One huge difference between Morgantown and Charleston is the lack of a college presence. While that is sometimes a good thing, it also means restaurants aren't open as late to cater to that crowd. Charleston does have one lone restaurant that will cure those late-night munchies. Slyce is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and then 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. for late-night.

After a night of drinking, adventures took my friend and me to Slyce. They have your typical pizza joint fare - salads, pies, calzones, wings, and subs. Instead of a typical pepperoni pizza, we opted for a Philly steak pizza: steak smothered in red onions, green peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella and provolone.

There was a ton of red onions and green peppers, which aren't really my favorite - but that's not their fault. Just pretty heavy-handed on those toppings. Was it the best pizza I have ever had? No. Was it the best pizza I could have that night? Yes. High marks for offering pizza late at night and for a not bad pie. Next time I'll opt for something a little less heavy on the onions/peppers.

Grade: B

I don't have many photos for Miss Blue's because I didn't even plan on blogging about it. It's owned by my best friend's grandmother. My best friend, Kayla, was my freshman roommate, and we've been friends ever since. And I've been eating at Miss Blue's the entire time - 6 years now.

Kayla's grandmother actually owned a different restaurant in Hundred, but then bought out her competition: Miss Blue's. Miss Blue's is located in Hundred, and I'm sure it's one of the few - if not the only - restaurant in town.

But it's also fantastic. Everything is homemade. It's clean, tidy, the service couldn't be better, and everything I've had is absolutely amazing.

My favorite item? Their Rogers Salad. Its lettuce, tomato, cheese, hard-boiled egg, chicken and french fries. It's the unhealthiest salad, but it's delicious. It's simple but fantastic. I get one at least every couple of months. And considering I'm not up that way often, that says something.

Grade: A

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