Greenbrier Valley Baking Company is a great bakery in its own right. I didn't have time for a pizza from this place or even a proper pastry. Instead, I hopped over here after dinner to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Very few items remained in the cases, but a few "florentines" sat staring at me, waiting for a home. In my belly.

I ordered one and took a seat. The lacy crisp was dipped in white chocolate, and sandwiched between the two cookies was a thick sugary filling. Tasty. Light, but decadent, too.

Definitely make a point to swing by here to get something sweet - or get a meal if time allows!

Grade: A

It's common knowledge in West Virginia that Hinton has the best Dairy Queen.

Is that a sad thing I just typed?

I don't know. But it's true.

I have made it clear, I hope, that I love supporting local businesses and eat local whenever possible. However, there are sometimes when I'm in a rush that I do get fast food. And I usually opt for Dairy Queen - my favorite fast food joint.

Since I started this blog, I've had so many people tell me to go to Hinton. Hinton? Really?

Yes, really.

There isn't much in Hinton, and I don't ever get down this way often, so I made a special detour while driving from Union to Charleston to go through Hinton just for this Dairy Queen.

From the outside, it looks pretty typical. I walked in and walked up to the counter to place my order for a hotdog. I then realized the seating area for this place is pretty massive - at least compared to the other DQs I've been to.

There's a section off to the left with some play areas for kids, and down the stairs to the second tier there is another seating space that overlooks the New River. And it's beautiful.

It's wide and not too deep in areas - so we saw fisherman and ducks. And it spans the entire viewing area from the large windows inside the DQ. One of the best serene views from a restaurant - and it's a DQ, of all places.

Oh, the hotdog.

It's housed in a grilled English bun (yum!) and was topped with onions, mustard, slaw and chili. Chili being on top. A little different than what I'm used to, but to be honest, I think I like it better. The roof of my mouth isn't met with cool slaw - it's instead met with the warm chili, which makes the slaw slightly less frigid, and I get a better taste of the chili - the ingredient I prefer. The slaw plays second fiddle to the chili, and I'm okay with that.

Since it is a chain, I will refrain from making this an official review by giving it a letter grade, but it's good - with an awesome view.

Lewisburg is seriously one of my favorite towns. There are a handful of restaurants in the downtown area - all local, all incredibly good. After my last trip, one of the few places I didn't get to try was Del Sol Cantina & Grille (after this, I think I've had just about everything in the downtown area, save for a bakery).

Parking (free!) was available nearby, and Hannah and I walked over. This place was hoppin'. A line was out the door, but we waited it out. After just a few moments, we were inside the restaurant. With a warm color palette and outdoor dining, the Latin American restaurant was relaxing and comfortable.

A few different items caught my eye, but the one that stood out was the chimichanga. I went for chicken. It had jack cheese, rice, black beans, all wrapped in a flour tortilla, fried, and served with salsa and sour cream.

Holy wow. his is REALLY GOOD. So flavorful - crispy outside, with tons of cheese inside. Nice pulled chicken and black beans. Cool salsa and creamy sour cream just made this an all-around good dish.

Is Lewisburg where you would think to go for good Latin American food? I mean, based on this chimichanga, then yes. It hit all the crispy, cheesey, creamy, tangy points I needed. Fan. Definitely a fan.

Grade: A

West Virginia is coming around to the craft beer scene. Legislation will hopefully lighten up on breweries, and the number of brewers in the state is growing steadily. If you're keeping track, in West Virginia, we have:

• Basement Brewery
• Big Timber Brewing Company
• Blackwater Brewing Company
• Brewstel Microbrewery & Hostel
• Bridge Brew Works
• Charleston Brewing Company
• Chestnut Brew Works
• Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company
• Lost River Brewing Company
• Morgantown Brewing Company
• Mountain State Brewing Company
• North End Tavern & Brewery
• Wheeling Brewing Company
• Rustik Bru Brewing Company (in planning)?

For my work trip to Lewisburg, we stayed overnight at the General Lewis Inn. In addition to being a super cute, homey place to rest (and the most amazing little garden), it has a great little restaurant. After a night at the bed and breakfast, I went for the breakfast part.

They have a complimentary coffee bar, but we went into the actual restaurant for some grub. The first thing that stuck out to me was the Belgian waffles. You could add strawberries, so I did. I also got a side of sausage.

