Wings Ole operates three restaurants: two in Morgantown and one in Fairmont. I visited the Suncrest location recently for the first time to see what the hype was about. Wings Ole isn't necessarily a common name you hear amongst West Virginia University students, but it is well-known amongst the locals. Many have gone to Wings Ole for a number of years and continue to do so.



The good thing about the Suncrest location is that it shares its parking lot with a plaza full of other stores and restaurants, so there is adequate parking. It also looks as though they have a drive-thru, but we opted to go inside. My uncle and I arrived at about lunchtime, and it was obvious from the line of people, at least 10 deep, at the counter. The large menu rests on the wall behind the counter, and the food is typical Tex-Mex fare. They feature wings (of course), tacos, burritos, salads, enchiladas, and sandwiches.


We ordered up at the counter. I chose a chicken burrito (with mild sauce) and a side of fries and bleu. My uncle ordered mild wings. We then took our ticket, walked to the pop machine to fill up our drinks then scoured the dining area for a free seat. We finally found an empty one near a large plant (hanging overhead and dangerously close to my hair). We waited for a few minutes before the server called out our number and brought our food to us.

She plopped down my wrapped burrito, a small container of fries and a Styrofoam box of wings. The presentation is lacking, but I didn't expect a five-star restaurant. The fries were quite small; especially for almost $3, I expected a bigger portion. That's okay, though, they handed me two containers of bleu cheese. I started with the fries - they were thick-cut and slightly soggy. They're not the crispy kind doused with salt. Lots of potato filling inside, but a good dipping fry. The bleu cheese was average - most likely store-bought. I don't recall any chunks of bleu cheese in it (which I was hoping for) - I could have mistaken it for ranch dressing. But it's no better than I could make myself, so I'm okay with it.

I unwrapped my burrito to find a decent portion. Inside was stuffed with iceberg lettuce, some tomatoes, shredded chicken and the mild sauce. Not bad. Is it bursting with flavor? No. Is it something I'd buy again? Maybe. All in all, this burrito is average, and that's just what I was expecting. The chicken has a decent flavor, nothing prominent, but not bad. The lettuce isn't super fresh and crunchy, but it's not bad. The sauce has some spices in it, but nothing overwhelming. I also got mild, so if I chose another, it might have more kick. This is your average, run-of-the-mill burrito. I can't complain about anything, but nothing stood out. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I wouldn't detest going there. The price is a little on the higher side of the quality of food - $4.59 for an average burrito?


It's worth a try, but you might discover the Taco Bell down the road has the same quality for a much cheaper price.

Check out my post here on DubVMenus.

Grade: C

Eastern Walk has a bit of history with me. It used to be the Asian Garden, a very well liked restaurant in Morgantown. But it closed, and another restaurant opened in its place: Eastern Walk. Melanie and I went here when it first opened - the very first day. The service was crazy, things were all out of whack, but that's to be expected on opening day. Some time had passed, and I decided to take Chris there for our second date. We wanted Chinese food, but a buffet on a second date isn't too classy. This is one of the few sit-down places in town, and it was a great dinner. The portions were huge and tasty.

I decided to try it again with a friend. Eastern Walk is located on University Avenue, past Patteson, in a plaza near the hibachi restaurant. It's housed in the same plaza as Albasha Sweets & Fox's Pizza. Ample parking and pretty easy to get to. Also, it's just slightly out of the main stretch so very accessible, yet not overly crowded.

We walked in, and the hostess/waitress seated us. I noticed it was fairly warm inside - maybe from the kitchen or maybe the AC wasn't working well, but I was definitely on the warmer side. We were handed menus, which were much different than I remembered. They were just one sheet, with a few various options: vegetable, chicken, beef, pork and shrimp dishes. This, I realized, is only the lunch menu. Interesting. At the top, it states you get soup and a type of rice. I'm not a fan of soup, but I opted for the hot and sour. I ordered general tso's with white rice. This is my go-to, in case you haven't figured it out.

Our soup came out first, and I knew the odds were stacked against this. I tasted it - hot and brothy. But I had no interest in it, really. I tried it a bit - some things were floating around inside that I was unsure of. It just tasted like liquid beef - yeah, not appetizing.

Our main dishes came out soon after. I had two huge scoops of white rice and about six small pieces of chicken and a little bit of broccoli. This really isn't that much. What happened to the huge portions? Are those dinner only? Okay, I thought. As long as it tastes good...


Grade: C

If there's a Mexican restaurant synonymous with WVU students, it's Los Mariachis. It's really the typical staple Tex-Mex restaurant in Morgantown, and on any given night, you will see WVU students sipping on their classic margaritas.

As I've said many times, Mexican food isn't my thing. Maybe it's because I've never had true, authentic Mexican cuisine, or maybe it's because I don't really like spicy things. Maybe it's because the menu confuses me beyond belief (everything is meat inside a tortilla?). But I am always willing to learn and try and try again.

