The Flying Fish has opened up an "express" location in Suncrest. There's no dining in, at least not yet, but you can get to-go and delivery from this location - 973 Chestnut Ridge Road. The restaurant location is at the end of Chestnut Ridge Road with a few other businesses in the same building. If you remember the short-lived Mr. C's Wiseguy Cafe, that's your place.

Place your order online, and you can choose delivery or take out. Since it's close to me, I simply placed my order online for a fish sandwich and shrimp jambalaya (it has to be $15 minimum) to pick up. There are small fees for local delivery. The restaurant called to confirm I wanted the fish sandwich and not just the fish and chips. After the confirmation, it was just about 10 minutes until it was ready.

After I parked, I went to the far left of the building - outside and around to the bottom floor - to pick up my food. There were a couple workers outside smoking, which was odd. But at least I knew I was in the right place. As soon as I stepped inside, they handed my food right to me at the door. I didn't even have a chance to go inside, really.

I got home and unwrapped everything. The food is in plastic containers, so it will start to steam if it's in there too long. I first tried a french fry, which had begun to get a little soft. They were still a nice golden brown, skin on one side and a nice bit of flavor.

The jambalaya had a little heat to it and a nice texture. I hate when jambalaya gets too mushy. A little on the pricey side, but not bad.

And my favorite - the sandwich - was ginormous, as I remember. A delicious crisp batter covered the filet, and a tangy tartar, fresh lettuce and hunk of tomato dressed the sandwich. The end part had started to get mushy, maybe from being in the container or maybe the grease just had time to sink through.

Best fish sandwich in town? Yep. I think maybe some containers that allowed them to breathe a bit better would be nice. And some signage to direct people where to go.

But perfect for a Friday, eh? eh? eh?

Grade: B

I went skiing.

I had never been, and I feel like that's a problem. Especially since I'm trying to tick off as many of the "55 Unique Things to Do in the Mountain State" as I can. So, Lisa and I purchased the billion dollars in equipment necessary to fall gracefully down a mountain - ski pants, waterproof jacket, hat, goggles, gloves ... plus renting skis, helmets and poles.

We took a lesson at Winterplace. I only fell once! And that was mostly to avoid the gaggle of children skating circles around me. When it was time to actually go down the hill, I did pretty well. *pats self on back*

And, it's actually pretty cool once it stops being terrifying. I think after I initially fell, I was like "OK, got that out of the way." And the one rule is to just never lean back at all. I started to go to fast and, not thinking, I tried to correct myself and that caused me to fall. But I learned to "pizza" my skis pretty quickly (make them into a wedge shape) to go slower.

OH, food. That's right. This blog revolves around food.


So, Winterplace does have a few restaurants. There's "The MountainHouse," which is mid-mountain and features nice views. I doubt I'd be able to make it up there.

Then there's Mickey's Mountain Cafe, which has burgers, hot dogs, chicken ... but it was closed, as we were near the end of the season. There's also the Snowdrift Lounge which has action skiing videos, music, etc.

The quickest and most convenient, though? Mountain Mama's Food Court.

The food court has breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. They have sandwiches, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, salads, desserts and more.

I went for a fried chicken sandwich. That is essentially their chicken tenders placed on a bun. But, after driving for three hours, skiing for a couple and not having eaten -- this tasted amazing.

A bin of tomatoes, onions, etc. was off to the side, and I helped myself to some toppings.

I also picked up a brownie for dessert. So, overall, it's a food court. But, it was exactly what I wanted after skiing.

I LOVE Secret Sandwich Society. I love the creative, delicious sandwiches. I love their marketing and branding. And I love their whole concept of making it exclusive. It's smart.

I've already reviewed them, so this isn't that. These are just some fun thoughts. I've never had a chance to go for their mac and cheese Monday. They only serve macaroni and cheese on Mondays, for whatever reason. I asked why. And the server said simply "because we do." So. I happened to be going through Fayetteville on a Monday and got to enjoy their macaroni and cheese. It's pretty delicious.

And I also tried a new sandwich: The Truman - turkey, peach jam, blue cheese spread and crispy onions. It was delicious. Perfectly sweet, salty, tangy and crunchy. Yum yum yum.

Who went to the Winter Blues North Farmers Market this past weekend? The WVU Extension Service West Virginia Small Farm Center in partnership with the Morgantown Farmers' Market Growers Association held the market Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ruby Community Center in Mylan Park.

