Westover isn't really a breeding ground for culinary masterpieces and fine cuisine. Most of the "restaurants" are hotspots or focus more on the booze than food. Michael's Pizzeria popped onto my radar recently, so during lunch, I left to see what this place is all about.

Michael's is located on Holland Avenue in a small plaza with a bar, Weezie's, and a hair salon. Michael's does have a separate entrance, but it looks as though it is connected to Weezie's, and the owner is the same, I believe. Walking inside, it just looks like the back entrance to Weezie's, with some pool tables and a kitchen in the back. They're currently only doing carry-out and delivery, but the lady working said they might be trying to move some of the pool tables out to make room. She said the problem with that is that Weezie's gets busy during the weekends, so I assume people spill out into those areas.

I had called earlier to find out what the special was. They only have a handful of pizzas on their Facebook: cheese, pepperoni, white, Hawaiian, grape, veggie-lovers, meat-lovers, and supreme. The person who answered the phone wasn't sure, so I hung up kind of confused. I got a call back maybe 10 minutes later with the owner on the other line apologizing for being out on delivery and telling me what the special was. I hadn't left my number or anything, so it was sweet of her to call back and go out of her way to help me.

Whatever was on special, I wasn't interested in. I asked instead of they could do a half and half because I couldn't decide between pepperoni or white pizza. And I really didn't need two whole pizzas. After I explained that it wasn't a combination of the two, just a half of each, that I wanted, she happily obliged. And for just $12 - the price of the cheaper (pepperoni) pizza.

Anyway, as soon as we came in, she was boxing the pizza. She was incredibly sweet, thanking us and making sure we were satisfied and letting her know what we thought. And after we walked out, she even came back out with a magnet to give us.

Okay, the actual pizza. First, I tried the pepperoni. Crust could have been a bit crisper and crunchier. I don't know if the pizza oven had gotten hot enough. The sauce is a pretty sweet sauce - probably canned. And the pepperoni turned up to make those little grease cups. It reminds me a lot of when I try to make pizza at home. My oven simple cannot get hot enough, so it's a somewhat more bready crust.

The white pizza didn't have super great tomatoes. Kinda mushy. Not very flavorful - looks like these were more slicing tomatoes than anything else. There wasn't really a white sauce base - just oil. I think it would've had more flavor if it had some sort of sauce. But it wasn't bad.

Final verdict: It was an overall OK pie. I think it would benefit from a homemade sauce, a crisper crust and some more flavor on the white side. Really, though, a crisper crust would do wonders. Management seems top-notch and willing to help, so once they get some more practice under their belts, it seems as though this could be a good one.

Grade: C

Colasessano's is an institution in Fairmont - so much so that it's even on the list of 55 Unique Things to Do in WV. They have a location in Morgantown that I've been to, so I had an idea of what the food is like, but nothing beats the original.


Parking is a bit precarious, but I found a spot fairly easily. Inside, it seems as though it's just a carry-out store with a counter and menu board, but when you turn the corner, it opens to a decent sized dining area. I took a seat at a booth and waited for a waitress. Either I looked familiar or they have a lot of regulars, because the waitress asked if I'd like a menu. "Two, please."

Getting a pepperoni bun was on the list, but we also ordered a side of BBQ wings not knowing how big or small a pepperoni bun was. Pepperoni buns can come plain, with cheese only, with sauce only, with sauce and cheese, or everything. Everything comes with their signature meat sauce, provolone and mild, mixed or hot peppers. I ordered an everything with mild peppers.



So, a pepperoni bun. It's a thick bun, split down the middle, shove a couple sticks of pepperoni inside, top with a meat sauce, some cheese and peppers. I can't say I love it. Sacrilege, I know.

They're hearty, but they end up kind of mushy, and the sauce doesn't have much flavor or spice to it at all. I kind of ate pieces of the cheese, but wasn't impressed with the rest.  I just wish some culinary thought went into this a bit more.

I think the wings actually fared better. They were pretty big, but I wish the skin was crisper. I removed it and ate the meat off the bone. A slimy skin does nothing for me.

So overall, it was fine. It was something to try, and I'm guessing it operates off a good bit of nostalgia. Or hefty appetites.

Grade: C

Last meal in Boston. Where better to dine at the oldest restaurant in America? Union Oyster House is a historical landmark and pretty iconic Boston.

It's located in a really cool old building, and it's clearly a hotspot for tourists.

Because we requested dinner, we were whisked upstairs, past an oyster bar, to a more dimly lit dining area.


It wasn't a difficult decision for me to know I wanted oysters. The menu, though, limits your options for an entree of fresh oysters. You can get them fried - but I can get them fried anywhere. So I ordered an entree of freshly shucked oysters (half dozen) for $16. I also got a bowl of clam chowder, because I didn't figure six oysters would fill me up.

We got some cornbread first off - as I mentioned previously, typical for Boston - and it was good. Probably one of the better times to have cornbread so that I could eat it with my chowder. A little dry, but you know.

Kaitlynn got calamari as an appetizer. Which was weird. There were like whole little squids that you can just pop. Not just the, like, rings that you usually get. Whole little things. It was good, though. I actually liked those ones better. But too much breading did my stomach in. Just too greasy and fried.

