FINALLY - I've been able to try this place out. Chris and I have been dating for almost two years, and we've only been here once. He wasn't thrilled with our first experience, before I started blogging, so we never went back - until recently, when I finally convinced him to give it another shot.

Located near Walmart, Kimono Japanese Seafood, I think, is probably one of, if not the, nicest restaurants in Princeton. It's a Japanese hibachi house, and it is always busy. It's not huge, by any means, but that has no bearing on the food.

When we walked in, we decided to not do the hibachi part and go for the dining room. It was fun, though, because the chefs were right beside us anyway. There wasn't a huge division between the dining areas like the other hibachi restaurants I've been to. So I got to check out the chefs' skills, too.


We took a few minutes looking over the menu, and I noticed the manager walking by us, lingering. I'm not sure why, but on more than a handful of times, he was hovering over us. Maybe we looked like hooligans, I don't know. But it was kind of bizarre.

After a few minutes, we were reading to order. And order, we did: a kimono roll, a salmon roll and two orders of the hibachi teriyaki chicken. First, some spring rolls were brought out with a huge bowl of yum-yum sauce. Spring rolls were light, crispy on outside. Pretty tasty. Next, we had a small salad with ginger dressing and some miso soup. I wasn't a fan of either of these. I never like the ginger dressing, and this miso soup was only lukewarm and was simply the broth. I like when there's a little mushroom or tofu in there.

The sushi came out next. Chris' salmon and cream cheese rolls were good. Basic, but fresh, and tasty. My roll consisted of a crab stick, avocado, crunches, tobiko on top with "special sauce." This, too, wasn't bad. The sauce was spicier than I was expecting, but it was tasty. Basic roll with a kick, and I was happy.

Soon after, we saw a little sliding panel to the kitchen open, set two plates of food on the tray and close. It was a cute little touch, and an easy way for the waiters to grab the food from the kitchen. Our plates of teriyaki chicken, with sides of rice and vegetables were delicious. The veggies nearly melted in my mouth, and my heaping helping of rice helped soak up some of the teriyaki. The chicken was a little on the slimy side, but that could've just been how they applied the sauce. With large portions, the price is a little more justifiable. I think our total came to $50. If it wasn't for the leering manager and salad/soup/texture issues, it'd be an A.

Grade: B

Morgantown Magazine recently released their list of the "best of..." in Morgantown. I was, of course, interested in what the readers picked as best in food and drink. I have copied their list below so all my readers can see what they had to say. If you have other suggestions, please let me know! I hope to be coming out with my own lists soon.

I wrote a blog for #gradschoolproblems that may be relevant here. Check it out here

Lounging It Up

In the rare instance that graduate students have some free time (and I do mean rare), where do you spend it? Well, that depends on what your definition of free time means. By free time, do you mean time that doesn’t involve sitting in a classroom (but you’re probably still doing some research)? Or does your definition of free time mean when you’re actually not working at all? Sorry, but if you’re a grad student, that second option doesn’t exist.

It was recently announced that West Virginia will play host for the second time in four years to the International Chili Society's annual word championship cookoff. In Charleston, 400 of the best chili makers in the world will compete Oct. 5-7 on Magic Island, a park on Charleston's west side along the Kanawha River.

The championship involves red and green chili categories and salsa. None of these ones have beans. But a new category this year will allow those who desire to include them.

1.  Traditional Red Chili is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with red chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients, with the exception of BEANS and PASTAwhich are strictly forbidden.

2. Chili Verde is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with green chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients, with the exception of BEANS and PASTA which are strictly forbidden.

3. Salsa must be homemade by the contestant whose name and ICS # appear on the Contestant Application. It may be brought to the site that day or it may be prepared at the Cookoff.

Charleston hosted the competition in 2009, and it was the first time that the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based nonprofit held the championship east of the Mississippi River. Competitors must have won a regional title in the United States or Canada before entering. However, a "last chance" cookoff will allow those who have not yet won a regional title to try to enter the event.

This year will include a special "homestyle" category where there are no restrictions on ingredients, where the cook is allowed to use their favorite ingredients, but it must be homemade and have a chili pepper flavor. And - of course - they can include beans!

The chilis are judged by the following:

TASTE Taste, above all else is the most important factor. The taste should consist of the combination of the meat, peppers, spices, etc, with no particular ingredient being dominant, but rather a blend of the flavors.

CONSISTENCY Chili must have a good ratio between sauce and meat. It should not be dry, watery, grainy, lumpy, or greasy.

AROMA Chili should smell good. This also indicates what is in store when you taste it.

COLOR Chili should look appetizing. Reddish brown is generally accepted as good. Chili is not yellow or green.

BITE Bite or after taste is the heat created by the various type of chili peppers and chili spices.

Anybody attending? And how do you like your chili - beans or bean-free?

Great Wall is one of the most popular delivery/take-out Chinese places in Morgantown. I think it's because of its convenient location on High Street, because the food isn't overwhelmingly great. It's not bad, but it's not enough for me to name it my favorite Chinese place.

I ordered from Great Wall not too long ago just because my go-to, China One, was closed this particular day. I was feeling some delivery, so I hopped on DubVmenus.com. I called three times before it finally got through. Since the phone was busy, I was expecting a long wait time. I was pleasantly surprised that my wait was only 45 minutes. A knock on my door, and a plastic bag with a smiley face enveloped a brown paper bag full of Chinese delights.

A large plastic container contained half breaded chicken pieces and half pork-fried rice. I prefer white rice, but pork-fried is the default and I forgot to mention otherwise. A small container filled with sweet and sour sauce and an eggroll accompanied the combination platter. I also ordered a side of crab cheese rangoons.

The breaded chicken breast wasn't bad, but it mostly tastes like the breading - grease. The sweet and sour sauce is fairly runny and not bursting with flavor. The pork-fried rice taste like the same greasy, fried batter. The same can go for the crab cheese rangoons. I could barely taste the cheese - I just tasted the greasy outer shell. My mouth was coated with this grease that made everything I ate from this place taste the same. It was heavy, but that's partly my fault. Next time I'll order a chicken and sauce entree or something with veggies. I thought the sweet and sour sauce would help offset all the breading, but it didn't have much flavor either.

The best part of my meal, though, was the eggroll. It was perfect. The outside was golden brown and crispy, and the inside was light with delicious veggies. I usually skip over eggrolls when given the option, but Great Wall's are the best.

The price was reasonable: $16 for everything, including delivery tip. And I'm sure a lot of college kids wouldn't have the aversion to grease that I've developed. In smaller amounts, it wouldn't be so bad. I definitely need to switch it up next time, though.

Grade: C