In doing my pepperoni roll research, I learned about Barney's Bakery.



This bakery is in my neck of the woods, but I wasn't entirely familiar with it until I begun the research process.

They don't have a storefront, but they do distribute in grocery stores around the Northern Panhandle.

They have pepperoni rolls: pepperoni, pepperoni & cheese, pepperoni & hot cheese, and minis.

There's also fudge - so much fudge! Cookies & cream, maple nut, chocolate, peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter.







And nut rolls - Hungarian nut, apricot and poppyseed.




Just wow! What's your favorite item?

There's a new-ish sports bar in the Northern Panhandle that has been making a name for itself in the craft beer arena - offering great local options. Basil's Sports Bar & Grill has a very cool digital monitor behind the bar listing what's on tap, and much of it is from local breweries around the state. How cool is that?

The space itself is not very large - but it is open. I had to wait at the bar for a few minutes before a table cleared up. But, the fact that they are busy is a good sign. They have a sports bar theme, with TVs on each wall and sports memorabilia decorating the space. It's family-friendly, though, and there were a few families there.

The menu features burgers, hot dogs, wings and more. I figured a pretty standard burger would be a good measurement for the restaurant. I ordered the "Basil Burger," which has two half-pound handmade patties with the owner's seasoning and served on a kaiser roll with applewood smoked bacon and melted bleu cheese.

The burger was so finely ground, I thought I was eating a meatloaf. This is a good thing - I love meatloaf. :) But, it was very flavorful, very well-seasoned and delicious. The shredded iceberg lettuce did it no favors, though, and I ended up pushing most of it off. The bun was also a bit too soft to hold up the ground beef. But, that patty was delish. Overall, a really solid burger.

Have you been? What's the best? I keep eyeing those wings!

Grade: B

Theo Yianni's is a new-ish Greek restaurant in Weirton that has been receiving rave reviews since its opening. It broke ground about six years ago and has been a real force in revitalizing the community.

And while you might be scratching your head thinking - "Greek? In Weirton?" It isn't all that surprising to me. There's the Greek festival in Weirton, hosted at the Greek Orthodox church. I know of a few Greek families, and there's a delicious Greek restaurant right across the river in Ohio. So, there's a framework in which to operate here.

This restaurant is located on Pennsylvania Avenue in a building that I hadn't been to before. There's a bit of parking nearby, so no worries there. The restaurant itself is broken into a few different dining spaces; it looks as though they may have expanded into spaces in the adjoining areas. The interior is simple, but cozy at the same time.

So, we picked a seat, and a friendly waitress approached us with menus. Grape leaves, spanakopita, tiropita (Greek cheese pie) and a Grecian roll (cucumber, tomato, feta, tzatziki and balsamic rolled into pita bread) all file under the appetizer section. Greek salads and avgolemono soup (chicken, lemon and rice) are available for lighter fare. Sandwiches include a gyro, pork souvlaki, burgers, grilled chicken, panini, fish, chili dog, and a few Pittsburgh-esque sandwiches. Also, they have a few platters if you're going for the low-carb option.

Well, my guess is they need a little bit of everything to appease everyone, so you can get some authentic dishes here and then burgers for the meat-and-potatoes guy. But, if you're wanting a true taste of Greek food in Weirton, get the gyro, which is a blend of lamb and beef, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki on pita bread. I also upgraded my fries to the "Greek fries," which are fresh-cut fries with fresh feta and oregano.

Wow, this is GOOD. Tender meat cooked on a spit, topped with these spears of tomato, and all drenched in tzatziki sauce - a really good one at that. Everything was fresh, perfectly proportioned and tasty. The salty meat, the slight sweetness of the onion, the creamy sauce, the sturdy pita to pull it all together. And the fries - just look at that mountain of fresh feta. Perfectly crisp with all the light cheese. Delish.



And, then there is dessert. We walked by the dessert case to get to our table - baklava, baklava cheesecake (what?!), and one I had never heard of: bougatsa. It's custard baked in phyllo dough topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar. And, it's just as tasty as you'd think - light and delicate but sweet. Very good.

You owe it to yourself to check out Theo Yianni's next time you're in the Northern Panhandle. Let me know how it goes :)



Check out the video from Eating West Virginia to get some history of the place.




Grade: A

Oh, DiCarlo's, dear friend, we meet again.

I've been to each DiCarlo's location in West Virginia - whether they are independent, franchised or family-run. This Weirton one slipped through the cracks because it is called "Mario DiCarlo's."

Mario DiCarlo's Pizza serves delicious, top-quality pizza to the Weirton, WV area. As a family-owned and -operated restaurant established by Mario DiCarlo in 1952, we strive to give you a pizza experience you will never forget.

Located on Three Springs Drive, Mario DiCarlo's tends to operate in the same fashion as the other DiCarlo's locations: minimal options, straightforward prices. Their menu consists of white pizza, drinks, and toppings that you can put on your square pizza. And, you can easily find out how much each slice costs based on how many toppings you want right on the chart to the right of the menu. They do seem to sell fresh bread, though, which is new.

So, I ordered just two pieces, and a few minutes later, I approached the counter, handed over my $2 and received my folded-over box rubberbanded with edible gold inside.

