Cafe Bacchus is at the end of High Street, and it's one of the only "high-end" restaurants in downtown Morgantown. Because of its price tag, I hadn't tried the restaurant before as a casual dinner. As Brittany and I take on all (never tried before) restaurants in Morgantown, this was next on my checklist. One, because it is so close and two, because I've heard good things.

I wanted to like this restaurant; I really did. From the outside, the restaurant looks like a house, and when you first open the door, you basically walk through a curtain. While this probably is supposed to add to the atmosphere, I felt as if it was tacky. We walked a little further, and there was a chalkboard that listed special events coming up (they had one for Martin Luther King, Jr. day), and they took our coats to hang up. Then, we were seated in one dining area. Since it was basically a house, there were various rooms; I counted about four. Each had a different wallpaper/color, but all had white-tableclothed tables, complete with lit candles and black cloth napkins. Our room also happened to have a bar, which looked very nice lit up and stocked to the max.


The decor had a very warm, expensive feel. The fireplace next to us was luxurious, and the menu, which I soon found it, had a very expensive feel, as well. Most entrees were at least $25, which I'm okay with. I'm perfectly okay to pay a higher price for a very good meal. Unfortunately, my meal wasn't quite worth the price tag. None of the items seemed like something I would really like, as many had one or two ingredients that I knew I didn't like. However, there was a "striped ravioli stuffed with ricotta, spinach, and sundried-tomato in a pesto sauce" that caught my eye. It was $20. Perfect, I thought.

I ordered that, and while we waited, we were served bread (which we ended up having about two or three bowls of), along with minced olive and butter. Brittany decided on a salad and "Vietnamese rice paper rolls filled with jump shrimp, cucumber sambal and mint serviced with spicy ginger lime dipping sauce." When my dish came out, I was disappointed in the total of nine raviolis. While they were tasty, with typical ricotta and spinach stuffing, I was still hungry after my dish. That is not my idea of a $20 meal. The seasoning was on par, salty spinach and smooth, creamy mozzarella and ricotta cheese. The mixture complemented the different seasonings, and the pesto sauce was very creamy and added a hint of sweetness to the dish.

In fact, I was still so hungry after the meal, I used some of the bread slices to dip in the leftover pesto sauce, which is where the extra baskets of bread came into play. Brittany wasn't too pleased with her dinner, though her salad was tasty, she couldn't really get over the texture of the rice paper rolls.

Honestly, it's nothing that I couldn't have got at a typical Italian restaurant (a la Olive Garden) for at least $10 less. I won't deny the food was tasty, but it wasn't $20 tasty, and I feel I could even make it. The menu seemed as though the chef was trying too hard to be different. He had eclectic sense of flavors, but instead of finding out how they all taste together, they are just fused together, so it sounds like they should be good. But as far as the actual taste goes (as in Brittany's meal), they just didn't mesh. Sure, they sound good, but tasting good is very important. Well, at least to normal patrons, and not the usual Cafe Bacchus goers who probably like the "status" of the restaurant.

The only redeeming factor of the meal was dessert: vanilla bean cheesecake with a walnut crust. Otherwise, this dinner would have probably been a "D." The cheesecake was silky smooth and had a very New York-style, with a prominent cream cheese flavor. The walnut crust had actual crushed walnuts that just crumbled as soon as my fork hit it. It was definitely homemade, and a decent-sized portion. For only $7, I should've made my "dinner" of just cheesecake and had a more pleasant meal.

Luckily, my company was top-notch, as always, so I still had a splendid time. Had it been with someone else, this restaurant might not have been so lucky.

Grade: C

After a tumultuous birthday, my good friend Brittany Erskine demanded we have lunch today. I was happy when we decided on The Wharf restaurant, one I haven't been to. The restaurant is fairly new - it used to be the Boathouse Bistro (but I never got the chance to go there). It's situated in the Wharf District of Morgantown, near the river. As excited as I was to try the food, I was a little hesitant because I actually tried to write a story for The Daily Athenaeum about their opening (July, I believe), but the management was not to receptive of the idea. That turned me off, but I went in with an open mind. 





