North Central West Virginia is home to the pepperoni roll. Fairmont's Country Club Bakery is credited with founding the pepperoni roll. Though, two bakeries in Clarksburg are keeping up the tradition. One of those is Tomaro's Bakery.

Natalie Tennant is definitely Team Tomaro's and has passed out these pepperoni rolls at events and touts them whenever she can. Tomaro's is known as one of THE bakeries for pepperoni rolls. So, I did a mini pepperoni roll tour and woke up early on a Sunday to check them out.

Yes, Sunday. Tomaro's is open Monday 8-5, Tuesday closed, Wednesday-Friday 8-5, Saturday closed, Sunday 8-1. So, Sunday was really my best option. A lot of other people had the same idea.

I found parking along the street in front of the building. The turnover in this spot was pretty quick - people were entering empty-handed and leaving with bags full of bakery goodies.

I went inside the building - but not too far. It was packed with people waiting for the fresh pepperoni rolls out of the oven. People were inside chit-chatting, obviously knowing each other or have grown up together. I mostly tried to awkwardly stay out of the way when new people came in through the door.

Finally, my name was called, and a white bag holding two hot pepperoni rolls was handed off to me. I took them to my car and immediately had to try one. There's something special about a hot pepperoni roll right out of the oven. Tomaro's are more flat on the tops and bottoms with a slightly spicey stick pepperoni. It's a pillowy soft texture with a nice bite inside.

The pepperoni roll is a part of our culture, and it doesn't get much better than a freshly baked one from one of the best bakeries in the area.  If you haven't, give them a try.

Grade:A 

Soul Brothers Chicken & Seafood, located at 236 Walnut Street, recently opened as the town's only true soul food restaurant. The restaurant is another endeavor in part by Ray Glymph, the young entrepreneur who also has a hand in 4th & Goal, Morgantown Taco Truck and Liquid Lounge.

Soul Brothers has been pretty active on social media, ramping up excitement for their grand opening. So, when they announced a soft opening, I gathered up my coworkers and headed there. We were the first people in line.

It's in the former "Are U Hungry/Sandwich U" location on Walnut Street. Walk up to the counter, read over the menu on the TV screen and choose your meal. They have a "soul wrap," which is a chicken wrap, chicken and waffles, chicken strips, shrimp meal, fish meal, po-boys and more. Plus a ton of sides, like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, collard greens, red beans and rice, yams, biscuits, cornbread and more.

I ordered the 3 piece chicken strips meal with macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes as my two sides. Oh, and a brownie. They have a few desserts made at the counter. It also came with two sauces. They have a ton of sauces to choose from - ranch, buffalo, garlic parmesan, soul sauce, sweet baby rays BBQ, Franks Red hot, Carolina tangy BBQ.

I got a BBQ and the garlic parmesan. My food was out pretty quickly; I think the chicken strips may have been just made and were ready to go. A coworker ordered the wings and had to wait a bit on his. But we were able to pick up our meals at the pick up side along with some plastic forks, claimed a booth and dug in while watching the TVs around the restaurant.

The chicken has a nice peppery flavor, and I alternated between the BBQ and garlic parmesan sauces, but ultimately stuck with the BBQ. It was pretty good. The macaroni and cheese was also tasty - very soft but a tiny bit of crunchy breadcrumbs on top, and I love that the mashed potatoes had the skin in there for flavor. The truth is, this is the kind of food I would love to live on. It's hot, crunchy, creamy and comforting. I love that there are a ton of sides, and I really want to try the fish soon because I've yet to see a decent fish sandwich in town.

Coworkers liked their wings, collard greens and fries, too.

My brownie was super rich and soft. I wouldn't have minded a little crisped edges, to be honest. But that's just personal preference.

My only real negative is I wish the refills were accessible to customers. I'm not going to bother the workers to refill my cup because they're busy, and that's annoying.

I know Dirty Bird across the street is another option folks find for soul food. They do have decent chicken there, but I just liked this place. It felt homey and comfortable. And, I know people will be mad I got boneless chicken strips. Well, suck it. It was delicious. I LOVE having a ton of sauces to mix up and choose what I'm feeling that day. I LOVE the tons of sides and wish I could've tried them all. They're making fried food and comfy sides. And I don't hate it.

