The Wonder Bar has a spectacular reputation in the state. It's known as one of the best, and since it's located right in Clarksburg, Vicki and I saw it fitting to try it for a celebration dinner. The restaurant is located atop a hill bearing its namesake, giving it a beautiful view of the city.

We arrived for our reservations around 6:30 and were seated in a back room. I noticed the dark, old-school interior and how the part we were in looked like it was an addition. The main area had dark red walls, and the ceiling was slightly different.

Our waiter brought us out menus, and we ordered a special appetizer - crab-stuffed shrimp. There were only a handful, but they were good. Some melted butter on the side.

I ordered the petite filet mignon (6 oz.), which came with a house salad. Our waiter got a little confused. I asked for blue cheese on mine with their house dressing, but somehow ended up getting the blue cheese dressing with mozzarella cheese. Vicki had an incorrect salad altogether, but when they brought out the wedge, it looked great. Mine was tasty, despite it not being exactly what I had ordered.











We were served some bread along with our entrees.

We had the option of adding onions or mushrooms to our steak, so I got mushrooms. Plus cheese melted on the top of the steak. For my side, I got pasta with their blush sauce. The steak came with bearnaise sauce, and it was just truly delicious.

It was cooked to a perfect medium, the cheese was amazingly rich, melty and creamy. Mushrooms added a nice flavor, and the sauce was just a different level of rich. The meal overall was spectacular. Nice attention to detail and additions to make the meal customized.

The pasta on the side was an after-thought, and I mostly ate this leftover since I had so much for my entree. But the sauce was a good - a nice mix of their red and white.

At this point, I was super pleased with our meal. From start to finish, I had great food. The appetizer was good, the salad was good, the entree was incredible, and the sides were all great. So, I figured I'd top it off with dessert.

I ordered this mousse for dessert. By this time it was around 8:30. We didn't eat especially slow, but we had a few different courses, and they weren't always the quickest to come out. But I noticed that we were literally the only table left in the dining area. They had pushed all the tables to the edges and literally began sweeping right beside our table.

If there's a more blatant way to say "get out," I think it would be to verbalize that statement. There were people coming in and setting up. Apparently they booked that room at 8:30 for some event. If that's the case, I'm not sure why you would sit someone in there at 6:30. Unless they assume we would get an entree and leave. But they also weren't quick to deliver each dish.

Regardless, it really left a sour taste in my mouth. The dessert was great. I could've probably bathed in it. And I highly recommend it, but if I'm paying in the three-digits for a meal, please don't be sweeping literally right beside my table, urging me to leave, as all that dust is flying into my $13 dessert.


Grade: B

I went to the Art is Food event a few years ago and had a great time. When I heard about this year's, I couldn't wait to sign up. A nice lineup of restaurants were in attendance: Mother India, Black Bear, The Cupcakerie, Garcia's Latin Market, Morgan's High St. Diner, Chaang Thai and the Lebanese Bistro.

First up - Mother India's channa masala, basmati rice, naan and a vegetable pakora. I appreciated they really made an entire dish. And it was vegetarian-friendly, so two birds with one stone. Good flavors all around.



The Lebanese Bistro had their baklava and another almond cake sort of dessert. The baklava is good. One of my favorite things from them. Flaky, moist, good. The Cupcakerie had a bunch of cupcakes: chocolate mousse, pumpkin spice, peanut butter, lemon blueberry, red velvet, apple pie. Red velvet is my go-to. Always good.



Black Bear was good, but I feel like it wasn't as inspired as in year's past. They had a pumpkin curry soup and an apple, bacon, chicken, lettuce wrap. I guess it's an overall crowd-pleaser, though.



Morgan's High St. Diner is really what I was most excited about since it hadn't opened yet. They had their meatloaf, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake and coconut. Everything was delicious and my favorite thing there. Meatloaf had just a little bit of tang, potatoes were nice and salty, the desserts were rich. Super excited for this place.






Chaang Thai is consistently one of my favorite restaurants. They brought their pad thai - one of my favs. He admitted it doesn't heat well in a buffet environment - it's meant to be served right away. Still delicious, though. Also loved the side of rice.