We went for lunch, so the place was fairly empty. There was one business-looking man having a drink, but other than that, just us. So, we were able to seat ourselves, and we decided on a window seat overlooking the river. Not only does this allow me to snoop, but the table itself was made of these fantastic stones to the right. They were filled with reds, greens, blues, yellows and whites - they were all absolutely beautiful and looked expensive.

The waiter was a very personable and friendly guy who chatted us a good bit, but not too much like many. I hate that. Anyway, as soon as we received our drinks, he brought out two complimentary ribs. He said they are simply taste-testing for a competition they enter for ribs. I typically don't eat ribs because I don't like them, but, of course, I tried one. It was so tender that it fell off the bone - this, I am good with. The sauce wasn't my favorite. It had a sweeter taste instead of tangy, but it was cooked to perfection, and the texture was flawless. We then filled out comment cards to help them out.

I ordered the Wharf original sandwich, which was basically a huge fish sandwich. It came with two sides. I got the hush puppies and a red potato salad. The sandwich was a little too large; it contained two fillets that were falling apart when I tried to pick it up. I opted to make it into a fork-and-knife sandwich. It had tomato, lettuce and apparently tartar sauce, but I didn't find it. The fish was amazing tasting - very fresh and flaky. However, it's fish, and it needs some sort of sauce to accompany it. I wish it had a healthier (or any at all) helping of tartar on the sandwich because between two large buns, the dish was dry. I also prefer my fish sandwiches on long hoagie buns and not a tall typical sandwich. The hush puppies had very savory seasonings, and reminded me of cornbread. The potato salad was also on par, with a mustard-based sauce that hit all the right notes. 




Finally, we shared a peanut butter ice cream /brownie dish. The ice cream tasted very buttery, and the brownie was kind of hidden. I like my ice cream-brownie ratio to be a bit more equal, but it was tasty nonetheless. I was very full by this point, so I surrendered my spoon to let Brittany finish it off. Had I been less full, it probably would have been much more satisfying. The waiter really made the experience great - he wished me happy birthday (and wrote it on my check), and kept us entertained the whole time. He is a native of Morgantown and WVU grad.

Grade: B

It's near the Morgantown airport, near the Indian restaurant "Saffron." I didn't have much trouble finding it, and luckily it wasn't too busy because there wasn't a ton of parking. When we walked in, the decor was more elegant than I imagined. The middle picture shows one dining area, the first you see when you walk in. There are another two dining areas, and we were seated in one that had a lattice area with vines and grapes on the ceiling.

Surprisingly, we saw Kayla (the one who mentioned the restaurant in the first place) and her boyfriend, Michael. In fact, we were seated right next to them. I took this photo from my seat, so it was basically like we were eating together. Kayla looked like she had a fried fish meal, and Michael had a hamburger. Then, we browsed our menu.

I'm currently sitting in a Princeton McDonalds attempting to fill out graduate school applications, internship applications and browsing the social networks. Chris doesn't have internet or TV, so this is my best option. I've hit a point with the applications and whatnot where I simply need a printer to finish anything, so I think I'm at a standstill. What better time than now (amidst a group of teenage boys staring and screaming babies) to blog about Christmas.

I spent this Christmas with Chris, mostly because my parents decided they would be ultra Christian and not celebrate it this year because it's a "Pagan" holiday. Instead, I get a week in October where I'll get presents. Yeah, I don't understand it either. Alas, we spent Christmas together, and it was a good time.




Now, it's New Year's Eve. Chris has to work, and I'm stealing internet. Not ideal, but I guess I'll make it work.

Update 1/2/10: After I left the Princeton McDonalds, I was able to see Chris. We went to Danny's, a nice little bar in downtown Princeton. It's probably one of my favorite bars because it's very chill and relaxing. It's not a super young crowd, and I can appreciate that.

On New Year's, though, they had a DJ, and there were some younger people, but it was a very nice time. After the bar, we went to the Omelet Spot. Since it was the only place in Princeton open on New Year's, it was packed. We waited two hours for our food, but it's not like we had anywhere better to be. I really enjoyed just spending time with Chris.

I'm now at home, and I plan on finishing all my applications. My birthday is Thursday (I'll be 22), and Chris will be back for that. I'm hoping for a nice dinner and movie. I think I've hit the point where I no longer have fun birthdays, aka I'm getting old, so I'm satisfied with a nice evening instead of a party.