Donatos is a Columbus-based pizza chain that boats a thin, crispy crust, with edge-to-edge toppings.
"When Jim Grote was 13, he took a job at a Columbus pizza shop. By his sophomore year at The Ohio State University, the pizza business had him hooked for life. Jim bought the shop in 1963 for $1,300. He kept the name, derived from the Latin for "to give a good thing"-the perfect way to describe the Donatos' promise: "To serve the best pizza and make your day a little better."
The chain has over 375 locations in 22 states, including Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida and now West Virginia with a location in Parkersburg. I placed an order online and went to the pick up window to retrieve my pizza and meatball sub.
The mini pizza was made with the works: green peppers, onions, pepperoni, mushroom, sausage, smoked romano and provolone. There may have been too many ingredients for this small size, but that's on me. I do wish some of the ingredients, like the peppers, were cut a bit smaller so the flavors of the other ingredients had a chance to shine. The meatball sub was fairly average - a healthy dose of some bold marinara would be my request.
Grade: B
New China in Parkersburg is a Chinese-American restaurant serving up many of the classics: General Tso's chicken, pork fried rice, and the like.
For their crab cheese wontons, they use the folded-over method, which I like. It seems to have more cream cheese inside. I didn't notice much - if any - crab, but I do not mind. I like the fried cream cheese with sweet-and-sour sauce.
The egg roll was pretty run-of-the-mill. It seemed to have a lot of cabbage, and not much else. But that seems to be the norm locally.
For my entrée, I ordered sesame chicken but with white meat chicken. this is my favorite hack when it's available. All the delicious flavor of the sweet and tangy sauce, but over top of white meat chicken. No stringy or gristley pieces. Just fresh, tasty bites of chicken with some zing.
Do you have a favorite Chinese-American menu hack?
Grade: B
Napoli's is a local chain in the Mid-Ohio Valley area serving up pizza, pasta, sandwiches, subs and salads.
I've visited most of these locations - except the South Parkersburg one. It's a fairly large space with wooden floors, tables, chairs. Traditional, but not old-fashioned.
Pasta was on my mind on this particular day - but when is it not. First, though, more carbs. Basic breadsticks. Not real flavoring here, but even boring bread is still bread.
Six-cheese lasagna was calling to me. I have a soft spot for lasagna because it's one of my favorite dishes that my mom makes. As I get older, lasagna isn't as friendly to my tummy. But, sometimes I decide to brave it. Today was the day. I think it was oversauced, overcooked and still, satisfying. There are a lot of little things I would've liked to make this better, but I'm still always going to enjoy sauce, noodles, and cheese. So, was it unique or really delicious? No. Was it still kinda comforting and scratch that itch? Yes.
Grade: B
Wine Down on Market is a wine bar in downtown Parkersburg, which also serves shareable plates, flatbreads, sandwiches and entrees.
I, however, happened to visit when they were serving brunch. It was one of their first ones, and it was honestly a bit chaotic. Despite being the first person in the restaurant, they didn't know if they could seat me without a reservation. But once I was seated at the bar, I had a first-hand view of the stresses of the staff.
Beyond that, though, the space is lovely, sleek and refined. The menu featured challah french toast, lox bagels, avocado toast, eggs benedict, and my choice: the shrimp and grits with bell peppers, andouille sausage, and cajun veloute. The shrimp was a bit on the salty side for me, but I enjoyed the cheesy grits and delicious sauce.
I also ordered a side of candied chocolate bacon, which was not whatI was expecting. It was more like bacon that with haphazard chocolate, but you can't really go wrong with the sweet and salty combo.
Grade: B
The Cocktail Bar in Parkersburg is a bit of an odd bird. At one point, this spot was a coffee bar, then they migrated to TCB, and now they're also The Cocktail Bar.
There are neon signs, it's dark inside and a little loud too. It is kind of this weird combination of high-end and low-end.
We started with buffalo chicken dip as an appetizer, which was decent but I wouldn't have minded more flavor and more punch.
For my main meal, I went with a steak, asparagus, and sweet potatoes on the side. That's actually not bad. It had much more flavor than the appetizer, and it was a nice portion. My only qualm was that it was a little over for my personal preference. But it was still pretty good.
I had to also try one of their cocktails, which was fun and certainly on the sweet side but I like them like that.
Grade: B
The Blennerhassett is my favorite place to stay in Parkersburg. It's grand. It's historic. And, they have a pretty incredible restaurant.
