When there are really good restaurants in West Virginia, they usually make their way across my radar. The ones that I currently have left on my list are ones I've seen in passing but haven't necessarily heard rave reviews. Or those that are more "bar & grill" or just "bar" type spots.

That's not the case with Main Street on Central in Barboursville. I've only recently heard about the restaurant, but as soon as it popped up a few times, I knew I had to make a beeline there, ASAP.

The restaurant is dinner only, so it took a bit of maneuvering to be in this area around this time - since that's not typical. Fortunately, my friend Dawn and I made it in right as they were opening at 5 p.m. to check it out.

First of all, the building is lovely. The interior has a certain charm to it, and the ornate decor is beautiful. It is upscale with a touch of cozy. First, we were served warm bread.

Then, the menu featured a ton of seafood, and the one that let me try a few different types of seafood as the "seafood pasta," which included scallops, shrimp and crab in a lemon cream sauce. The seafood was cooked and seasoned well; the pasta was tender; and it was a lovely combination of flavors.

Grade: A

Have you ever driven through Martinsburg and saw the building with the giant crab on top?


That's Mother Shuckers Crab Shack, a local restaurant that specializes in fresh seafood.


The menu features crab, salmon, scallops, shrimp, mussels, oysters and more.


I went for one of their "specialties" - snow crab & shrimp platter served with drawn butter and two sides. On this day, it was dungeness, and I got sweet corn fritters and shrimp macaroni salad as my sides.


I don't think I knew what I was in for when I ordered this. But a giant bucket was delivered to me before my platter.


This was a ton of delicious food. Yes, it was work. But it was also so worth it.

Angela's on the River is a St. Albans restaurant with a focus on seafood.

Angela's on the River is a locally owned family restaurant with a variation of cuisine. Located in Saint Albans, WV, we have three dining facilities including a bar. Come and enjoy a delicious meal with us!

Sara and I went to check out this restaurant in her new town.



This was at Christmas time (if that tells you how backed up on blogs I am) - and it was decorated beautifully.

We were led downstairs to an open dining space that overlooks the river.

The menu features salads, steak, seafood, pastas, chicken and pork.

It's a tough decision, but I went with "Crab Stuffed Whitefish" - Chilton House whitefish with Angela's homemade crab stuffing.

We started with warm rolls.





See the view overlooking the river?


My dish came with two sides - I went with macaroni & cheese (of course) and scalloped potatoes.



Sara went for a seafood pasta. Have you been?

I stumbled upon Legal on the Mystic. This location is one offset from the larger "Legal Sea Foods," which is a fish company in the restaurant business, according to its website.

Legal Sea Foods was born in 1950 when George Berkowitz opened a fish market in the Inman Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He opened it adjacent to his father Harry’s grocery store Legal Cash Market where customers were given “Legal Stamps” (forerunners of S&H green stamps) with their purchases. It’s here that the “Legal” name became synonymous with quality and freshness. 

In 1968, the Berkowitz family opened its first seafood restaurant, right next to the fish market. The fish was simply prepared, either broiled or fried, and served on paper plates at communal picnic tables. Despite the low-key trappings, the food was second to none and word quickly spread. This early success led to further expansion and now, six decades later with restaurants along the Eastern Seaboard, the family philosophy endures: Legal Sea Foods is a fish company in the restaurant business. 

George's son, Roger, has been at the helm since 1992 and has expanded the business into new markets while maintaining the company's focus on its proud tradition and core values. So when we say, "If it isn't fresh, it isn't Legal!," we renew a commitment that has sustained us for over a half-century. 

It’s not a fish tale, but a tale of fish 60 years in the making…of a family-owned seafood market that spawned a restaurant company. View our restaurants’ placemat that details our history.

There are a number of other Legal Sea Foods restaurants in the Boston area and beyond. Legal Sea Foods is definitely a ~thing~ in the area, so I was happy to finally try a little taste of this classic restaurant.

With a nod to the industrial past of the location, Legal on the Mystic was built to have a broad appeal and meld traditional with contemporary. The menu was assembled to provide a casual, social dining experience. The emphasis is on plates to share, salads, pizzas, sandwiches and tacos, but there are also options for those who prefer more classic Legal entrees.

