Sarris Candies always reminds me of high school fundraisers where students would sell a two-pack of pretzels for $1. And they were the bomb.

Sarris makes some of the best chocolate. Even though their factory store is right across the border in Pennsylvania, I never had the chance to go until recently. If you get the chance to go, do it. It's like Willy Wonka. Kinda.

From the outside, it doesn't seem like much, but once you get inside, there are just rows of cases of individual chocolates, plus the walls are lined with all the goodies and treats sold in stores. I definitely wanted to get some of their freshly made chocolates - a caramel, a peanut butter, a pretzel, and a caramel/peanut butter combo.

SO GOOD. If you like the stuff that's packaged and shipped to our local stores, just imagine that x10 in deliciousness. Fresh and custom - perfect combo. You can pick and choose which chocolates you like. I ended up getting four for about $4.  But they were four I knew I loved and wanted. Plus the pretzel one actually came with two pieces.

AND, there's more! They have a an ice cream parlor. We had come here after dinner (and dessert), so I didn't need more ice cream. But don't think I wasn't tempted. I was.

So, if you're looking for a little trip outside of town and love chocolate and/or ice cream, this is a pretty sweet (get it?) place to go.

Grade: A

Lakeview is hosting the 31st Festival of Food and Wine Jan. 16-18, 2015

Day Package
$49+ tax & gratuity
Breakfast, Lunch, Classes & Access to Artisan Marketplace

3 Day Package
$125 + tax & gratuity
Friday Welcome Session, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Classes & Access to Artisan Marketplace

Weekend Stay Package
$415 + tax & gratuity
Overnight Accommodations & Full Weekend Classes, Meals & Access to Artisan Marketplace

I am so excited that I FINALLY got to visit Oglebay's lights. It's been on my bucket list for quite some time, and when Kaitlynn was in town recently for Christmas, we made it a point to go. There are just miles of extravagant lights.

Terra Cafe recently announced they will be expanding their hours to include dinner service (EDIT: Hours are 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). They're serving "tapas" or small plates - meaning, well, each plate is really small, and you're meant to order more than one and share them with the whole table. I don't mind that idea (because I like to try a little of everything), but it can definitely add up in cost fairly quickly.

After I was seated (no ordering at the counter here), I ordered the beef croquettes, which were two round Possum Tail Farm grass-fed beef infused with lemongrass, ginger and coconut curry aioli. These were pretty good. They were $9 for two small round balls with some beet noodles underneath. But they were good. I am a huge fan of the light flavor with the lemongrass. And the aioli was tasty, too. I really wish it was the croquette sandwich. I love that thing. To get the same equivalent of a sandwich, I'd probably have to order three plates.

My friends ordered the margherita pizza (which apparently apparently Sargasso makes their pizzas) and the chicken satay. Both I thought were OK, but not great.

I'm glad at the last minute I thought to add their pork wontons. They came with red cabbage and a maple horseradish sauce. These were $1 cheaper at $8, and there was a bit more substance to them. Four fried pockets filled with meat. I think they were tasty for the most part, but the meat could've used some more flavor. The horseradish sauce was a nice touch.

They also have a very nice dessert menu (in addition to the goodies in the case) that complements their dinner menu. You can get three mini desserts for $10. That is perfect. And a crazy good deal, too.

I ordered the Firefly Farms Allegheny Chevre Panna Cotta, the bourbon salted caramel chocolate bar and the triple berry cheesecake (raspberry, blueberry and blackberry). The panna cotta was very tasty, and I love the little touches like a fresh lemon. The caramel chocolate bar I thought for sure would be my fav (caramel, duh), but whew you could taste some bourbon/bitterness in the chocolate. And the cheesecake was sweet and whipped. They were all quite lovely, and I was impressed with the presentation, the quantity and the quality. Super pleased with the desserts.

It's a little on the pricey side for me, for what you get. Dessert is totally worth it. But I spent about $20 for the two croquettes (which are about the size of golf balls) and four pork wontons. And it was all good - but not crazy great.

I'm looking forward to seeing what else they add to the dinner menu and if they'll be doing dinner specials! Something to keep an eye out for. No grade because it's just an update =] They've already been put through that ringer.

BRGR is a restaurant in the Pittsburgh area, which features creative burgers and spiked shakes. Afton and I checked out the Cranberry Township location because it was along the way. And yep, pronounced, BEE ARR

It's located in a strip mall, so parking was no problem. When we went inside, I was surprised to see most of the place bare, save for the bar area. Granted, the bar area is large and probably a good place to watch the game. Service was off. We weren't immediately greeted when we came in, and once we were seated, we had to wait some time before someone actually waited on us.

