After work, Kristen and I checked out the Dairy Castle in South Park. I drove by it a few weeks ago at night. It was completely lit up and looked like a legitimate castle. For lack of a better phrase, it's probably the closest thing Morgantown has to a Chuck E. Cheese. Located at a precarious area, "Hogback Turn," in South Park (beside Buck's Corner Pub) you could easily miss this place if you're driving too fast. But if you're on the lookout, you will easily notice the small bouncy castle and bright yellow picnic benches outside.

The building has a walk-up area to order at, so you can then go bounce in the castle or eat at a picnic bench. It also seems they have a drive-thru, but a truck was blocking that area when we went. We opted to go inside and sit down. When you go inside, there's one large menu plastered on the wall behind the counter, so you have to stand there and read the menu as all the workers stare at you. I actually felt a little overwhelmed as five people were staring back at me and made eye contact with all of them. They kind of got the hint after that and scattered. As I was figuring out what I wanted, I Saw that there was also a coffee bar to the right of the regular counter. It was just a small coffee area that offered cappuccinos, frappuccinos, etc.

The menu was mostly void of any food - there were a couple hot dogs and one burger. I ordered the burger, "Double Stacker Burger" for $2. I also got a "Castle Cruncher" in Snickers - essentially a Blizzard or Sonic Blast or McFlurry, etc. Kristen opted for a "Coney Island Dog" and a "Castle Cruncher" in strawberry cheesecake. We then took a seat on one of the three giant yellow picnic benches inside.

That's when it dawned on me that I was way above the legal age limit at this place. Everything was brightly colored, and there were even cartoon characters on the walls. The bathrooms were the "Queen's Chamber" and the "King's Chamber." And, nearly everybody inside was either a parent or a kid. Not your typical college kid hangout. Though toward the end of our trip, a group of college guys came in.



















 I received my food fairly quickly. The medium-sized ice cream was a good size, and the peanut buttery, caramely, chocolately pieces were mixed all throughout the ice cream. This is a good change from Sonic or sometimes Dairy Queen. The soft serve was ... vanilla, and it was overall tasty. Slightly generic, but not bad. The food was less impressive. I'm not sure where to put it because the actual taste wasn't bad. The burger was a little salty, but the garlic balanced it out. However, the burger was so unbelievably slopped together, I had a difficult time eating it. I had ketchup, mustard and onions on it. The condiments were everywhere, on top of the bun, underneath the bun, and there was a nice glob of mustard on the bottom of my sandwich with onions in it, that when I picked it up, mustard was everywhere. It was also fairly small. For $2, though, I guess that's what I should've expected.

Kristen's hotdog was pretty small, too. About the same size as a one you'd pick up in a bundle at the grocery store, slapped on a bun with a little chili sauce and some ketchup.

The service is not the greatest. They're young kids who probably don't care about the job. When I ordered my hamburger, she asked what I wanted on it. I asked what it came with. She said she didn't know, then called back to the kitchen to ask them. It's just basic stuff that I'd think if you'd been there more than a month you should know. All in all, average.

Grade: C

It may not be the most glamorous of cuisines, but Chinese food has a spot in (almost) everyone's heart. When you've had a long, hard day, there's just something about the delicious Moo Goo Gai Pan that calms you down. Or maybe the wonton soup is more your style. Morgantown doesn't have much in the way of find Chinese dining. Instead, you have two options for the most part: buffet or take-out.

China One is my favorite Chinese take-out joint in Morgantown. I tend to order from DubVmenus, which is convenient and means I don't have to be bothered talking to people. I usually get my meal delivered in under a half hour (though it could be more if it's a late Friday or Saturday night), and I don't spend more than $15, which isn't bad. I typically only order one thing, and it's pretty good here: General Tso's Chicken. I get the combination plate that comes with rice (I get white) and a small eggroll. I've had subpar chicken there - stringy or chewy - but if you get it in the middle of the day when they're constantly cooking fresh batches, it's pretty good. The best thing, though, is their sauce. I've had Great Wall or Lavender Cafe, but their General Tso's sauce has nothing on China One's. It's a good blend of tangy and sweet. Sweet and spicy deliciousness.

I also throw in an order of crab rangoons. The delivery order is required to be $10, so this appetizer usually puts it in that ballpark. You can't really go wrong with the cream cheese/crab mixture inside these small fried pieces of heaven. They come with a generous container of sweet and sour sauce. This is good for the eggroll as well. This day, I got the lunch special, which features a slightly smaller combination plate but also with a drink or soup for less than a regular combination plate. Not a bad deal.

For around $13, I had Chinese food to last me all day and a happy, satisfying tummy. For take-out in Morgantown, this is as good as it gets.

Grade: B

Best Urbanspoon Restaurants in Morgantown

Ranking high up there on my list of most favorite restaurants in Morgantown, Puglioni's is one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever been to. Puglioni's is located in Chelsea Square in Suncrest. It's a tucked-away little treasure for Morgantonians. It has a fairly small dining area, so you may expect a wait on busy Friday or Saturday nights since they don't take reservations usually. The wait will be worth it. It's more closed quarters than I'm usually comfortable with, but it makes for an intimate setting and good for one-on-one conversations.