Legal on the Mystic takes its design direction from the early industrial development that occurred at Assembly Square. By using materials such as steel pipes, metal mesh, steel, concrete and brick, the space takes on an industrial feel reminiscent of the history. The expo kitchen serves as a backdrop to the restaurant, while the bar is the focus. Large garage doors allow for open air dining and entry to a riverside patio that’s topped by a 20’ tulip umbrella.

I pulled up a seat at the bar and saw another guy drinking a Bloody Mary. That sounded perfect for a random weekday drink. A Bloody Mary has a bunch of random ingredients - but mainly tomato juice and vodka - but can contain Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, piri piri sauce, beef consommé or bouillon, horseradish, celery, olives, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and/or celery salt (Wikipedia).

• Bon Appétit magazine touts a meal at Legal Sea Foods as among America's "Top Ten Tried-and-True" dining experiences. 
• Legal is also included in Patricia Schultz's popular guidebook, "1,000 Places to See Before You Die."
• Best Seafood Restaurant, USA Today, 2013
• Boston's Most Popular Restaurant, Zagat, every year since 2003
• Most Admired Restaurant, Boston Business Journal, 2013 and 2012
• Best Classy Restaurant for Kids in Philly, Philadelphia Magazine, 2013
• Best New Restaurants, Legal Harborside, Esquire magazine, 2011
• Listed in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List, Patricia Schultz
• Legal Sea Foods clam chowder served at every presidential inauguration since 1981 (Wikipedia)

I can tell you that this one contained celery and definitely some horseradish. It was quite spicy, but I was very into it. Especially because I ordered some snacks to go with it.

Oysters seem to be another ~thing~ here. I ordered a "Big Rock," "Merry" and "Wianno" oyster. One of each. I have no clue which is which, but I can tell you there was one that was far cleaner and sweeter than the others. I can see why people who may have only had one kind of oyster thing they may not like them because they can vary so greatly.

So, I can tell you a Bloody Mary goes very well with a few oysters. That little heat and tomato flavor is a nice fit. Both the cocktail and the food were quite food. I know this place sometimes get a reputation for being overrated, but you can't go wrong with a good Bloody Mary and a handful of oysters.

Well, I really enjoyed this restaurant. I loved the vibe; it was calm inside, but nice to see the hustle and bustle outside as I people watched. The bartender talked me up - which I didn't hate. Overall, nice place to spend some time.


Grade: B

First, the business was Coach's Bar & Grille, a sports bar at the edge of town. Then, it decided to go another route and replaced the "Bar & Grille" with a seafood theme - Coach's Crab Shack. That business seemed to do well, so they expanded over to Cheat Lake. That only makes sense for a seafood restaurant, right? With that move, they dropped the "Coach's" name -- doesn't really fit anymore, right? -- and became Crab Shack Caribba (on the lake). SO, that restaurant seems to be doing well, so they moved the original location from the edge of town over to a very prominent location - in Suncrest Towne Centre. And, it changed its name to Crab Shack Caribba, as well. So, two locations: Suncrest and Cheat Lake.



Got that?

We opened our doors back in June 2013 on Collins Ferry Rd in Star City as Coach’s Crab Shack; named after the former Coach’s Sports Bar in the same location. In May 2016, we went through a little re-branding with our logo and name.

The Suncrest location is brand new, so I went to check it out with Brittany. Situated right on the corner, it's easy to find (unlike the Collins Ferry location) with plenty of parking! It doesn't have the beautiful space overlooking the lake, but it is like a mile from my place ... so, same thing.

Walking in, the large tiki bar is the focal point. Booths surround that central bar, with paper table covers, Corona salt & pepper shakes, and a mason jar full of utensils. They're definitely going for that Caribbean theme with the extra decorations and other bits and pieces.

The menu has lots of goodies that I'd like to sample - appetizers like "The Crabby Crab Dip" and coconut shrimp. Plenty of fish dishes, pastas, steak and chicken, too, as well as the raw bar. Their "Signature Steamers" are essentially a plate full of seafood with melted butter, corn on the cob, red potatoes and hush puppies. You can get lobster, shrimp, crab, mussels, clams, crawfish or you can mix-and-match via the a la carte menu.

