Five Guys Burgers and Fries has finally opened, after months of anticipation. I hadn't had much experience with the restaurant, so I was hesitant to get too excited. But people were really going crazy over it. A few updates in the student newspaper, numerous questions to their Twitter handle, and people driving by the location to see when it opened.


Today was the day. And I was there. But since I try to focus my blog on local food, I won't go too in-depth on my opinion of the restaurant. The menu was pretty basic, as they just specialize in a few things. You get to see them make your burger. Basically, I thought it was an average burger joint. They give you a ton of fries. I'd prefer a local place like Tailpipes.


But one thing is very interesting about this place: It has a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. What is this? Well, it's a machine that can make just about any pop that you want. You press a button for which type of pop you want, and then it pops up with variations of that pop. There are 100+ combinations. For example, if you press "Coke," you get options of "Coke Vanilla" "Coke Raspberry" "Cherry Coke", etc. The only other place to have a Freestyle machine in West Virginia was Weston's Wendys. So Morgantown has West Virginia's second machine.

I've mentioned that when I get a fountain drink, I usually mix a variety of options, including (but not limited to) Coke, Pibb, and a lemon-lime soda. It's quite tasty, and it reminds me of my younger days, going to the softball park and ordering at the concession stand. They had a drink called "graveyard," which mixed all of their pops together.

This machine is kind of revolutionary, in my opinion. It is stocked with so many different options, there has to be something there for everyone. Has anyone used this machine before? Any combinations that are rocking your world?

I was in the mood for hibachi the other day, so Chris and I hit up Fujiyama for a good time. Located on Venture Drive, Fujiyama is bit further out of the way, so I was hoping it'd be less busy. When we walked inside the restaurant, there were these tacky signs that said to make sure to close the outside doors before opening the inside. I understand the concept, I guess, it just really cheapens it before even walking in. Once we did walk in, there was a large fountain, with another sign, that said not to throw coins in it. This wasn't looking good.

We walked to the hostess stand and said we'd like the grill. They also have a simple dining area. She seated us immediately. We were the first couple on our side of the grill - the other side was already halfway through their meal. We ordered drinks as we looked over our menu. If you've been to a hibachi restaurant before, you know how it works. If you sit at the grill, you order a hibachi dinner - most of these are either chicken, steak, scallops, shrimp or fish. Sometimes a combination. These come with a side of rice or noodles and vegetables and sometimes two pieces of shrimp. I ordered the hibachi scallops. Chris opted for the hibachi salmon and shrimp. We also got an order of California rolls.

Another couple was seated at our grill. It's always a little awkward because it turns into communal dining if you're not already with a large group of people. But it makes it a fun experience, too. Our sushi came out quickly. Small rolls, but they were fine. Not entirely flavorful, but not bad either.

Next, we got our miso soup. I'm not a big fan of miso soup - it's okay. It's a warm broth with a few pieces of tofu. I had about half the bowl. It warmed me up and got my tastebuds going.

Next was their salad. If you're familiar with this cuisine, a small salad with a ginger dressing is typically served. I'm also not a fan of this. It's typical for the cuisine - it's just not my taste. I was ready for my entree.


Finally, the chef came out and put on his show. He was very chatty. He was doing all the tricks. The onion volcano, the tossing of the egg on the spatula, and the throwing the shrimp into customers' mouths. Of course, I missed mine. Both times. Our chef even had a shot (two) of sake with the other guy at our grill. He was entertaining, and we had fun. Sometimes these things can get tacky, but he was very personable so it wasn't like he was just putting on a show with us. He was very interactive. It was welcoming.

When the whole show was over, I finally had my plate full of huge scallops, a heaping pile of noodles, some vegetables and two pieces of shrimp. We had the two dipping sauces - the darker one he said is for the red meat, and the "yum yum" sauce is good for everything else. Which it was. The scallops he cooked were huge. Delicious and huge. Fresh, cooked right in front of me, and grilled to perfection. Dipped a little in the yum yum sauce to give it a kick. It was delicious. The noodles were so flavorful - the yakisoba, like lo mein, give a carb to help balance the dish. The veggies are grilled and delicious, so that layer rounds out the meal. So a balanced meal, add a couple shrimp, and you have a huge dinner that most people can't finish in one sitting. At least I can't.

It's a good meal, enough for another meal, and entertaining. A little on the pricey side - expect to spend about $60 for two, but it's food and entertainment. It's about what I expected from a Hibachi place, so no big surprises, but nothing disappointed either. Plus it's great to see exactly how your food is cooked and get a little show on the side.