Pretty tasty. Best waffle I've ever had? No, but it was lightly crisp and soft and pretty darn tasty. It got a little mushy, but not a problem. Sausage was a little overcooked, but I'd rather it be that than the other way. A little bit more expensive than our dinner the day before.

Overall - quite tasty. Want a good waffle, fresh fruit and a side of protein? They have your number. Lewisburg is full of great options, and this is just one of them.






Grade: B

A work trip took me to Lewisburg. And there are only a handful of restaurants I haven't tried there yet - including The Market, the breakfast and lunch arm of Food & Friends. As soon as we entered town, we parked along the street and walked to the side of the building.

The Market operates out of the back end of the building, with just a few tables inside and more outside under a shady tree. After quickly looking at the menu board behind the counter, I decided on The Mountaineer – roast beef piled high with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheddar and horseradish mayo. It's a quick turnaround, and my meal was out to me within minutes.

The bread was pressed and had a nice crunch. There was a ton of meat and cheese and crunchy onions all held together with a horseradish mayo that gave just a slight kick without being overwhelming. Everything was fresh, crisp and despite being incredibly filling - but light. Awesome.

I wasn't able to go to this year's Second Annual Best Chef Cook Off at Lakeview because I was out of town (and state and country!). Don't worry, I'll post some (brief) reviews from Montreal soon, but I wanted to share some photos that superstar photographer Sher Yip took while there. BRB, salivating over all these amaze dishes.

ATOMIC GRILL - pork belly duet with braised cabbage, cilantro grits, pickled melon trio on arugula, apricot sambal and soy lime reduction. Pulled pork sliders with housemade BBQ. Mojito meringue pie with mint and lime.





MORGANTOWN BREWING COMPANY - House brined 'Zack Morgan's IPA' beer pickle served with '80 Shillings Scotch Ale mustard. Roasted ratatouille with green and yellow zucchini, purple and yellow onion, red, yellow and orange peppers, roasted then simmered in a sauce of red and green tomatoes, basil, garlic and scallions. BBQ pulled pork canape with 'Old Morgantown Amber Ale' braised and hickory smoked pork sauced with a sweet spiced BBQ and served on bicolor corn tortilla chips, topped with hot pepper peach puree and purple onion marmalade. Mixed berry, basil and beet bavarian with sweet beet bavarian swirled with basil, blackberries and blueberries topped with a burnt orange caramel and toasted almonds.





COACH'S CRAB SHACK - crabby spaghetti - pasta cooked with old bay seafood seasoning loaded with blue crab meat. Lobster meatball made from scratch with Maine lobster in red sauce with parmigiano reggiano. Gator eggs with alligator meat, crab meat, cream cheese stuffed in a jalapeno and panko fried.



LAKEVIEW - vegetable pad thai with pan-seared scallops and firecreacker shrimp






LEBANESE BISTRO



PRESTON COUNTY INN



LAKEHOUSE - Steak and lobster empanadas



STEFANO'S - shrimp and grits



TABLE 9 - pan-seared lamb, charred onions, roasted garlic, salted yogurt, celery root crumble. Buttered popcorn, pot de creme and salted caramel.

The United Way hosted Morgantown's first macaroni and cheese cook-off. I was honored to be one of the judges, along with Del. Amanda Pasdon. The event had an incredible turnout with more than 350 people attending and eight incredible restaurants competing: Atomic Grill, Iron Horse Tavern, Hash Browns & New Grounds, Oliverio's Ristorante, Morgantown Brewing Company, Table 9, Terra Cafe and Tailpipes. For whatever reason, Stefano's didn't show up. No home cooks entered the competition, but I think that's something that might take off next year.

Iron Horse Tavern - tater tot wafer with black truffle sour cream topped with four cheese macon mac - smoked gouda, pecorino romano, white cheddar and gruyere - smoked paprika, garlic panko crust and chives.

Tailpipes - "Maki Roni & Cheese" - Irish cheddar, goat cheese, candied bacon, parmesan, spicy mayo and Japanese panko.




Terra Cafe - "Blue 'BLT' Mac N' Cheese" - homemade orecchiette in a tomato and blue cheese sauce. Served in a fresh-baked bread bowl and garnished with candied bacon and kale chips. Kale and onions from Round Right Farm. Allegheny Chevre and Black & Blue from Firefly Farms. Eggs from Possum Tail Farm.