My clam chowder was pretty good. It is way different than most other places I've had back home because it just tastes fresh. Not from a can or shipped across  multiple states inland. Itwas actually good. The taste isn't as pungent as what I remember. So that's good.


Oysters! Yum! It's a rarity to get fresh oysters anywhere really in West Virginia, so it was a treat. They were huge and came with a horseradish and spicy kind of cocktail sauce.

They were good. Fresh. I know some folks aren't crazy about the slimy texture, but these were cold, not gritty or chewy, but just all around good. And the sauce was tasty too.

And yeah, kind of pricey. But I can't really get anything like it anywhere else.
 

Grade: B

Okay, so the OTHER pastry shop. We went to Mike's Pastry much closer to dinner time, so that may be why it was so incredibly packed. As soon as we walked in, there was just a mob of people in half-formed lines waiting to get cannolis.

Lining the ceiling are photos of all the kinds of cannolis they sell. They're not made to order like Modern Pastry, but there is more variety. This is apparently the more tourist-y shop. 

Either way, they have all sorts of cannolis. Plain Ricotta Cheese, Yellow Cream Cannolo, Chocolate Cream Cannolo, Chocoloate Chip Cannolo, Pistachio, Chocolate Moussse, Espresso, Amaretto, Hazelnut, Chocolate Ricotta, Limoncello, Strawberry, Oreo, Peanut Butter, Florentine & Chocolate Covere.

Through reading numerous comments on how amazing the chocolate chip one was, I selected it. That is, after much waiting and crowding in line. Then they stow it in a box, swirl a line of string around it, which descends from the ceiling, and you're on your way. We were lucky enough to grab a seat to enjoy our treasures inside.




Kaitlynn got a lemon one, and Josh got a strawberry one.

Mine was delish. Not a huge fan of chocolate chips usually, but this was good. Maybe because they were covered in a thick ricotta paste. Mmm. But shell was just a tad bit heavier - less flaky - than Modern. I think I preferred Modern just a bit over that. But the inside was great. Sweet, but not too sweet for me. I like that I can tell it's ricotta and not some artificial icing sweetness.

The lemon was also pretty good. You get that lighter citrus bit of flavor, so it's more refreshing almost.

The strawberry was a little too sweet for me in a more artificial way. Not as big of a fan.

I'm sure you're dying to know which I liked better? They were both really good. They're both also very similar. But Modern, for me, might win out just a bit with a lighter, flakier crust.



Grade: A

In looking for the "go-to" restaurants in Boston, No. 9  Park came up a few times. Then, while watching Top Chef, it caught my ear that Stephanie Cmar was a sous chef at this restaurant. I made reservations at No. 9 Park for lunch, and prepped myself for the most expensive meal during my trip.

I was wearing jeans and didn't feel too out of place, but I would class it up more next time. They took our coats at the door and ushered us to a window table and placed some menus in front of us.

They had a holiday lunch prix-fixe menu with three courses for $45. Or you can order a la carte with appetizers at $15, entrees at $25, and desserts at $12. I went with the rohan duck leg confit with fried rock shrimp, macomber turnip and horseradish.



The rest of the menu had beef carpaccio and foie gras as appetizers. Other entrees included pork sausage ravioletti, scottish salmon, chicken schnitzel, hanger steak, and bouillabaisse. The menu draws on some French and Italian influences.

After we put in our order, we had a small selection of bread. One was an olive oil loaf and the other was focaccia with olives. I really really liked the focaccia, but that's no surprise. Probably my favorite bread right after ciabatta. Plus olives? Win. We even got more when we ran out.

With fancy white tablecloths and about a dozen different glasses to drink from, it's definitely a higher-end experience. Our server even had a little thing to clean up the crumbs from our table. Thing is the technical term - West Virginia roots showing here. Sorry.

Okay, main dish. I guess this is the sad realization that my palate is simply not sophisticated enough. OR people are willing to pay a lot of money for an OK dish because of the reputation. OR I'm just supposed to buy into this. But I wish I could say this is one of the best meals ever, but it was just kind of OK.

The duck dish was creative, and I totally appreciate that. But was it super flavorful? Eh. The horseradish was great. And I slathered it on everything for flavor. The shrimp were good, but a little too fried. And while the duck was nice, it wasn't anything super special. It was OK.

Kaitlynn's dish was the steak, and I did like it. Plus the walnut catsup added some more flavor, and I'm a big fan of both sweet potatoes and cabbage. It still didn't blow me out of the water. Maybe I was expecting more and got my hopes up. I do that.

While we didn't order dessert, we did receive two complementary last bites. One was a dark chocolate toffee, which I was a huge fan of. I'm not even into dark chocolate much, but this wasn't bad. And the other was a pistachio cookie-type thing. It wasn't bad.

There's always a chance they were having an off day. There's the (good) chance I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. But those are my thoughts on the place. It was OK. I like the thought. I like the creativity. Did the food blow my mind? No.

Check out their Facebook and Yelp.

Grade: C