The Davis-Thomas area has always been attractive to me. It's been out of the way from my main paths of travel, it's near Blackwater Falls, and it plays host to a a number of really cool local restaurants. It's one of those pockets in West Virginia that just has a really cool local culture - like Fayetteville or Lewisburg.

One restaurant I've been wanting to try is Hellbender Burritos. The name just sounds really cool - like they're super spicy or something. But, nope, they're actually named after a kind of salamander - also known as a snot otter -  I learned about at work. But they're native to the Davis area.

They opened at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, and my interview for a story was at noon. So, we were there right at 11:30. We parked right along the main road (for free) and walked to the restaurant. It was the first time I saw snow this season, so I was super happen to see a nice fireplace in the front room. We walked down the steps into the next area where there was a man at the bar (and some folks at another table). He told us we could sit anywhere, so we chose the room closer to the fire to warm up.

The inside is cute and cozy. A server brought us menus fairly quickly. They have specialty burritos, including items named "Gendarme," "Treehugger" and "HooDoo VooDoo." I gravitated toward "The Hellbender," which is shrimp or chicken in a spicy garlic buffalo sauce, with rice and homemade bleu cheese dressing. I got the shrimp.

I think it was something about the homemade bleu cheese that did me in. That just sounded amazing. So when it came out, I instantly knew I would need a to-go box. They are giant burritos, served with a side of chips and slaw. Instead of using a fork, which I assumed would lead to a mess, I picked it up and dug in.

Full of rice and a creamy bleu cheese sauce, it packed just a slight heat and some fresh shrimp. Incredible. Flavors of garlic and smokiness are made all the better with the rich creaminess of the bleu cheese dressing and light shrimp. Even though chicken goes well with this flavor combo, the shrimp gave me something different. I dug it.

Chips and slaw were fine. That burrito, though, delicious.

Grade: A

I've heard for quite some time that Rocco's Ristorante is the Muriale's of southern West Virginia. When I interviewed Rocco Muriale, of Muriale's, in Fairmont, he mentioned his cousin's restaurant and how it does well in the southern part of the state. So what is often considered as some of the best Italian food in West Virginia runs in the family.

Bffl Tom Bragg and I went to Rocco's after a fun day of checking out Blenko and the Pumpkin House. The main Rocco's location is located outside of Huntington in Ceredo. Inside, it's low lighting, maroon tablecloths, and lovely placesettings with gold napkins.

The menu is filled with all the Italian staples like rigatoni, lasagna and chicken parmesan. They also kick it up a few notches with dishes like Lobster Langostino, which is made with angel hair pasta, cream and cheeses of the house. And there are daily specials.

Bread and butter is served first. Breadsticks in packages are on the table. Then was my house salad with house dressing - a giant heap of lettuce, a few cucumbers, tomatoes and a sliver of red onion.

I ordered a special that night, which was fettuccine alfredo with mushrooms and crab meat. SO. G.O.O.D. It was creamy and with fresh chunks of crab. It was a huge serving that was incredibly rich and delicious. The ingredients were high-quality, and the flavors were awesome. Love this place.

Grade: A

Restaurants are starting to trickle into place at Beech View Place on Beechurst. First, The Greeks opened, and within the past couple days, Frank Anthony's Original Pizza has opened.

Parking: You can enter the garage beneath the building from the Fourth Street entrance. When you visit the restaurant, they will give you a token you use as payment. Simple.

The inside is a good size, with a counter space showcasing a handful of pizzas you can purchase by the slice. Only cheese/pepperoni pizzas were out when we were there, but they said they'd make anything. And as we were leaving, there were a few specialty ones available by the slice.

You can order small, medium and large regular pizzas with a number of toppings. Or special pizzas, including a breakfast pizza, a buffalo chicken pizza, a meat lovers and a margarita pizza. Plus pepperoni rolls, strombolis and garlic knots.


