Our favorite cyptid - the Mothman - hails from Point Pleasant, which I will take any excuse to visit. I firmly believe they are ripe for some really great restaurants.



When Ichiban 2 opened, I took the opportunity to check it out. The pan-Asian restaurant has everything from sushi rolls and hibachi dinners to yaki udon and Chinese food. You can order right online and have everything ready when you arrive.



I ordered some of the crispy crab wontons and the Ichiban roll - their namesake: shrimp tempura, spicy kani, seaweed salad, crunch w. soy paper, topped w. spicy mayo eel sauce.



The wontons were standard. I think I'm in the minority here when I say I'm not crazy about the crispy ends and just want the filling. So I tend to gravitate toward a different shape that limits the crispy edges - but, this had substantial filling and it was good.



The sushi roll was a bit different - with the pink paper and seaweed salad inside. I enjoyed that it was a little bit of a twist on something familiar; the texture became a bit soft and I like when there's variation. It was good, and I'd eat again - just nothing totally out of the box. But a decent option for town. 

Grade: B

Sometimes when I visit Weirton, it looks like a whole different world. When I was growing up, there was a Walmart where there is now a whole shopping plaza, which includes Crazy Mexican Restaurant & Grill.



This restaurant describes itself this way: "Authentic Mexican fair, margaritas, beers, main dining, mezzanine seating, patios and party room." 



I placed a big order for a bunch of different things to take back to my family. While I waited inside, I took in how large this place really is. There are colorful decorations criss-crossing the dining room, which drew my attention to the second level of dining. I don't know that I've seen a Mexican restaurant this big! 



I had to wait for quite some time for my order, but once it was finally ready, I was excited to take it home and chow down. First up: These hard tacos with steak. Hard tacos are not my favorite, but my mom enjoyed this slightly elevated take on the classic ground beef taco. 



One of my favorites was the arroz con pollo. Chicken + rice + queso = always tasty. I can only imagine how much better this dish could be if it was peppered with plump, juicy hunks of chicken breast rather than the slivers of chicken that are usually a bit dry.



We also had a burrito California, which is a giant burrito with all the fixins: steak, avocado, onion, rice, beans, etc. Dad was a fan of this with all of the variety. And the barbacoa street tacos - cilantro and white onion on corn tortilla - were tasty, but also a bit dry. 



Chicken chimichangas were topped with lettuce and tomato, and it. all kinda became a bit soggy, but it wasn't bad. I mostly moved those off to the side, because they don't add much flavor, and enjoy the simple chicken chimichanga.



Finally, a taco salad with ground beef. I didn't try this one, but mom enjoyed it. Overall, this place was fairly average - but I did enjoy the extra fanfare.

Grade: B

I love DiCarlo's. If you've been here for a while, you probably know that I've visited every DiCarlo's location - most of which are centered around the Ohio Valley.



One of their newest locations, though, is located in Columbus - a bit further out from its dedicated following. And, it shows.



In the infamous Pizza Connoisseurs of Columbus Facebook group, people have slaughtered the "cold cheese" pizza - because apparently they haven't grasped the concept of freshly melted cheese.  



The thing about DiCarlo's is that it focuses on few really quality ingredients and treats them with care. That's not always the case at other pizza shops. They're slinging pizzas, throwing ingredients on, baking it all together and moving it out the door. 



At DiCarlo's, it's a beautiful dance. The crunchy crust is topped with hot sauce. At the end, fresh provolone lightly melts on top. It's not a greasy, congealed mess hastily slopped together.



Some people poo-poo it because they like to "yuck" other people's "yum." Or they just like to be contrary and can't stand the idea of challenging their perception of how pizza should be prepared. Hint: Not all pizza has to be cooked like Pizza Hut. 



The Columbus location is brand new, fresh, clean. It's modern, but has throwback touches. They serve pepperoni rolls in addition to the pizza. I went with 6 pieces with pepperoni. Crunchy crust, freshly melted provolone and a perfectly balance tomato sauce made for an absolutely delicious bite.

Grade: A

The Coffeehouse in Weston was quite the pleasant surprise.



When I was coming to town, I wasn't searching for coffee. But I stumbled upon this shop and had to check it out.



The building houses more than just the coffee shop, I think. So, when walking inside, veer to the right to see a wide open space with some sweet country-chic decor.



They serve specialty coffees, cold coffees, drip coffee, cider, hot cocoa and tea. 



They even have chocolate-covered espresso beans and whole bean coffee for sale. 



While I'm a sucker for hot cocoa, and the peach cider sounded really good, I went for a caramel latte instead. 



For me, it was a perfect amount of sweetness and bitter. It was soothing and gave me a little extra pep in my step.



Have you been?



Grade: A

Typically when I am visiting a city, I do my research to find the "must-try" places - usually a mix of touristy places, foodie places and random places I'm in the mood for. Double Happy fell into the last category.  



