The 1863 Grill had already won me over with its name. I love everything West Virginia, and this is no exception.

I went for lunch with Mary Kay and was surprised to find it mostly empty. It was a busy weekend in Elkins, so most people were downtown celebrating the festival, I figured. Plus, that just means more attentive service, right?

1863 Grill features sandwiches, burgers, sandwiches, steaks, chicken, pork, seafood, pizza, pasta and a large page of Kansas City-style barbecue. A little bit of everything. On this day, they had a lunch special of a fish sandwich. I'll take that with a side of macaroni and cheese, because are there two things that go better together? No. The answer is no.

My sandwich was good. I wish maybe the breading wasn't so thick or maybe the fish filet itself was thicker. But that's being picky; it was good. The tartar sauce was just OK. I think it could've used a bit more flavor; it was a bit bland. And the macaroni and cheese was terrible. There, I said it. It was totally dry - like they forgot to put the cheese on. And it was completely cold.

However.

They serve these amazing cinnamon rolls after your meal. It's like dessert built in! And this, unlike most other cinnamon rolls I've had, makes me realize why people like cinnamon rolls. It was hot and had a lovely caramelized sugary cinnamon coating. Very tasty.

Grade: B

Bramwell's Oktoberfest is the longest-running beer festival in the state. I've been to a number of other Oktoberfests around the state, but I had my heart set on checking out the oldest one -- plus there were a few restaurants in Bramwell I wanted to hit up.

The Bramwell Oktoberfest featured great breweries all around the state: Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company, Bridge Brew Works, Morgantown Brewing Company, Wheeling Brewing Company, Big Timber Brewing Company, Chestnut Brew Works, Dobra Zupas Restaurant and others outside of the state.

You can check out a list of winners here. It was a pretty rainy day, but I certainly got my fill of delicious beer from all of these are breweries. And I met some cool people.

The Kissel Stop Cafe is a very cute coffee shop that I stopped in for breakfast.

The menu includes coffees, espressos, chai, smoothies, frappes, Italian sodas, steamers, scones, eggs, muffins and sandwiches for lunch. It's the perfect little spot to get a cup of joe and get some work done.

I had trouble deciding between the tempting blueberry muffin and a more substantial sausage and cheese croissant. So, I got both.

The muffin was perfect. It was encased in a dark paper and topped with large sugar crystals. Inside, it was moist and full of blueberries. It was a damn good muffin.

The sandwich wasn't bad, either. The sausage was just OK, but the croissant was was toasted nicely, and there was a good amount of cheddar.

A nice little place to get a quick drink or snack in the Elkins area.

Grade: A

The Forks Inn houses both a restaurant and an inn in Elkins. While I didn't get a chance to check out the inn, I certainly had a chance to check out the expansive menu.



It was a pretty busy night at The Forks Inn when I chose to visit, but we were still seated nearly immediately toward the back in a dimly lit booth. The restaurant features wooden floors, accent walls and details. Every chair was filled with a happy person dancing or singing or catching up with old friends - it really set a certain atmosphere here.



The dim lighting proved challenging for my photos, but that did not hamper my good time. Sorry about that.

The menu features entrees like a smoked pork loin, stuffed flounder, popcorn-crusted trout, steak au poivre vert and a housemade pasta. Our first bite was a bred basket full of both a white bread, as well as wheat bread.

Then, my entree, which was a pasta special of the day with farfalle pasta, a creamy cheese sauce with mushrooms and chicken. My mouth waters thinking about this dish. That sauce was so rich and creamy, I imagine I gained 10 pounds just looking at it. But it was incredible. The pasta had the perfect amount of chewiness so it soaked up some of the sauce, and the mushrooms added a great earthy flavor. If you want to make me happy, it's easy - make this dish for me.

The side of swiss chard - the vegetable of the day - was far less impressive. Meh. Swiss chard isn't something I typically see as a vegetable of the day. And it was ... odd.

But then dessert redeemed. I ordered the warm apple date turnover with mascarpone cheese and finished with caramel cream and toasted almonds.

Just wow. I can't really think of a better cold evening dessert. It was very warm with a tasty apple-date mixture housed in this soft dough topped with a sweet, milky sauce. The toasted almonds were a perfect texture addition. It's not a conventional dessert for me (think brownie, ice cream and caramel mmm), but this was homey, comforting and like a hug in dessert form.

If you find yourself in the Elkins area, make this place a must-visit stop on your list.

Grade: A

I attended the Mountain State Forest Festival, one of the largest and oldest festivals in West Virginia, earlier in October. The festival aims to celebrate the beauty of the mountains and valleys during autumn.

There was so much going on - including quilt shows, tree exhibits, art shows, a carnival, and the royal coronation of Queen Silvia.





In typical festival fashion, there were so many food vendors offering everything from Italian sausage sandwiches and pizza to BBQ and ice cream AND there were pepperoni rolls!! I was busy stuffing myself at area restaurants, so I didn't partake in the festival offerings, but I still wanted to share some of my favorite photos from the weekend.