Venerable Bean

Venerable Bean is an all-vegan baking company in town. He also provides special orders, gluten-free items, birthday cakes, etc. These goodies are sold at the Mountain People's Co-op, which I mentioned previously.

Venerable Bean

I've had my eye on this blog for a while now, but I haven't had the time to give it a proper space in this little virtual world I've created. The Venerable Bean produces cakes, cookies, muffins, scones, and more. If you have any sort of food allergy, this seems to be the place to go. He can specialize for gluten allergies, dairy, nut, etc.

I've done a little digging on this company because, well, it's super cool! Aaron Behnke had a love for desserts, and finding vegan versions was a chore. And that led him to create the Venerable Bean. What a nice little present to the rest of the community.

Check out this blog. You wouldn't believe these beauties aren't exactly what you'd pick up in the store. And many of them are better, actually.

Located in Sabraton, this Mexican restaurant is often in competition with Los Mariachis for the best food in town. A good friend of mine just came back from Mexico, and she was wanting to head to her favorite local restaurant: Rio Grande III.

This is the third location. Others are in Beckly and Nitro, I believe. Tons of parking, a few different dining areas and strong margaritas are some features of this restaurant. The food is also mighty tasty. It's tex-mex, really. It's not truly authentic Mexican food, but nowhere in Morgantown is. But it sure is delicious.


Our waiter was extremely nice, and my friend even spoke Spanish with him for a few minutes. I don't, so I was left out of that conversation and used the time to look over my menu. I already knew a margarita was necessary - one glass, frozen, strawberry. That'll cost you $5.95, but it won't be lacking in the tequila area. I also order a water to help balance out. While we looked over the menu, we were brought a basket of chips and salsa. This salsa has some bite to it. My mouth was on fire after a few bites, nothing the margarita couldn't put out, but I held off.

I ordered the quesadilla relleno chicken, which is a flour tortilla stuffed with chicken, cheese, beans, grilled peppers and served with a side of lettuce, sour cream, tomato and guacamole. It came out, it seems, within minutes. This thing was so big, it took up most of my plate. The chicken was tender, the veggies grilled soft with a slight bite and the cheese combined everything into one cohesive delicious taste of Mexico.

In the fight for top Mexican restaurant in town, I think Rio Grande can put up a tough argument.

Grade: A

It's one of the biggest scams in food. Forbes has reported that people are shelling out cash for this unique beef. But Larry Olmsted states simply, "You cannot buy Japanese Kobe beef in this country." It's really interesting because most of us are thinking, "He doesn't know what he's talking about. I have bought Kobe beef." But you really haven't. Check it out, it's a great article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/12/foods-biggest-scam-the-great-kobe-beef-lie/

Team Trivia is a nice way to do something fun, without getting too crazy. And, hey, who doesn't love winning some gift certificates or free dinner?

Sundays: Brew Pub @ 7:30 p.m.
Mondays: Applebees @ 9 p.m. and Gibbie’s @ 7 p.m.
Tuesdays: Mountain State Brewing Company @ 7 p.m. & both Boston Beaneries @ 8 p.m.
Wednesdays: Chic-n-Bones @ 7 p.m. & Archies @ 7 p.m. & Kegler's @ 7 p.m. & 4th and Goal @ 10 p.m.
Thursdays: Gibbie’s @ 7:30 p.m. & Ledo's @ 7 p.m.
Fridays: Damon’s Grill @ 8 p.m.
Saturdays: Fat Daddy’s @ 7 p.m.