For my Mexican food-loving friends, Carmona's was king in Morgantown. When it closed last year, friends mourned the loss. However, hope came a month later when the owner announced they would open a location in Kingwood in Preston County.

The owner had said the commute from Reedsville (her home) to Morgantown became too much, so a new location in Kingwood made sense. My friend, Lisa, who headed up the Morgantown Farmers Market, first heard about the restaurant when the owner was searching for a place to buy pinto beans. And the owner does, in fact, buy pinto beans from a local farm business to make her homemade refried beans.

In less-than-ideal weather conditions, Lisa and I traveled the 45 minutes or so all the way to Kingwood through winding roads just to eat at Rosemary's Thyme. Parking is a bit strange here; we ended up parking out on the street and walking into the restaurant.

The interior is sweet, with lots of little trinkets decorating the walls. Little piggies denote the table numbers. Lots of flavor. It was surprisingly busy - throughout the evening - for a random Tuesday night. Especially considering the weather. But that was a good sign; clearly people like this place.

Our waitress was very fun and lively. Though as the place got busier, she made fewer and fewer visits. I could've gone for some more drink refills, but I believe she was the only waitress working. So, I understand.

I ordered the burrito chente, which is a soft flour tortilla filled with your favorite meat, rice, beans, cheese dip, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole.

The meats you can choose from are chipotle chicken, camarones raquel, carnitas, pollo desmenuzado, carne molida, pollo asado or grilled veggies.

I have it on good authority that the chipotle chicken burrito is the way to go (ahem Sean, Tony). So, I put in my order for that.

After a little wait, our chips and salsa AND main meals came out at the same time.

The chips and salsa were pretty typical. Chips were homemade, crisp, salty. Salsa was thin, but flavorful. Considering they came out at the same time as this massive burrito, the chips weren't the focus of my meal.

My burrito was stuffed with the homemade refried beans, rice and chipotle chicken, which was a light cream sauce with a bit of spice. Guac, sour cream and lettuce were served on the side. I liked my burrito. It was thick and full of meat, rice and beans. It had a nice combination of textures and flavors. I liked the chipotle chicken - super tender, just a little bit of spice with a nice sauce. I kept scooping up forkfuls of lettuce and sour cream with each bite of my burrito.

Mexican flavors tend to be spicier or not quite as vibrant for me. So, of course, we went for dessert. Fried ice cream, anyone?

It was a really interesting flavor - not just typical ice cream. There was a prominent honey flavor. That is, once you dig below the mound of whipped cream to get to it. It was surrounded by a cinnamon tortilla. But the ice cream itself had like flakes it in it. Pretty cool.

So, I'm actually kind of scared to grade this place for fear my "friends" will retaliate and create their own rival food blogs or simply berate me on Twitter. Either way, I did enjoy my meal. My burrito was good, the dessert was good. Was it more than that for me? Meh. I don't fault the restaurant as much as I fault myself and my tastebuds for this cuisine just not rocking my socks. However, it's definitely one of the better burritos I've had.

Rosemary's Thyme is located at 121 East High St. in Kingwood. It is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. It's closed Monday.

Grade: B

My last stop in Cleveland - after a ton of delicious restaurants and breweries, a trip to the Christmas Story House, the Botanical Gardens, the West Side Market, a candy shop, a play, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - was Fat Head's.

Pittsburgh is home to a Fat Head's location, but I've never been. So, the Cleveland location was my first! We went a little before dinner time, hoping to avoid the rush. I'm not sure if there's ever a time to ACTUALLY avoid the rush, because they were pretty consistently busy. After waiting for a bit, we were seated in a booth opposite the bar.


I'm not really familiar with their beers, but once I saw the blueberry beer, there was no contest. The Bumbleberry Honey Blueberry Ale is brewed with blueberries and honey and is served with fresh blueberries on top. How cool is that? It was a refreshing beer, delicate flavor.

From looking at the menu, a few things looked good. I couldn't do a burger because I was still stuffed from my meal (a burger, actually) earlier in the day. But, the deep-fried pierogies caught my eye this day.

And, it was such a good decision. Super crispy on the outside, warm smooth potato on the inside. Cold sour cream to dip. It's comfort food turned up a few notches.