Entry fee was just $2, which benefits the market and Empty Bowls Monongalia. Tons of vendors were in attendance, including Cheslock Farm, DeBerry Farm Fresh Produce, High Country Creamery, Evans Knob Farm, Fiddlehead Woodworking, Mockingbird Hill, Mountain Diamond Longhorns, Rising Creek Bakery and Working H Farms.

PLUS a few local restaurants, like Garcia's Latin Market, Preston County Inn, The Cupcakerie and Tin 202.

I was only able to make a quick trip toward the end of the market because of a packed Saturday. But my friend Vicki took full advantage. Check out her haul!

"I support my region's awesome farmers and producers! Filet mignon, hot sausage, jerky and beef sticks from Working H Farms, cheese curds fromHigh Country Creamery & Market, pepper jelly and spicy blood Mary mix from Glascock's Produce, raspberry-habanero and strawberry-habanero jam fromSister Sue's Homemade Jams and Jelly's and an upcycled locust fence post tea light holder from Fiddlehead Woodworking. Oh! And blackberry and strawberry syrups from WVU Jackson's Mill Farmstead!— at Winter Blues North Farmers Market & Local Dine Around."

West Virginia has some really unique, wonderful places -- like the small swiss village Helvetia.

But have you heard of Ireland, W.Va.?

The small town is located at the southern end of Lewis County and was settled by Irish immigrant Andrew Wilson in the early 1800s. In his later years, Wilson became known as "Old Ireland." A few years after Wilson died and the first post office was being located in the town, community members named the area "Ireland" in honor of Wilson.

This town has embraced its Irish roots through various ways --  an organization called "Shamrock Extension Homemakers Club," many Irish names and the annual Irish Spring Festival. The festival's birth was due to community members rediscovering the history of the town combined with the vernal equinox plus the beginning of spring.

I first heard of Ireland through Irish Road Bowling, a sport similar to golf where participants throw a 28 oz. cannonball from one point on the road to two miles further down on the road in the fewest number of attempts. Considering our roads in West Virginia tend to be winding, the ball only goes so far before bouncing off to the side or down a hill.

I've seen a few stories on Irish Road Bowling (and here), but I hadn't ever seen it in person. And while they do travel a bit around the state for various tournaments, where better to see them than in their own hometown of Ireland? Coinciding with the Irish Spring Festival? I can't think of a better place to spend St. Patrick's Day in West Virginia. One more check off my WV bucket list with Vicki.

After a bit of a lengthy drive, we made it to Ireland without any hiccups. It's pretty easy to find - drive down 79 and then 19 until you run into Ireland. We parked along the road and made it just in time for the beginning of the parade.


Irish royalty blessed us with their presence, and a bunch of other hometown floats tossed out candy, coins and necklaces. A person donning an mask and nametag saying "Old Ireland" handed me a pearl onion -- I have NO idea what this means and have researched the heck out of it. If anyone knows of some Irish tradition, please let me in on the secret.


A pearl onion? No clue.

After the parade, we headed toward the community center to see the vendors. There were some pretty cool items up for sale - like T-shirts and quilts.

Of course, we had to treat ourselves to some food, too. They had Blarney Dogs (hotdogs), Unicorn Beef (reuben), Rainbow Rolls (cinnamon rolls) and Rainbow Floats (sherbet shakes). Such a cute idea. We both had to get some unicorn beef because ... well, how could you NOT get unicorn beef?

The sandwich was only $3, plus there was a jar for donations. So plus a drink and chips and a donation, I spent like $5 for my meal.

Outside of the kitchen was a huge table full of all kinds of condiments. I slathered some cole slaw, onions and thousand island dressing on my sandwich. Confession: I'm not crazy about sauerkraut, so I was masking some of that taste.

But, overall, this was pretty tasty. And fun.

Afterward, it was up to the road to watch some road bowlers.

So many people gathered and took turns throwing their respective cannonballs down the road. I mostly tried to avoid getting run over by the cars that occasionally passed through, keep warm in the rain and not get hurt by a wayward cannonball. I think it was a success.

A few new restaurants have opened up, and there are a few older ones who haven't made an appearance on my blog because they are in this weird bigger-than-a-local-restaurant but smaller-than-large-chains category. I've had a few questions lately from people out of town who either A - don't realize these are chain restaurants or B - don't consider them "real" chain restaurants since they're small or regional. So, if you're wondering about these ones because you haven't heard of them, here are my opinions. Here's an end-of-the-week catch up.

NEW NEWS:

Dickey's Barbecue Pit
Dickey's Barbecue Pit just opened in the former Oliverio's Marketplace location. Oliverio's Ristorante simply serves lunch at their main location now. Dickey's is a chain BBQ place, but there aren't many in the state. And, this is the first one in Morgantown.

