Ranking high up there on my list of most favorite restaurants in Morgantown, Puglioni's is one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever been to. Puglioni's is located in Chelsea Square in Suncrest. It's a tucked-away little treasure for Morgantonians. It has a fairly small dining area, so you may expect a wait on busy Friday or Saturday nights since they don't take reservations usually. The wait will be worth it. It's more closed quarters than I'm usually comfortable with, but it makes for an intimate setting and good for one-on-one conversations.

Why is it called Puglioni's? I'm not sure, though there are a few pictures of pug dogs around. I know it was opened by a WVU alum, but not sure the back story.


On Thursday evening, good friend and mentor throughout my collegiate career Jan Boyles and I took to Puglioni's for our farewell dinner. Jan has an amazing opportunity in D.C. at American University, and she's snatching it up. Which means, Martin Hall will be void of the happy, perky advising superwoman. We talked about all of this and more at Puglioni's.

We didn't have much of a wait as we walked in. We were sat at a small table, and our drink orders were placed. Soon after, two generous salads and their famous buttery bread were placed on our table. The salad contains lettuce, tomato, black olives, onion and your choice of dressing. Since a friend ordered it before, I've been on a kick with French dressing, and theirs is absolutely divine. The bit of sweetness with the crisp lettuce makes for a salad that I usually devour, which is unusual for me and salads.

The bread is also out of this world. I'm not usually a person who focuses on bread. It's usually just ... well, bread to me. But this fresh-baked loaf sits in a delicious buttery garlic mixture that gives the bread a delicious flavor while keeping the the crunch and flakiness in tact. The only downside to eating this bread is actually cutting it. For all the times I've gone to Puglioni's, I have no idea how to cut into the beast without me looking like a savage. Jan dug it, and we just took it piece by piece from there.

For my entree, I ordered something a little different. Ever since I was introduced to Puglioni's, I was told to try their pasta carbonara, and I was hooked ever since. I order it nearly every time I'm there because it is THAT good. It's creamy, cheesey and speckled with bacon and ham. Though I don't usually like bacon and ham, it gives it that perfect saltiness with the cheese that just makes it out of this world. For someone who likes to try new things to usually stick to one dish because I don't think it could get any better says a lot. Seriously, try the pasta carbonara. Anyway, that's what Jan decided on.

I, however, wanted to be adventurous. I ordered the seafood pomodoro with rotini noodles. That's the other amazing thing at Puglioni's - they make all their pastas in house (sans the angel hair), and you get to choose which type of pasta you'd like with your dinner - spaghetti, fettucine, linguine, rotini or angel hair. Before I go too far, they also offer pizza, sandwiches and calzones. But when they make fresh pasta EVERY DAY, how could that not tempt you? It does me. I've also had the lasagna, which is to die for. Seven layers of meaty and cheesey goodness with a mouth-watering marinara - it doesn't get much better than that.

The seafood pomodoro had fresh shrimp and scallops, mushrooms, pomodoro tomatos, artichoke hearts and garlic. It was amazing. As amazing as the carbonara? No, but it was a nice refreshing change.The seafood was fresh, succulent and good, which is surprising for an Italian restaurant. Not surprising for Puglionis. The artichoke hearts were cooked great - not too hard or too mushy. And the mushrooms! They were plump and button-sized so you actually get the taste when you bite into it. The pomodoro tomatoes acted as the light, watery sauce. The dish was much lighter than my other two favorites, but it was filling nonetheless. I always have leftovers, which taste great for a later dinner or even the next day.

If I could give this restaurant higher than an A, I would. You just have to go to see for yourself.

Grade: A

The only place I'll go despite the continually bad service. The Omelet Spot (formerly Shoppe) is a staple in Princeton. It's the only 24/7 sit-down restaurant, so it's very similar to Eat'n Park, only much worse. The Omelet Spot is par for the course when it comes to diners. It features breakfast, sandwiches and some dinner plates. All of which will taste much better after a night at Danny's.



You walk in and seat yourself. The booths aren't very sturdy, so I don't like to sit at one on the end. They also have these weird poles in the middle of the dining area that make some of the seats nearly impossible to sit in. Our waitress this time was 30-some weeks pregnant, but I didn't even notice until she told us. She came over to the table to take our drink orders and gave us a set of silverware - a fork and knife in a plastic baggy. The table is always slightly sticky, so it's commonplace to wipe it down with a napkin before touching it.