Grade: A

The first dinner in Chef Marion Ohlinger's 2015 Appalachian Global Dinner Series was held last night. As he searches for his next restaurant, he's completing his dinner series in a host of guest kitchens in the area. The 10th Anniversary Nuevo Latino Rum & Heirloom Chocolate Dinner was held at Table 9 on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31. The goal of the Appalachian Global Dinner Series is to highlight the role of Appalachian cuisine in global culture, and to bring West Virginia recognition as a culinary destination, as per the website.

The dinner, which was reservation only, featured single-origin chocolates from Latin America and ingredients indigenous to Appalachia and around the globe that are being raised organically in West Virginia. The website describes it best:

"Along with showcasing West Virginia’s bountiful agricultural heritage and future, our goal is to bring attention to heirloom varietals and responsible organic agricultural practices. The Nuevo Latino Rum & Heirloom Chocolate Dinner is designed to highlight the savory side of chocolate, rather than the sweet. In its original form, chocolate was utilized in Latin America to accompany meats, most often pork dishes, but also chicken, wild game and occasionally fish. The moles of traditional Mexican cuisine are probably the most well-known and raw chocolate is an essential ingredient in hundreds of dishes in Central American and South American cultures. The chocolates featured are single origin, single bean heirloom varietals, meaning they are grown on a single farm or plantation in the area the individual bean is indigenous to, and from genetically undiluted cocoa. They are organically grown, handpicked and processed into chocolate by their growers. The heirloom chocolates will include a 78% cacao Peruvian Forestero, a 66% cacao Venezuelan Criolla and a 73% cacao Costa Rican Trinitario. The meal will be accompanied by an optional flight of premium rums to enhance the meal. The rums will range from clear sweet rum from Trinidad, house-spiced locally-distilled rum from West Virginia and rich aged rum from Venezuela."

Smoked chocolate bruschetta with Oregon sea salt. I've never had a bruschetta in this way (which is exactly why I want to frequent these dinners). But the flavor combination isn't too far off - think of a chocolate covered pretzel or maybe a piece of toast with nutella. The crunchy and sweet combo - plus the salt - was tasty.




Portabella, black truffle and chocolate soup, paired with Pampero rum. For as many restaurants I've been to, I don't think I've had just a bowl of mushroom soup. I tend to think of it as a cooking soup. But this was different - I liked the texture of the mushrooms and a some nice bits of pepper in there was surprising.

Firefly Farms Appalachian chevre salad with chocolate balsamic vinaigrette. This was a perfect progression as the soup we had was this deep flavored, velvety texture dish, so the nice light crunch of fresh greens, cabbage, a soft cheese and the balsamic dressing was lovely.

Cocoa rubbed free range pork, chicken or tofu with Juniper chocolate barbeque, paired with 10 Cane rum. I went with the pork because it seemed to be the best with the flavor combo. I tend to say I'm not crazy about pork in general -- but that's because it's never done like this. This is some of the best pork I've ever had. Easily. My photo doesn't do this justice. The pork was cooked perfectly, and that sauce - I would buy it by the gallon if I could.

White Chocolate ice cream with black chocolate cracklins, paired with spice-infused Forks of Cheat Ridge Runner Rum. Dark chocolate is a bit bitter for me, so I focused more on the ice cream itself, which had giant chunks of white chocolate. Inside the ice cream. Delicious. Oh, and the rum for this one was sooo smooth. Just so good.

Stay tuned for his next dinner.

A new Chinese restaurant in downtown Morgantown has opened. New Foo Sheen serves American Chinese food for delivery and take-out on Beechurst Avenue. Limited dine-in space is available.

The location was previously occupied by "Foo Sheen" years ago (I never went), so "New Foo Sheen" seems to be the new and improved version.

The building, located at 450 Beechurst Avenue, has a red square pattern on the outside. But that's not actually the restaurant front; it's weird. You walk in through that way, go to the slight right and then open the door to the restaurant. The BP next door has a few parking spots, which is where we parked for our takeout.