The menu has some interesting beef burgers - like a pad thai one and another featuring guacamole, jalapeños, Sriracha and chipotle aioli. Plus some others that include a black bean patty, a salmon patty, mahi mahi, bison and turkey.

I ordered "The BRGR" - which is 8 oz. of dry aged prime beef, pickled red onions, arugula, creamy bleu cheese and oven-roasted tomatoes. I also ordered a shake: Salty Caramel - bourbon + caramel sauce + sea salt + vanilla bean. Yaaasss.

My burger was really pretty good. I don't remember much of the bleu cheese, but the flavors overall were delicious.

Afton had ordered some fries, and we split some of those. They were average. It's kind of a bummer that if you want to add fries to your burger, it's like an extra $4. Little steep. Not sure they were worth it, but they weren't bad.

And my shake was delicious. I could definitely taste a good bit of the bourbon. It came out in the metal can, while Afton's was served in a glass. Not sure why. I think mine ended up having more, though. But very tasty.

Overall thoughts: This place wasn't bad. I think maybe I like the Burgatory more. I think if the service here had been right, the "feel" and overall experience would've been better. But my burger was tasty, and my milkshake was sweet and boozey (my favorite). I think being able to add fries to the side, instead of buying them as like a $4 appetizer seems like a reasonable request. In sum, pretty good.

Grade: B

Thankfully, the Northern Panhandle is littered with DiCarlo's locations. The next one on my list is Warwood.

This location is odd in the sense that it shares a walkway with Subway. Inside. But it didn't bother me much. There are a set of tables and a banister and back beyond that area is the counter where you order.

Two pieces, please.

After a bit of a wait, I had two pieces and out the door I went. The first thing I noticed was that each DiCarlo's varies in price. Some are 10 cents more or less per piece. Then, I realized the shredding style of the cheese is different. These small round bits of cheese - or as I've been saying, nobbules - were a bit thicker than the finely shredded mozzarella at other places.

The taste, still the same, though. The crust was a bit darker. The sauce was the perfect blend of tomato and spice, and the cheese - maybe because of the way it was shredded - did not melt nearly as quick and was still fairly in tact by the time I had gotten on the road and was ready to have a slice.

All around, good.

Grade: A

Spoiler alert: I don't think I can give DiCarlo's any less than an A. Biased? Obvi.

While in Wheeling, I decided to get two quick slices (or pieces, slices makes me think of triangular slices) from the DiCarlo's located on Main Street in Wheeling. I had never been to this location -- or many of the others more south -- so new restaurant + it being DiCarlo's = dream.

It's weird walking into this location; it feels like an actual restaurant. There is art on the walls of old DiCarlo's signs or folks working in the kitchen. There was even this nice little poster showcasing the history. Plus tables and people eating in. And space. Talk about a change from the sparse, white walls and lack of tables at Wellsburg's DiCarlo's.

I ordered at the counter and waited at a table for my order. Soon enough, a folded-over cardboard box tied with a rubberband housing two piping hot pieces of square pizza was in my hands.

The beauty of DiCarlo's is the perfectly crisp crust, the well-seasoned sauce and the freshly grated mozzarella cheese that is tossed on at the end so it creates this very flavorful bite where you can actually taste the flavor of the cheese instead of it turning into this sort of flavorless, greasy elastic.

My car wasn't far away, so I just in the drivers seat and unveiled this small piece of gold. As I opened the box, I could see it had already become steamy and cheese was melting. Not so fast, cheese. In my belly first.

It's delicious. Crust was a bit crisper than Wellsburg's (my preferred location), but it's still perfection.

Grade: A

I stopped in Wheeling to visit my mom at work and we grabbed a quick lunch. River City Restaurant & Bar is just down the block from her, so we popped in for a quick bite.

The entrance is kind of elaborate - sprawling open area with staircases leading to upper floors. The entryway was lined with a handful of Christmas trees. Dark wooden floors, chairs and tables lined the interior. The spacious area housed a few dining areas - near the bar and also in the back for seating.

I quickly skimmed the menu since we were rushing to do everything within an hour. They have some pretty typical sandwiches - tuna melt, BLTs, reubens. Nothing really too interesting caught my eye.

Mom is a huge fan of the chicken tortilla soup, so she had some of that, along with a lamb gyro. I ordered a turkey club hoagie with a side of hush puppies. I figured that since the sandwiches are pretty simple, maybe they'll just be done really well.