I just wanted ice cream. Truth be told, I literally always want ice cream. But this ice crem drive-thru offered up milkshakes, as well as espresso drinks & blended drinks, Happy Burgers, chicken breast sandwiches, and the World's Largest Waffle Fry.



One thing that made this place interesting is that they use A2 milk. What does that mean? 

"In business since 2017, we started making our own soft serve with locally sourced A2 milk from Indian Creek Creamery in January, 2020.

Milk has two beta-casein proteins, so A2 milk is technically A2/A2 milk. Milk that is regularly available from the store has an A1 protein as well… A1/A2.

Some people believe they are lactose intolerant, but many times are just intolerant to the A1 protein in store bought milk.

An intolerance to A1 cow's milk protein and lactose intolerance are distinct problems. Lactose is milk's sugar and not a protein. Lactose intolerance occurs in people who have a deficiency in the production of an enzyme called lactase, whose role is to break lactose molecules during the digestive process, transforming it into energy for human body cells. Intolerance to the A1 cow's milk protein can cause similar reactions to lactose intolerance, which can generate confusion between the two problems.

Interestingly, non-cow milk, including that of humans, sheep, goats, donkeys, yaks, camels, and buffalo contain mostly A2 beta-casein protein.

If A2 milk is so great, why isn’t it the “normal” store bought milk? Breeds of cows have differing gene frequency. Though the bull book has many A2/A2 animals, to transition a herd to A2/A2 can take ten years or more. Therefore, industrial scale operations have found it better, so far, to not take the big step to A2 only.

Though the scientific community is not yet convinced, our real world experience at Double Happy is significant. Two or three customers each week tell us that while they experience troubles after having regular milk from the store, they feel fine after enjoying our products.

We look forward to offering many more people the chance to enjoy locally sourced A2 milk… in our soft serve ice cream, milkshakes, and coffee drinks."

I kept it simple with a "Berry, Berry, Berry" milkshake which had blueberries, strawberries, raspberries. It was fairly mild in flavor, but lightly sweet and refreshing.

Grade: B 

Stauf's Coffee Roasters has locations all over Columbus, serving up a fine cup of joe.



I visited the Grandview Heights location and ordered the Milky Way latte, which included chocolate and caramel syrup.  



No snack on this trip - just the caffeine. And it was good. A nice, robust espresso that was tamed with the two syrups.



It's no surprise I like my coffee on the sweeter side, and I could definitely taste the bitterness of the coffee - but it worked for me.



What's your favorite drink here?

Grade: B

Mount Hope is home to a small coffee shop called Coal Bucket Coffee Shop. I had been wanting to check it out because small town coffee shops are one of my fav places to visit.



I arrived here as soon as it opened... but it wasn't open, unfortunately. Ten minutes after... fifteen minutes after... still no sign of opening. So I had to leave, go do my errands in the area and come back. Thankfully, they were open the second time around.



There wasn't anyone to greet me right away, so I kinda hovered awkwardly until I was waited on. Once that happened, I was able to order a frozen caramel coffee. The ice was a bit chunkier than I'd prefer, but there was plenty of caramel to please even the sweetest tooth - like mine.



Grade: B

Casa D'Amici is well-known for being the downtown pizza joint open late at night. And while you could dismiss it as drunk college food, Casa actually serves up a pretty decent pie. So, I was pleased to see them expand beyond downtown and into the Cheat Lake area.



The Cheat Lake location 1) has plenty of parking and 2) seems so big and open. I think because the ceilings are so high. They offer pizza, subs, pasta, calzones and baked rolls. I went with a variety platter to take home for dinner. 



I always enjoy their baked rolls because it's not something you see at all pizza shops - and hey, it's close to a pepperoni roll, what can I say?



I ordered a spinach, mozzarella and ricotta; I only wish I could've added mushrooms. Always love this flavor combination, and it was just enrobed in a perfectly golden brown crust. 



We ordered a few slices to try - a pepperoni and mushrooms, as well as a Hawaiian slice. Both were good - large, thin slices that could be crisper on the bottom, but not bad. 



Finally, we had a vodka penne dish with garlic bread. I liked the flavor, though there wasn't really a ton of sauce. It just coated the pasta, so there were some bites that had virtually no sauce. I also think some meatballs or other protein would help the texture.



Overall, though, I enjoyed my meal. I like the variety offered for what it is, and I've not had a bad dish here. It's consistently good, fast pizza and pizza-adjacent items.

Grade: A

Hangover Easy - or HOE - is a tongue-in-cheek Columbus eatery that also has locations in other Ohio college towns. I didn't have a whole lot of time on this trip, so I just did a carryout order. I went with an eggs benedict on English muffin with two over-medium eggs and a chipotle queso sauce. Add a side of sweet potato tots. 



It's a heavy breakfast with a bit of spice, but it was filling and flavorful. The tots were nice and crisp, even after being in a styrofoam container for a few minutes. And the benedict was lacking a little finesse with some garnish and whatnot, but the sauce was tasty, and the eggs were cooked well.

Grade: B