I've found that the food is mediocre, but one sandwich I have been ordering lately is the "chunky cheese chicken melt," which has mushrooms, onions, green peppers, American and Swiss cheese. It's tasty, but it's something I could make at home. The wait time for the food varies, but we've waited more than three hours on New Year's Eve before. If there aren't many people, the food is usually fairly quick. Refills, however, are nonexistent here. Which is bad for me. The strategy is to make eye contact when you need something, otherwise you'll never see the waitress again.


As we were sitting there, a boy mopped around us and under our table a bit, which made me uncomfortable, but I guess a 24/7 hour restaurant has to clean some time. I also had cheese fries this time, which were pretty good. They were crunchy, the way I like them.

They also have some desserts in a fridge off to the side, but since it's hard to get the waitress's attention, it's hard to get anything after your meal (including the ticket to pay). I ordered the choco- late pie, and it was very good. The choco- late was made of pudding and the cool whip topping was yummy.

The truth of the matter is this: the service is awful, the food is mediocre, but it's open all the time - what can you expect? And to be honest, I kind of like the waitresses not bothering me. It's a relaxed environment where you can sometimes people-watch folks who frequent here.

Grade: C

I'm not familiar with Virginia the way Chris is. When you live in West Virginia, you sometimes have to travel outside of the state to get what you actually need. For him, that means the neighboring Virginia area. For me, that's always been the Pittsburgh area. When I bought him tickets for a wrestling show in Pittsburgh, he thought it was forever away. To him, it was. When he told me we were going to Virginia for lunch, I thought it was forever away.


Bellacino's Pizza & Grinders is a chain restaurant all over the United States. I had never heard of, nor seen, one though, so I was definitely willing to try something new. We ventured to Bluefield, Va, for this small restaurant. Boasting "Grinders," which is what I would think of as a sub or hoagie, Bellacino's is the typical, run-of-the-mill fast Italian shop. It's small on the inside, with about a dozen seating areas. It seems as if most orders are to-go, as you order at the counter and the only menus are takeout ones or the one beneath the Plexiglas-glass on the counter.

After taking in the scenery - a little chef plastered on every piece of merchandise and the name "Bellacino's" splatter everywhere else - we grabbed a takeout menu, sat down and figured out our game plan. This is when I realized this wasn't a hometown cooking sort of restaurant ... when a restaurant has the ability to put their name on every thing, including the glass chandelier opposite of "coca-cola," they have some money. I knew immediately that I wanted the Italian grinder, their house specialty, because if they're saying that's the best thing on their menu, I have to have it. It had ham, sausage, salami, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise. Chris opted for a meatball grinder, which is probably what I would've liked had I not gotten their specialty. We also ordered a small (8") pizza with black olives to split.

We filled our fountain drinks and had a seat. For what felt like forever. We listened to the workers talk loudly back and forth, and I impatiently refilled my cup a few times. When our food arrived, I was optimistic. Their "small" subs are 9", and the large ones are 18". We both got smalls, but they filled out the plates. I couldn't quite make eating this sandwich pleasant. It was very messy, and the ingredients were just slopped together. In one bite, I had all green pepper and onions. In another, I had only sausage and salami. I had a few occasional bites where most of the ingredients met, but they were few and far between. Instead, I received a sandwich that didn't impress. Eating plain sausage or plain green peppers doesn't cut it for me. Beyond that, the ingredients alone weren't impressive. I felt as though I was munching on a convenience store hoagie for $2. Which is okay.


Chris's grinder tasted much better. It was almost exactly like a Subway meatball sub, which I love, so it received high marks in my book. The meatballs were sliced, though, which was odd to me. It isn't necessarily a meat"ball" sandwich anymore, but it does seem as though it's easier to eat that way.


The pizza also was right down the middle - not great, not bad. Nothing stood out to me, and I probably wouldn't order it again. I would indulge if it was free, but it's not anything special to chase after. Overall, that was the impression I got with the whole restaurant - nothing impressed me, but I didn't dislike anything. Everything was just ... average.

