Work required me, and two of my colleagues, to be in Pittsburgh for a day. One of my coworkers is from the area and loves the nostalgia of a small pizza shop called Mineo's Pizza House in a nearby suburb - Mt. Lebananon. He had gone to this place since he was a child and would go to bat for it being the best pizza around. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing, so on our way back, we quickly stopped by.

We had to circle a few times before we could find a meter to park at, but we finally did and raced to enter the building as the incoming storm drenched us. It seems like a pretty old school Italian restaurant. We walked in, went to the counter and picked up our pie that we had called in. They handed us a box in exchange for about $20 (which is kind of expensive - I guess that's the difference with living in a college town). We got drinks and sat in one of the booths to begin devouring our pizza.

The first thing I noticed was that it's not flat (like Casa) or thick, like Sicilian-style. It's kind of in the middle. The sauce is a rich, hearty and savory. The pizza was covered in cheese - just my style. Don't need extra cheese here. It was generously melted all over the top, and the crust had a crispness but the interior was soft and light. Pretty good slice of pie, but I haven't really had anything quite like it.

If you want something a little different than college town, take a trip. I think you'll be pleased.


Grade: A

Usually referred to as Musket, this novelty restaurant/bar has been known among drunk college kids for a long time. The infamous stackers are piled high with meat and topped with coleslaw and french fries. Each is named after a city, with the Los Angeles being the biggest amongst them all.

The Rusted Musket is affectionately known as that sandwich joint that you stop at after a night of drinking. At least, I hope you were drinking. Otherwise, this (as well as places like R U Hungry) can test the boundaries of your stomach.

I, however, have only had Musket once - a long, long time ago. So I thought it was due time that I try it again. When Chris started learning Morgantown more, one of the first things he noticed was the Rusted Musket sign. It was like a landmark for him, so the other night, we finally decided to try it. It is a staple in town, after all.

They have a small dine-in area, takeout and delivery. I called in for delivery. I've heard terrible things about the wait time, but I didn't have any trouble. I wasn't even sure if they would deliver for sure since they are moving locations. But I called in our orders, and they told me 30-45 minutes.

About that time later, I got a knock on my door. A plastic bag full of goodies awaited me.

I ordered the Los Angeles stacker: steak and vidalia onion vinaigrette with pepper jack cheese plus Cajun chicken and bacon with cheddar cheese ($8). I made it a combo for $2 more, getting me a side of fries and a pop. When asked if I wanted either Root Beer or Orange Crush, I opted for the latter. It came in a bottle. That makes sense why there were only two options of drink.

Wrestling with the sandwich to get my hands around it is no easy feat. The thing is stacked like six inches high. No joke. I think most sandwiches have three pieces of toast, but this one had four whopping slices sandwiched between layers of creamy slaw, salty fries, seasoned meat and spicy chicken.

I was not intoxicated at this point of ingestion, but I must say - it's not bad. It's greasy and filling, and it's heavy. But it's good. It has those different textures - creamy, cool slaw and thick, heavy potato with some sweet and tangy sauces. Want a huge, sloppy sandwich that's sure to make you regret it in the morning? Try a stacker.


And the cheeseballs are legend here, too. Hot pepper cheeseballs - small or large, with a side of ranch. Frozen, then fried? Yep. Cheesey, greasy and average quality? Yep. But it's something you have to try. Like Mario's, Black Bear and R U Hungry, you haven't really lived until you've had it.


Grade: B

I've had to have passed the Mediterranean Market more than 100 times while living here in town. Located right on High Street, it's a prime location for college kids, young professionals and more who pass this location daily. It is just one of those restaurants that slipped through. Until recently.

When you walk in the restaurant, it's almost as if you're not really downtown. It's enormous inside. It's so big, in fact, that I didn't even know exactly how to navigate it. Once I walked further inside, I saw the area where you can order, which is in the far back corner.

There is a menu up on the board behind the counter. They have lots of greasy fast food and more ... salads, appetizers, pita sandwiches, specialty sandwiches, wraps, paninis and desserts. While you can order things to go, we decided to stick around.

I got ordered the gyro platter, picked up a drink from the cooler, moved down toward the register to pay, and found a seat near the window.

I love having the ability to people watch from the comfort of an air conditioned place. Our food came over fairly quickly, and in front of me was some gyro meat, pita, as well as some hummus, tabouleh, feta and olives.

I made my own little sandwich with the meat and lettuce. I haven't had a gyro like this for a long, long time. Back when I lived in Wellsburg, the Applefest would have those food trucks and every year I would get a gyro. I looked forward to it because it was sensational. This one from Mediterranean Market rivals it.

