I had seen a few signs for the Custard Stand on my travels to southern West Virginia. After doing some research, I discovered they are famous statewide (and beyond!) for their hot dog chili. What started as a restaurant expanded into a couple restaurants and eventually a retail product - their chili.

Chris and I aren't usually traveling the state together, but we were both along for the ride after visiting my folks for Thanksgiving. So we decided to stop in Flatwoods to check out the Custard Stand. The other sign I saw was in Oak Hill. They have a few others sprinkled around the state, the first being Webster Springs.


We pulled up to the small building and noticed you can walk up to the outside and order from there and dine outside. It was too chilly so we walked inside. There are only about a half-dozen seats inside, and most were taken up. We walked up to the counter and looked over the menu - clearly something that the locals don't do. A man behind us was impatient, so we stepped to the side and he recited his order, as if known by heart.

After a few minutes, we were ready. I just ordered two dogs with chili, slaw, onions and mustard. The cashier looked at me and said "with the dog?" Puzzled, I said yes. Looking up at the menu, there is an option to order just the bun. And apparently it's popular. I also ordered a small peanut butter cone because you have to try the custard - which is actually just ice cream. They gave us a number, and luckily a seat opened up so we took it over.

They called out our number, and Chris went to fetch our bag. Everything is ordered "to-go," I assume. I pulled out two dogs wrapped in wax paper and housed in small cardboard cartons. Pretty good dogs! The slaw was chopped really finely, and the onions added a bit of sweetness. The chili was good, too. I'm not a chili connoisseur, but tasted good to me! Chris also got cheese fries, which were pretty good, too. Served with a nice tub of nacho cheese, the fries were hot and crispy.


After devouring the hotdogs, I went up for them to make my cone. Boy, I'm glad I ordered a small. It was HUGE. The only "small" part is the cone itself, which is pretty tiny. The amount of ice cream they pile on there is quite surprising. It was a nice little stop along the way, and a townie fav. I'll be stopping here along the way soon.

Grade: A

The infamous Grillbilly's has gone the way of the Dodo. In its place, in that little blue trailer, is Big Ben's Burgers. If you recall, I actually really enjoyed Grillbilly's - though not the epitome of creative culinary excellence - it is a nice little shack that put out some tasty food.


So, when I saw that it was replaced by Big Ben's Burgers, I wasn't hesitant to give it another go. This time, though, I was flying solo, so I tried the drive-thru. It's awkward in that there isn't a place to loop around, so I drove up through their parking lot, turned around, then went through the drive-thru.

From my car, I was staring up at the menu when the doors slid open. The man working asked me if I had been there or had a menu. I said no, and he handed me a stapled menu and a pen! Score!



The first item I noticed was the Big Ben Deluxe with mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion ring, bacon and cheese for $3.59. I also ordered two slaw-chili-onion-mustard dogs. All the toppings are free, except the slaw, which is .25 more. I think I got a deal somehow because I only ended up paying about $6.36 and got more than I bargained for.


After waiting for a good little while - it's clear they cook them as soon as you order, not before - I finally was handed a smoldering paper bag full of treats. When I was able to look in my bag, I realized that I was given not one, but two burgers. They didn't get my order wrong, because they didn't charge me extra. There was nobody else in line or even near me when ordering, so it couldn't have been anyone else's. I can only assume they decided to throw in an extra for good luck.

I first took a bite of the hotdog because I was really excited for it. I had just had a "WV hotdog," and was hoping this would live up to the previous one. The slaw was not minced aswell as I would've liked. The chili didn't have that tangy sweet taste I like, but overall, it was still a good hotdog.

But for the real test - the burger. This guy had some girth to him, and I like how the cheese melted perfectly atop the burger. It was tasty. The crisp of the fried onion ring, cool tomato and crunch of the lettuce was great on a warm bun. The burger was seasoned well, too. Both of them! Unfortunately, my tummy didn't do so well later on that night - maybe it was the grease? So maybe I'll have to wait a bit before I try this one out again.