And Garcia's Latin Market is another one of my favorites. They had their tacos pre-made and you could choose which you wanted. I went with chipotle - the best one. Tasty, plus a side of salsa.



If you haven't been, it's definitely a great way to get a taste of local restaurants and meet the folks serving your food. Plus, we don't have a ton of community events like this (I wish we did), so the more support we throw toward them, the better chance we get more like this.

Morgantown has a few key restaurants missing: a good noodle shop, some homemade soul food, a nice deli and until recently - a diner.

Morgan's High St. Diner held a soft opening on Thursday and will continue until their grand opening next Thursday. Hours currently are Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to midnight, Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. I do wish it was 24 hours because the only other 24-hour establishment is Eat'n Park. I imagine that would be difficult, though.

The diner's front is yellow and gray with corrugated metal behind the sign. Definitely a change from the former Fondue Factory space. The same owner of the Fondue Factory (and Coach's Crab Shack) opened this diner - different feel from the upscale fondue place and seafood restaurant.

The restaurant has a checkered ceiling, photos from the town's past and waiters in tuxedo T-shirts. There are old license plates and signs of street names in town. It's very Morgantown, and it's filling a void in town.

Menu items were crowdsourced from restaurants of the past. Check out their menu here and here. The whole front is breakfast - eggs, omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, combo plates, cereal, waffles and pancakes. The back is for the lunch and dinner crowd: chicken and waffle sandwich, meatloaf, deep-fried turkey, fish and chips, roast beef, chicken-fried steak, burgers and desserts - milkshakes, pies, banana split.

And their Morgan's Challenge: 15 scoops of chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream, topped with chocolate, caramel and strawberry syrup, whipped cream, fruits and cherries for $16.50. If you finish in 15 minutes, you get to keep the bowl and it's free. But you might have a killer brain freeze.

I had a taste of their meatloaf and loved it, so I wanted a full bite. I ordered their meatloaf sandwich, which is topped with a slice of American cheese and sandwiched between two pieces of Texas toast. This just reminds me of growing up. I loved a meatloaf sandwich. And this meatloaf is so good. I like the smokey/tangy glaze. The toast is buttered and adds a nice crunch to the super moist and just a tad bit of heat meatloaf. Loved this.

It comes with a side of fries, but I opted out and went for a side of macaroni and cheese instead. My macaroni was a little bit cold, but it was OK overall.


Tony had the chicken and waffles sandwich, which comes with so much: fried chicken, waffles, cheese, bacon, sausage gravy and maple syrup. He was a fan, but it's definitely not something you can do often.

To top it off, I went with a milkshake. Tasty. I'm not sure you can mess up a milkshake too much. But it was not super thick, but that's okay. All around, I'm pretty impressed with the food.

Service was also great. Our waiter was accommodating and helpful. The manager was also walking around and asked how things were. And it wasn't the typical "Everything OK?" where they just want you to agree with them. She actually asked what they could improve upon - they genuinely want feedback on how to be better, and that's not something you see often. Simply phrasing it that way is welcoming feedback.

Grade: A

The final stop on my Fairmont Food Tour was "Att's Place." Truth be told, I was pretty full by this point and my mouth was still regaining feeling from Yann's, but I pressed on. I took a whole day off work for Fairmont food, and I wasn't going to go home until I tried as many places as I could.

Att's is bright green on the outside. I have no idea why. I thought it was some odd tech company at first or something. Nope, just green.

When we walked inside, there was just one person there. The owner or manager, maybe, was having some sort of disagreement with the person who ships their bread. I don't think it was up to the quality she had in mind.

But, it's a much larger space than the previous restaurant. There are stools at the front and some booths. They also serve a variety of sandwiches and sides - not just hotdogs. And - get this - they serve slaw. It's not a main staple like at some hotdog joints, but it is available.

I ordered one with chili, mustard and onions. "Sauce?" She questioned. Oh, yeah, sauce - not chili. Whoops. And moments later, I had a freshly sauced hotdog in my hand. (No TWSS jokes, plz).

Maybe it was just the refreshing change from the fire sauce at Yann's, but this one was much, much more palatable. The sauce (I ordered mild) had actual flavor, not just spice. It was good. Nice consistency and nice with the crunch of the onions.

Tasty, and in a much friendlier environment.



Grade: A