One of my good friends (who happens to be Mexican), Kaitlynn, has a love affair with Los Mariachis. We decided to go there one Wednesday afternoon in celebration of her birthday. I've been here dozens of times, and I am okay with it. So, we ventured over to Chelsea Square on Van Voorhis. I do like that it's on the Evansdale campus, so parking isn't necessarily an issue. There's a large sign that says "Los Mariachis," and I've, surprisingly, never had a wait.  This time, though, the interior had a makeover. It wasn't bright reds and oranges and painted cacti on the benches and walls. It classed up a bit. The seats were redone with more cushion in a dark, discreet color. The color was left to a few simple wall decorations, instead of splattered everywhere. I was happy to see this change, as the restaurant looks less tacky.

As soon as we were seated, we placed our drink orders and looked through the menu. We were immediately brought a basket of tortilla chips and salsa - I love restaurants that include the complementary appetizer. I was hungry, so I chowed down. The sauce isn't hot, though you can ask for hot, and Kaitlynn got a side of the queso - which is creamy and delicious. For my main course, I knew I would get some sort of sampler, because I don't actually know what I like. Kaitlynn opted for a "pollo can crema," her absolute favorite dish. It is chicken strips cooked in sour cream sauce (queso) and served with rice, beans and tortillas. She knows her Mexican food and loves this dish - that should be enough for you.


I, on the other hand, ordered the "Grande Special." It included a chalupa, chile relleno, enchilada, beef taco, burrito, rice and beans. I should have known this would've been enough to feed a family, as I ordered something similar at Mariachi Loco, but like I said, I don't know what I like there, so I got a little of everything. On the front of the menu, it says to order the "Special Dinner" to try a little of everything. It includes everything that I got, except it swaps out a burrito for a tamale. Well, I know I'm not a fan of tamales (too thick, doughy), so I switched it up just a tad with the dish that included a burrito.

On the back of the menu, it lists what each dish is, but I'm usually too stupid before I order to realize it's there, and I only realize it after I've placed my order. I should really learn this for next time...

Anyway, our food was out scary fast. And the service is perfection. I think I needed two refills within 10 minutes, and our waiter was on it. The food came out, piping hot, and I had a miniature buffet in front of me. I started pointing to things and having Kaitlynn tell me what they were, but I just decided I should try them.

I knew the taco, corn tortilla with meat - not too impressive, I could do this myself. The meat was so-so, and the hard tortilla was boring - where's the cheese, lettuce, tomato? The chalupa was also on the same plate - it's open-faced, and the guacamole and lettuce were everywhere, so I didn't even know there was a tortilla under that at first. It was loaded with guacamole - a little too much for me. It all was a little soggy, but it tasted fine. Not too impressed so far. I took some refried beans and rice from my other plate over to this one to add some more flavor. Then, it started to taste better. I liked the flavors of everything, I just wasn't blown away yet. The chile relleno was the last thing on this plate - and I really liked it! I thought a chile relleno was a stuffed pepper, basically. But this was like a little meat pie, with some cheese and a piece of pepper. It was very tasty, and I was pleasantly surprised. I really got hit with some flavor, finally, with the meat and cheese and little bite with the pepper.

On to the next plate. This one had the rice and beans - I know that much. It must've also had the enchilada and burrito. I wish I could tell these two apart, but they both tasted similar.I believe the Enchilada was covered in the red sauce, which was tasty. And the burrito was in a cheesy/onion sauce, which was also good. They were both just tortillas with some ground beef inside. But for being simplistic, they were tasty. I scooped some of my rice and beans on the burrito and enchilada for some variety (maybe you're supposed to do this?) because then it was really hitting the marks. Maybe I do like Mexican food - I just need to mix all the stuff they give me together. But it's still ground beef, beans and a tortilla. But it was pretty good, for what it is. It's not my first choice to go to, but for TexMex food, I can dig Los Mariachis.

For dessert, we split a fried ice cream. Who doesn't love fried ice cream? It even sounds cool. It's basically a giant ball of vanilla ice cream with crunchy, fried sweetness on the outside, topped with whipped cream, chocolate and strawberry syrup, all sitting in a tortilla-like shell. I really like the crunchiness on the outside of the ice cream paired with the creamy inside. This is a big dessert, Kaitlynn and I barely finished it. It's a nice sweet dessert to top off the dinner, and it's fried ice cream - who doesn't like that?

Los is a good place to get Mexican cuisine in Morgantown. It's a staple for every college student. And though I didn't get a pitcher of margaritas this time, they're usually necessary with every meal. A pitcher will run you a little bit. But, one pitcher will be worth it. For both of our meals, our bill came to $30, not too shabby.

Grade: B

Though many "cafes" are codenames for gambling joints, this cafe is home to Italian dining. I saw this restaurant on DubVmenus.com, and now that I'm trying to use FourSquare, I saw that it is very near my workplace. For lunch on Tuesday, Danielle, Henry and I ventured out to try something new.

Located on Chestnut Ridge Road, this restaurant is pretty easy to miss. For the most part, it's a residential area, but there is one tall building that houses a few small business - a nursery, a store, etc. And, we just found it, it houses a restaurant. Mr. C's Wiseguy Cafe has the left-most spot in the building. There is a large banner on the front of the building and a window that says "open." The front door, however, is not on the front, but on the left side of the building and in the basement. So, if you're looking at the front of the building, turn to your left and go down the stairs. There are a few plastic signs that say "Mr. C's Wiseguy Cafe," so they should somewhat lead you there.