And if you're not familiar with my other DiCarlo's posts, let me bring you up to speed. DiCarlo's is an old-school pizza joint found up and down the Ohio Valley. I looked forward to the once a month or every other month when we had the money to splurge on this treat growing up. The surly, business-forward attitude is comforting to me - pizza is serious business, y'all.

Mario DiCarlo's fits the bill. The pizza has some minute differences from some of the other locations that maybe only a DiCarlo's connoisseur (ahem, me) would notice. It's a nice crisp crust that requires a bite with a slightly tangy sweet sauce that is baked hot ... and then fresh, thin shreds of mozzarella-provolone are placed atop so that it delicately melts overtop. Overall, it is a very solid square of pizza - one of the best in the city, easily.



I think the sauce is a little more mild, and the cheese is a bit more stringy than the other locations. But, just as good? Absolutely. This pizza is the stuff that dreams - my dreams - are made of, and I put it up against any other kind of pizza. Unless, of course, it's the Wellsburg DiCarlo's.

Grade: A

This bakery, located in downtown Weirton, has been a staple in the town for a long time:

Around 1912, Gus Monezis, and his brother, George, immigrated from Greece to America. Gus came to Weirton, WV, and began working at Weirton Steel Company. George moved to McKeesport, PA, and became employed as a baker and cake decorator at the William Penn Hotel. He later opened his own bakery, the Minerva Pastry Shop.

Gus had three sons and one daughter in Greece. After he got settled, he brought the entire family to Weirton. Two of the sons, Nick and George, were taught the bakery business by great uncle George.

Uncle George started Royal Pastry on Main Street in south Weirton. In the 1935, Nick took over the business and young George went into the Army. In 1960, Nick's son, Gus (named for his grandfather), and his daughter, Helen, and her husband, Nick, took over the operations. Helen and her husband eventually moved to Illinois in 1969, and Gus became the sole proprietor of the bakery. Gus then introduced his own wife, Aggie, and daughters to the business.

Gus's Goodies may have seen a few name changes throughout the years, but it's still the same family business that started so many years ago; and it's still located on Main Street in south Weirton.

What happened to the other Monezis bakers? Great uncle George had a son, George Jr., and he had a son, Mark. They, along with George's wife, Irene, and daughter, Cathy, still operate the bakery in McKeesport, PA.

"My cousin, George Jr., has been my mentor over the years," says Gus, "and I owe a lot to him for all he has taught me."

The bakery sells decorated cakes, foam cakes and wedding cakes, as well as donuts, cookies and pies.

On this day, there were tons of goodies in the case. I wavered between sugar cookies topped with pumpkin icing and these delicious looking cupcakes.


The cakes they had for display were just on a different level, though I, unfortunately, couldn't justify buying a whole cake. Though I did try to talk myself into it.

Instead, I ended up getting a pumpkin sugar cookie and a homemade buckeye. I also ended up with Kaitlynn's white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie (which happens to be my favorite) because she forgot it in my car. Muahahah.

So, wow.

The pumpkin cookie was good! Sugar cookie with sprinkles, so this can't be bad, right?

The buckeye was made with a sort of chunkier peanut butter - which I actually liked. Milk chocolate + peanut butter is an unbeatable combo.

And, finally, that cookie! I mean, of course it's good too! Chewy, sweet, a nice golden brown. Just delish.

And, I think it's probably tough to grade this place poorly, because it's all desserts. And, I clearly can't say no to desserts. But, I like its history in the community and the memories I have with this place. I think the products they create are also very good. They're beautiful, tasty and locally owned. It doesn't get much better than that.

Grade: A

How about this combination: Books + candy and ice cream. Does it get much better than that?

When Kaitlynn and I stumbled upon this book store in Weirton, imagine our surprise when we learned there was also ice cream. I mean, if you're trying to plan my perfect home-away-from-home, make it have books, coffee and ice cream, and I'm pretty much set.

When walking into Weirton Book Company, you see giant jars of all kinds of candies, gummies and other goodies. A long freezer full of ice cream occupies the right side of the space, and then down a level, there are rows and rows of books.

There were two books in particular I had a hard time walking away from (saving them for another time), but of course, I wasn't going to pass up the ice cream.

They use ice cream from Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream and have a ton of different flavors. Fat Elvis, S'mores, Caramel Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pecan Pie, Salty Caramel Truffle. Obviously I had a tough time deciding, but I ultimately went with "This Sh!t Just Got Serious" and "Salty Caramel Truffle." The first, not only do I lie the name, but it has "smooth salted caramel ice cream brimming with rich sea salt fudge and salted cashews."

Two heaping piles of ice cream later, I was swimming in a salted caramel heaven. Ribbons of caramel, chewy truffles, everything that a caramel-lover ... loves.

So, I could spend some serious time here. I didn't come as much as I wished when I lived in the Northern Panhandle, but what a great place.

And, if you want to pick up just some red gummi bears? They got you covered. What about that obscure book about West Virginia monsters? Yep. And profanity-laced ice cream? You betcha.

Have you been? What are your favorite gets? Next time, I want to try one of those ice cream concoctions made with the yummy flavors!


Grade: A