Yes, it really is kind of ridiculous to review a small counter-service restaurant at an airport. But, I have a point, promise. Mostly, I want to set up the fact that I traveled to Milwaukee for a work conference! So I have a good bit of Milwaukee posts coming up. I know they're probably not applicable to the majority of my audience, but I had a lot of fun and want to share that with you all. Plus, maybe you'll have to check out Milwaukee sometime -- you'll have a good food guide to start off with right here! :)



So, Rice & Noodle is a counter-service Asian spot in the common area of the Pittsburgh airport. There are a number of other places for a quick bite - like Bruegger's Bagels, McDonald's, Nature's Kitchen, Quiznos, and Villa Italian Kitchen. I try to go for the more local option whenever possible, and this was Asian. So.



Rice & Noodle opened in 2009, and serves up sushi, Japanese-style noodle soups and typical American Chinese classics like General Tso's chicken ... yes, I got General Tso's chicken. It's comfort food for me. And at an airport, which is generally pretty stressful, it's welcome. Was it good? Yeah, it actually wasn't bad. Decent quality of meat; everything was hot. The sauce was a decent balance. For quick, American Chinese, not awful.

Grade: C
 

Just two C.J. Maggie's locations exist now: Buckhannon and Elkins. Since I had already been to the Buckhannon location, I was curious to see how Elkins' location stacked up in comparison.

As I've mentioned before, C.J. Maggie's boasts an incredibly expansive American grill menu - like, maybe the biggest one I've ever seen. Chicken fingers? Check. Wings? Check. Queso? Check. Bacon & cheddar fries? Check. Pizza, salads, steak, pulled pork, salmon, Italian sausage, pork chop, lasagna, jambalaya, macaroni and cheese, quesadillas, sandwiches, burgers? Check.

We came in for just a snack. The "40 Miles of Bad Road Nachos" sounded perfect: tortilla chips, chicken, peppers, tomato, onion, black olives and cheddar. Served with a side of salsa.

The first thing I noticed was that the sour cream was an odd tube-like string spread across the top of the chips. Odd. But I dove into the heap of nachos that had a nice solid layer of cheese melted. Perfect. I noticed the chicken wasn't the best of quality - some hard, cartilagey pieces. These were stacked so high by the time we got to the center, everything was completely soggy. But overall, it wasn't bad. I love a good plate of nachos.

Grade: B

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