West Virginia has its first Brazilian steakhouse, and carnivores everywhere are rejoicing.

Rio de Grill Brazilian Steakhouse, located in Kanawha City, will bring you as much meat as you want. Literally.

If you're unfamiliar with a Brazilian steakhouse, the concept is pretty easy. You have some signal on your table - here, it was a little wooden fixture that was green on one end and red on the other. In the kitchen, they have a ton of spits/skewers with all kinds of meat. If your little fixture is turned to "go," they will stop by to cut you off a piece of whatever meat they're bringing. They will keep coming by every time they have a new offering until you switch your signal to "stop."

So, if you like to eat - this might be a little taste of heaven for you. Either way, it's definitely a more fun, interactive dinner.

The restaurant is pretty dimly lit, with the salad bar as the giant focal point with some colorful lights adorning it.

First, they have a salad bar with veggies; appetizers like bruschetta and pasta salad; and some hot food items like breaded shrimp.

After getting some items off that buffet, my friend Jacque and I started the meat marathon. We turned our little fixture to "go" and soon were bombarded with pork spare ribs, pork loin, Italian sausage, lamb, chicken, tilapia, and even pineapple and garlic bread.

Not only is it fun, but it was pretty tasty! I especially liked the garlic bread - oddly enough. But the sausage and pork loin was great, too.

Have you been? What's your favorite?

Boyd's Steakhouse is classic Martinsburg restaurant. The old-school steakhouse has a very prohibition-style vibe. And, according to the restaurant's website, it's even the home of one of Al Capone's bars from his estate. How cool.

We were here for lunch, and while I'm sure they do more upscale business for dinner, it still had a moody, speakeasy style to it. Antique furniture that you can only imagine gangsters once sat in. We walked past the long bar and were seated at a booth made of wooden panels and overhead Tiffany lamps that cast a red light.

I was relieved to hear that we could, indeed, order steak at lunch. Because how could I come to a steakhouse and not partake in the traditional steak? I couldn't.

I ordered Momma Boyd's 8 oz. filet mignon (medium), which came with a choice of two sides; I got the macaroni and cheese (duh) and buttermilk mashed potatoes. This steak was very good. While it may have been cooked a touch too long, it was incredibly juicy, flavorful, and tender.

The mac and cheese was extra cheesy, and the mashed potatoes could have been a touch creamier. But overall, this was a top-notch meal. A cool atmosphere and one of the best steaks you'll find in West Virginia.

Grade: A

I'm not sure if I'll ever have the chance to visit Oklahoma again, so after my presentation, I drove 2.5 hours north to Oklahoma City to reward myself with a nice ribeye.

The city the conference was in - Sulphur, OK - is halfway between Dallas and Oklahoma City. So, I wanted to hit up both cities while in the area. And, how could I return home without having had a nice cut of beef?

Cattlemen's Steakhouse is well-known for having the best steak in the city (according to my research). So, I filled up the tank and headed north. Fortunately, the steakhouse is in the middle of Oklahoma City's Stockyards City, so parking was simple.

Cattlemen's Steakhouse is located smack in the middle of Stockyard City, a "must see" when visiting Oklahoma City. The store owners and community leaders have all worked very hard in keeping Stockyard City from becoming "touristy." It's a place where the cattle and horse people can get what they need, have a good meal and enjoy each other's company. And, by golly, if a few greenhorns manage to wrangle their way into the boot shop, that's okay, too. They won't find any "My parents went to Stockyard City and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" shirts or Elvis salt and pepper shakers. But they may leave knowing what a real steak tastes like, and that real boots don't come from Bloomingdale's.

I got a table for one - a small booth - and looked over the menu for the ribeye. The ribeye, they say, is the perfect center cut from the eye of the rib.

T-Bone Steak	This hearty portion is sort of “two Steaks in one.” It combines the full flavor of the Strip Sirloin, the impeccable tenderness of the Filet and joined together by the famous “T.” This is the steak President Bush preferred when dining in Oklahoma City.
Cattlemen’s Strip Sirloin	Thick, center cut strip sirloin
Top Club	Cut extra thick for extra goodness from Aged Beef
Filet Mignon	A choice cut of beef tenderloin with all the sealed in savory juices, bacon wrapped and broiled to your taste
Rib Eye Steak	Perfect center cut from the eye of the rib
Small Filet	Cut special for our patrons with very small appetites, wrapped in thick sliced bacon
Dinner Steak	Small top-sirloin steak
Chopped Sirloin	Freshly ground sirloin beef broiled over glowing embers
Pepper Steak	A small sirloin topped with peppercorn sauce
Ham Steak	Served with red-eye gravy, full slice, bone-in
Cattlemen’s Chicken Fried Steak

Get ready, y'all. It's steakhouse time. I put on my nicest pair of black pants for this outing to Charles Town to dine at the Final Cut Steakhouse. This steakhouse, located at Hollywood Casino, is not totally unfamiliar to me. Their folks once shipped me some of their sauces in order for me to try them out and to get the word out (why do some of my old blog posts show photos rotated? ugh).