Campestre is a gem hidden in Princeton. Situated on Greasy Ridge Road, this restaurant is located in the Walmart Plaza. After discovering the amazingness that is this restaurant, I've had my boyfriend take me back at least once every time I'm in town. Featuring creative Mexican dishes, Campestre is a nice Mexican restaurant that stands out of all the others I've had in West Virginia so far. If you've read my blog, you know I'm not a big Mexican fan. But the restaurants I do like tend to end up on here. Campestre is different in that it isn't the typical Tex-Mex lunch combos of one taco, one quesadilla and one burrito. Or maybe two soft tacos, one hard taco and a chalupa. No, Campestre has tons of creative, unique dishes.


When you walk in, the atmosphere is not tacky and painted with bright reds and greens like favorite college Mexican restaurants in Morgantown. In fact, the interior is gorgeous and welcoming. The restaurant is impeccably clean, and it's refreshing. The booths are high and private, and a lit-up bar welcomes you as you walk from the entrance to the center of the restaurant. As soon as you are seated (there's never been a wait while I've been there), a basket of tortilla chips with both cups of salsa and queso are rushed to the table. The queso is the best I've ever had, hands down. It almost waivers on the sweet side, but the cheese and spices are undeniable.

The wait staff is very attentive and friendly. I've never had to go with an empty glass to wash down the spicy food. The menu, however, is on a whole other level. It's not written in hieroglyphics, where you have to constantly flip around the menu for definitions of what each dish is. It's largely split up into the types of meat one would like: beef, pork, chicken, seafood and vegetarian. Each dish lists what is in it, so there's no unwelcomed surprised when the dish arrives.

For an appetizer, we split a chicken quesadilla. It didn't arrive ahead of our main entrees, but the food was prepared so quickly, we weren't waiting long enough anyway. The chicken was lightly spiced and was housed in a bed of oozing white and yellow cheese. A simple dish, but delicious with just the right touches.

My current favorite entree, which I've ordered the past two times, is the "Camarones Locos," which is grilled shrimp, scallops, bell peppers, onions and zucchini on top of rice with their special cheese sauce. Essentially it's a delicious creamy cheesy rice with my favorite foods on top. The ingredients are fresh and tasty. The seafood seems like it's straight for the ocean, which is surprising for landlocked Princeton, and the veggies are crisp and add the perfect balance for the cheesy rice base. The portion is huge, and I always have leftovers. It tastes just as amazing cold as it did warm.

Chris opted for a new dish this visit, and he tried the Pork Carnitas, which were a five or six large chunks of tender pork served with a couple flour tortillas, pica de gallo, rice and beans. The poor was just falling apart, it was so tender, and he was content with his dish.

For dessert, we split an order of churro - simple fried long pastry filled with a fruity filling. Ours had an apple filling, with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a cherry on top. Essentially, it tasted like an apple pie, but with much less mess. This restaurant is quickly becoming my favorite in Princeton with its variety of tasty dishes, fantastic service and good prices (~$35 for all that!). I will definitely be stopping by again when I'm in town.

Grade: A

Though this restaurant is not a new one, it is one of my favorites. If not my very favorite. It'd be a close call between Pizza Al's and my hometown DiCarlo's Pizza. One of my co-workers brought up the fact that he had never had Pizza Al's before. I was shocked. Beyond shocked. I lived in Pierpont my freshman year at WVU, and Pizza Al's is basically next door. My roommates at the time and I tried Pizza Al's, and I've been hooked every since. Unfortunately, Pizza Al's doesn't deliver so that makes it difficult. In addition, the dining area is tiny and the parking spots aren't easy to get to. However, the pizza is so good that it doesn't stop most people.

Their menu is short, but that's because their specialty is pizza, and that's what you should get when you go there.

Long story short, we decided to order pizza for lunch. One of my other co-workers picked it up. They ordered the largest size, at only $13.25, with pepperoni and sausage. This is never a combination I would order for myself since meat really isn't my thing, but I wasn't going to turn down a Pizza Al's opportunity.

Before I go on, I think everyone needs to know this is true, authentic Italian pizza. Thin crust, tons of oozing cheese and a sauce that could beat out your mother's traditional recipe. Al is old-school, and they make the pizzas right there behind the counter. You can see your pizza come out of the huge over, be placed in a giant box and have Al send you off. These pies are perfect, and don't tell Al you need Parmesan cheese. Because you don't, and he'll let you know.

The pepperoni and sausage combo was surprising good. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I've never not been happy with a pizza from this place, but it was very good! It has a lot less grease compared to other places, and the sauce and cheese is unlike any I've had at another place. I've been to Italy, and this pizza could fit in perfectly.

Grade: A