Why is it called Puglioni's? I'm not sure, though there are a few pictures of pug dogs around. I know it was opened by a WVU alum, but not sure the back story.


On Thursday evening, good friend and mentor throughout my collegiate career Jan Boyles and I took to Puglioni's for our farewell dinner. Jan has an amazing opportunity in D.C. at American University, and she's snatching it up. Which means, Martin Hall will be void of the happy, perky advising superwoman. We talked about all of this and more at Puglioni's.

We didn't have much of a wait as we walked in. We were sat at a small table, and our drink orders were placed. Soon after, two generous salads and their famous buttery bread were placed on our table. The salad contains lettuce, tomato, black olives, onion and your choice of dressing. Since a friend ordered it before, I've been on a kick with French dressing, and theirs is absolutely divine. The bit of sweetness with the crisp lettuce makes for a salad that I usually devour, which is unusual for me and salads.

The bread is also out of this world. I'm not usually a person who focuses on bread. It's usually just ... well, bread to me. But this fresh-baked loaf sits in a delicious buttery garlic mixture that gives the bread a delicious flavor while keeping the the crunch and flakiness in tact. The only downside to eating this bread is actually cutting it. For all the times I've gone to Puglioni's, I have no idea how to cut into the beast without me looking like a savage. Jan dug it, and we just took it piece by piece from there.

For my entree, I ordered something a little different. Ever since I was introduced to Puglioni's, I was told to try their pasta carbonara, and I was hooked ever since. I order it nearly every time I'm there because it is THAT good. It's creamy, cheesey and speckled with bacon and ham. Though I don't usually like bacon and ham, it gives it that perfect saltiness with the cheese that just makes it out of this world. For someone who likes to try new things to usually stick to one dish because I don't think it could get any better says a lot. Seriously, try the pasta carbonara. Anyway, that's what Jan decided on.

I, however, wanted to be adventurous. I ordered the seafood pomodoro with rotini noodles. That's the other amazing thing at Puglioni's - they make all their pastas in house (sans the angel hair), and you get to choose which type of pasta you'd like with your dinner - spaghetti, fettucine, linguine, rotini or angel hair. Before I go too far, they also offer pizza, sandwiches and calzones. But when they make fresh pasta EVERY DAY, how could that not tempt you? It does me. I've also had the lasagna, which is to die for. Seven layers of meaty and cheesey goodness with a mouth-watering marinara - it doesn't get much better than that.

The seafood pomodoro had fresh shrimp and scallops, mushrooms, pomodoro tomatos, artichoke hearts and garlic. It was amazing. As amazing as the carbonara? No, but it was a nice refreshing change.The seafood was fresh, succulent and good, which is surprising for an Italian restaurant. Not surprising for Puglionis. The artichoke hearts were cooked great - not too hard or too mushy. And the mushrooms! They were plump and button-sized so you actually get the taste when you bite into it. The pomodoro tomatoes acted as the light, watery sauce. The dish was much lighter than my other two favorites, but it was filling nonetheless. I always have leftovers, which taste great for a later dinner or even the next day.

If I could give this restaurant higher than an A, I would. You just have to go to see for yourself.

Grade: A

The only place I'll go despite the continually bad service. The Omelet Spot (formerly Shoppe) is a staple in Princeton. It's the only 24/7 sit-down restaurant, so it's very similar to Eat'n Park, only much worse. The Omelet Spot is par for the course when it comes to diners. It features breakfast, sandwiches and some dinner plates. All of which will taste much better after a night at Danny's.



You walk in and seat yourself. The booths aren't very sturdy, so I don't like to sit at one on the end. They also have these weird poles in the middle of the dining area that make some of the seats nearly impossible to sit in. Our waitress this time was 30-some weeks pregnant, but I didn't even notice until she told us. She came over to the table to take our drink orders and gave us a set of silverware - a fork and knife in a plastic baggy. The table is always slightly sticky, so it's commonplace to wipe it down with a napkin before touching it.

I've found that the food is mediocre, but one sandwich I have been ordering lately is the "chunky cheese chicken melt," which has mushrooms, onions, green peppers, American and Swiss cheese. It's tasty, but it's something I could make at home. The wait time for the food varies, but we've waited more than three hours on New Year's Eve before. If there aren't many people, the food is usually fairly quick. Refills, however, are nonexistent here. Which is bad for me. The strategy is to make eye contact when you need something, otherwise you'll never see the waitress again.


As we were sitting there, a boy mopped around us and under our table a bit, which made me uncomfortable, but I guess a 24/7 hour restaurant has to clean some time. I also had cheese fries this time, which were pretty good. They were crunchy, the way I like them.

They also have some desserts in a fridge off to the side, but since it's hard to get the waitress's attention, it's hard to get anything after your meal (including the ticket to pay). I ordered the choco- late pie, and it was very good. The choco- late was made of pudding and the cool whip topping was yummy.

The truth of the matter is this: the service is awful, the food is mediocre, but it's open all the time - what can you expect? And to be honest, I kind of like the waitresses not bothering me. It's a relaxed environment where you can sometimes people-watch folks who frequent here.

Grade: C