"The Dining Room" is such a ... comfortable name for a restaurant. It's a room in your home, so in essence, the restaurant is saying you are part of their family. Welcome to their home. Come eat at The Dining Room.

When I walked inside the restaurant, I stood at the front for a moment. One of the servers said someone will be with me shortly. So, I shifted awkwardly alone while the open restaurant stared at me for what seemed like 15 hours. Another server came up to me and asked if she could help me. I said lunch, for one. And she goes "oh... well... sit anywhere..." OH OK. That would've been good to know three minutes prior.

Then, since there was no bar seating, or even two-person seating, or even FOUR-person seating, I sat at a table for five people. Five people. That was super cool. But, let's talk food. Because food can solve most things in my life.

I ordered their "Special Cheeseburger," which came with grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms and provolone cheese. I noticed immediately the patty was perfectly round and medium width. But, that being said, I thought it tasted decent. I like that the bun was toasted and the mushrooms plentiful. I wish the fries were just a tad crisper. I think this place has some hometown nostalgia, and if you're looking for pretty run of the mill standard country fare, this would do you good. But for something just a tad more exciting, I'd look to the surrounding cities.

Grade: C

I traveled to Petersburg solely to try 3rd Base Sports Bar and Grille, a restaurant on the 101 Most Unique Places to Dine in WV list. I called in an order so that I could just swing through, pick it up, and munch on the way home.

First up: Conqueso dip and chips. So, it was thick ... it was mostly underwhelming. Not a ton of flavor, but a little heat, at least. This is akin to a jarred Tostitos cheese dip. So.

I got an order of boneless butter garlic (golden dragon) wings. These, to me, were small little chicken nuggets with some minced garlic sprinkled on top. Maybe I missed the butter part? But, I mean, these aren't bad! They're chicken nuggets with ranch.

And finally, the hot honey bbq - or "sweat" heat? Should that be sweet heat? Idk. But, I'm glad I was finally getting some flavor here. I'm all about some sweet and tangy - and this iteration wasn't bad.

Overall, nothing here was bad. But nothing here was entirely exciting either. Decent wings with a beer is not easy to mess up. So, for a lax night for some easy, simple food - this place could be a decent bet.

Grade: C

Sooo, Moorefield happens to have two restaurants on the 101 Most Unique Places to Dine in WV list, and they both happen to be right beside each other. Sooo, after dining at O'Neills, I may or may not have wandered over to Baby Blues, which was previously called Blues Smoke Pit. I think there's been a management change, though I was assured the food is still the same.

Baby Blues has a pretty impressive exterior that is massive and has this worn barn feel with a sign hanging out front that says "Blues." Kinda cool. Inside, lots of - surprise - blue.

The menu has bbq sandwiches, burgers, wraps, and more. This was a pretty easy decision for me, though. The pork sampler - written in at the bottom of the menu - is three sliders (a memphis red sandwich, a smoked pulled pork sandwich, and a North Carolina minced pork sandwich).

To be honest, I didn't love any of these sliders. And the cole slaw on the side was this mushy mayo pool that was just not appealing. The pork on all three of these was kinda of slimy/fatty. I don't really know how that happens. The one I like the most was the plain one that I added sauce to. That one was pretty good - the quality seemed better, and I liked the sauce provided at the table. But, I was mostly underwhelmed.

Grade: C

What do you know about Moorefield? I don't know much. I know that one of my freshman roommates (of the five of them) was from Moorefield. I also know they have chicken processing plant. But, that's all I got ... Until recently.

Now ... now I know they also have some pretty good food.

I received a comment a while back from Daniel Todd, who mentioned that O'Neills in Moorefield served him up the perfect plate of food (plus pie!). That, combined with the restaurant's placement on the 101 Most Unique Places to Dine in WV list, sent me on a road trip.

O'Neills has a country charm to it with high-backed chairs, precariously placed rooster art and some greenery that add to the ambiance. I can say, though, that I went here alone for lunch, and I don't think they were quite sure how to respond to that.

The menu has some really good options - steak, salmon, crab cakes, sandwiches, salads and more. I rarely order a salad, because how can you size up a restaurant based merely on a bunch of ingredients that have been assembled. Where's the creativity? Where's the personality? Where's the fun? O'Neills solved that for me.


Their baby crab cake salad would allow me to have something pretty light while also getting a real taste for what their cooking is like -- plus I don't think I've ever had a crab cake salad before? The greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions were all fresh and provided a perfect bed for these succulent little crab cakes. I've been having some really good crab cakes lately, and these are no exception.

Let's keep the fun rolling, amiright? Butterscotch pie! I think I'd truly be happy with anything on this list. But oh my gahhh look how delicious.

Oddly, I think the crust on this pie was my favorite. The butterscotch and meringue were of course very good, but that CRUST was super on point. Man. Just, yes.

Grade: A

I'm all about a weird, whacky West Virginia festival -- like the Roadkill Cook-Off. I had put the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Festival on my calendar some time back to make sure I could check it out at some point.

It's the world's largest water tasting competition, and judges taste municipal, bottle, sparkling and purified water in February for the past 25 years. Berkeley Springs touts their natural springs, which have national received attention from visitors - including George Washington in his day. So, it makes sense to have a water tasting festival in a place known to have some of the best water.

While the judges are the ones with the biggest tasks, there is a bit of fun for those in the audience. You get to judge some waters, as well as the design of bottles. But the most fun part? After the awards have been announced, the audience is invited up to the main stage to snag one of the display bottles of water. This "water rush" gets a little crazy, as people run up to take all these bottles of water. I was lucky enough to swoop in and snag a cool glass bottle of Justa.

It was a nice little event and something unique for our state. Anyone else snag a cool bottle?