On my seven-hour trek to Tennessee to see my parents during their vacation, I got hungry. I knew there were a handful of places in Beckley I hadn't been. So at a rest stop, I found the number for Calacino's Pizzeria, called in an order to pick up and asked to pick it up in a half hour or so.

I don't really know how I got to this place (thank you, GPS). But what I DO know is I somehow skipped the 40 cent toll, so that was awesome.

Inside, it seems as thought it's kind of sports bar-like. Lots of photos and jerseys on the wall. I stuck to the front, though, and picked up my pizza. They had it ready and waiting. Decently priced. I took it to my car and opened the box.

The first thing I noticed was that a chunk of it was hanging over the edge. That's why they couldn't shut the box all the way. Huh. Makes sense now.

I mean, kinda. Why don't they have boxes big enough to fit their pizzas? Or was this one just different? Seems like that would be a thing that's important.

The pizza itself was very good, though. I got mushrooms and meatballs. Delicious sauce, crisp crust, some saltiness from the meatballs (which were slices, really) and the mushrooms. Good balance. Good pie. Will definitely stop here again on my way through.

Grade: A

Looking over the menu, there are sandwiches and dinners and the like. But their "Signature Sterling Sub" is where it's at. It has cranberry sauce, bacon, lettuce, tomato and their special "spread" on a deep-fried bun.

The owners say that no one ever guesses correctly what's in the spread, and few people do know. But it seems to be a pork mixture. Let's hope.

But it's good! It's different, but it's tasty. A little bit of sweet, some crunch, some fresh and something ... odd. The spread isn't entirely noticeable since there are so many toppings, but it's definitely worth it to try and get a taste of the local food culture. It's fun, and I appreciate it for what it is.




Grade: A

Barside Grill has been on my radar for quite some time, but I have had difficulty convincing my coworkers to go after the great Honky Tonk Disaster of 2014. The restaurant has recently started advertising on the radio for their food. And I saw them in the Morgantown Menu Guide. I was worried it was mainly a bar and gambling joint, but when I heard and saw their advertisements, I knew they at least had a little variety of food.



It's located in Westover in the small plaza, which housed a pizza place and bar. I parked out front and walked up to the second story where the flashing "open" sign hung. Once we were inside, I realized we should have parked around the back, which is actually level with the second story. I'm just not sure how you get up there. But there's a door from that side, too.

The inside is very dark and musty. It could use a deep-cleaning, but it wasn't on-the-surface dirty.

We ordered their garlic parmesan fries, which were actually tasty. Crisp and right out of the fryer. Probs not homemade but still like the flavor. Not a fan that they didn't serve Heinz ketchup. though.

Their signature sauce is "bottom of the bucket." I tasted it but wasn't a huge fan. Instead, I ordered boneless honey BBQ. Little nuggets of chicken covered in a too-sweet sauce. They are really pushing their wings, so I thought it would be better. But the honey BBQ was just OK. If it was a store-bought sauce, it wasn't even a very good one. I didn't finish them. They weren't awful, but they weren't great. I kept to the fries -- much better.




Grade: C

I traveled to McDowell County recently, and as I was exiting town, I was hoping to stop at Ya'Sou's Restaurant. Unfortunately, I found them closed. I made my way back to Bluefield to hit the interstate and head back north. But, stomach was rumbling and I needed dinner. So. Guess who I saw in Bluefield? Remember that guy?




The infamous Chris Slater. We went to a new restaurant in Bluefield called Portabella Italian Restaurant. We parked along the side, then I was asked to move so a gentleman could cut the grass, and then I parked again, and then we finally went inside.

It's pretty basic inside, though there is pretty stained glass above the door emblazoned with the restaurant's name. Our waitress was friendly. We first put in an appetizer of their "Italian Nachos," because it sounds interesting: deep-fried nachos, alfredo sauce, chicken, green peppers, jalapenos, and mozzarella cheese.

Even though Chris has a newfound vegetarian calling, I think he may have had a piece of chicken or two. Whoops. So the cool thing about this was the chips are actually fried, and the sauce was pretty tasty. But it got soggy way fast. You know how quickly regular nachos do? And they're not really covered in a sauce like this. I dig the creative spin on the appetizer, though, but not sure I'd go after it again.

My house salad was impressing, boasting fresh tomatoes, green peppers, onion, carrots, banana peppers, croutons, cucumbers and fresh mozzarella cheese. Definitely on the better end of regular house salads. Too bad it automatically comes with ranch. I was hoping for a house Italian dressing.




Some garlic bread was brought to us. A little small, but not terribly for complimentary.

Our wait for the main dishes was a little long. For my entree, I ordered their stuffed shells with meatballs in a pink sauce. Three small-ish stuffed shells, but they were each brimming with cheese. Meatballs were OK. I was a fan of the sauce - a nice mix between their alfredo and red.



Chris's calzone looked bangin'. Lots of cheese and a nice golden brown. Not bad, either.


So, Portabella is a no-frills Italian place. I'm always happy to see more local restaurants in an otherwise chain-heavy town. Food was above average. Nothing over-the-top or super amazing, but a decent meal. Service not totally polished, but friendly. Seems like a nice addition to the town.


Grade: B

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.