The meat is perfectly seasoned, tender, moist and full of flavor. The thick pita bread housed the meat and salad. Perfecto. I would've liked some more dill and cucumber for that tzatziki sauce, but it was delicious none the less. The tabbouleh was fresh, and the hummus had a delightful slightly nutty, lemon/garlic flavor.

It was a tad on the pricey side, but I really enjoyed my meal, as well as the restaurant overall. The service could use some improvement, but overall a nice option for downtown dining.

Oh, and their desserts looked to die for. If I had any room, I would've been all over that.

Grade: A

Mario's has recently opened a second location in the former Tailgators building along University Avenue in Star City. Tailgators is no more, but Mario's is bringing their stellar food and fun atmosphere to the other side of town, which I'm sure will delight customers from one end of town to the other.

Parking is way easier, and I think there's more room. It looks to be two levels, but I didn't venture to the bottom one. The top one has that more of a restaurant feel - separate tables is a pro for me. I am not a fan of the communal dining you sometimes get at the other location. I like my space, and I like that there are options for sitting, whereas the original location was oftentimes "standing room only."

The building itself has that old smoke smell. Nobody is currently smoking there, but after years of cigarettes, the interior smells of it.



You get a "restaurant" vibe more than the "bar" vibe at the other location. It's not cluttered, but I think they are on their way there. The walls have a few small paper plates with writing on them. I think they're going to take the same approach with this restaurant, which gives the current generation of restaurant-goers a hand in creating this place's history. If it turns out like the original location, you'll be happy if you had helped this one in the beginning.

It wasn't really busy when I went in, so the server came over to me right away. I ordered a frosty fishbowl and looked over the menu. Some paper menus are already sitting on the tables. It looked to feature the same grub - some subs, sandwiches, cheesesteaks, and, of course, their wings.

Mario's has somewhat of a reputation for their wings - they're fried so the outside is crispy. While that's all and good, I opted for some boneless ones in their honey bbq. I hear hot is the way to go, but not for me. I also ordered a side of pepperoni and cheese bites because that just sounds too good to pass up.

The wings were, as all boneless are, little nuggets of meat. This isn't bad in my book - in fact, I like it. The sweet and tangy sauce coated all the deeply fried morsels of meat. Lip-smackingly good, but not for the avid wing fan who prefers the bone-in, with meat falling off. I knew what I was ordering, and I was happy with the outcome. If you prefer the bone-in kind, they certainly have those and they come critically acclaimed.

The pepperoni and cheese bites were probably frozen and deep-fried. Not homemade or anything, but not a bad snack-tizer. They came with some marinara dipping sauce, which helped give that pizza taste to them almost. Think frozen pizza - it's not the best pizza, but it's still pizza. Little bites of cheese and chunks of pepperoni is always going to be good. I can only imagine if Mario's put their talent to work here and made them homemade, though. Mmmm. They weren't anything too fancy, and for $5, I think I'll skip them next time.

If you're expecting the original Mario's, this isn't exactly it. It is however, a spin on that version and is likely to be successful, if not only for the name alone.

Grade: B

Town Hill Tavern has always been on my radar. I lived on Willey Street for two years, and I never had the opportunity to check out Town Hill Tavern. It's on Willey Street, right in that awkward turn, beside the laundromat. I had steered clear of it before because I was warned of its smokiness. But with the ban, that's not a worry anymore. And with their "best chili dogs in town" sign out front, it was like an invitation to try it.

Despite its outward appearance, it's really quite small inside. Only a couple booths and a bar area are available. When a friend and I walked in this particular day, we were basically the only ones around. It did look as though they had a deck area, though. I didn't get a chance to check that out. There were a few paper menus folded up on the table, and we perused those as the bartender walked over to us.


I ordered a Bud Light while trying to nail down my food choices. No - not a tanker, which they're famous for. It was a light dinner. I realized they are cash only - the horror - but luckily I happened to have some cash on me. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen from time to time.  The menu has about five special hotdogs to choose from, and you can of course make your own with their selection of toppings. But I went after their Triple Play - a dog topped with chili, cheese and slaw. Gasp! It's not a true WV-style hotdog. But hey, I like cheese, so it sounded good! I also got a side of Fritos. I honestly would have liked to see the WV hotdog as an option - chili, slaw, mustard and onions, but who am I to judge?

Our good was ushered out fairly quickly. My dog was filled with toppings, and they were all quite tasty. With those heavy toppings, it was almost a task to try to eat this without the toppings falling over. I instead tried a new methodology: scooping some of the toppings up with my Fritos and eating it that way until the dog was more manageable. All in all - a damn good hotdog.

It looks like they only do a few things, but they do them pretty well. And the atmosphere is cool, laidback and relaxed. I felt comfortable here, as we gabbed away long after our food was gone. The only big downfall is the cash-only part. But not too shabby.

Grade: B