I've had to have passed the Mediterranean Market more than 100 times while living here in town. Located right on High Street, it's a prime location for college kids, young professionals and more who pass this location daily. It is just one of those restaurants that slipped through. Until recently.

When you walk in the restaurant, it's almost as if you're not really downtown. It's enormous inside. It's so big, in fact, that I didn't even know exactly how to navigate it. Once I walked further inside, I saw the area where you can order, which is in the far back corner.

There is a menu up on the board behind the counter. They have lots of greasy fast food and more ... salads, appetizers, pita sandwiches, specialty sandwiches, wraps, paninis and desserts. While you can order things to go, we decided to stick around.

I got ordered the gyro platter, picked up a drink from the cooler, moved down toward the register to pay, and found a seat near the window.

I love having the ability to people watch from the comfort of an air conditioned place. Our food came over fairly quickly, and in front of me was some gyro meat, pita, as well as some hummus, tabouleh, feta and olives.

I made my own little sandwich with the meat and lettuce. I haven't had a gyro like this for a long, long time. Back when I lived in Wellsburg, the Applefest would have those food trucks and every year I would get a gyro. I looked forward to it because it was sensational. This one from Mediterranean Market rivals it.

The meat is perfectly seasoned, tender, moist and full of flavor. The thick pita bread housed the meat and salad. Perfecto. I would've liked some more dill and cucumber for that tzatziki sauce, but it was delicious none the less. The tabbouleh was fresh, and the hummus had a delightful slightly nutty, lemon/garlic flavor.

It was a tad on the pricey side, but I really enjoyed my meal, as well as the restaurant overall. The service could use some improvement, but overall a nice option for downtown dining.

Oh, and their desserts looked to die for. If I had any room, I would've been all over that.

Grade: A

Mario's has recently opened a second location in the former Tailgators building along University Avenue in Star City. Tailgators is no more, but Mario's is bringing their stellar food and fun atmosphere to the other side of town, which I'm sure will delight customers from one end of town to the other.

Parking is way easier, and I think there's more room. It looks to be two levels, but I didn't venture to the bottom one. The top one has that more of a restaurant feel - separate tables is a pro for me. I am not a fan of the communal dining you sometimes get at the other location. I like my space, and I like that there are options for sitting, whereas the original location was oftentimes "standing room only."

The building itself has that old smoke smell. Nobody is currently smoking there, but after years of cigarettes, the interior smells of it.



You get a "restaurant" vibe more than the "bar" vibe at the other location. It's not cluttered, but I think they are on their way there. The walls have a few small paper plates with writing on them. I think they're going to take the same approach with this restaurant, which gives the current generation of restaurant-goers a hand in creating this place's history. If it turns out like the original location, you'll be happy if you had helped this one in the beginning.

It wasn't really busy when I went in, so the server came over to me right away. I ordered a frosty fishbowl and looked over the menu. Some paper menus are already sitting on the tables. It looked to feature the same grub - some subs, sandwiches, cheesesteaks, and, of course, their wings.

Mario's has somewhat of a reputation for their wings - they're fried so the outside is crispy. While that's all and good, I opted for some boneless ones in their honey bbq. I hear hot is the way to go, but not for me. I also ordered a side of pepperoni and cheese bites because that just sounds too good to pass up.

The wings were, as all boneless are, little nuggets of meat. This isn't bad in my book - in fact, I like it. The sweet and tangy sauce coated all the deeply fried morsels of meat. Lip-smackingly good, but not for the avid wing fan who prefers the bone-in, with meat falling off. I knew what I was ordering, and I was happy with the outcome. If you prefer the bone-in kind, they certainly have those and they come critically acclaimed.

The pepperoni and cheese bites were probably frozen and deep-fried. Not homemade or anything, but not a bad snack-tizer. They came with some marinara dipping sauce, which helped give that pizza taste to them almost. Think frozen pizza - it's not the best pizza, but it's still pizza. Little bites of cheese and chunks of pepperoni is always going to be good. I can only imagine if Mario's put their talent to work here and made them homemade, though. Mmmm. They weren't anything too fancy, and for $5, I think I'll skip them next time.

If you're expecting the original Mario's, this isn't exactly it. It is however, a spin on that version and is likely to be successful, if not only for the name alone.

Grade: B

Town Hill Tavern has always been on my radar. I lived on Willey Street for two years, and I never had the opportunity to check out Town Hill Tavern. It's on Willey Street, right in that awkward turn, beside the laundromat. I had steered clear of it before because I was warned of its smokiness. But with the ban, that's not a worry anymore. And with their "best chili dogs in town" sign out front, it was like an invitation to try it.

Despite its outward appearance, it's really quite small inside. Only a couple booths and a bar area are available. When a friend and I walked in this particular day, we were basically the only ones around. It did look as though they had a deck area, though. I didn't get a chance to check that out. There were a few paper menus folded up on the table, and we perused those as the bartender walked over to us.


