In Salt Rock, West Virginia, there is another Sam's Hot Dogs location. Inside a gas station, this location serves both Sam's Hot Dogs, as well as Godfather's Pizza - and a few other odds and ends like breakfast biscuits.



At this point, I have had a lot of hot dogs, so I wanted to see what else was on their menu.



And, I was pretty happy to see onion rings, mozzarella sticks and corn dogs. Since I was driving, I figured a corn dog would be perfect. And corn dogs are fun - you don't see them every day, so I usually associate them with a fair or carnival or something.



It may have been under the heat lamp a bit long, but not bad.

Grade: B

Harts is a small town in southern West Virginia that recently found some news coverage for one of its restaurants. Creeker's Diner and Dana's Sweet Selections Bakery are a two-for-one deal. On either side of the space, there are counters. One is for the diner side, and the other is for the bakery side.



Creeker's has a diner feel with checkered floors, bright red vinyl seating and old-school car decorations. They serve up burgers, loaded fries, sandwiches and fried appetizers.



But I've heard their burgers are where it's at, so I ordered a classic with American cheese, onion, tomato, ketchup, and mayo. Plus a side of tater tots. And maybe an order of hot pepper cheese balls (I love hot pepper cheese balls!).



The burger was clearly hand-pattied and homemade. There was a great blend of spices that made it flavorful. Tater tots were good, and the hot pepper cheeseballs are always a favorite.



Then I ventured to the other side of the space to check out all the sweets.



The case was full of pastries, donuts, cream horns, cookies and small cakes. I got some cake balls that were strawberry cake AND fondant, and they were delicious.



There are even some tasty desserts from another bakery - Tammy's Custom Cookies - there. And, I tried a chocolate dipped rice krispie treat.



Grade: A

I've never been to Harts, West Virginia - that I can recall. But two restaurants prompted a recent visit: Creekers and Sam's Hot Dog Stand. I'll talk about the former later, but let's chat about the latter.



Sam's Hot Dog Stand has just a few more locations I need to visit. A friend recently asked me if there's really much difference between the locations. And, there's not really. Sometimes they have a local favorite. But, mostly, I have a list and I want to complete it.



The Harts location is located in a gas station, along with a Subway, too. This Sam's Hot Dog Stand is a mash-up of hot dogs and pizza from Godfather's. They have a little bit of everything - which I imagine is necessary in small towns that don't have a ton of other options.



The hot dog I ordered was a regular steamed bun, mild chili, slaw and onion. It's a standard Sam's hot dog, though I did like how the chili was a bit thicker here. What's your favorite Sam's hot dog?

Roadrunners Grill is a small restaurant in Nitro that specializes in American food, like soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers.



Dawn and I went to check it out, after I had heard some good reviews of the food. The restaurant is attached to an antique store and has a similar feel itself - lots of old decor on the walls and a random collection of Nascar, religious symbols and tools.



The menu is pretty straightforward. Dawn went with a burger, fries and mozzarella sticks.



And I went with soup and a sandwich.



Sweet beefy cabbage soup is not a combination of words I typically see together, but it piqued my interest. And, it tasted like a cabbage roll in soup form - with just a hint of sweetness, which really just tapered down the acidic nature of the tomato.



The sub had ham, pepperoni, provolone, tomato, onion, lettuce and served with a side of what seemed to me to be a mix of ranch and Italian. Definitely interesting.

Grade: B

Just a quick ode to everything ramps. I love when local places make dishes with ramps during this time of year. And, I scooped up this ramp bagel at Starlings Coffee & Provisions last week. Yum.