When I visited home this summer, my parents and I went to check out Chiefs Smokin BBQ.



This downtown BBQ team operate out of a tent with the smoker nearby -- and a line at least a handful of people deep.



They serve brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken and sides like mac & cheese.



They even have their own merch for sale.



So, my dad ordered enough to feed a small army and we brought it back to the house to dig in. 



I'm not quite sure if I've ever actually had a brisket sandwich - usually I've had brisket on its own. But this was tender, melt-in-your mouth brisket. I love having a bit of bark, but I didn't see any here. Overall, though, not bad!



The macaroni & cheese was homemade, but lacked a bit of flavor. It needed something to punch it up. But, still a nice addition to town for something different. 

Grade: B

It's not every day I get to write about a new restaurant in Wellsburg, so I was excited to hear about Dovetail Fire & Ale opening.

We are a family owned and operated restaurant nestled in the middle of downtown Wellsburg, West Virginia. We serve fresh and wholesome American food with some Southwestern influence. We cook all three meals of the day so you don't have to. Visit us in the morning for piping hot coffee, fresh home-cooked breakfast classics with a Dunson family touch and our delicious selection of baked goods and gourmet cupcakes. Visit us in the afternoon for our selection of mouth watering tacos, crispy chicken, and juicy burgers with an on tap, ice cold, frosty root beer. Or, Join us in the evening where our lunch and dinner menus combine to provide you with several different choices. Need a pick me up? Come take a seat at our bar where you can sit back, have an ice cold brew and relax.We built our business from the ground up to be unique. Dovetail Fire & Ale is all about coming together, eating good food, and making memories. So take some time out of your busy schedule and come visit us at the Dovetail Fire & Ale. We have a seat waiting for you.

I brought both my coworkers and parents together for breakfast here.

I ordered the strawberry waffle special with a side of a hash brown.

Have you been here?

The Applefest holds a place near my heart. It is THE event in Wellsburg, and it was always an exciting time in town growing up. There aren't many gatherings, so it was exciting to see all your friends and play games and ride rides and eat everything apple in sight.

The Grimes Golden Apple was founded in Wellsburg, and it's one kind that could've led to the discovery of the Golden Delicious. We even have a little park to celebrate it. True fact: This was actually the first time I went to the park, though.

While at the Applefest this year, I pigged out on an entire bag of cotton candy, a caramel apple with nuts and a sandwich from Granato's in Weirton. I hadn't heard of them, but it seems as though they're a deli. The sandwich was pretty good - but tiny. One single meatball. Oh well. Mom was nice enough to take care of all of it.

My mom got a walking taco. She is a huge fan of Mexican - and my dad and I always go the more Asian route - so she doesn't always have the opportunity. Dad had a philly cheesesteak sandwich, which was topped with peppers and cheese. It all looked good. There are a few local vendors and some others not so local. We try to support the local folks at these types of things.

 

When I first heard of "Spicy Gringo's," I thought to myself ... isn't that a derogatory term? I thought "gringo" was something Spanish-speaking folks called non-Spanish-speaking folks in a disparaging way. But what do I know.

This new-ish place is located in downtown Wellsburg in the location of a previous restaurant. It's the only Mexican place in Wellsburg - as far as I know - so my mother has to be happy. (My dad and I love Asian food, but my mom tends to go toward Mexican. Two against one. We won a lot.)


Walking in, we were immediately greeted. The gentleman waiting on us was lovely. After some conversation, I went ahead and ordered the chicken quesadilla. We started with some chips and salsa. The chips were pretty thick - I dig that.


My quesadilla was fairly average. Kinda boring, really, but I like chicken and I love cheese, so how bad can it be? I did ask for some sauces (do this!), and they brought out a trio ranging from not too spicy to very spicy. I actually really enjoyed the green one. It really added a punch of flavor to my quesadilla.

After the quesadilla, we ordered dessert. They have "chimmies," which are fried candy bars. Good god. I had a Snickers one. It was so good - melty chocolate and caramel, but then I found a toothpick. I'm assuming they use those to fry them. But it was OK. It didn't affect me too much, and it was still good.

Our waiter took away our plates and actually saw the toothpick, apologized profusely, and took that off my check. Wow. I don't think service gets much better than that.

Not super mind-blowing Mexican food, but basic, simple and with some good sauces. And awesome people. Oh, and for SUPER cheap.



Grade: B

So, when you want a late-ish dinner in Wellsburg, you really don't have too many options. A friend and I narrowed it down to, well, one: Station Grille.

I don't think Station Grille was around when I was growing up. If it was, it just wasn't on my radar. I was visiting recently and decided to check it out.

The Station Grille is right downtown in Wellsburg, and parking really isn't an issue in town. The dining portion was closing, so we went upstairs to the more bar area.


It was a weekend night, so I expected it to be full, but there were a handful of people upstairs plus the bartender.

We ordered a few beers and got something off the menu before the kitchen closed. I went for the pulled pork sandwich.


It had an impressive presence, stacked high with two crispy onion rings drizzled in BBQ sauce. The flavor was solid, with a slight tang, but the meat could've been of better quality. I had a few grissley/tough pieces, which can kind of ruin the experience. So, it was alright overall.


Surprisingly, for me at least, the chips were damn good. They were garlicy and just slightly thicker than typical ones, so you got more of a bite.

There are better options in Wellsburg, I think. But this one isn't bad.

Grade: B

Growing up, "The Pier" was the nice restaurant in town. It's right next to my middle school, so sometimes if we had half days, we would walk over to the Pier and have some lunch. It was some of the first times I remember buying something on my own. Before then, the only time I could purchase anything would be by way of my parents or a friend's parents. But being able to walk to a restaurant and purchase a meal with my own money was empowering in some way. It made me feel like a grown up.

