Candace Lately

Tailpipes is fairly new to the downtown dining scene, well, at least within the past couple of years. I love the concept of this restaurant: glamming up something ordinary. Tailpipes' main draw is that it's a cool, modern, gourmet take on burgers and shakes. Yep, burgers. Well, technically, you can get a few different things - like ground turkey, buffalo, chicken breast or a grilled marinated portabello cap.

It's located right on High Street, so park at your own risk. The restaurant has a classic car theme, with their specialty burgers named things like "Camaro," "Barracuda," and "Gran Torino" and, of course, the name of the actual restaurant: Tailpipes. The interior is like a classic diner, complete with old-school photos, a black and white checkered floor and diner lighting. They do have delivery, which is fantastic, too. They even deliver shakes!

You walk up to the front of the restaurant to order. There is a large blackboard behind the counter, but there are also some takeout menus, too. We grabbed a couple takeout menus, sat in a booth (they also have bar dining near the windows) and looked over our options.

This classic '50s diner feel, with its cool car-named sandwiches, is not antiquated with its food selections. The feature their specialty sandwiches, with awesome combinations of ingredients, as well as "classics," which are the typical burgers you can get anywhere. And they also have typical sandwich fare - like chicken sandwiches, appetizers, fries, etc. You can also "build a burger" with the exact ingredients you want. But if you want the true feel of this restaurant, you must try their "specialty sandwiches" and their shakes.

Some of their speciality sandwiches include the "GTO," which is spinach, roasted red peppers, feta cheese and Tzatziki sauce on a whole wheat bun. The "Mustang" includes slice roma tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil with balsamic vinaigrette on ciabatta. Their "57 Chevy" consists of sliced ham, fried egg, grilled red onions, chipotle ketchup and cheddar cheese on a brioche bun. See how fun these are?

I opted for the "Charger," which has peanut butter, fried bananas, smoked bacon, pepper jack cheese and grilled red onions. I got all this on a ciabatta bun. Like I said, you can choose your actual meat. I really like their buffalo and ground turkey, but they were out, so I went for a regular burger. All the burgers come with fries, but there's nothing like their sweet potato fries, which are sweet and slightly salty.

I also ordered a "s'mores shake," which is exactly like what you'd think. They have all kinds beyond chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. Things like maple bacon shake, peanut butter cup, Mexican chocolate chipotle, fruit pebbles, fluffer nutter - the list goes on. These creative dishes are super fun, and the flavors are mind-blowing.

After we ordered, we took our number to our table and awaited our meal. The inside is really like you're traveling back in time. The decor isn't modern and flashy, but it really tries to encapsulate the old-school feel. Our meals came out in small baskets. A heaping portion of sweet potato fries, with a small cup of sauce, and my burger was situated inside. I first took a bite of my sweet potato fry - still the salty/sweet and crispy fry I was expecting. The sauce that comes with it is their special fry sauce, which is a tangy, delicious spectacle.

I even grabbed my burger and dipped it in the sauce before taking my first bite. I was excited about the combination of all these flavors - banana and peanut butter? On a burger? Delicious. The salty burger, creamy peanut butter, sweet and crispy bananas made for a surprisingly delicious treat. The flavors balanced well between the salty and sweet, but wasn't overwhelming. The bacon and pepperjack cheese were sidetones, and of course the peanut butter is the main selling point here. Maybe it sounds crazy, but you'll never know until you try it. Don't play it safe and stick to a regular burger, try one of their gourmet ones. There is definitely some pre-meditation that goes into planning out these ingredients, and thank goodness, because they work well together.

My shake was an excellent addition. It was creamy and sweet, with a hint of that marshmallow flavor. Where else can you get a s'mores milkshake? Probably nowhere, so get it here. These flavors sound wonky, but they're fantastic together. Just try it. And if you don't want to deal with the parking, get it delivered - it's just as good.

For around $15, for a creative and fun meal with interesting flavors, you can't go wrong.

Grade: A

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12:33 PM

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Charleston Edition: Charleston Bread

5:56 PM

Being a journalist, I sometimes get the opportunity to experience certain things that aren't available to the everyday public. Such is the case when I got an inside look at Charleston Bread. For my WV Uncovered class, I did a multimedia piece on the owner of Charleston Bread, so I had the chance to walk all over this great bakery and see what goes on behind the counter.

After working all day at this bakery, smelling the amazing breads, I knew I had to take some home with me. Since it was a Friday, their special was an olive loaf, with kalmata olives baked in. They have specials every day, with a good bit of constants, like their sourdough. In addition to my olive loaf, I chose a cinnamon-raison loaf, as well as a chocolate croissant. Unfortunately, someone before got the last chocolate croissant, which I've heard great things about, so I took the only other option - a day-old chocolate croissant. Close enough! I spent around $10

I got home and couldn't wait to rip into these. I first took a bite of the chocolate croissant. I was surprised that the croissant itself tasted sweet, and the chocolate was more like a dark or semisweet chocolate. It's not so much a dessert as it is a lovely breakfast pastry - exactly what it should be. The croissant was flaky - even a day old - and will go perfectly with a cup of coffee in the morning.

The olive loaf was next. I had Charleston Bread slice it for me, so I had these slices I just had to eat. It just so happened that I had a large block of Jarlsberg and some Lil Smokies that made this bread sing. It was so moist. The olives were not dried at all. The bread was infused with a slight taste of the kalmata olives, and I've never had a bread quite like it. It's like the appetizer you get at fancy restaurants wrapped up in a loaf. Half of it is gone already.

Finally, I tried the cinnamon-raisin bread. I plucked a raisin to taste: slightly tart but speckled with sugar and cinnamon. I took a small bite of the bread because I was so stuffed from the olive loaf. It was very tasty. It was sweet, moist, with little surprise raisins. I think some honey butter would be perfect. I just wish this was closer, maybe I could get a real feel for delicious bread.