I noticed a new Asian market on Don Knotts recently. Ever since I saw the "Koreana" sign, I've been wanting to check it out. I'm probably the worst person to be talking about this because I'm clueless. But I'm trying to learn! Inside the building was very clean and organized. Though it was foreign to me, I didn't feel overwhelmed.

Koreana says it sells Korean, Japanese, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and Phillipino food. A few aisles are dedicated to packaged goods, while some produce, as well as frozen items are located toward the back of the store. They even have a taste testing area to sample some of their products. And they have a sort of deli, where a woman was preparing fresh packaged dishes for sale.

I came home with some snacks - mochi, a lychee drink, cookies, crackers, etc. Mochi has an odd texture to me. The lychee drink was okay. The Yan-Yan strawberry was tasty. I also love that the cookie/crackers have random English sayings on them. It's entertaining. I have yet to try the others. For only about $12, I got to try something new. A friend got a fish-shaped ice cream that he loved! Maybe I'll try that next time.

I needed a quick lunch in Bridgeport. This Chinese restaurant was close. My friend Kayla and I headed in. We stood around awkwardly until someone acknowledged us. They then rushed us over to a table, but they had to clean it first. So we stood around the table awkwardly as they cleaned it. This place was packed, so standing at the table blocked everybody's route to the buffet.

The restaurant is large, with many tables. The buffet had 8 stations, as well as an area for sushi and "grilling." The first couple of stations had your typical Chinese-American food - like General Tso's, Beef and Broccoli, etc. The rest subpar American food, a salad bar, one even had a tray full of Cheetos. Yeah.

Was there anything new or anything particularly great? Nah. But it wasn't bad either; it was just run-of-the-mill. The General Tso's wasn't bad - average quality, average flavor. The sushi was room-temperature, bland. I was bummed there weren't any stuffed mushrooms or "seafood medley" type dishes. But those are just a few of my favorites, and they were missing here.

It was also a little pricey, but it was a Sunday. I paid and signed my credit card receipt, but a few of the waiters came to the table a few times, but then left. I could tell something was going on, but it was like a cruel game we weren't in on. Finally, our waitress came back over and shoved another slip on the table for me to sign. I didn't understand why. She waved another waiter over to explain that apparently they accidentally threw away the slip I signed. That's not a huge deal, but the five-minute awkwardness with them staring at me, walking to me and leaving, but not telling me what was going on.

Grade: C

This humble wooden building perched across from the Glenmark Centre has always caught my eye. Was it a bar? Was it a restaurant? What IS it? When some friends and I were around that area a little too late at night, we decided to check Rhythm & Brews out. We parked outside and walked up the ramp to the entrance.

What I didn't realize was that this building is not just the bar; there's a salon next door. So the actual bar area is quite small. To the left was a stage with a young woman and man strumming guitar and singing. Directly in front was the bar, with a dozen or so patrons sitting. To the right were some tables. We took a seat and got settled. A bartender came over with menus. I get that it's supposed to be a live music venue, but it was SO loud that I could barely hear the waitress or have a conversation.

The menu had typical bar food, like fries, onion rings, etc. It also had wings, burgers and some sandwiches. I wanted to keep it classic: I went with the All American Burger with lettuce, tomato, onion and American cheese. I ordered it medium-well with a side of onion rings. My onion rings were very tasty - battered crispy and dipped in ranch: perfect. My burger wasn't bad. The first few bites tasted pretty average. Then as I continued on, something about it just didn't taste as fresh as it could be. The meat, that is.

So, I set that to the side and finished my onion rings. I didn't want to take my chances. The waitress was extremely helpful, and she continued with refills until we were ready to leave. Service was great, and food was mediocre.

Grade: C

For the past (almost) year, I have posted a ton of restaurant reviews. Some good, some bad, many indifferent. When my blog began to pick up some momentum, some restaurants that I've graded low, or maybe not so low, have contacted me in various ways. Some are angry, and some want to know how they can improve my experience.

Restaurant Redemption is a small series I've created that will allow me to give those restaurants who are keeping up with their social media (notably, my blog) and have made an attempt to rectify a poor or mediocre dining experience. For the restaurants that have contacted me, I'm giving it another dining go. For the most part, I will try a different dish and make note of the previous observations about the experience as a whole.

This restaurant redemption is slightly different, as the chef or owner did not reach out to me. Instead, I reached out to them. I've mentioned briefly that I'm writing for Savor WV magazine. For their premiere issue, I was asked to choose a restaurant to write about. The first place that stuck out to me was Richwood Grill because I feel like they encompass everything that is West Virginia. They source their food locally, they help farmers make a living wage, and they do it all the while creating different, amazing dishes.

I had the opportunity to interview him. What a down-to-earth, upstanding man Marion Ohlinger is. He said quite a few things that really resonated with me. One of which is that the steaks they serve are not always incredibly tender - because they're from cows who are free-range and grass-fed. If the steak is very tender, the cow was probably living in a box its whole life. And that's straight from Ohlinger's mouth.

They aim to create things that people haven't seen. So, yeah, sometimes the food is weird. They want to give people something different, something delicious and something real.

I'll wait to divulge too much more information until after the issue is printed, then I'll link that here. But in the midst of all this, he made a dish for me so I could take photos and write about it. (And subsequently, eat it!)

It was a bulgogi porkchop with kimchi and rice. It was awesome to see him prepare it right there in the kitchen and plate it. And, boy, was it gorgeous. The bulgogi, a Korean bbq, was tangy and sweet and delicious. The pork chop had a yummy grilled, smokey flavor. The kimchi added a little more of a sour/bitter taste with a smooth texture. The rice was a perfect complement.


Seeing the dedication the chef has to the dish, as well as the hardwork and thought that goes into each detail makes me fall in love with the restaurant. It also doesn't hurt to have awesome, local, fresh, delicious food in every meal. I love this place.

I met a friend in Bridgeport for the day, and one condition of my driving there was that she had to find a good, local place to dine. Her boyfriend suggested Mountaineer Grille. Located on Barnett Run Road, this restaurant is connected to a Mountaineer gift shop, which sells as the Mountaineer gear you could hope for. You can walk directly from inside the gift shop to the restaurant. As we walked in, we were seated and looked over the menu.

I noticed a few of their menu items were "specialty" items - like the "Autumn Chicken Salad." Its description said it was grilled chicken atop a bed of fresh mixed greens, with apple slices, toasted walnuts and gorgonzola, finished with a lemon balsamic dressing. Sign me up.

My friend ordered the zucchini straws for an appetizer. I was apprehensive because I figured straws would be thin and crispy. They had a little bite to them - delicious breading and tangy sauce. Another friend got the "grille chips," which were just chips with melty bleu cheese. Also not bad.

When my salad came out, I was impressed. The presentation was beautiful. The first thing I noticed was the giant brick of gorgonzola on top. The combination of these flavors were fantastic. The balsamic was the perfect dressing to take it to the next level. I took bits of cheese, lettuce and walnuts with every bite. The clean, crisp taste of the apples drove this dish home. It cleanses the palate and made all the flavors that much better. It's on the pricier side, but the ambiance is comfy and the food was worth it.

Oh, and how could I forget about the complimentary chocolate stick? Minty and delicious!


Grade: A