 

While we were in Flatwoods, Scott mentioned the Bulk Foods store that I have never been to that sells Amish furniture and candy in bulk.

 This place is awesome! Lots of furniture, noodles, nuts and candies. All of the candy.



My haul included ONLY red gummi bears (yes!), mini buckeyes, gummi dinosaurs, chocolate-covered caramels and regular caramels. Delicious.

My coworker Scott and I traveled to the Flatwoods area for a story. It's cool - check it out. About midday, we were dismissed for lunch. The first restaurant we came across (and saw at least one positive review) was Lloyd's Family Style Dining Restaurant.

Truth be told, I really didn't know what we were in for. The interior was very country, worn-in and could use a dusting. We found a booth and looked over the menu. I figured you couldn't really go wrong with a burger - so I put in my order for that plus a side of onion rings.

What arrived was a burger piled high with all the toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese. A nice heap of onion rings accompanied it.

The burger was not bad. Pretty average, but the veggies were fresh. Overall, nothing to write home about, but nothing to scoff at either.

Grade: C

It's like High Street is sprouting new restaurants by the minute.

Another newcomer to the Morgantown restaurant scene is Tortoni's. Located on the corner of High and Fayette streets downtown, Tortoni's takes the places of the downtown Tudor's location. I'm honestly surprised the Tudors didn't do well there, because I was under the impression it was open late-night, and that seems to be the perfect West Virginia drunk food. But what do I know.

I - and some of my most favorite coworkers - went to Tortoni's soft opening on Thursday as the restaurant trained employees and learned their menu. They're good eggs, as Marissa would say, for dealing with my shenanigans. My friend Afton tipped me off to the restaurant opening, and we headed over around noon.




There wasn't much indication the restaurant was open, aside from the flashing "open" light in the window, so it wasn't busy. The restaurant front is all windows, so it's nice for people-watching from the few tables in the front of the restaurant. Along the right side, some tables line the wall. And the main centerpiece is the giant chalkboard above the cash register carrying the menu.

The focus seems to be on the pizza, with lots of specialty ones, like a ranch bacon cheeseburger, taco, Hawaiian, buffalo chicken, broccoli chicken and more. They also have a selection of pastas, salads, subs and wraps.

We ordered two pizzas - a pepperoni and their signature Tortoni's pizza - and a chicken salad. The salad actually looked pretty good and has a bunch of toppings, but I would suggest listing all the ingredients in the description because it didn't mention cheese or croutons there and for someone with a dairy allergy, that could be dangerous. Having coworkers who are cautious of dairy and peanut allergies has definitely made me more aware of ingredients in food. Just a thought.

The pizzas were OK. The dough was very round (ahem, premade), and it wasn't crispy enough. Tony - Italian coworker who believes he cooks Italian better than anyone ever - said the oven needs to be hotter to get that nice crisp. I hate to say it but it reminds me a bit of a frozen pizza. That's not necessarily terrible. Some frozen pizzas are OK. Some.




The Tortoni's signature pizza has a sort of cheese sauce with lots of cheese, huge chunks of onion and meatballs. Something, to me, is missing from this pizza. It needs something fresh - tomato? Something because it just feels very heavy. And the onions need to be not in huge chunks. I had a bite that was just layers of cooked onion. Too much. I liked the meatballs, though.

Overall thoughts - crust needs to be crisper. Onions smaller. More fresh ingredients. We split the two pizzas and each had a drink from the cooler and only spent about $7 per person. So the price is nice.

They had a sign saying they will have a late-night window, so that might be popular with the downtown crowd. And it looks as though they'll add some homemade desserts. That would be nice. We'll see how it pans out.

Grade: C

The Greeks is a new restaurant located in the bottom of Beech View Place on Beechurst. A few others are set to open in that building, but The Greeks is leading the charge. A little more Greek food in my life? I'm happy with that.

First things first, don't do what I did and drive around hunting for parking. If you go to the bottom garage and on the side NOT closest toward Lavender Cafe - the other side - go there and park. Apparently when you eat at The Greeks, they'll give you a token to use, which I'm assuming will pay for your parking.

Inside, there is a menu behind the counter: potatoes, gyros, salads, souvlaki, platters, chicken and more. I went for a "gyro meat" gyro (lamb(, which comes with choice of spread, tomatoes, onions, parsley and fresh cut fries. I like that there is the rotisserie of meat in the back, and the folks working gave us samples of the spreads - a spicy cheese, hummus and tzatziki.

I love their spicy cheese! But I wanted the full gyro experience with the tzatziki sauce. The guys working were super helpful and eager to please. The gyro was so good. Fresh veggies, well-seasoned meat and a thick sauce. Definitely delicious. Best in town.

AND if you venture around to the back side of the restaurant, they have a little cafe with crepes and coffee. Plus a nice little view of the interview of the apartments, which is very nice.











The girls making the crepes were new and clearly not part of the Greek family on the front end. Instead, these are students learning. Which made my crepe turn out less than ideal, but I think they just need some more practice.

I ordered a sweet crepe with The Greeks Bougatsa Custard. Sounds good, right?

 


OK, so the image is questionable. BUT it was good. It was like a cinnamon rice pudding sort of thing. There was just way too much, and the technique wasn't quite right. So it was a bit of a fail.

But the flavors were there, and I think I would give it another go.

Grade: B