I ordered General Tso's, because what better way to measure an American Chinese restaurant by the ubiquitous General Tso's dish?

After paying at the counter, receiving the order I had called in and heading back to work, do you want to know what excited me most? That container that has a division for the rice and chicken. The chicken was pretty average with some chewy/stringy pieces of meat and an average sticky sweet sauce. Nothing more, nothing less.

The cheese wontons we ordered weren't bad. They were creamy inside, but most of the taste is overridden with the greasy/fried taste of the outer wrapper.

So, convenient if you're in the area (though Lavender is very close...) but nothing I would go out of my way for.

Grade: C

For the past couple years, I have posted a ton of restaurant reviews. Some good, some bad, many indifferent. When my blog began to pick up some momentum, some restaurants that I've graded low, or maybe not so low, have contacted me in various ways. Some are angry, and some want to know how they can improve my experience.

Restaurant Redemption is a small series I've created that will allow me to give those restaurants who are keeping up with their social media (notably, my blog) and have made an attempt to rectify a poor or mediocre dining experience. For the restaurants that have contacted me, I'm giving it another dining go. For the most part, I will try a different dish and make note of the previous observations about the experience as a whole.

When I went to Bartini before, my main complaint was how loud it was. The food was good, and I had an overall good impression. But, Bartini wasn't satisfied with just "good," and I received an email from the chef:

Candace
I would like to apologize for your experience at Bartini, and thank you for the honest feedback. We would like to invite you to Bartini twice again. Yes twice. Your first visit back I would like to invite you into our kitchen, where you will be able to experience our fresh concept. Then, return to have fun with friends and experience Bartini for what we have intended.
Thank you once again for your feedback.
Joe Price
Chef

Chef Price has been patient as I've been bopping around to new restaurants, but I recently had the chance to go back. With his sincere and honest comment, I was totally happy to try Bartini out again. It was clear they want patrons to really try their food and appreciate honest feedback. I can't ask for more.

While it was more of quick decision, and I didn't have a chance for two visits, I did shoot Chef Price a quick email asking what he suggested. One of his favorites was the coconut shrimp tacos. OK, sounds tasty.

When I went to the restaurant this time, it was much more mellow. No loud noise - maybe that's saved for later - and I was able to speak with my dining partner. Yes. We ordered the suggested appetizer of the shrimp tacos.

[FYI, he also recommends the pesto flat iron and jalapeno-maple galzed salmon and the coconut breaded pork if you're looking to visit any time soon.]

The tacos were topped with a fresh apple-mango slaw that added a nice fresh crunch. The shrimp had a tasty coconut breading, and the limes accompanying each taco were perfect to add just a touch of sour to even out the flavor.

I could not stop staring at the delicious slider options. The crab sliders, meatball sliders and buffalo sliders were calling my name. So Brittany and I ordered all three and split them. Each order comes with a mound of potato chips, so we had quite the impressive spread after the three orders.

The buffalo sliders had deep-fried breaded chicken tossed in Frank's red hot, blue cheese and a mini brioche bun. These babies have some kick. But in the best possible way. I just need the waitress to leave a pitcher at my table next time. Love that flavor combo, and these were executed perfectly. Simple. Tasty.

The crab sliders have a remoulade sauce and lettuce and also share that brioche bun. They were lighter than the other two options, but also quite milder in comparison. Still good. A nice satisfying bite.

And the meatball sliders were my favorites, I think. They were topped with a pesto ricotta. The meatball itself was flavorful and was seasoned well, but the ricotta really sold it for me. Truthfully, ricotta on anything makes me happy. While each component was simple, the flavors together were great.

On Wednesdays, I believe you can order $2 sliders, so for the love of god, go to that. You can try all of these without having three separate orders and a giant mound of potato chips. I wish they did this every day because I think I'd go more often.

So, my experience with Bartini this time around was much quieter, and the meal I had was quite tasty. I appreciate the updated menu options, and the meal I had was simple and delicious. They're still new, so I think they're still finding their way a bit. But, I know I had a tasty meal.