The Cold Spot is a wing & beer spot with three locations in West Virginia.

There's one in Charleston, one in Glen Jean and one in Nitro. The last is the only one I hadn't been to, so I gathered up some of my friends to go check it out.


It's a bit rough around the edges - with some awkward parking and a convenience store looking as though it's the entrance - but once inside, it's like any other bar and grill.

They are known for their wings, so my eyes went directly to that section.

Of course, there are spicy sauces like "toxic." But I went with 6 boneless "BBQ gold" and six boneless "Sweet BBQ."

Now, usually a "sweet BBQ" is a safe choice. But this one was just OK - their sweet bbq sauce doesn't have a ton of flavor to me.

But the BBQ gold was fantastic.

It had some sweetness and some tang. Definitely a keeper.

Oh, and the giant beers don't hurt. What's your favorite wing flavor here?
 

Calamity J is a much beloved restaurant in Huntington that closed sometime in 2005 and recently reopened as a new iteration nearly 15 years later.

The restaurant focuses on "food from the sun." In my mind, that means dishes that can be a bit fiery. Like a jalapeno shrimp pasta, sun-dried penne pasta and hot pepper cheese bites.



"We emphasize a 'food from the sun' cuisine that is a blend of Southwest & Soul. We strongly welcome people of all walks because we believe it is the same walk. And please, don't ever hesitate to offer us suggestions, complaints, or compliments."

One thing I've heard about is their "cheese soup," so I knew I had to try a cup of it. It comes topped with bacon and croutons, which is the perfect crunchy complement to the velvety, cheesy soup. It's almost a strange experience to spoon cheese right onto your mouth - I'm not complaining - but I could also see this as just being a delicious dip or topping over a burrito.


I also ordered the "Shotgun Rolls," which are southwest eggrolls with cadillac ranch. Wow. These crunch little bites of heaven are mind-blowing. I love the crunch, the perfect blend of ingredients and the little bit of a kick with the ranch. Really, really good.


What's your favorite thing here?

West Virginia is home to yet another Waffle House!

There are only a couple in the state - over in the Eastern Panhandle and one in Huntington. And, now, there's one even closer to home: in Barboursville.

I'm new to the Waffle House fandom, but I've learned my hashbrown order: smothered, covered, chunked and capped (onions, cheese, ham and mushrooms). The hashbrowns are really the star here, so that's most important. I got a double order.

PS Did you know they called it the WAFFLE house because the waffles had the biggest profit margin? And since it was in the name, that's what most people started ordering?


The hash browns and a slice of pecan pie? The best combo ever.

Fat Albert's is a pizza place in Ripley that also serves up appetizers, salads, burgers, calzones and sandwiches.

On the day I visited, the place was packed for a gathering. But I had ordered to-go, so I was just in and out quickly.


I had just ordered a personal pizza with mushrooms and a pepperoni roll. 

The pizza sauce is fairly sweet - which I loved. The dough had a nice crisp on the bottom but still had some puff to it. This was a really great flavor combination and marriage of textures.

The pepperoni roll was giant and puffy. But once you take a bite, it all flattens out. Not bad, definitely heavier on the dough.

I've been to the Capitol Food Court a billion times, but realized I hadn't written about it.

So, it's time to change that, right?

The food court has a few different areas.

There's a salad bar with fresh toppings and veggies.

There's a "Grill Station," which has sandwiches and a daily special.

And they've been having pepperoni rolls pretty regularly.

And there are soups and sometimes more on the larger buffet (though not recently).


Plus there's a snack bar in Building 7, which has mostly the same items as the "Grill" area.

Here, I went for some cheesy bread, which was pretty tasty.



And it was convenient for Building 3.



Not too shabby.



What's your favorite?