They have a pulled pork, beef brisket, honey ham, spicy cheddar sausage, polish sausage, pork ribs and turkey breast. You can get those as a meat plate, with 2 sides, a roll, pickles and onions. Or you could get a sandwich, plus they have "bakers" and catering options.


I went with a two-meat meat plate, which just so happened to be the special that day: pulled pork and spicy cheddar sausage. The sides are pretty exciting, and I went with mac and cheese and the baked potato casserole.

They had three sauces off to the side you could choose: regular, spicy and sweet - most of which tasted similar. I think I ended up using the regular mostly. Tony, who knows more about BBQ, said it had some good color. And that it had a nice smoke ring. He said the brisket was pulled, which was different. We were all fans of the pulled pork, which was moist.

The mac and cheese was average, and the potatoes were tasty. Tony and Jake thought the baked beans were OK. There are a lot sides, though, so that's fun.

But the best part? Free ice cream.

Even though it was free and vanilla, it was actually pretty good. Maybe free ice cream just tastes good. Anyway, it joins the other half dozen or so BBQ joints in town. I think Morgantown just woke up one day and decided we needed all of the BBQ.



















Sheetz
The Altoona, Pennsylvania, based gas station/convenience store Sheetz has spread out into Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. They currently have four locations in Morgantown, plus this new concept location in University Place, plus another one planned.

The new concept Sheetz located in the WVU public/private partnership University Place opened recently. This Sheetz does not offer gas - a first for the gas station. Instead, it offers a larger grocery store/convenience store only. There's a huge focus on the MTO food and some premade items. Plus they'll have meat, cheese and produce.

I went briefly when I had a voucher for their soft opening so they could work to get set up and work some kinks out. And I may have had Sheetz not once, but twice, in one day. I'm a big fan of their chicken sandwich now. Seriously. Sold.































OLD NEWS:

Shoney's
Shoney's, which began in Charleston, West Virginia, made headlines last year when it announced its Morgantown location would serve alcohol. Shoney's is now located in 16 states, but it's still kind of cool that it was started here in West Virginia.

I don't dislike Shoney's; I just haven't been to this location yet. But I assume once you've had one, you've had most of them. Right? So, here, I went to one in Princeton. God, now looking at that blog post, it makes me want a fish sandwich. And now I'm revisiting the idea of just making this a wrap-up post and not doing a review specifically devoted to Shoney's.

Eat'n Park
I actually really like Eat'n Park. Growing up, we would go here in high school because it was open late, and they actually allowed smoking in one area. I don't smoke, but many of my friends did, because it was the cool thing to do in high school. You know how that goes. Eat'n Park is located in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

They have the best cookies. Seriously. Get a smiley face cookie. I'm also a fan of their grilled cheese (paired with the homemade soup on the salad bar) and the buffalo chicken salad. Don't expect some inspired, creative culinary masterpiece. But, it's a decent meal at any hour you want.

Garfield's
Garfield's food is OK. Did you know there are only two locations in West Virginia? One in Bridgeport and one in Morgantown. It makes more sense to me now when people ask about it. Their menu is fine, but I just have no attachment to this restaurant. All of the food is OK, and if you're in the mall and want a nicer sit-down place (as opposed to the food court), Garfield's is probably your place. Chicken fingers, quesadillas, sandwiches, burgers, pasta. You get the idea. If you're looking for a local flair, you're not going to get it here. But, it's an OK option and one of the few in the state nearby.

Cheddar's
Cheddar's has four locations in West Virginia: Beckley, Vienna, Wheeling and Morgantown. Previously, I used to think Cheddar's was this general crowd-pleasing place that most people could find something they like. It's similar to the previous three restaurants in that if offers a little bit of everything for everyone, and since it's not super widespread, it's new to some.

However. Cheddar's is the restaurant that taught me what food poisoning is. And if you're not sure if you've had it or maybe had a touch of it, you are wrong. You know it when you get it. It was probably one of the worst experiences of my life, right up there alongside the flu (twice) this past year. I have only ever had food poisoning once, and it was from Cheddar's pasta alfredo. I have been to some really, really sketchy places. And I've certainly not always felt great afterward. But this, this was full on food poisoning. I still get a little anxious ordering pasta alfredo years later. But, I really try to avoid this place at all costs. I have questions concerning the cleanliness for multiple reasons.

So, there you have a it. A quick wrap-up of some of the smaller, regional chains that either have a connection to West Virginia or are few and far between here.