There's a different kind of "hot dog" in the Spring Hill area of Charleston. It's not one topped with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. Instead, it's a bakery version of a hot dog - found at Spring Hill Pastry Shop.

It swaps the bun for an eclair that is split and filled with fluffy cream and has chocolate icing atop. It borrows the name "hot dog" because of its appearance, but it doesn't actually contain any of the same elements.

It's an iconic part of Charleston, I was told many times, as it remained on my bucket list when my deadline to move was quickly approaching. I made it my goal to get the much coveted hot dog before I left.

When I walked into the pastry shop, I was overwhelmed with amazing smells and beautiful displays. All of this at around 8 a.m. I can't imagine how early they wake up to prepare this spread. But they basically have every kind of pastry and sweet delight you could imagine. My friend told the woman behind the counter I had never had the famed hot dog and want to try it before I leave.

She gave me one. On the house.

In addition to being a sweet treat with a soft bun, creamy center and decadent drizzle of chocolate - the service is phenomenal. Great hometown place. Get the hot dog. Revel in its delight. Contribute to a great group of people.


Grade: A

I've heard Suzi's referred to as "Suzi's Hamburgers," but what you have to get there is the biscuits, apparently. For whatever reason, my friend and I happened to be in the South Charleston area at an ungodly early hour (Suzi's isn't open for dinner) - so we swung through the drive-thru.

Granted, this is via a drive-thru, so it's very likely that the quality is less than perfect. But  go with it.

Maybe I'm not a huge biscuit person. Maybe it's the Nothern Panhandle in me. But I've had my ups and downs with Tudor's, but Suzi's doesn't come close to that - I don't think.

I ordered a bacon and egg biscuit. I felt like I was eating a flour-coated cloud. And not in a good way. It was just doughey and too much. Maybe it was an off day, or I just wasn't feeling that much biscuit to meat/egg ratio. It was too dense. Too thick. Too bland. Will have to try in the future.


Grade: C

Betty Lou's Diner came across my radar when I was doing research for a story. The local health department in Charleston was giving gold stars for the restaurants who basically went above and beyond typical health standards. Betty Lou's was one on a fairly short list.

I was intrigued. And then I found out the restaurant was one of 101 Unique Places to Dine in West Virginia. Okay, cool. Definitely going.

Brittany and I made our way to the South Charleston restaurant - it's located at 415 Central Avenue, and it's pretty much nestled in with a residential area. But the bright red exterior tipped me off.

It was pretty sparse when we went inside, but we chose a table near the front. A waitress came out with some worn menus that had seen better days. I was torn between trying their pulled pork sandwich or their Betty Hot Dog - which is essentially a West Virginia hot dog (slaw, mustard, chili, onions). So I got both, duh.

After a little wait, my food came out on a plastic red tray. So much West Virginia in one spot. I was happy.

The pulled pork was pretty big, and it was pretty average as far as flavor goes. Standard BBQ, but nothing that blew me away. It was good, though.

The hotdog was similar. Mediocre weenie, not a ton of chili, slaw was fine. Decent hot dog.

Nothing was terrible here, but nothing was better than average. It was all decent.

Oh, I'm lying. One really cool thing is that they had my article hanging up. That's pretty cool.

If you're in the mood for some diner food, this might quench that thirst. And if it's nearby, I'm sure it's a winner. I wouldn't mind trying it again.

Grade: B

One of my coworkers dined at 5 Corners and gave me a rave review of the West Side restaurant. On one of my final assignments for the Daily Mail, photographer extraordinaire Tom Hindman - and probably one of hte most down-to-earth and hilarious people I've ever met - and I were passing the restaurant before heading back to the office. I casually mentioned I had been wanting to go here. He promptly asked if I'd had lunch yet. I said no, and he whipped around and parked right in front of the restaurant.

Lunch is served.

It may not be the best area of town, but if your vehicle is nearby, I think it's OK. And it was in the middle of the day, so hopefully that helped. Either way, we found ourselves walking inside a nice place. A man greeted us and handed us some menus.

Sandwiches galore.

But one that I haven't seen was Grace's Grilled Cheese Caprese. Already sounds good, right? It was American, Gouda and Provolone cheese with fresh basil and tomato on white bread drizzled in a balsamic reduction. Mmmm. Got that with a side of potato salad.




Classic comfort food with a touch of fancy. To be honest, you could probably put balsamic on anything, and I'd be a fan. But taking two favorites - a grilled cheese and a caprese salad - and combining them is probably a quick and easy way to get you a good grade.

It's simple but smart. Creamy cheese, some cool tomato, with crunchy toast and sweet balsamic - I mean. C'mon. Simple, but lovely. Will definitely try again. Potato salad did not wow me, but I didn't really need it do.

For a good, simple, but delish sandwich, check 'em out.

Grade: A

When I have intentions of trying a new restaurant, it's usually quite deliberate. I have heard about it or saw its new opening, and I venture to try it.

That wasn't the case with Charleston's Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse. Nothing about it stuck out to me. Probably because I have seen about 1,000 other restaurants with this exact name, so it has taken on a sort of generic feel. But I passed it quite often considering it's near Target. And one day, while hungry and out and about, my friend and I went here instead of the couple of fast food places nearby.

It was nice inside, from what I saw - minus a few glitches, like an oddly placed sink and trash near the entrance. But the interior was clean And service was okay. We stood around looking puzzled for a minute when no one was at the front reception area.

Instead of hibachi, we just sat in the dining area for sushi. So this may be a different experience than had we been getting the full experience.

I ordered an appetizer - the eggrolls, which came out entirely too greasy and just unappealing all together. It felt like grease just spurted out when you tried to take a bite. Just no.

I got two rolls Salmon Dynamite: deep fried salmon, crab stick, avocado and spicy mayo on top. And a Special California Roll: crab, cucumber and avocado which is topped with baked crab and eel sauce. Not sure why I wanted to get the two most unhealthy rolls that day, but whatever.

The Salmon Dynamite was my favorite. The deep-frying was only on the outside, so the salmon inside is still mostly raw, save for the end pieces. But it's good. I appreciated the crunch on the outside with the spicy mayo sauce.

The Special California Roll was served hot, really. Which was interesting but different. It just simply had too much crab topping on top. It dominated the whole flavor of everything and made whatever was under it soggy.  Just meh.

However, I think it is less pricey than comparable places, and when I went, it wasn't too busy. So, not too bad of an option.

Grade: B