Heston has grown since my previous visits. The winery and distillery has expanded to offer a full-service restaurant. When I was there last, they offered food as part of an event outdoors, but this large restaurant space is new. To get the full experience, Tom and I made reservations for New Year's Eve dinner here after a quick wine tasting in the main store area.

We sampled all of the wines plus the moonshines and some of the other liquors before buying a few bottles and heading next door to the restaurant. While our reservations were at 7 p.m., we ended up waiting until around 7:20 p.m. before we were actually seated. I was pretty unhappy with this, but apparently they had selected certain tables for reservations, and we had been waiting for the couple ahead of us to finish up. Anyway.

When we were finally seated, we waited another 10 or 15 minutes for a server to finally come over and take our drink orders. I must say, I was not impressed at this point. But then the waitress asked if we'd like a complimentary appetizer. Um, uh-huh. We ordered the crab-stuffed mushrooms off their New Year's Eve Menu as an appetizer.

The menu for the night looked really nice. A few appetizers - shrimp, crab/artichoke dip, the mushrooms, meat/cheese board. Their soup was a lobster bisque. Entrees were steak, lobster-stuffed shrimp, pasta primavera, chicken bernaise and salmon oscar. Plus a handful of desserts - cake, truffles, bread pudding, bananas foster.

The mushrooms arrived not too long after placing the order (so I feel like I'm finally in the swing of things), and three are delivered to us. Three for $10 is ehhhh. I know they're crab-stuffed, but it's a tiny bit of crab and lots of breading. So, a little pricey there.

But overall, they were pretty good. Mushrooms were cooked well - a little springy still so not totally overdone, and the breading didn't have much crab, but it did have some nice sage flavor.

We were brought biscuits with some whipped butter. Biscuits were warm and light.

For my salad, I got a side of the poppyseed something dressing. Not a bad house salad - some mixed greens, red onion and a tomato or two. The dressing wasn't my favorite - I typically go for a French. But I didn't hate it either.

For my entree, I went with the Salmon Oscar, plus mashed potatoes and glazed carrots as my sides. The Salmon Oscar was described as "decadent crab stuffed salmon, paired with asparagus and topped with bernaise sauce."

So, as you can see, the "stuffed" salmon is really just about three pieces of crab on top. I wasn't crazy about the sauce, but I was happy it was fresh crab (not imitation) - just wish I could've actually tasted it and more would've been nice.

The salmon was also cooked well. It had a good flavor, but considering there were only about three tiny pieces of crab on top, I didn't get that "crab-stuffed" flavor I thought I would get. No decadent, rich filling. Just a piece of salmon and with some crab on the side. However, each was good on its own. I just wish they were married like I was expecting.

The sides were both very good. The killed the mashed potatoes and savored every last bite. Lots of herb and pepper. The carrots were also very tasty with a nice brown sugar glaze.

Overall - service was spotty, but they made up for it. Salad, biscuits and sides all very good. Main entree not exactly how I expected it, but all components of the meal were good.

Grade: B

Sarris Candies always reminds me of high school fundraisers where students would sell a two-pack of pretzels for $1. And they were the bomb.

Sarris makes some of the best chocolate. Even though their factory store is right across the border in Pennsylvania, I never had the chance to go until recently. If you get the chance to go, do it. It's like Willy Wonka. Kinda.

From the outside, it doesn't seem like much, but once you get inside, there are just rows of cases of individual chocolates, plus the walls are lined with all the goodies and treats sold in stores. I definitely wanted to get some of their freshly made chocolates - a caramel, a peanut butter, a pretzel, and a caramel/peanut butter combo.

SO GOOD. If you like the stuff that's packaged and shipped to our local stores, just imagine that x10 in deliciousness. Fresh and custom - perfect combo. You can pick and choose which chocolates you like. I ended up getting four for about $4.  But they were four I knew I loved and wanted. Plus the pretzel one actually came with two pieces.

AND, there's more! They have a an ice cream parlor. We had come here after dinner (and dessert), so I didn't need more ice cream. But don't think I wasn't tempted. I was.

So, if you're looking for a little trip outside of town and love chocolate and/or ice cream, this is a pretty sweet (get it?) place to go.

Grade: A

Lakeview is hosting the 31st Festival of Food and Wine Jan. 16-18, 2015

Day Package
$49+ tax & gratuity
Breakfast, Lunch, Classes & Access to Artisan Marketplace

3 Day Package
$125 + tax & gratuity
Friday Welcome Session, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Classes & Access to Artisan Marketplace

Weekend Stay Package
$415 + tax & gratuity
Overnight Accommodations & Full Weekend Classes, Meals & Access to Artisan Marketplace

I am so excited that I FINALLY got to visit Oglebay's lights. It's been on my bucket list for quite some time, and when Kaitlynn was in town recently for Christmas, we made it a point to go. There are just miles of extravagant lights.

Terra Cafe recently announced they will be expanding their hours to include dinner service (EDIT: Hours are 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). They're serving "tapas" or small plates - meaning, well, each plate is really small, and you're meant to order more than one and share them with the whole table. I don't mind that idea (because I like to try a little of everything), but it can definitely add up in cost fairly quickly.

After I was seated (no ordering at the counter here), I ordered the beef croquettes, which were two round Possum Tail Farm grass-fed beef infused with lemongrass, ginger and coconut curry aioli. These were pretty good. They were $9 for two small round balls with some beet noodles underneath. But they were good. I am a huge fan of the light flavor with the lemongrass. And the aioli was tasty, too. I really wish it was the croquette sandwich. I love that thing. To get the same equivalent of a sandwich, I'd probably have to order three plates.

My friends ordered the margherita pizza (which apparently apparently Sargasso makes their pizzas) and the chicken satay. Both I thought were OK, but not great.

I'm glad at the last minute I thought to add their pork wontons. They came with red cabbage and a maple horseradish sauce. These were $1 cheaper at $8, and there was a bit more substance to them. Four fried pockets filled with meat. I think they were tasty for the most part, but the meat could've used some more flavor. The horseradish sauce was a nice touch.

They also have a very nice dessert menu (in addition to the goodies in the case) that complements their dinner menu. You can get three mini desserts for $10. That is perfect. And a crazy good deal, too.

I ordered the Firefly Farms Allegheny Chevre Panna Cotta, the bourbon salted caramel chocolate bar and the triple berry cheesecake (raspberry, blueberry and blackberry). The panna cotta was very tasty, and I love the little touches like a fresh lemon. The caramel chocolate bar I thought for sure would be my fav (caramel, duh), but whew you could taste some bourbon/bitterness in the chocolate. And the cheesecake was sweet and whipped. They were all quite lovely, and I was impressed with the presentation, the quantity and the quality. Super pleased with the desserts.

It's a little on the pricey side for me, for what you get. Dessert is totally worth it. But I spent about $20 for the two croquettes (which are about the size of golf balls) and four pork wontons. And it was all good - but not crazy great.

I'm looking forward to seeing what else they add to the dinner menu and if they'll be doing dinner specials! Something to keep an eye out for. No grade because it's just an update =] They've already been put through that ringer.