So, it was OK. The bread tasted store-bought, and the turkey, lettuce and bacon were all average. The tomatoes were sliced cherry tomatoes, so they were small and kept falling off the sandwich. That was odd. Why not have full slices so you get some tomato with each bite of sandwich? Mayo was squirted into a cup on the side, which wasn't super appealing.

My hushpuppies numbered four, I think. And not a ton of flavor there or a dipping sauce.

Overall, it was average. Not bad, but nothing creative or something I couldn't slap together on my own. Thoughts to make this better: freshly baked bread, some other type of lettuce (spring mix?), whole tomatoes and a sauce - mix that mayo with a pesto or something. Or maybe a quick homemade Italian. Or maybe a balsamic.

Otherwise, pretty average lunch. But with my favorite person - so that made for a nice time.

Grade: C

Everyone knows I'm obsessed with DiCarlo's. Wellsburg's, specifically.

But I won't discriminate. I'll take any DiCarlo's location over just about any other pizza. In West Virginia, there are several DiCarlo's locations - mostly spread throughout the Northern Panhandle. While I have access to both Follansbee and Weirton DiCarlo's (I'll have to go there soon) whenever I'm home, it's rare I get any further south. Recently, I met my mother in Wheeling for lunch and drove up north toward home, so I was able to hit THREE different DiCarlo's along the way.

One of these days, I'll make it to all of them.


But first, the DiCarlo's located on Dallas Pike. Technically, its located at 93 Coventry Road in Valley Grove. I kind of stumbled upon it after seeing the sign on the road, but a series of lucky turns pointed me right there. FYI, once you get off the exit, turn toward the gas station, and it sits back behind there. Fairly easy to find, actually.

When I walked in, a guy in front of me had ordered eight pizzas. So I was waiting a bit before they got to my two measly slices. It was also interesting to see a whole dining area and a menu that included sandwiches and salads. Definitely not used to that.

The pizza, though, still good. The crust was a bit poofier than what I'm used to, but there was plenty of cheese, so I like that. Just a tad different, but still very, very good. That nice golden crust, slightly spiced sauce and a ton of freshly grated mozzarella. Doesn't get much better.

Grade: A

I needed lunch on Saturday in Fairmont. We saw a steady stream of people pouring into The Firehouse Cafe. How fortuitous, because typically the Firehouse Cafe isn't open on Saturdays. But because of the festival, they opened (and for other large town events, they told me).

Typically they're open Mon.-Wed. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Thurs.-Fri. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. They do have music some evenings/weekends. Though, it would usually be tough for me to get here working in Morgantown.

But I got lucky.

The Firehouse Cafe is a small restaurant located on Adams Street. It has - you guessed it - a firefighter theme. The husband of the couple who owns the restaurant is/was a firefighter. There is a ton of firefighter memorabilia all the walls in the form of plaques and photos, as well as toy fire trucks and more.

Walk to the back of the restaurant and order at the counter. I was kind of tired and didn't know what to order in the sea of sandwiches, wings, salads and dinners. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I wanted to know what the best thing was. The family operating this restaurant is the best. The girl working the counter was listing some of the best options, and her mom walked by seconding the chicken nuggets and noted they used to bribe the girl working to clean her room with the nuggets.

Sold.

I had a seat while Lisa placed her order - and proceeded to talk to the mom for, at least, 10 minutes. These people are SUPER friendly and welcoming. I felt like I was at home, which was perfect because I was tired from the day and just felt cozy here. The interior itself is dated and a bit cluttered, but it's warm.

My nuggets - with the requested garlic parmesan - and a side of ranch were brought out quickly. They were bangin. Small chunks of white breast meat, fried and topped with garlic and parmesan. How can that be bad? Plus the quality was good, so yessss.

There's nothing particularly unique in terms of food options. But what they do is good, homestyle food that is made fresh and with a smile. You can't beat that.

Grade: A

I've heard so many good things about Joe-N-Throw in Fairmont - a coffee house/pottery studio that serves up beer, sandwiches and local art. Does that sound like a place fit for me or what?

While I was in Fairmont, I passed this place, not realizing where it was, and vowed to eat there while in town for the day. After the festival, we did just that.

After perusing the menu (which looked tasty), we realized we arrived just after 2 p.m., and lunch was no longer being offered. Total bummer.

That's OK, though, because they have muffins and other tasty pastries to accompany your coffee (or beer, no one is judging here).

