On the last day of my statewide trip, I stayed at the Stonewall Jackson Resort. Quite frankly, I was just tired. So a meal at the actual resort seemed like the best idea. Plus it didn't seem like there were a ton of other dining options in the immediate area.

Stillwaters at Stonewall Jackson Resort previously had Dale Hawkins as its executive chef, a well-known chef in West Virginia. He does his own thing now, but he helped make a name for Stillwaters, which was known for serving cutting-edge Appalachian cuisine.



I planned to order something off the menu, but as we were seated, we were walked through the buffet. There were a ton of options right there - no waiting - and it was easy. No thought involved. Buffet, it was.

There were some apperitzer/salad bar items, like sun-dried tomato and basil pesto, potato salad, antipasta salad, broccoli and cauliflower salad, and mixed greens. The main options were pork loin with beer mustard demi, broccoli with boursin gratin and whipped red potato mash.

I had a little of everything. The broccoli and boursin was especially good - but I love broccoli and cheese. The pork was a bit chewy/fatty. In general, some of the other options were lacking salt or seasoning. I feel like that's almost to be expected with a buffet.

Dessert options were OK. I most liked the mango bars, which were a bit citrus-y and refreshing. Overall, not bad ... but nothing that was too outstanding, either.

Grade: C
 

Another farmers market has popped up in Morgantown, joining a half dozen others in the area. On Tuesdays, the WVU Medicine University Town Centre is holding a farmers market from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This new market will have many of the current vendors who attend the farmers market on the WVU Health Sciences Center campus, but will also have some new vendors including The Greeks and Soul Brothers. The farmers market not only offers a resource for employees to purchase fresh produce, but it also provides an opportunity to spend time actively outdoors. Questions? Call 304-293-1819.

I stopped for a quick visit. One side had many hot food vendors, including The Greeks, Martin's Bar-B-Que, Taziki's, Hash Browns & New Grounds and Garcia's Latin Market. The other side featured fresh produce vendors.

It's a nice location for all the folks who work and shop in the area, plus it's great for folks at the new WVU Medicine building. Have you stopped by yet?

While visiting Charleston recently, I stopped by the East End Bazaar. The open-air market, located at the corner of Washington Street East and Ruffner Avenue, features artisans, live music and local food. It is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the months of April through October.


I went fairly early, so not everyone was set up yet. But it's a really cool little place for unique crafts, jewelry and pottery goods, and fresh veggies. When I was living on the East End, I would often walk here and get either a quick lunch from the vendors or something to cook up at home.

What's your favorite purchase from this market?

 

Buckhannon is home to some pretty cool restaurants, like CJ Maggies, The Donut Shop and The Market Bistro. The next one on my to-try list was 3/4 Cafe.

That name? Well, the owners have some insight as to why that is:

During a vacation in the summer of 2013, in an antique store on the California coast, a vintage cast brass ¾ house number was discovered at the bottom of a box of random hardware parts. We immediately recognized it as the rightful address for the 3rd basement, being the 3rd of 4 basements in the Stockert Building, and we delighted in the concept of the fractional addresses that are still found on so many Main Streets across the country, which the postal system no longer permits. It seemed that we had discovered an historic version of the contemporary "micro" trend. This ¾ name also solidified our hopes to someday have all four basements occupied by creative and alternative enterprises, comprising an underground district for the Arts in Buckhannon.

3/4 Cafe is located off the beaten path, in an alleyway behind Main Street. That sort of adds to its charm of being this hidden gem. Despite being in the basement of a building, there is a surprising amount of light that comes in through the windows. Plus there are hanging lights above each table, which adds some more air to the space. It's quite lovely inside, really, with sleek furniture and simple accents.

Water for the table is served in these glass bottles with swingtop closures. They have a variety of coffees, teas and wines, as well. The menu consists of mostly light plates, like salads, bread and cheese plates, soups and paninis.

The bacon, peach and chevre panini caught my eye. The panini had bacon, fresh peach, basil, and goat cheese on a nice hearty, crisp bread. It was served with a garden green side salad that I had dressed with a maple bacon dressing.

I really liked my sandwich. The flavors and portions of each were well thought out. The goat cheese was a perfect bite with the sweet peach, salty crisp bacon. It all tasted fresh, too. The salad dressing was a bit too sweet for my taste, but not bad.

It's something a little different, light and fresh. Give 'em a try.

Grade: A

The Cathedral Cafe is a lovely space, with quirky lights strung across the dining space, colorful chalk noting the day's specials on chalkboards and beautiful stained glass windows lining the walls up to large vaulted ceilings. It's a lively space, full of chatter, which is perfect to hang out for a leisurely lunch.



Tony and I stopped here because of all the good things I've heard. We luckily got the very last open table. In fact, someone had just gotten up, so it wasn't even cleaned up until we had already made ourselves comfortable.



The menu has items like hummus, salads, paninis, quesadillas and sandwiches. I was going for straight comfort food with this one: the Ultimate Grilled Cheese. It's made with three kinds of cheese, tomato and red onion. But I actually did the "panini special," which was half a panini and a choice of a cup of soup or tortellini salad. So half of my ultimate grilled cheese and a tortellini salad it was. Tony opted for a quesadilla, because of course. He loves Mexican food. I am not a big fan (unless the Mexican food is just used as a source to get sour cream into my mouth).

It took ... a long time for our food to come out. Like, a painfully long time. Maybe it was because we had plans and I was anxious to get going. But it was incredibly frustrating. I don't think our waitress came over after initially taking our order. Someone else even brought out our food. No refills, no small-talk. Nothing. It didn't make us feel super welcome, despite really loving the general atmosphere of the place. Weird juxtaposition, I know.

Tony liked his quesadilla. And I must say, any quesadilla that comes with sides of both salsa and sour cream make me happy.

My sandwich, however, seemed to be missing both the onion and tomato. Essentially, it was just a grilled cheese - just missing the ultimate part. The focaccia was pretty thick, and the cheese is rich - so having a little acid with the tomato would've been great. Or a little sweetness from red onions. But, it was still good.

The tortellini salad was definitely on the sour side, but I did like it. So overall thoughts, I want to like this place a lot more than I actually did. I love, love, love the space. The service needed some work. And my meal wasn't actually correct - but even in that state, it was tasty. Hopefully a return visit will provide improvements



Grade: B