Lavender Cafe is one of the highest rated restaurants on Urbanspoon. I always assumed it was just another Chinese takeout place, but that assumption has turned out to bite me in the butt. I saw that it was rated so highly, so I wanted to check it out. Lavender Cafe is located right along Beechurst, near Papa Johns and WVU's Life Sciences Building. There is a gravel parking lot located behind the building, so some parking is available - always nice!

The sign features a drink - bubble tea, specifically. I actually tried bubble tea from here a long time ago and wasn't a fan. I knew I wouldn't be getting it this time either. We opened the door, and there was a small little entryway that listed their specials that day. We opened the next door to reveal the restaurant. For its location, the restaurant is quite large. I was very impressed. The room is long and slightly narrow, with a dozen tables. A second room is located to the left, where a sushi bar is located. We were seated in the the large room, near the back. The tables were also very roomy - something else that surprised me. If you go to Ogawa or Volcano, the seats are fairly close together. I felt more comfortable already.

The waitress took our drink orders and handed us menus. The menus were very impressive and extensive. I was surprised to see the typical American-Chinese fare, like General Tso's Chicken, but there was also a full sushi list, as well as Korean-style Kim Che, and Taiwanese style dishes. The restaurant has Chinese and Thai and Taiwanese! So many options - I was blown away. The variety isn't limited by just Chinese or just Japanese or just Thai. It really has an amazing variety, and there's something there for everyone. I could go on about this menu - but you really just need to check it out.


I was really feeling the Chinese menu just to see how it compared to the others in town. I definitely will be back to try the Kim Che and the Thai dishes. There's not a ton of options for those in Morgantown. But I went with the General Tso's Chicken and an order of sushi - the Boston roll. I took in the scenery as we waited. It's really a basic restaurant - a few decorations, but fairly basic.

The Boston roll was very light - with lettuce, cucumber, shrimp and a mayo sauce. It was refreshing and was a nice intro for my heavier entree. The ingredients were fresh and had a nice crisp to them. A light sushi roll was just enough to prep me.

Our entree came out with a gorgeous presentation. It was garnished with a large flower. I actually asked what it was made out of, and the waiter told me it was radish. It was so intricate. I wanted to keep it, but I knew it wouldn't last.

The General Tso's Chicken was a good blend of sweet and spicy that left a bit of a kick. The chili peppers it was cooked with were potent, so it was definitely flavorful. The chicken was of good quality - not those chewy, stringy pieces that other takeout places specialize in. The sauce was very tasty, and the white rice soaked in the flavor and complemented the chicken well.

I really liked this place, and I love that there are options to go further out of my comfort zone. I can't wait to try some of the other dishes to see what all this place has to offer.

Grade: A

I follow Tailpipes on Twitter. Why not? Tailpipes has been really interactive with their audience, and recently, they were soliciting suggestions for a special burger.

"@TailpipesWV: Got a burger idea you'd like to see as a special? Let us know, if we like it we might just name it after you! #getcreative"

"@Candace07: @TailpipesWV burger with bleu cheese, cranberry, fresh spinach!"

"@TailpipesWV: @Candace07 We all loved this one and it sounds delicious! Give us a name for it and we will put it on special for next week.. #newspecial"

So, of course, I name it the "@Canda- ce07" in honor of my Twitter handle. And that is how I got a burger named after me. The special was Tuesday, so I knew I had to stop by. I walked in and told the woman at the counter that I wanted my special, the @Candace07. She said "congrats!" and that it looks good. I placed my order for my medium burger, along with a side of sweet potato fries, and took my seat. Soon enough, my burger came out. I was anxious because I already felt some sort attachment to this sandwich. I was just hoping it'd live up to my expectations. Did it? Absolutely.

This 1/3 lb. angus burger topped with fresh spinach, bleu cheese crumbles and a cranberry glaze, for $6.49, was fantastic. The burger was bursting was flavor; the cranberry/teriyaki glaze added a slight hint of sweetness, but the green, leafy spinach and the tangy, sharp bleu cheese crumbles toned it down. This burger was in perfect balance. This combo of spinach/bleu cheese/cranberry is classic and tasty. Even tastier on a burger. My opinion? They should make this burger a permanent component of the menu. I'd definitely order it again.

Tailpipes is fairly new to the downtown dining scene, well, at least within the past couple of years. I love the concept of this restaurant: glamming up something ordinary. Tailpipes' main draw is that it's a cool, modern, gourmet take on burgers and shakes. Yep, burgers. Well, technically, you can get a few different things - like ground turkey, buffalo, chicken breast or a grilled marinated portabello cap.

Remember my post about Nonna's Italian Kitchen? Well, last month, the student newspaper at Concord decided to do their own review of it. Then, that same student submitted it to the Princeton Times. Oh, and they used my iPhone photo of the place. I'm happy The Concordian credited me - thanks!

I'm surprised they didn't get their staff to get their own photo for two reasons. One, this is an iPhone photo. Its quality is sub-par, especially for publication. If I had to use a phone photo at The Daily Athenaeum, I'd run it very small. The second thing is this place is, literally, about a mile from the Princeton Times. A few more miles for Concord. So I'm surprised they didn't get a qualified photographer to photograph the restaurant.

Unfortunately The Concordian's website is no longer updated, so I can't read the article associated with the photo. But I thought I'd at least document it!