Grade: A

Want to grab a great, local pizza in Princeton? Check out Angelo's. Chris and I went in recently to get a good bite to eat. The inside has some really cool wall murals that give it a homey feel. Their menu consists of pizza, of course, as well as calzones, pizza rolls, subs, pasta entrees, wings and salads.


I wanted to try a bit of everything, so we got a large pizza with olives, a large cheese calzone with mushrooms and a pizza roll. You order at the right counter, and pick up at the left side. We sat and watched their TV while we waited for it to be cooked. It has an old-school feeling, with the cooks slightly surly and not overly friendly. They were also extremely busy, but after tasting the pies, you can see why.

After our food was done, we headed home with three boxes: one medium, one large and one extra-large. On the way home, I peeked inside the top small one, thinking it'd be my calzone, but it was the pizza roll instead. If my calzone was in the next box size up, I knew it was going to be big. I waited until we got home to find out.


I opened the large box, and that was our pizza. Wait, what? So, the largest box is going to contain my calzone? Oh. Yeah. It's the biggest calzone I've ever seen. When they say large, it's literally the size of a large pizza (if not bigger) folded over. It came with three (THREE) sides of marinara sauce, if that tells you anything. It was fantastic, too - with stringy, creamy mozzarella and ricotta cheese. It was filled to the brim with mushrooms, too, which couldn't have made me happier. The marinara was tasty, tangy and a nice balance for the pounds of dairy I was about to ingest.

The pizza roll, with pepperoni, wasn't bad, either. With a doughy exterior and soft cheese, it was a nice spin on a pizza. But comparing it to my calzone, it wasn't a match. The pizza is flat, with layers of mozzarella, and ours had a more salty bite with the black olives sprinkled on top.

We had leftovers for days. And I'm already craving another ones of those calzones. This place doesn't skimp on the cheese, that's for sure. And that's perfectly alright in my book.

Grade: A

I have a friend who recently decided to go on an all-vegan diet to help raise awareness for factory-farming. It had me thinking, and I'm interested in checking out the various types of diets out there.

There are various reasons to alter your diet - whether it's for the health benefits, to help the animals who are often factory farmed or to reduce your carbon footprint. Here are a few of the most common ones:

• Vegetarian - Diet excludes all animals.
• Ovo-Vegetarian - Diet excludes all animals and dairy products, but includes eggs.
• Lacto-Vegetarian - Diet excludes all animals and eggs, but includes other dairy products.
• Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian - Diet excludes all animals, but includes dairy products, such as eggs, milk and cheese.
• Pescatarian - Diet excludes animals, but includes fish and sometimes other seafood.
• Pollotarian - Diet excludes animals, but includes poultry.
• Pollo-pescatarian - Diet excludes red meat, but includes poultry and fish. White-meat only.
• Flexitarian - Diet excludes animals, but will eat meat by special/social circumstances.
• Vegan - Diet excludes all animals and animal products. No milk, cheese or eggs. Some vegans also avoid honey because it's a by-product of bees.
• Raw Vegan - Diet includes only fresh and uncooked fruit, nuts, seeds and veggies. Some allow cooking veggies to a low temperature
• Paleotarian - Diet includes organic meats and fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, with minimal grains, starches and sugars.
• Omnivore - Diet includes both animals and vegetables. This is the most common.
• Carnivore - Diet includes animals. True carnivores only eat meat.
• Macrobiotic - Diets are cooked foods and plant-based, but may include fish or seafood.
• Freegan - Diets that include reclaimed food that has been discarded. Often vegan unless the food is free.

Blogging every day is not easy. I generally kept my blog updated once per week. This semester, I have been updating it three times per week (usually Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday). For this past week, I have blogged every day. This blog is technically my 10th in a row (two on each Monday). That's a lot!

I've learned that I talk ... a lot. But I have a lot to share! In some of my future blog posts, I want to talk about foods special to WV, as well as some of the festivals we have, and the local co-op. Food really is a big part of culture, so it's around every corner if you look hard enough. I am not short on ideas, but that's because this is a hobby of mine. I'm not struggling because in my free time, if I check out a new market or restaurant, it's fun. It's not work. I have a running email with tons of ideas for future posts.

The difficulty is simply finding time to devote to this. Updating a blog isn't necessarily easy when you know many people can find it. Your work is out there. Everyone can see it. The same isn't necessaily true for a homework assignment or a paper: The professor may be the only one to see it. But with a blog, all of you are seeing what I have to say. So, making time, on top of teaching, grading, classes, homework, reading, etc. is difficult. But I'm having fun with this, so I'm going to keep it going.

Future updates
Just so you have some things to look forward to, I plan on blogging about The Mountain People's Co-Op, foods special to WV, WV festivals, the soda vs. pop debate, and much, much more. Thanks for reading, and I hope I'll continue to entertain you. And entertain me some, too!