Crab Shack Caribba serves everything we offered on the Coach’s menu; however, the new menu now also offers dishes with Caribbean influences. Jerk chicken and shrimp, fried plantains, and a Spanish Caribbean Paella dish, just to name a few.

So, I went with the "Shack Classic," which had 1/2 lb. Snow Crab, 1/3 lb. shrimp, 1/2 lb. clams and kielbasa, in addition to all those sides. You can also choose your "flavor" - Hot Mess Garlicky 'N Juicy (garlic butter, old bay, cajun spice), Spicy Cajun, Old Bay, Garlic & Herb Lemon Butter or Good Ole Steam. I went with the hot mess, because of course.

Brittany got a house salad to start, and it may have been the tiniest salad I've ever seen. At least it was fresh.

So, it's definitely a weird experience to get your entree served in a plastic bag, but hell if it's not tasty. And, in full disclosure, I may have dove into this mass of food before taking a picture. And at that point, my hands and mouth were covered in garlicky goodness that I didn't want to stop to take a photo. But, don't worry, I did.

Our seafood comes from all around the country, gets flown into Pittsburgh and then trucked into Morgantown three days a week.

So, I cracked the legs to get giant pieces of meat (though I wish I had a better digger utensil), devoured those kielbasa and potatoes, peeled shrimp and reveled in the slightly spicy and garlicky juice. So tasty. Plan to get a little messy and take advantage of that bib they give you. But, if you need your seafood fix, this is the place in Morgantown.

We put in a lot of effort to bring the freshest, highest quality seafood products at the best value possible for our patrons. Blue Crabs from Maryland, Crawfish from Louisiana, Snow Crab from Alaska, Oysters from James River, Virginia, Lobsters from Maine, Salmon from Norway, Peruvian Scallops….

With a meal this good, how could I not get dessert? I went for the "Ice Cream Sunday," which has deep-fried brownie bites with vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate topping, whipped cream and a cherry. I think they must freeze the ice cream in the glass because it was SO difficult to get out. BUT, it was tasty. The brownie bits weren't my favorite part, but ice cream. Always ice cream.

They were just opening, so service is something that needs a tiny bit of work. The portion of that salad was comical, but the space is lovely, the food is tasty and I'm pleased to see this restaurant doing well and filling a void in town. You're not living til you try the hot garlicky mess.

Grade: A
 

Personally, I think Huntington is one of the greatest food cities in the state - what, with Backyard Pizza, Black Sheep Burritos & Brews and a bevy of drive-in restaurants, how could you not think so?

Jewel City Seafood is one restaurant that consistently ranks fairly high amongst restaurant reviews in Huntington, and I finally had the chance to go while passing through on a trip south. I pulled up to the restaurant for an early lunch and walked inside. A few moments later, I was greeted and seated at a table.

The tables are a bit odd - these tablecloths are way oversized and they're like a heavy vinyl. A bit gross and grimy on bare legs. That point was furthered when my water glass came out looking a little less than clean. Anyone who knows me knows this is a sticking point with me. I'll try just about any weird, off-the-wall food - as long as it's clean. I don't want germs.

So, I ordered the 1/2 Whitefish Poboy with hushpuppies. I love a good fried fish sandwich. I have very fond memories of getting a large battered cod sandwich with my dad at Shop 'N Save (of all places) or the fire station on Fridays when I was young. Just give me a large piece of fried fish and all the tartar sauce (not relishy) on a soft bun, and I'm happy.

This was almost there. The fish was lightly fried, so the bits of batter kept flaking off, along with the too-toasted bread, every time I picked it up. The fish itself was fine, but thin and not huge chunks of white flaky fish like I like. The hushpuppies were fine - but no dipping sauce. Honey butter please?

I recognize this will not live up to the nostalgia placed in my brain, and I also realize there are a thousand other options on this menu that I need to pursue. For now, this was OK. I just wanted it to be so much. I think you may get better at a fish fry during Lent.

Grade: B