Grade: C

The location that was home to El Jaripeo is now Coco Loco. Located at 1023 Stafford Drive, this Mexican restaurant is much bigger than it appears from the outside. Inside, the interior looked mostly the same as El Jaripeo - even the ceiling was still painted like the sky.

We were the only people in there to start, and it looked as though only one person was working. We got the standard salsa and chips, and I asked for some queso, too. The salsa was good - still a little heavy on the cilantro, but overall decent. The queso was tasty, but the texture was off at times, like maybe it was cooked a little too long.


I ordered the chimichangas, and Chris got a chipotle shrimp deal. The chimichangas had a nice crunch to the tortilla, and inside was stuffed full of steak and onions. I piled some refried beans and sour cream on it and was a happy camper.

Chris' wasn't up my alley. The chipotle was more like an off-BBQ taste, but I think he enjoyed it for the most part.

We also ordered the fried cheesecake - if you want to make a dessert even more indulgent, this is how. Pretty tasty.

While we were sitting there, a customer came in for a to-go order and was praising the restaurant. Apparently the owner has had other locations, and this customer was ecstatic that he now had one on this side of town. She was a long-time fan and convinced me to check it out again. We'll see.

 

Grade: B

On my blog, I review only local restaurants. But I make special exceptions for restaurants that cause a buzz: Tilted Kilt, Five Guys and Taziki's in Morgantown. Also, I went to Bellacino's in Bluefield, Va., a long time ago before I really knew it was a chain. Since I reviewed them once (and there aren't many in West Virginia), I figured I could do the same for the new restaurant in Princeton.

It's located along Stafford Drive in the plaza with Rose's. There aren't many counter-service restaurants in Princeton beyond McDonalds, Burger King, etc. So I was excited because I usually try to find a place like this and set up shop.

It's a decent-sized building with an aisle down the middle and two dining areas, essentially. I walked up to find a menu and gave it a quick look. I ordered a calzone with meatballs and mushrooms and took a seat. When I opened my computer, I saw they had WiFi! Joy! I walked back up to the counter to ask the password. A worker looked puzzled then went to ask the manager. The manager looked back at me and shook her head. "It's only for people who rent out the banquet room" - what? I can't use your WiFi if I'm just dining it? I have to use the banquet hall? Joke. I was the only one even in the restaurant!

When my calzone came out, I was happy with it. Except it wasn't meatball - more like random shredded Italian-seasoned meat. But overall not bad. Lots of mushrooms, and I liked the tangy tomato sauce. This would be a place I'd go to all the time to get some work done, if only they weren't so stingy with the WiFi.

Tudor's Biscuit World recently opened up a second location in Morgantown - right on High Street - to cater to that late-night, drunk college student crowd - they're open until the wee hours of the morning some nights. Not too long ago, the first location graced Morgantown, much to the delight of biscuit-lovers everywhere. My blog received muuuch attention because of my not-so-great experience. And then my not-so-great redemption.

BUT. Hell has frozen over. I have drunk the metaphorical kool-aid.

I'm a believer.

Is it this specific location? Is it because I dined inside? So, the food was fresh, not soggy, not greasy and delicious?

Maybe.

The downtown location is pretty small. It's at 376 High Street; there are some standing-tables as soon as you walk in and a sprawling chalkboard menu on the back wall. I think there are some specialty biscuits here. I ordered the Huggie Bear - sausage, bacon, egg and cheese. I really only got it because it was the first one on the board, so I assumed it was their special.

There is a narrow line of booths to the right of the ordering area. I took a seat and awaited my meal. Though they were busy, they pushed the food out pretty quickly. As soon as I unwrapped my sandwich, I realized what may have been my issue in the past. The wrapper acts as a small oven, so the longer it stays in the packaging, and the bag, it gets soggier.

They key here is to eat it fresh. As soon as it is made. That makes all the difference.

The biscuit was crumbly, soft, buttery. Cheese was melting atop the hot pile of meat. Good breakfast sandwich, folks. Now you can all rejoice.

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Grade: A