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

Buck's Corner Pub is having a chili cook-off on Veteran's Day (today!) at 1:45 p.m. I'll be a celebrity judge, so I'm excited to try some chili! And maybe get a review in on this place, too!

123 Pleasant Street is having a Bluegrass Brunch and Open Jam today at 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. I've been DYING to go to this, but all my friends keep flaking out. They only have it every once in a while, so if you want a chance to check out some of their homemade food, go check it out. It's $15, all you can eat. Kids are half price.

"The leaves have changed and all but fallen. The air is getting cooler and they say that we might even have a winter this year. Let's celebrate the season with 123's semi-irregular bluegrass brunch. One thing that is regular is the goods that we will be making. So tell one, tell all, this thing is back on.

Many of you already know the deal. Great food for you carnivores and vegans and everything else in between. Its soup season, so you can expect a few. Some good home cooking to warm your soul.

Need more? How about some pickin' and grinnin'. Come on down and sit a spell. Bring your guitar, your fiddle and banjo to. Libations will be served. How 'bout some hot cider. With a little shot of rum if you like. Good times to be had by all."

• Roasted Beet Salad w/ quinoa and chick peas
• Roasted Vegetable Salad
• Fried Roasted chicken
• Oven Potatoes
• Quiche- sausage and swiss chard, roasted tomato and pesto
• Tofu scramble
• house made biscuits
• sausage and gravy
• vegan sausage and gravy
• Tomato gravy
• Honey maple bacon
• Venerable Bean Vegan cupcakes
• Apple Stack Cake
• Orange Juice
• Fair trade coffee
• milk
• tea
• Bloody Marys
• Mimosas

Folks, I need your help. I have my running list of places I want to try, and I keep my eye on new ones that are opening, but I want to make sure my list is complete. If I haven't reviewed somewhere in the Morgantown area that isn't on this list, let me know!

• 123 (I've been dying to go to their Bluegrass Brunch)
• Backdoor (I've heard they have homemade food on Fridays?)
• Boston Beanery (at the Pines)
• Big Dogs Cafe/Hot Spot (I hope they actually have food here, and not just a casino)
• Bucks (I'll be going here this Sunday for a chili contest!)
• Bucketheads (Is this place still open?)
• Campus Canteen
• Cafe Mojo
• Cheat Lake Pizza/Pasta
• Chico's Bakery (I was hoping I could just walk into the bakery, otherwise might have to get one at Allstar/Dairy Mart)
• China Kitchen
• CJ Maggies (Fairmont) CLOSED
• Classics 3 Lounge
• Forks of Cheat
• Grandma Jean's Country Kitchen
• Hibachi (Univ. Avenue)
• Hometown Hotdogs
• Jackson's Bar & Grill (Formerly TeeBonez)
• Kassar Foods (They have a dining area, I believe)
• Lake View (Couple food places here?)
• Marris (I hope they still have food here)
• Mall - Fuji, T&L Hotdogs, Just Desserts
• Mundy's Dugout (I've tried to go here a few times, but it's been closed)
• Novichenks (I know nothing about this place)
• Pregamers (If they even have food here)
• Ratpack
• Ray's Pastries
• Rising Creek Bakery
• Slight Indulgence (On Collins Ferry - going here soon I think!)
• Shonys (Hey, it's a WV chain, at least)
• The Triangle (If they have food)
• Whippoorwill  

• Soon to come: Pies & Pints, Blues Brews & BBQ, Fondue Factory, Lebanese, Tilted Kilt, Martin's Bar-B-Q
• Late Night Munchies: Hotdog Man, Taco Truck, BBQ place?

OKAY - I know there has to be some that are missing. Any restaurants that aren't big into advertising and I haven't heard of them? Maybe bars that have food that I don't know about? Can you answer any of my questions I have typed up? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated =]

The outside of the building during day.

If you drive along University Avenue downtown, you might haven taken noticed that the Rusted Musket area has been shaken up a little. On the end, where a convenience store was most recently located, is where Rusted Musket currently resides. Where Rusted Musket took up camp, there's now a head shop. And at the end, which once housed The Original Dish and Shiftace, is the new home of Night Owls.

Considering its Sunnyside location and old building, you can image what kind of establishment Night Owls is. The good thing is that there is a large parking area right beside the restaurant that is free after 7 p.m. Driving past that unit, I saw every window frame was written in with those window chalk things, saying "Comfort Food" and "Open Late" and all sorts of things. But about a week ago, I noticed the door had a handmade sign that said "Open!"

Walking inside, the first thing I noticed was that the door doesn't close all the way. Not really the best sign. There are some small tables in the center and off to the right is a bar area. The lights are sweet looking, but everything else mostly looks handmade, and not in the labor-intensive way. Behind the bar area was a wall written on with chalk about a ton of their menu items. It's not easy to read, though, so I took up a menu (one of two that we saw at the bar) and browsed the options.

A few minutes later, the owner finally walked out and was happy to see us. We were the only two inside. She kept asking us if we were on our way to the bar or on our way back from the bar, and it kind of made us feel awkward - we just wanted to get some grub. After asking us if we were on our way to the bar, from the bar, if we plan on going to the bar later, if we plan on going to the bar tomorrow, I asked her what's good. She said she makes everything homemade, but she just made some meatballs, which are good.

I ordered the meatball hoagie, and my friend ordered the spaghetti with meatballs. After a little while, the owner came out with two plates - like actual china. The first thing I noticed was that my sandwich was SMALL. Maybe four inches. And I got some Lays potato chips on the side. And it was $6! My friend, however, got a huge plate of spaghetti, with the meatballs, as well as a side of bread, for $4. What?

I must say, the meatballs were good. Well-seasoned and made with some Italian sausage. I found out the owner had a catering business in Preston County, so it doesn't surprise me that the food here is tasty. She asked if I wanted the pickle after she brought out my food. She said it comes with it, but she left it off because most people don't want it ... I wasn't gonna make her go back and grab a pickle, but it's probably better to include rather than not. She asked our honest opinion, and I told her, my food is great, but I feel gypped on portion/price. She said usually they have bigger buns, but they ran out. So that would help.

On the door outside, it said they had fresh baked cookies daily, so I asked, and she said she didn't have any that day. Guess "daily" is subjective. She did bring us a cinnamon roll on the house, though. And it was really good, too. Topped with icing and combining a cinnamon sweetness felt like a little piece of Christmas.

I asked if it was cash only, because it looks as though it is. She said yes. Luckily I had some ones on me for parking, so I handed them over. The owner looked over the menu and says "$6 for a meatball sub? I never charge that much. I'll make yours the same price as hers." So my whole meal turned out to be around $8.

Overall feel is that it's mismatched, half-baked, but with good food. But portions and consistency need to improve, because no one's gonna pay $6 for a tiny meatball sandwich. It wasn't the cleanest, as random brooms and construction stuff was laying around, probably because they just opened. I know they're going for a "restaurant after a night of drinking" motif here, but some polish and shining would be nice.


Grade: C