But they also have a tiny little cafe that, on my last visit, we stopped at before leaving town.
The cafe really only offers some coffees, hot chocolate and pastries from the local McHappy's. I ordered a hot chocolate, which I think is always better when someone else makes it. And a blueberry muffin.
This made a cold, rainy drive home much better. Both were really simple, but both were still really tasty. Sometimes that's all you really for breakfast.
Grade: B
It's not every day you see a lobster roll in West Virginia - much less a lobster food truck in Parkersburg.
The Wicked Lobstah, based in Ohio, ventured to Parkersburg recently to dish out their coveted lobster rolls, and I made the trip solely to get my mitts on one.
And, I don't think I was the only one. You can actually order in advance via their website, and when I went to place my order - they were already filled up for hours. I picked the first slot I saw and placed my order for the "High Society Roll," which is warm buttered lobster with black & white truffle mayo on a toasted bun. For $24.
They parked just outside of Parkersburg Brewing Company, so there was plenty of street parking. And, as soon as I gave them my name, my order was out to me within a minute or two. I took it back to my car - a cool, but sunny fall day - and dug in. I LOVE a good lobster roll. And, this was a pretty good lobster roll. It's not *too* far from the classic with a lot of extraneous ingredients - but who doesn't love truffle topping on everything? Not only do I love that this is something I can get locally, but it really is decent quality, too.
Grade: A
I was listening to a great podcast from Food52 recently about Italian sandwiches: all the different terms we use for them like hoagie, grinder, sub, etc., as well as what makes them good.
It had me thinking about my recent trip to Rubin's Deli, a Parkersburg restaurant that has been serving subs, sandwiches and salads for more than 50 years.
This restaurant offers an Italian sandwich, but I actually ended up going with a Club, which isn't all that different: ham, turkey, bacon, swiss, shredded lettuce, tomato and mayo. But I wanted it cold. I tend to like my hoagies cold. I think of cold cuts with a dressing that I could pick up in a convenience store. I do like warm ones, too, like meatball - but I would call them a sub, not a hoagie.
Fun fact I learned in that podcast: "Submarine" was given to the sandwich because of its shape. "Grinder" was because you have to gnaw with your teeth to get through it. "Hoagie" is a derivative of "hoggy" - as in, you have to be a hog to finish it. And "Hero" because you have to be a hero to finish it.
In addition to my club hoagie, I got a bag of Mister Bees chips - a Parkersburg specialty.
Rubin's has a good, solid hoagie. I liked that it was compact and not unwieldy to eat. It had amply mayo so it wasn't all bread. And the proportions were good. The fresh veggies were maybe a day or two past their prime - not as crisp or as flavorful as they could have been. But still a good sammich.
Grade: B
I always love Chinese food. As I get older, I'm starting to realize it doesn't always love me back. But, it will never stop me from trying a new-to-me spot.
China Kitchen in Parkersburg was along my route on a recent adventure so I called in an order and picked it up. They are still pretty locked up regarding COVID restrictions. There is a small little door they've built into their main door where they put the food through. No entry at all. But I called in my order, picked up my food through the tiny door and was on my way.
I ordered "Grandfather chicken," an eggroll and crab rangoons. Grandfather chicken is deep-fried white meat chicken in General Tso's sauce. It's kind of the perfect combination of flavors. I don't love the stringy, less-than-stellar chicken, so this puts together all the best pieces. This particular sauce didn't have as much "oomph" as I'd like, but it was sweet and sticky, which are really the main components anyway.
The eggroll and crab rangoons were both good by any standard. It may not be my new favorite Chinese spot, but it's a solid option in the area.
Grade: A
Napoli's has a few locations around the Mid-Ohio, and I'm making my way slowly through all of them. Today, we visit the 7th Street location in Parkersburg.
They are most noted for their pizzas or sandwiches, but been there, done that. This time, I went for a cheeseburger. And not an especially cheap one - $8 for a takeout burger.
But after placing my order online, I went to pick it up, and it was in a warming oven of sorts waiting for me. I open it, and the cheese is just so melty, it has like engulfed the burger. I kinda love this. I know it's a little messy, but I just love that perfectly melty texture of the cheese. And, you better believe wrapper cheese is still my cheese.
It's not a bad burger overall, but it's a pretty utilitarian, fast food-esque one. A more gourmet burger might run $8, but this is not quite that.
But, tasty nonetheless.
Grade: B
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