And the steam bun and rangoon are things that I would routinely order from any restaurant if they were available. So, if you can catch one of her future dinners, do not miss out.



Catfish Crostini
Tempura fried catfish bites dipped in a sweet and salty fish sauce glaze and served on a toasted crostini with spicy gochujang mayo and cilantro lime micro-greens.



Orange Ginger Chicken Soup
Black rice noodles served with orange ginger chicken broth and tender chicken pieces topped with carrot ginger sauce and crispy onions.



Asian Seafood Corn Dog Bites
Crispy cornmeal batter filled with prawn pieces wrapped in a blended shrimp and scallop mixture and topped with spicy Chinese mustard and cherry soy sauce. The dish is garnished with bonito flakes, green onions, and sesame seeds and served with crispy prawn heads.



Fried Green Tomato Steam Bun & Hibiscus Cheese Rangoon
Crispy fried green tomatoes served on a fluffy steamed bun with cherry jam, spicy yuzu mayo, hibiscus pickled onions, micro-greens, and vegan caviar. The steamed buns are paired with a crispy fried wonton Rangoon filled with a goat and cream cheese stuffed hibiscus flower and a sweet and sour hibiscus sauce.



Orange Polenta Cake
Orange and almond polenta cake with orange honey syrup and fresh salted honey whipped cream.  

Over the weekend, I went to the WV Chocolate Wine & Shine Festival.



It was held in Morgantown at Mylan Park in a huge space that had tons of vendors.



MJCJ Farms - these folks had flavored pork rinds, and I tried the sour cream & onion flavor. It was tasty.



Sonny's Peppers - Award winning Sonny's Peppers began in 2015 and we sell hand packed with love specialty hot peppers. Whenever there's a mild version, I need these! 



Whiskey June Bakery - Cookies, Cakes, oh my! This bakery has the cutest instagram, so I was super pumped to get a little to-go box full of rice krispies, chocolate-covered oreos and chocolate-covered pretzels.



Holly Lane Chocolate - Did you know there's a chocolate maker in Morgantown? I had no idea. Just chocolate and sugar.  "Artisanal dark chocolate made from imported single origin cocoa beans, handcrafted in West Virginia."



So cool! Definitely on the dark side, but not too bitter.



Finally, Good Time Mixes is an interesting business - with everything from dip mixes to drink mixes and more.



They even have a line of coffees - and because I try to keep a running list of all the coffee roasters in WV - that might be a whole separate post. 

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