I reached out to my friend Brandon, who lives in DC. Charles Town is just about 1.5 hours from him, so he graciously accepted my offer to meet up for dinner.


After parking (East Gate!) in the parking garage - which is free - we headed to the main floor in search of steak. What I didn't think about is how smoky the entire casino would be on the way to the actual restaurant. Blechhhh.

The steakhouse itself is lovely inside. It's dark, suave ... as classy as a casino steakhouse can be, I suppose.


For starters, we had a basket of bread that was fairly unremarkable. We chatted for a bit while making our final menu selections.

Then, in a sort of perfectly timed dance that carried throughout the night, our entrees came out. I ordered an 8 oz. filet mignon with a side of steak sauce ($3). It comes a la carte, so we also ordered a side of truffle mac & cheese.

The steak is charred on the outside, and it was definitely overdone. The outside was well-done, and once I got to the middle, I was able to see just a tiny bit of pink. It was quite tender, and the flavor was decent, as well.

The side of mac & cheese was impressive. The noodles were these short tubes that were covered in a creamy cheese sauce, breadcrumbs and truffles. All in this adorable steel pot. This dish has a very earthy taste - which I love! But it is different.

And, as a small sweet bite, we were served some dark chocolates. Not a fan. So, overall thoughts. Well, I liked my steak - even if it was overdone (at a steakhouse?!), and I liked the macaroni and cheese. Did I like it $62ish worth? Meh. I've had better steaks - that come with sides. So, the restaurant seemed a little extra money hungry considering all sides and sauces were extra. A lovely time with a good friend? Yes. A delicious meal? A good one, at least.


Grade: B

A 40-year old Fairmont dining institution suffered a devastating blow one year ago when its kitchen went up in flames, causing smoke and water damage to the rest of the restaurant. But the Aquarium Lounge took the past year to renovate and recently reopened, which I took as an invitation to make reservations for my first dinner - along with friends Geah and Kayla.



We had reservations for Friday night, and we ended up being delayed a bit due to traffic. Luckily, they were accommodating. We parked along the street and opened the front door. Surprisingly, it plops you out right in the middle of the dining room. There's not much of a waiting space, and there wasn't a hostess stand either. Geah and I sort of frantically looked around to find out which door we were supposed to enter, because we were sure it wasn't the one we just went through.



Spoiler alert: It was. It's just an odd entrance.



For starters, we ordered crab cakes. These were so tasty - a combination of being starving and all of the butter in these. Super rich, buttery, delicious.



Next - a spinach salad before my entree. Their spinach salad receives high praise from Aquarium-lovers, and it is good. It is a bed of spinach with eggs, bacon and sweet & sour dressing. A pretty good spinach salad - though I do think a few more veggies wouldn't hurt.



Oh my gosh, the bread. Ohhh myyy gosshhh the bread. I'm not too much for the cinnamon, but try that herbed garlic butter. Slather on a warm piece of bread. That alone could've made my dinner.



But, wait, there's more.



I ordered the scallops with a side of burgundy mushrooms. Butter, butter, butter, garlic. The scallops were few (only four), but they were super rich, buttery, and tasty. A little sear would've been nice. The mushrooms were tasty in a light wine sauce.


And I also wanted to try the hot peppers as a side because so many people raved. I don't quite get it - it's literally hot banana peppers. So meh.

But, overall, a really delicious meal. Very rich and heavy - but all so, so good.

Grade: A

The Chop House is arguably one of the nicest restaurants in Charleston - with competition from maybe Laury's. The restaurant had always been on my radar - and recently rose to the top with them being named to this list, but I needed an occasion to celebrate. This isn't your typical Tuesday evening dinner spot.



My recent visit to Charleston for the awards ceremony seemed like the perfect time. I recruited two of my closest friends, Tony and Maggie, to dress up and pretend to be fancy for the night.

The Chop House is located in the Charleston mall, which is a bit odd for a fancy steakhouse. It looked pretty similar to what you would expect from a steakhouse, but maybe with some corners cut. Our table was made of this cheap white tattered foam top, just covered up with a tablecloth. Regardless, the presentation was still very nice.

Our menus were via ipad, which I'm not totally a fan of. It's easier to have everything laid out right in front of you instead of having to flip between screens and only being able to see that one screen at a time. BUT, I know it's trendy and probably impressive.

Also, can anyone, um, explain their logo to me? I ... don't get it.

The waitress brought our first taste. The bread basket had a few different pieces of bread. Nothing especially of note, but nothing terrible, either.



For my main entree, I actually went with their special, which was a filet mignon, served with a whipped goat cheese, mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli. My filet was cooked to a nice medium, and the potatoes were pretty flavorful with garlic and cream. But, the steak wasn't super flavorful to me. And with the goat cheese, it pretty much dominated the flavor. It was tender, yes, but I do wish I had more flavor from the meat itself instead of just the goat cheese.

Granted, I wouldn't be as picky if I didn't just pay $50 for a steak. Alas. It's a nice place, and the food is good. But great? Jury is still out on that one.

Grade: B