Morgantown Brewing Comapny - "Beer & Bacon Cheesy Mac with '80 Shillings Scotch Ale" - asiago, sharp white cheddar, mozzarella, smoked provolone and smoked gouda cheeses with whole wheat macaroni and semolina cavatappi pasta with grilled leeks, black beans and roasted red peppers topped with crispy house-cured pork jowl bacon crumbles.

Oliverio's Ristorante - "Lobster Mac and Cheese" - homemade lobster stock, lobster base, butter, heavy cream, scallions and garlic with cheddar, parmesan and smoked gouda cheeses tossed with cavatappi pasta, langostino and lobster tail meal.

Atomic Grill - "Atom-Mac" - cavatappi egg pasta, a proprietary blend of six cheeses, serrano peppers, cayenne sauce, scallions and white pepper.

Table 9 - orzo, pork belly and smoked gouda.



Hash Browns & New Grounds - jalapeno gnocchi macaroni and cheese with toasted peppercorns, panko and red chili sauce.

Overall thoughts: I really liked Tailpipes' creativity. Super cool theme, and the crust on the outside was slightly sweet. Loved that. Terra Cafe was also tasty with homemade pasta, creamy cheese with a tang and nice texture with crispy kale. Plus local ingredients. Oliverio's rounded out my top three with their lobster pasta - it's a staple on their menu, and it's just so rich and delicious.

Iron Horse had a solid more traditional mac and cheese, but well executed. Morgantown Brewing Company was similar to Iron Horse, but I love that they included their own beer. Atomic Grill had a super thick and slightly spicy mac and cheese. I was bummed they only had two servings, and it was just almost too thick to be able to eat too much. Table 9 got points for creativity with the orzo, but it almost seemed like a casserole to me - minus the chicken and broccoli. And Hash Browns and New Grounds didn't save any tastings for the judges, so we didn't even get to try it.

Morgantown is venturing into new territory - food trucks! Well, kinda. There was some hubbub over food trucks on High Street - the taco truck and hotdog vendors have had some trouble with that.

And then we have Hash Browns & New Grounds, who currently mostly sticks to the college housing complex on Van Voorhis and the Bridgeport Farmers Market.

And now there's Street Meatz. Located - fairly stationary - in the parking lot of Ace Hardware on Maple Drive. Near Mon General. The name is a bit off-putting, but their shtick is featuring local meat and locally sourced produce. Can't really go wrong with that.

Their burgers and hot dogs are their main features, and each day, they have a different theme. Wednesdays seem to be "Wild West" with elk or antelope, and Fridays are "Fiesta Friday." In the middle, they sprinkle an Italian day or maybe a veggie day or something different.

The day I went, they had a steak salad as their special. I opted for the burger, and you can get what kind of cheese you'd like. Blue cheese for me. And a side of jambalaya - because how often do you see that? Apparently it is the owner's own recipe.

They were fairly busy, and as I was waiting, the woman working noticed who I was from my name & my comment on their page earlier that day. She came and talked to me about how this is the owner's creative endeavor, and they've been seeing a good bit of business. She said they hoped to have phone orders to call in ahead of time soon - looks like that's active now at 304-777-7456.

Super friendly people and really excited about this new endeavor.

When I got my bag of goodies, I took it straight to my car to get some quick photos before having to drive back to work before I could eat.

Okay, first I tried the jambalaya - while it had great flavor and large chunks of sausage and peppers, it became a little soggy by the time I was back. That could be my fault because it was so hot and trapped in that container, and it could've been steamed. Or it could've been a little soggy from cooking all day. Not sure, but that's a minor complaint. The flavor was spot on.

The burger: They expertly craft this as two halves so you can assemble it right before you eat it. Genius. These little boxes keep everything in tact so not all the sauces are mixing and your tomato is getting soggy, etc. Really nice.


I wish they ask how you'd like it prepared, because it was just a tad overdone for me. I assume most people probably (incorrectly) like their burgers well-done, but knowing where their product comes from - I could've gone more medium/medium-well. It definitely has that kind of char outer taste. But good, flavorful meat, fresh ingredients. And a bigger bun will help hold up all that goodness.

Overall, though, pretty solid. After a few kinks, I think they will be running smoothly.

Grade: B