Big Spring Fork is a new restaurant in the former Fiddlehead space.

Maggie and I stopped by for a bite to eat at lunchtime.

The menu features soups, salads, starters, sandwiches and a few entrees like blackened chicken, smoked trout cake, and meat loaf.

I started with a roasted beet salad, which had arugula, gorgonzola fritters, and balsamic dressing. I liked that this was different.

And I went with a meatloaf sandwich for my entree with french fries - a combo between the entree and sandwich offerings. One of my favorite dishes.

Snowshoe has some tasty restaurants, but if you wander off the mountain in search of some variety in your dining options, it's likely you'll end up at a small restaurant in Slatyfork. Slatyfork doesn't have a ton of options, but it does have The Fiddlehead, which was recently named to the 101 Most Unique Places to Dine in WV list.

I arrived at The Fiddlehead as soon as it opened (4 p.m. on Saturdays) ... and realized pretty quickly that I probably should have given them some more time to actually open. It was like I walked in and interrupted a get-together amongst the workers. There was a server's coat and purse just hanging out on one of the tables in the middle of the dining room, and pop music was crackling across a radio from the kitchen as people working had more interest in singing along with it than tending to customers. After I ordered and was receiving change back, the folks behind the counter were talking to each other during this transaction, rather than me. It was also very, very clear - via the aroma in the air - that there had been some extracurricular activities happening before my arrival. I mean, whatever. Sigh.

I ordered their fresh cut fries to go, which come with beer cheese, Fiddlehead "fry sauce" and mango habanero ketchup. A lot of other things on the menu actually look appealing - pimento bacon cheeseburger, crab & shrimp jambalaya, and a fig, rosemary and prosciutto pizza all caught my eye. But, fries are supposedly what they are known for.

As soon as the fries were ready, I left and opened them up in my car to snack along my drive. The ketchup was not unlike a regular ketchup - it just had a bit of a sweet flavor. The "fry sauce" is much like a cream "yum yum" sauce from a hibachi restaurant, and the beer cheese - as much as I wanted this one the most - had some interesting textural issues, like something had separated and I couldn't quite get it back together. It was the only sauce served warm, and I just played it safe and avoided that one. Fresh-cut crisp fries? Yes. Pretty decent sauces? Yes. Would I even want to try some of those other tasty items? Definitely. But a good environment? Meh.

Grade: C

The Elk River Inn and Restaurant is a large cedar building containing five guest rooms and a restaurant complete with bar. The restaurant, which has found its place on the 101 Most Unique Places to Dine in WV list, is not open nightly for dinner in the summer and fall. Instead, they have special dinners monthly. I was fortunate to be in the area on a day when they were hosting their "Apple Harvest Dinner."



We arrived earlier than our dinner reservation, so we sat at the bar with a glass of wine. As we were finishing up, it was perfect time to be seated.



The dining area featured fresh flowers at each table, and dried flowers were hanging overhead. Napkins were perfectly folded, and light wooden floors and beams flooded the area.

We began with a basket of warm bread and butter before moving onto an appetizer.

I opted for the housemade sausage and artisan cheese plate with crisp sliced apples and toasted walnuts; the slow roasted herb encrusted pork loin with caramelized apples and red onions, butternut squash risotto and wilted greens; and the dessert of apple pie served with salted caramel walnut vanilla ice cream.

The appetizer was quite good with some spicy house sausage, walnuts, sharp hard cheeses and some soft creamy cheeses. There was a nice jam and some toasted crostini and apples that hit on all different tastes and textures. It was well-rounded.

My entree was lovely, too. The pork was good, save for a few fatty bits. The risotto was very good, and I loved the hint of sweetness with the onions and apples.

Dessert was less of a pie and more of a crumble - but delicious nonetheless. A caramelized shard of sugar stuck in the top amidst brown sugar crumbles and a quickly melting scoop of ice cream. Very nice finish.

This was a great dinner - and at a very reasonable price for three courses. If you want to check them out, just be sure to check their calendar to find when they're hosting dinners if its in their off-season!

Grade: A