I ordered their last gigantic blueberry muffin in the case along with a cafe mocha. This muffin was gigantic and probably 1,000 calories, but it was delicious. I'm assuming freshly baked that morning. My coffee was good, too, and a nice little pick-me-up on a cold day. I only needed a few sips, though, to feel all the caffeine I needed for the day.

So, let's go through the list here: tasty, creative sandwiches. Check. Homemade pastries. Check. Local beer. Check. Coffee. Check. Plus lots of local art, pottery and just a really cool, laidback coffee shop atmosphere.

If you live in Fairmont, go here every day. For me.

Grade: A

When Afton and I went to Bridgeport to stop at our closest Sephora, we stopped to get dinner at Mia Margherita. It was an odd experience.

Where I was seated, I was facing an open area where the staff were just kind of standing around in the dining area waiting on people as they came in. It was super awkward to just be facing these people as they're talking.

And the service was a bit off. We started off with fried calamari, but I think our waitress tried to give it to the table next to us first. I'm not generally a huge fan of calamari, and this was really no different. There was a lemon cream dipping sauce that didn't do much for me, but underneath, there was this sweet and sour sauce I liked much better. But still, just kind of soggy, greasy chewy bits.

For our main entrees, we actually ordered two and split them. First, we had the gorgonzola mac and cheese, because how could you not? Creamy gorgonzola, pancetta, capicolla, garlic and herb breadcrumbs. For an entree portion, I guess I was expecting it to be much larger. The flavor was OK. Got a bit of that kick. The breadcrumbs were just kind of on top; they could've been baked in more so that when you breathe in, you don't inhale all of it. We each ate half, and my tummy was still rumbling.

The other dish we ordered was a small West Virginia via San Francisco pizza. It has pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella, ricotta and parmigiano reggiano. This pizza wasn't bad. The dollops of ricotta could've been more strategic so you actually get some in each bite. Otherwise, it's kind of a regular pizza with sausage. I did like the sauce, though, and the bites with ricotta were pretty good.

With just half the macaroni and cheese and half the smallest pizza, I was still pretty hungry. So I got dessert, too. I ordered the warm gallettes napoleon, which is a fresh-baked Italian cookie, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.


First of all, there's no ice cream. It's more like a whipped cream. It was good, though. The dark chocolate part I wasn't crazy about, but the cookie itself was tasty. Chilled and a little hard, but a light sweetness I enjoyed.

So maybe it was because it was coming on the heels of a really great Italian dinner I had recently. Or maybe it was just because the service and atmosphere were a bit off, but I wasn't super impressed. It was pretty average to me. Plus I was still hungry when I left - despite having shelled out more than $20. Meh, I don't know. Maybe another time.

Grade: C

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian celebration on Christmas Eve that features dishes made with fish and seafood. Seven dishes (sometimes more) are prepared using seafood. While I didn't see anything starting particular dishes are required, there are definitely some popular ones, like fried smelts, fish stew and more.

North Central West Virginia has a large Italian population, so it makes sense to have a festival honoring this tradition in Fairmont. I'm told the festival came to be because of a book, or graphic novel, that showcased a family cooking fish on Christmas Eve. The book spearheaded the launch of the festival and celebration of the Italian heritage.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes festival was held on Adams Street in downtown Fairmont this past Saturday (Dec. 13). There's no fee to get in, but the vendors all have wares and food for sale. Entertainment from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. included Benjamin DeFazio, Jenna Won't Sing and 5 Guys Named Moe.

They have a "cooking school" as part of the festival, which are demonstrations that feature eight classic Italian dishes prepared by local chefs. Tickets for those were $20 per person and included samples of dishes and a glass of wine.

A holiday artisan market was held indoors and had pottery, cutting boards, baking supplies, soaps and lotions, as well as coffee and cookies at the cafe area.

Street vendors had everything from steak hoagies to kettle corn to cannolis to baked goods. This is where I was really searched for those seafood dishes. The most I found was crab soup, lobster ravioli, fried calamari and seafood chowder. Not quite seven.

Lisa did buy one dish - just to have a taste of the Seven Fishes - from Heston Farms Foxfire Restaurant. We got the lobster ravioli for $7. It was pretty tasty, though not quite impressive with the five or so raviolis. It was very good, though.

If you're willing to brave a very chilly mid-December Saturday to check out the festival, it is a nice little getaway. Plus it's a great chance to learn about new artisans in the area and get some very tasty grub!

While in Fairmont, Lisa and I stumbled upon All Things Herbal.

This little market has local, organically grown meat, produce, eggs and dairy, as well as herbs, yoga and local artisan products. It's just a super cool little place, and if you get the chance, you should totally check it out.