Located on the same stretch with Main Kwong and Umami, Sweet Spoon is the newest addition to that block trio. In fact, the owner of Main Kwong, Carina Kwok, opened the the self-serve frozen yogurt bar.

In typical froyo fashion, folks can grab a cup of their choosing and fill it with any combination of yogurt and toppings they desire. I believe Sweet Spoon has about 12 different flavors, and toppings include candy, nuts, syrups, fruits, chocolate, coconut - anything you can thing of. And you place it on the scale and pay for it by weight.

I reiterated that I think the froyo should sell portioned cups so I can have one side that's fruity and one that is chocolately. I consistently try to mix them, and it never works out well. This time I just went for the chocolately side.

The options were good - I've seen more, I've seen less. It could use a little more tidying. The toppings bar always gets messy when people are constantly helping themselves. And the yogurt itself tasted pretty good, and the toppings weren't stale. That's a plus. They are quite prone to that when sitting out all day.

Apparently they also have coffee and they plan to provide five iPads for customers to use while sitting at the shop's wi-fi bar.

I'm not sure there are many other options for ice cream in the area, so give it a go.

Grade: B

In more great adventures of lunchtime discovery, I found Sam's Uptown Cafe. A few of my coworkers had mentioned this place, and it is only a couple blocks away from the newspaper office on Capitol Street.

Sam's is more of a bar, but they also have some pretty decent lunch specials. They serve food from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Their menu also says that they do lunchtime delivery for no extra cost within a five-block radius. I may have to look into that ...


I called in my order (304-346-6222) for a Samburger - a fresh ground beef patty with some sausage. It's cooked medium well, and I got all the fixins - lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, mayo, mustard, ketchup. And a .50 cent piece of cheddar cheese. It came with chips. By the time I got back to the office, it was starting to get a little soggy - from the millions of condiments I chose - but it was a soggy, tasty, burger.

The burger was flavorful and well-seasoned, especially for what I was expecting from a bar. It was GIGANTIC. Gigantic. I couldn't even finish it. And I made a pretty valiant effort, and I definitely felt it for the rest of the workday. But if you're looking for a pretty good, basic burger that's enough to feed a family, check it out.

Grade: B

I can't rattle off too many Vietnamese restaurants in West Virginia, so I'm grateful to have such a unique, gem of a restaurant in Charleston. Pho Vinh Long located in South Charleston and there's a good bit of parking, so that's always a plus.

My friend and I went for lunch, and there was only one other couple inside. Looking over the menu, we really weren't sure what to get. The woman waiting on us pointed out a few popular dishes, and I settled on the beef pho - a classic. It's pronounced "fuh."

I also got an appetizer of little meat wontons - fried golden brown and served with a side of a sweet sauce. Tasty. Fried to perfection, crispy and I took a healthy helping of sauce with each bite.

The Pho is nice for a chilly day. One big pot of steaming hot broth that cooks your beef, paired with noodles and onions is just what the doctor ordered. I think you have to be in the mood to have a soup for dinner. And one thing that threw me off was I kept anticipating soft noodles and getting mouthfuls of onion. Blech. Less onion would be better. I'd rather have it for flavor and not a main component of the meal. But it was still overall pretty good. And it's a great option for something different right in town.

Grade: B

Since moving to Charleston, I am on a mission to find he best sushi in town. I miss Morgantown's options, but it gives me an excuse to try all the sushi restaurants here.

Taste of Asia is located in South Charleston, and when I first came to town, I was staying in a place in South Charleston. This was actually the first restaurant I visited on my own. So maybe it has a special place in my heart. It also has other locations in Huntington and Teays Valley.

This was technically my second visit, but it was the first time I sat inside. The inside isn't huge, but I kind of like that it's a little bit more cozy. We were sitting next to the sushi bar, and I was keeping a close eye on what the chef was producing - and everything look fantastic.

Taste of Asia has Chinese, Japanese and Thai food. I wanted all three. But what I was feeling this evening was some crab rangoons, chicken udon and a shrimp tempura roll.

The crab rangoons were very creamy on the inside - which I'm really growing to love - but the outside was just too oily for me. I felt like I was eating a little grease pocket. I really wanted the cheese to be the prominent flavor, but I tried to dab the oil off. Didn't work out so well.

The sushi was of good quality. The blend of flavors were top notch. The taste of the crisp tempura on the shrimp, fresh veggies and a sweet, tangy sauce was hitting all the right spots.

By the time I finished my appetizer and the sushi, I was pretty full. On this day, my eyes were much bigger than my stomach, though, because I still had my udon coming out.

I've only had udon on one or two occasions, because I'm generally not a fan of soups. However, this is more of a noodle dish than a soup. And I like that.

Once the giant pot came out, I knew I was in trouble. I took a few bites before asking them to box it up - or container it up. It was my lunch for the next day, and it was SO GOOD. Oh my god. Is all udon like this? Have I been missing out my entire life? The thick noodles taste like they're homemade, and they come in this broth with veggies and topped with a ton of chicken. It blew my mind.

If you're worried about a soup dish filling you up, don't. This is a noodle dish. With soup. And it tastes like heaven. A beautiful slice of Asian heaven. Maybe an Americanized Asian food heaven, but whatever it is, it makes my tastebuds sing.

Grade: A

When I was first getting settled in Charleston,  I was hearing about how unfortunate it was that the Quarrier Diner was closing. Located on Quarrier Street, the diner had a fairytale story of sorts. It was a dilapidated, art nouveau building that a couple bought in 2010. It had been built in 1946, and was on the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia's Most Endangered Properties list. The couple restored and renovated the building. But they had trouble getting customers in due to the location, the owner had said.

Before it closed, a friend and I went to check it out for my first and last visit. It was clear the staff was kind of down on their luck. The man who waited on us was cracking jokes about it closing and ran down the list of available items left on the menu. I understand them being out of a lot of food since they were closing; I just wasn't expecting that, I suppose.

I settled on their macaroni and cheese.  It was cavatappi pasta tossed with their four cheese sauce. You could also choose three toppings to add to it: spinach, peas, black olives, jalapenos, mushrooms and tomatoes. I wanted mushrooms and tomatoes, but they were out of mushrooms. So I just opted for tomatoes.

It was good. It tasted exactly like boxed macaroni and cheese with some tomatoes in. Velveeta shells and cheese with a different type of noodle. Was it good? Yes. Could I make it for a fraction of the price at home? Yep. But I won't knock it - it still tasted good. Unfortunately, I won't get another chance to go back. But they do still operated Timothy's - a bar directly below the restaurant.

Grade: C