The door was open, and a sign said "seat yourself" was placed at the front. There was no one inside, except two workers, and the only ventilation was a single ceiling fan. I was quite warm the whole time. I picked a table to the right that was large and comfy. The inside was very cozy - oversized leather seats were very welcoming. The tables were large and roomy. A large corner table had a continuous seat, where at least 10 people could eat. At our table, there were two leather chairs and a wider leather bench, that I opted for. I really like the interior - it's classy but very cozy.

The menus were already placed on our table - two laminated ones. It was a little awkward that they weren't binded somehow, because we each kept flipping both over back and forth. The menu has typical fried appetizers, some soups and salads, hoagies, sandwiches, pasta dishes and entrees. I settled on a house salad first.


It arrived fairly quickly, and I was impressed. It was piled high with lettuce, cheese, large chunks of tomato, cabbage and croutons. On the side was a heaping cup of French dressing. The veggies were fresh, there was a good mixture of all veggies - it wasn't just a pile of lettuce. The French dressing was tasty, tangy and everything a French dressing should be. This was a very good salad, and for only $4, I was eager to see my main dish.

The pasta comes at a price, but if this is an Italian place, I'm trying the pasta. You get to pick your pasta: rigatoni, spaghetti, angel hair, or linguini. And if you want marinara or alfredo, it's $11. If you want the bolognese sauce, it's $13. Want a meatball? Add $2. Want chicken? Add $3. Want shrimp? Add $4. It's very custom, but at a price. You can get exactly what type of pasta dish you desire, but if you want all the fixins, you're going to have to pay for them. One pasta dish could add up to $20 fairly quickly. Instead of going all out, I opted for rigatoni with marinara sauce and a meatball on the side. $14, I could handle.

When the dish came out, one thing crossed my mind: I will not go home hungry. This is the biggest portion of food I think I've ever received. It is a ton. The rigatoni noodles are short and wide. They were fully cooked - I tend to prefer mine slightly al dente. The marinara sauce didn't impress me. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very flavorful. It tasted like a bland marinara that I could've made, but the meatball was seasoned well and quite tasty. But I can't really say anything bad about the dish - it was overwhelmingly huge, the meatball was very flavorful, and the pasta/sauce was average. I can see why the prices are a little high - it's a huge portion.

We were also served a small basket of warm bread - the outside was a bit too crunch for me, but it was nice to have a bread to balance out the meal.

To top it off, the to-go containers we received were pretty sturdy (they must need those to-go containers a lot), and I think I can even reuse it. Not only did I have leftovers for dinner, and lunch and dinner the next day, but I have a container I can use again. I will definitely try this place again, and it is very new, so there's a great possibility they have a few kinks to work out.

Check out my review for DubVmenus, too.

Grade: B

This High Street staple is a favorite to locals and college students alike. Maybe it's the novelty, or maybe it's because everybody likes ice cream. Regardless of the reason, you aren't a true Morgantowner if you haven't tried Tutto Gelato.

Gelato is Italy's version of ice cream. According to Tutto Gelato's website, it has three main differences. "Gelato typically contains less butterfat compared to ice cream. Premium ice cream adds air to the product which double the quantity. Lsss air is added to gelato, creating a higher quality dessert wit ha richer, creamier taste. Gelato is served five degrees above zero, compared to ice cream which is served ten degrees below. This enhances the overall flavor of gelato as it melts in your mouth."

A gelateria is a pretty cool addition to the Morgantown scene. I doubt there are many in the entire state, so it's nice to see something different. However, about a year ago, I was in Italy, and eating gelato was my main hobby. Because Italy is the birthplace of this divine treat, it's hard for me to compare the two without being biased in Italy's favor, but I'll try to rank according to local settings.

The location is easy, but parking is usually a nightmare. If you can snag a spot on High Street or walking down from campus, it's no problem. You walk up to the counter to order - they usually have 18 or so different options to choose from. They change often, but they have a special, fruit kinds, chocolate kinds and other creative variations. If you're a student, you get a 10% discount, and if you check in on FourSquare, you also get another discount.

Once you decide on a flavor, you pick which size you want: piccolo, bambino, medio or generoso - from smallest to largest. I opted for a bambino size of a peanut butter, chocolate chip mixture. It comes in the small cup with a fairly flat spoon. Don't expect creamy ice cream from a gelato place - instead, Tutto Gelato is nearly melting as you spoon it into your mouth. It's almost an icey texture, not necessarily smooth, but more like a cross between ice cream and a snowcone. My flavor was decent - the chocolate was like hardened dipping chocolate, as opposed to small chocolate chunks. The flakes tasted as though they were dark-chocolate too. The peanut butter flavor wasn't overwhelming, but just enough to give it a hint. But overall, the gelato wasn't bad. It's a nice cool treat for summer with fun flavors that you can't just get anywhere. And, it's different. The service was super friendly, and you can even get samples if you're not sure what to get. Check out my post at dubVmenus.tumblr.com.

Grade: B