I was recently in town and decided to pay this restaurant a visit. Located on 12th Street, right along the Ohio River, you probably wouldn't know it was there if it wasn't known in the area. There's a large gravel parking lot. When you walk through the front doors, you are immediately met with a dark, stale smokey bar area, through which you pass to get to the dining room. If you're not familiar, this is probably unconventional.

The dining area is one large room with a couple dozen tables with white tablecloths and tacky black chairs. We chose a seat by the river so we could have a view while we ate. The restaurant shows signs of wear, as it's been around for quite a while. They do have an outside deck to eat on when it's nicer out.

I think they go for a sort-of seafood theme, but paired with the murky Ohio River does not leave the best visual. But the menu does have a mix of comfort foods, sandwiches, pastas and more. I decided to go with the fish sandwich. One note here, be careful if the server asks whether you want fries or onion rings. That's an upcharge. The default is chips. Also, the water here is awful. AWFUL.

My parents both got the cream turkey special. After a little bit of a wait, our dishes came out. I was surprised to see my fish sandwich came with fries. I asked about it; the waitress said they messed up and I got fries for free.

My sandwich was quite tasty. Some beer-battered cod, tangy tartar on a fresh bun is one of my favorites. And they are HUGE portions. However, as I went to dive into my second part of my sandwich,  I found a hair. I can't say for sure who's it was, but if you know me, you know that's a sure-fire way to make me end a meal. I don't have a very strong stomach when dealing with food. I'll try anything, as long as I know it's clean, that is. I ended up throwing the rest away. I wish I hadn't found that, because I really did enjoy the sandwich.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for my parents' meal. They had hardly any chicken, and their meals were cold. Mine was fried, so they probably scooped theirs and waited on mine. Whoops. My parents won't be back - spending that much money on average food, or even worse than average for them, isn't worth it.

It'll always have certain memories for me, though, and I hope the food and business picks up because I don't want to see this place go under.

Grade: B

I've said it a few times, and I'm sure this blog post is way overdue, but DiCarlo's is the best pizza there is. Period. It may have to do with the nostalgia aspect for me - DiCarlo's was a rare, albeit delicious, treat in the Nelson household. Feeding our family and whatever friends I had over that particular day could cost you upwards of $50, which wasn't easy for us to come by. We would get a tray of pizza, which is usually four boxes - (28) pieces total with extra cheese and mushrooms. Simply amazing. Though we only got it a few times a year, I couldn't wait for DiCarlo's days. Morgantown is void of my beloved DiCarlo's, so every time I visit my hometown of Wellsburg, it's a must-visit place for me.


DiCarlo's is located in northern West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. There is a local rivalry about which DiCarlo's has the best pizza because they are all slightly, slightly different, but in my opinion, nothing can come close to Wellsburg's. Located right on Commerce Street, DiCarlo's is the classic, old-school pizza place. They're only open in the evenings (they only have to be), and they only take cash. You can call ahead to order, but it won't make a difference - they probably won't start making it until you arrive anyway.

On Saturday, Kristen and I stopped into DiCarlo's as soon as they opened, 5 p.m. The parking lot is tiny, and if you're a regular, you know you are supposed to park at an angle so more cars can fit it. But usually you'll have to find a spot along the street or an adjacent parking lot. On this day, there was one woman walking out as we walked in. I have never been to this place when it was empty before - must go as soon as they open again!


When you walk in, you aren't greeted, you aren't waved to - you just get a look of "yes?" And that adds to its charm. The man behind the counter simply greeted me with a surly stare. This wasn't my first rodeo, though. I looked at the chart on the wall, which is the only indicator of their prices. I figured out how many slices I could get for my $10. Which happened to be around 12 slices. So, I asked for 10 regular slices. He wrote it down, without a word, and looked at Kristen. Kristen then ordered, and we took a seat. DiCarlo's only has two fairly small, uncomfortable benches. On a regular day, these are taken up, and many people are found standing outside. Since it was just us, we sat down and waited. The pizza was done within five minutes - the quickest ever. And, they don't know your name, nor do they care. Instead, from behind the counter, you hear "12 regular" and I knew that was my cue.

I walked up and paid. They assume you know how much since the chart is right there (the chart includes tax), so no words are exchanged. I took my two large, steaming cardboard boxes home and let the excitement overcome me. Keep in mind, I haven't had this in months. I really like the charm of the old-school Italian pizza place. I like the surly attitudes and the unfriendly men behind the counter. You're not paying for their service. Your paying for the best pizza you'll ever have. They know if you're a local or not, and their lack of speaking is a sign of respect - you know what to do when you're in here.

When I got home, I uncovered my first box of pizza and chose a middle piece and a side piece. The pizzas are square, so there are three different types: middle pieces without any crust, side pieces with just the crust on the edge and corner pieces, which have crust on two sides. Though I usually get extra cheese, I wanted my buck to go further, so I opted out of the extras. My slice of pizza was topped with their delicious tomato sauce, slightly spicy and slightly sweet. The hot crust is then topped with cold provolone cheese, which is just melted perfectly. It doesn't get greasy like most places. Then it's topped with soft pepperoni. No crispy pepperonis here, that form into little grease cups. This pizza is perfect.

The ingredients are as fresh as you can get, and you can see the time and effort the cooks take in preparing this delicious meal. The sauce contains just the right amount of spice, and the cheese is fresh and flavorful - the good stuff isn't all fried or baked out of it. The pepperoni is quality meat.

The best thing about DiCarlo's? It tastes just as good cold for breakfast the next morning. You can't go wrong. I've been to Italy, and I'd choose DiCarlo's over that pizza. It simply can't be beat.


Grade: A