Tony, Jake and I kind of decided to do one of everything. We each had a single slice from the pizzas. I had a slice of cheese, while the boys got pieces of their Sicilian. We also ordered a meatball stromboli. Plus drinks. For a grand total of around $24, so $8 each. That's not bad at all.

Through chatting with the man working, we learned the owner is from Ohio and decided to open up this pizza place because he was friends with the folks who own the building. It's the only Frank Anthony's location and is named after the owner's two sons: Frank and Anthony.

First, our slices were delivered. I had already decided Tony was giving me half of his Sicilian, and I'd give him half of my cheese in return. The regular cheese: very flat, really tasty sauce (hint of spice that I love) and lots of melted cheese. The only thing was that the pizza should have been taken out like a minute earlier - a little too dark on the bottom for my liking. But, flavors on point.

The Sicilian was also good - same great flavors. Just lots more breading if you dig that. Also, a little too dark - but that's new restaurant stuff they'll work out. The point is that the main components here are all tasty - dough, sauce and cheese.


The stromboli, though, was super, super good. It's the only thing we had made-to-order, so we waited a little longer on it -- but not long, at all, really, just had finished our slices. It was cooked to perfection. Nice brown around the edges and bottom. Flaky, crisp dough. You could tell they were being careful and checking it and adjusting to make sure they're getting the right color.

Flavorful meatballs, perfect ratio of sauce and lots of stringy cheese. So good. And they're like a foot long for $8. Pretty good deal in my world.

The gentleman working was very kind, knowledgeable and wanted to make sure we enjoyed our food. The flavors are great. Little things like taking the pizza out just a hair earlier is easy to fix. And they're doing cubside pickup along Fourth Street. Very cool. PLUS you get to draw on the tabls with chalk. If you post your piece of art to their Facebook, you could win a pizza. Hoping this one sticks around.

Grade: A

Central City Cafe was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Guy Fieri visited this small restaurant for some "real deal comfort food." Granted, he opted for meatloaf, though the beans and cornbread are hometown favorites.

There's a few things I love about Huntington - I love the giant park, I love that the parking isn't terrifying and costly, and I love their plethora of restaurants (especially since there are so many I haven't tried).

Central City Cafe is in the Old Central City part of town. Easy to find, easy to park and FREE on weekends (ahem, Morgantown...).  When we went, it was pretty empty, but they luckily had the game on so we picked a table near the TV and settled in out of the cold for a few.

I went with the white bean chili because I read it was a hometown favorite. Plus a side of mashed potatoes because yum.

The white bean chili came out as a bowl of beans with a side of raw onions and cornbread. I think most West Virginians would tell you this is a very West Virginia-esque meal. And it is.

I think I was expecting an actual chili. Probably the fault lies on my side, because this is a common meal - a bunch of beans in broth. And now that I think of it, it may have just said "white bean." But I was thinking there may be some veggies and be thicker and maybe some cheese and greens. So, I was a little disappointed. BUT, this is fine for what it is. Just not really my cup of tea.

However, the mashed potatoes were so good. I said they reminded me of my high school's mashed potatoes - which might sound like a dig, but it's not. I loved my high school's mashed potatoes.

Overall, it seems very run-of-the-mill food. Nothing especially outstanding, but it's average and homey. I think this would suit a lot of folks just fine. If you're looking for something exciting, not so much. But looking for some nostalgic home meals? Sure.

Grade: C

After dinner in Bridgeport one night, I scoped out a nearby place to have dessert. Toni's Ice Cream came up a few times. It's located in Clarksburg and is open late. T

On this night, it was raining like crazy, so I was super thankful for their drive-thru.

I got a regular ice cream cone with black raspberry. That seems to be a special house flavor, since there was chocolate, vanilla, twist and black raspberry.

I also got it with scooter crunchies, because what the hell are those.

Well, it turns out scooter crunchies are the best things ever. I remember getting ice cream at the convenient store near my house growing up that was strawberry and had those things on it. I just never knew they were called scooter crunchies.

Anyway.

Raspberry ice cream with scooter crunchies. Yes, just yes. Delicious.

Grade: A