The Grind is a restaurant and gaming spot in St. Albans. And by gaming, I'm talking D&D, Magic the Gathering, and other tabletop games.

The restaurant features items like BBQ sandwiches, burgers, and a few entrees (steak, chicken, etc.) It's a small menu with some variety.

I visited as soon as they opened one day, so I had the whole place to myself.

I wanted something unique from the menu, and the item that sounded the most fun to me was "Red and White Crispy Ravioli." It's crispy fried ravioli served with both alfredo and marina sauce, so I decided to give that a go.

First, though, was a house salad with French dressing. 

And, this was actually a neat concept. If you're not sure if you're in the mood for a white sauce or red sauce, you can get both at once here. Have you been yet?

There's a new coffee shop smack dab in the center of the Vienna mall.

Leaf & Bean Tea & Coffee serves espresso, coffee, frozen drinks and teas.

There are also some snacks, like pepperoni rolls!

I ordered their "caramel cloud" frappe, which was one of their best sellers!

Small-town dairies are my favorite. And Winfield Dairy Freeze is no exception.

The Dairy Freeze has burgers, BBQ sandwiches, hot dogs, and other sandwiches. Plus a variety of fried sides like potato skins, french fries, onion rings, fried mushrooms, broccoli bites and more.

But the real star for me, as always, is the ice cream. They have a version of the blizzard called "Kandy Koolers."

I went through the drive-thru (!!) and ordered a medium Oreo Kandy Kooler.

The medium is not only huge, but there are real, huge chunks of Oreo in it! I can't wait to try the other flavors.

In the Charleston-Huntington area, there really aren't a ton of places to find a macaron.

Macarons are s a confection made up of two round, flat, almond-flour-based cookies sandwiching a filling like cream, ganache or jam - not the shredded coconut mound cookies.

So when Abbey Shae Bakes burst onto the scene on four wheels dishing out unique flavored macarons, it shot up on my list of places to try. I recently was able to catch her in Huntington.

She had strawberry lemonade, salty caramel, orange creamsicle, cookies & cream and cotton candy flavors. I had to try one - or two - of each. Wow! She now has her fall flavors out, so be sure to catch her.

Marmet is home to a new ice cream shop: Kups & Kones.

They have a few different ice cream flavors that can be made into a milkshake, float, sundae, banana split and more.

I went for a "cookie dough extreme" sundae topped with caramel and a cherry.

Have you been?

Taste of Asia has a few locations in West Virginia: South Charleston, Huntington and Teays Valley.

The restaurant focuses on Chinese, sushi, hibachi, Thai and more, so it's kind of a one-stop-shop for everything Asian.

Because it was unique to this location, I tried the "Teays Valley Roll," which had shrimp tempura, mango, spicy crab salad, spicy mayo, eel sauce and masago - all things I love!

What's your favorite thing here?

Alfredo's Bistro has a few locations in West Virginia, and I'm slowly making my way to all of them!

The menus are pretty much the same with Italian and Greek fare, so I've been trying different things.

First, I started with a house salad, which comes with feta, olives and red onion.

Then, came the garlic bread to eat with my pasta.

And finally chicken parmesan! Any pasta topped with sauce and cheese has my name written all over it.

Have you been?

The Mid Valley Mart in Hurricane is like three businesses in one. It's a gas station and general convenience store. It's a coffee shop. And it's also a restaurant.

I was able to experience the first two, but the restaurant portion doesn't open til evening. That will have to wait for another day.

The shop has snack foods, like chips and candy, as well as a wine selection.

And the coffee bar has a number of specialty drinks, and the one that sounded most delicious on this day was the caramel frappuccino - but then again, when doesn't it sound delicious?

It's nice to have all these offerings in one place. Have you been to Beans 'N Cream Cafe?

Tom's is well-known in the Oak Hill area for having tasty hot dogs.

I had to go try my hand. I went for a Tom's Hot Dog on an English bun topped with slaw, mustard and onions - with the shugar chili.

Now that I've had this kind of chili, I don't think I could ever go back.

Some time ago, a friend told me that L&R BBQ is the best BBQ in the state. With that kind of ringing endorsement, it shot to the top of my "to try" list - which, is quite long.

I made the trek to Hurricane on a snowy weekend to check it out. Walking in, there were many folks enjoying their lunch, and I took a quick look over the short menu to figure out my order.

I settled on the Pork BBQ Sandwich with a side of macaroni & cheese. This is my go-to because it's usually delicious.

After just a few minutes, my order was ready and I was back on the road. The sandwich was not pulled pork like I'm used to, but more thick cuts that are slathered in a tangy sweet BBQ sauce. Yum!


The macaroni & cheese was a healthy portion that had just a slight bit of a kick to it!

What's your favorite BBQ in West Virginia?