It's common knowledge in West Virginia that Hinton has the best Dairy Queen.Is that a sad thing I just typed?
I don't know. But it's true.
I have made it clear, I hope, that I love supporting local businesses and eat local whenever possible. However, there are sometimes when I'm in a rush that I do get fast food. And I usually opt for Dairy Queen - my favorite fast food joint.
Since I started this blog, I've had so many people tell me to go to Hinton. Hinton? Really?
Yes, really.
There isn't much in Hinton, and I don't ever get down this way often, so I made a special detour while driving from Union to Charleston to go through Hinton just for this Dairy Queen.
From the outside, it looks pretty typical. I walked in and walked up to the counter to place my order for a hotdog. I then realized the seating area for this place is pretty massive - at least compared to the other DQs I've been to.
There's a section off to the left with some play areas for kids, and down the stairs to the second tier there is another seating space that overlooks the New River. And it's beautiful.It's wide and not too deep in areas - so we saw fisherman and ducks. And it spans the entire viewing area from the large windows inside the DQ. One of the best serene views from a restaurant - and it's a DQ, of all places.
Oh, the hotdog.
It's housed in a grilled English bun (yum!) and was topped with onions, mustard, slaw and chili. Chili being on top. A little different than what I'm used to, but to be honest, I think I like it better. The roof of my mouth isn't met with cool slaw - it's instead met with the warm chili, which makes the slaw slightly less frigid, and I get a better taste of the chili - the ingredient I prefer. The slaw plays second fiddle to the chili, and I'm okay with that.Since it is a chain, I will refrain from making this an official review by giving it a letter grade, but it's good - with an awesome view.
Lewisburg is seriously one of my favorite towns. There are a handful of restaurants in the downtown area - all local, all incredibly good. After my last trip, one of the few places I didn't get to try was Del Sol Cantina & Grille (after this, I think I've had just about everything in the downtown area, save for a bakery).Parking (free!) was available nearby, and Hannah and I walked over. This place was hoppin'. A line was out the door, but we waited it out. After just a few moments, we were inside the restaurant. With a warm color palette and outdoor dining, the Latin American restaurant was relaxing and comfortable.
A few different items caught my eye, but the one that stood out was the chimichanga. I went for chicken. It had jack cheese, rice, black beans, all wrapped in a flour tortilla, fried, and served with salsa and sour cream.
Holy wow. his is REALLY GOOD. So flavorful - crispy outside, with tons of cheese inside. Nice pulled chicken and black beans. Cool salsa and creamy sour cream just made this an all-around good dish.Is Lewisburg where you would think to go for good Latin American food? I mean, based on this chimichanga, then yes. It hit all the crispy, cheesey, creamy, tangy points I needed. Fan. Definitely a fan.
Grade: A
West Virginia is coming around to the craft beer scene. Legislation will hopefully lighten up on breweries, and the number of brewers in the state is growing steadily. If you're keeping track, in West Virginia, we have:
- Basement Brewery
- Big Timber Brewing Company
- Blackwater Brewing Company
- Brewstel Microbrewery & Hostel
- Bridge Brew Works
- Charleston Brewing Company
- Chestnut Brew Works
- Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company
- Lost River Brewing Company
- Morgantown Brewing Company
- Mountain State Brewing Company
- North End Tavern & Brewery
- Wheeling Brewing Company
- Rustik Bru Brewing Company (in planning)?
A good bit of those were in attendance for West Virginia's largest craft beer festival: Rails & Ales in Huntington. Other smaller beer festivals are popping up, but this one is the largest (as far as I know) and dedicated to the beer. It's in high demand, too. This year, they had 1,500 tickets for sale, and they sold out within hours. Many, including this blogger, didn't nab one. Luckily, they did one even better for me and got me a media pass so I could check the festival out.
VIP tickets were available and allowed visitors in an hour early - from noon to 1 p.m. From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. was beer service, and by 6 p.m., the festival is over. I tried to get as many West Virginia beers as I could, because there were other domestic and international breweries available. The following breweries were on our list of attendance (and I tried most of them!)Bridge Brew Works - I tried their "Crux" beer, which was least hoppy of the bunch. Very good.
Blackwater Brewing Company - Not there.
Chestnut Brew Works - Bill is one of my favorite people ever, I think. I tried the beer I hadn't had yet - Soma. Hoppy, but in a nice citrus way.
Charleston Brewing Company - Skipped this one because I have had it before.
Morgantown Brewing Company - Skipped this one because I have had it before.
Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company - The Wild Trail Ale was tasty.
North End Tavern - Their Cherry Saison definitely had a little cherry kick, and it was nice to finally try this place! Been on my list for a while now.Mountain State Brewing Company - Skipped this one because I have had it before.
Big Timber - Another that has been on my to-try list for some time. I tried their blonde, which was great.
There were other U.S. Breweries, including Blue Mountain (VA), Southern Tier (NY), Rogue (OR), Sierra Nevada (CA), Harpoon (MA), Shipyard (ME), Good Island (IL), Widmer Brothers (OR), Country Boy (KY), and Great Lakes (OH).Plus some international breweries: Ayinger (GER), Brouwerij Affiligem (BEL), Brouwerij Van Honsebrouk (BEL), Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven (NL), Brouwerij Van Steenberge (BEL), Brouwerij De Brabandere (BEL), Meantime (UK), and Weihenstephan (GER).
Restaurants: Black Sheep Burritos and Brews, La Famiglia, River and Rail Bakery, Backyard Pizza and Raw Bar, and University Giovanni's Pizza. I DID get to try one, and I'll post about that later.
In addition to the local beer, I had a nice pumpkin beer, an awesome sour beer and a few others from outside of the area.
If you didn't get a chance to go, be on the lookout for when they announce next year's festival and be ready to get your tickets super early - like, within the hour they announce. It's a really cool event to try all of our state's beers in one place, meet fellow beer-lovers and support a growing industry.
TL;DR Super cool event in West Virginia that celebrates local beer. Go.
For my work trip to Lewisburg, we stayed overnight at the General Lewis Inn. In addition to being a super cute, homey place to rest (and the most amazing little garden), it has a great little restaurant. After a night at the bed and breakfast, I went for the breakfast part.They have a complimentary coffee bar, but we went into the actual restaurant for some grub. The first thing that stuck out to me was the Belgian waffles. You could add strawberries, so I did. I also got a side of sausage.
Pretty tasty. Best waffle I've ever had? No, but it was lightly crisp and soft and pretty darn tasty. It got a little mushy, but not a problem. Sausage was a little overcooked, but I'd rather it be that than the other way. A little bit more expensive than our dinner the day before.Overall - quite tasty. Want a good waffle, fresh fruit and a side of protein? They have your number. Lewisburg is full of great options, and this is just one of them.
Grade: B
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