I liked Fat Head's beer and food. I had only wished our service/the experience was a little more on point. Because it was the last stop, I was ready to get my food and head out as soon as I could. But our waitress didn't make frequent visits. Glasses ran dry, couldn't get our check, etc.

But, overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Cleveland. I was able to take in some of the local food scene, discovered my favorite of all time market, got a little taste of the arts and, of course, got to spend some time with a good friend.

Grade: B

No trip is complete without a visit to a local brewery. Great Lakes Brewing Co. has its brewpub in Cleveland. It's well-known and one of the larger craft breweries.

 

Great Lakes is the first brewpub and microbrewery in Ohio; it's also clearly a popular spot among the locals because we waited ~20 minutes downstairs for a table. The downstairs features a bar with so, so many people milling about.

When our buzzer finally went off, we were escorted upstairs to a small table. I quickly decided on the Dortmunder Gold for my drink - it's their first beer and the best-seller of the brewery. I really like this beer. It's light, refreshing, but still has flavor. I also got a sampler of the High Striker Single, a limited seasonal, which was similar in flavor but with more spice.

As for my meal, I wanted a Great Lakes Brewing Company signature dish, and the fish & chips was calling my name. I'm a sucker for a good fish and chips. This one featured Alaskan cod, crispy Edmund Fitzgerald Porter batter, pub fries, housemade tartar sauce and housemade cole slaw.

At this point, I have to say our service was kind of meh. I think it's because they're so busy, ushering people in and out, they don't really focus on the individual experience.

My fish was fairly average. The tartar sauce was a little gritty and runny, but the flavor wasn't bad. And the fish itself was nicely cooked and good quality.

For dessert, I wasn't going to get anything because I was stuffed. BUT they had bread pudding. So. I couldn't resist.

And thank god, because it was one of the best bread puddings I've ever had. Super dense and indulgent, but SO good. SERIOUSLY SO GOOD.


We didn't get to do a tour because we didn't register in time, but I got a quick glance. They also have a nice shop full of all sorts of merchandise.

Overall, my meal was good, my dessert was great, and service was iffy. But it's kind of special to get beer straight from the source instead of bottled and shipped hours away. So that alone was kind of a cool experience.

My suggestion would be try to find a time between meals to go so it's not quite as crazy busy. And make sure you save room for the bread pudding. You're welcome.


Grade: B

A coworker directed me to "The 101 Best Burgers in America" list when he heard I was heading to Cleveland for a weekend trip. B Spot Burgers was ranked #12 - The Lola burger, specifically.




The interior is pretty cool, with a giant wall of beer cans and antler light fixtures. Salvaged wood-esque tables. Pretty cool.

The Lola has a sunnyside-up egg, bacon, pickled red onions and cheddar. That sounded like it'd go perfectly with a chocolate shake. The shake came out first and had the additional metal container so I could go for seconds. It was pretty chocolatey - I think a little milky/creamy lighter flavor would've been nice. But, hell, it's a milkshake. It can't be bad.

While we waited for our food, I learned about the pickle bar, which had sweet pickles, garlic pickles, pickled onions, kimchi and more. That's a pretty cool addition. So, when our burgers arrived, we headed straight over there to add some pickles along side.

Then, it was time to dig in.

This burger is gooey, creamy, slightly sour with a nice buttery crunch in the bread. It hits all points. I didn't really know what I was going to get with the flavors, but the pickled onion prevailed. Plus the cheddar together with the egg was just a unique combo that was like breakfast food on steroids.

Karie had some of the fries, which weren't bad. I was sure to try out all the different sauces - three originals were Lola Ketchup, Shasha Sauce and Coffee BBQ. None of them were favorites for me. But that's OK. I was happy enough with my burger on its own.






Grade: A

Atomic Grill is well-known for their welcoming, diverse staff and outspoken stance on social issues.

They made headlines last year when they hosted a potato skin event to raise money for a rape information service program after an online commenter said one of the waitresses should show some more skin.

And when a bill threatened rights of the LGBT community, Atomic once again sprang into action. They combined two things they love - the diversity of the people in town with pepperoni rolls - to raise money for Fairness WV, an organization advocating for the equal rights and fair treatment for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender West Virginians.