I ordered a Bud Light while trying to nail down my food choices. No - not a tanker, which they're famous for. It was a light dinner. I realized they are cash only - the horror - but luckily I happened to have some cash on me. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen from time to time.  The menu has about five special hotdogs to choose from, and you can of course make your own with their selection of toppings. But I went after their Triple Play - a dog topped with chili, cheese and slaw. Gasp! It's not a true WV-style hotdog. But hey, I like cheese, so it sounded good! I also got a side of Fritos. I honestly would have liked to see the WV hotdog as an option - chili, slaw, mustard and onions, but who am I to judge?

Our good was ushered out fairly quickly. My dog was filled with toppings, and they were all quite tasty. With those heavy toppings, it was almost a task to try to eat this without the toppings falling over. I instead tried a new methodology: scooping some of the toppings up with my Fritos and eating it that way until the dog was more manageable. All in all - a damn good hotdog.

It looks like they only do a few things, but they do them pretty well. And the atmosphere is cool, laidback and relaxed. I felt comfortable here, as we gabbed away long after our food was gone. The only big downfall is the cash-only part. But not too shabby.

Grade: B

Flying Fish used to be housed in the Seneca Center, next to its mother restaurant Glasshouse Grille. With Glasshouse out of business, it has moved locations to the Pierpont Landings area.

While this is the best place in town to purchase fresh fish and seafood, you can also get a good deal on lunch here. Soups, like crab and corn chowder or shrimp bisque, and sandwiches, like crab cake or salmon burgers, are main features. More items include slow roasted pork sandwich, oyster po boy, tuna salad wrap, cod sandwich and fish and chips. The menu is propped up on a board near the counter, but some takeout menus are on the side. I took one back to one of the tables and looked over the options.


I couldn't pass up the basic dish here: cod sandwich, beer battered, complete with lettuce, tomato and a side of tartar sauce with hand cut fries. All for a price of $7.95.

While there was a woman who noticed my friend Erin and I sitting and came over to check on us, we ended up going to the counter to order. So, I guess you could do it either way. Fountain drinks don't exist here; instead, they have a cooler with some cans of pop for purchase. After I plucked my can from the fridge, I assumed my seat. The dining area is larger than their last place, it seems. They have a few mismatched tables and chairs, but they somewhere make a cohesive space anyway. I liked the look - homey.

When our food came out, I kind of laughed at it. I didn't know what other reaction to have because it's simply so large. It's like they breaded an entire fish, threw it on a hoagie bun and called it a day. The cod is pretty good - I think some of their other fish/seafood is more fresh, but I don't think you can get anything close to it in town. I ended up using a fork and knife to eat it because I looked like a caveman attempting to pick it up.

I did, however, eat the entire thing. Boy, having a good piece of fish is like winning a (small) lottery here. Nice, flaky, fresh. It was tasty, the breading was seasoned well, I enjoyed the tartar sauce - not too much relish, but tangy and creamy. The bun was slightly steamed. All together, my sandwich was spot on.

I was okay with the fries. They were handcut. I'm just not big into fries - can't fault them there.

I think Flying Fish is one of those few restaurants in Morgantown who does one thing and does it really, really well. I can't even think of another fresh fish place in town that could compete. Pescatarians, rejoice. Everybody else should check it out, too.

Grade: A

Since I was already in the Sabraton area, a friend suggested we hit up Dari-Delite, a small ice cream shop past Sabraton and into Dellslow/Richmond area.

It's actually fairly big for an ice cream shop. They have a gravel lot for parking. When I walked inside, I first noticed the odd shape. It looked like it was three separate rooms, and they knocked down the walls to make it one large space. It's still in three separate areas, kinda.

They have daily specials - like actual meals - and they're posted on the sign out front. The one on this particular day was creamed chicken.

They have shakes, sundaes and cyclones. They also have some food too, even some breakfast sandwiches. The cyclone is their version of a blizzard, so I ordered a cookie dough one. The man made it right in front of me and handed it to me within a minute or so.

Katie ordered her cyclone, and we found a booth that was situated in front of the TV. They had a large TV, where you could actually change the channel, and it was on cartoons at the time. A few kids' games lined the walls, and some quarter machines were there, too.

I noticed they had a fridge full of condiments. They were all labeled, so it was like a communal condiment refrigerator if you order food, I suppose. That worries me. Just the same way buffets worry me. I don't trust people.

I've never had a blizzard-type ice cream dish that had so many toppings. Every single bite had cookie dough in it. I even got a huge chunk at one point, which was really exciting. And my medium was pretty big. So big that I couldn't finish it all. But if you want some soft serve and get your money's worth in the toppings, the Dari-Delite is for you. No frills, good service, cheap food.

Dari-Delite: 3837 Earl L Core Road  Morgantown, WV 26508; (304) 292-6912

Grade: B