I had mentioned Art is Food in a previous post. Art is Food was a new Fall Family Weekend event in Morgantown this year, which was in coordination with the Arts Walk. It was held Friday from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.


I had bought my tickets online; I didn't really know if there would be an option to buy them in person. But one perk to buying them online was that the first 300 people got "Downtown Dollars," which was $10 to spend at a number of selected businesses downtown. That's pretty cool! After we got our wristbands, we selected a table right smack dab in the center of the action.

It was located at the new Farmers' Market pavilion, and we arrived about 10 minutes early, so we were one of the first people there. In the center was a ton of tables with black and white tableclothes and autumn flower centerpieces, and on the left side were three restaurant tables and on the right were three restaurant tables. In front was a stack of trays and utensils. At the back of the pavilion was a band playing. It was really a pretty nice setup.

We realized as more people started to filter in that we could just walk up to the tables and begin our adventure. Our trays had four portions, so we hit up the three tables on the left that were closest to us: Golden Finch, Mother India and Black Bear Burritos.

Golden Finch was still kind of setting up when we arrived, so they had a salad and a slab of meat: The salad was basically tomato and lettuce (later on, they added potatoes, etc.). They had a few options for dressing and a slab of meat with a side of horseradish sauce. The sauces were very good; I just wish there was a little more here! Golden Finch is one of my favorites for desserts - too bad they didn't bring any along with them. Their creme brulee is to die for.

Next in line was Mother India. They had a tray of basmati rice, chicken tikka masala, vegetable pakoras and naan bread. This was a nice little sampling of what their buffet is like, and these are their top-sellers - for good reason! They're all fantastic, with great, delicious flavors. Their chicken tikka masala is my favorite dish, as it's slightly sweet, slightly spicy and creamy. The pakoras are also one of my favorites - that fried crunchy, salty taste is divine with the creaminess of the entree. The friend I was with, who hadn't tried any of these restaurants, deemed this the best. She never even had Indian food before! So, they definitely sold her on it, and she's using her $10 Downtown Dollars to go there.

Black Bear Burritos was the final restaurant table on the left side. As one of the most favorite restaurants in town, I was interested to see what Black Bear would choose as their flagship burrito to represent themselves at this event. Instead of one of their trademarks, they chose to display their special that week - the Darkwing Duck. It was a small stroller inspired by autumn - in their words. It was a bed of romaine lettuce and spring mix, roasted golden corn and cooked red onion. A cinnamon-brown sugar cream cheese is added with crunchy walnuts and your choice of succulent slow-roasted duck confit or local tofu. They also had a pumpkin/squash soup that went perfectly with the burrito. The flavors are a bit more complex than your typical burrito, but I loved it, especially when the cream cheese mixed with the duck confit. Creative and fabulous!

So after stopping at these three places, my tray was full. We took it back to our table to dig in. I think my favorite was Black Bear, because it was new and different. Then Mother India, because that's one of my classic faves. Then Golden Finch because there wasn't much standing out here, but regardless, it was still tasty!

I headed back for a new tray and set of utensils before hitting up the right side of the pavilion where Oliverio's Restaurant, The Cupcakerie, and the Morgantown Brewing Company were set up.

Oliverio's brought two pastas to choose from - or to sample both - as well as a small hot crab dip. There was a penne pasta in their pink cream sauce (my favorite!) as well as a grilled chicken penne olio, with hazelnuts. These were all amazing - the crab dip was creamy and in a flaky, crunchy shell. The pasta sauces were killer, as always. Indulgent.

The Cupcakerie was next in line. They had a ton of mini cupcakes in: pumpkin pie, loco cocoa, p'nutty for chocolate, mountain mama apple butter, red carpet red velvet, 24 karat cake. I would've loved to try all of them, but two was what they were willing to dish out. So I went for the p'nutty for chocolate and the red carpet red velvet. The p'nutty for chocolate was a moist chocolate cake, with a peanut butter cup in the center, topped with peanut butter icing and shaved chocolate. The red velvet was a decadent red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I don't even need to use words here: YUMMMMMM.

Morgantown Brewing Company was the last of the six restaurants. My friend was surprised to find they had food and weren't just a bar (so, smart on their part to be part of this event!). They first handed us a small pretzel, and the woman said it would be great with the beer-cheese soup. Yum! They also gave us a small bratwurst. Very German. And they were right - that pretzel went perfectly with the beer-cheese soup. I think I could drink that soup; it was so delicious. What would've been even better was if they would've brought some Alpha Blonde along with them.

But overall, it was such a great experience. My friend, who is a freshman, was able to try six completely new restaurants in one place. We even got the $10 worth of Downtown Dollars, so it was really only like paying $5 for the event - well worth it! And the $10 is encouraging folks to spend some money downtown. It's a great incentive and a great way to showcase what downtown has to offer. I'm hoping to spend mine soon! It looked as though they had a great turnout, so I hope they continue to do it in the future.

Hi all! My latest Savor WV articles have come out about Muriale's Italian Restaurant and Key Ingredients for Life. And the best part is that the magazine is now selling in Morgantown! Please pick up a copy and subscribe if you like what you see! =]

Monongalia County
Friends Gift Shop  WVU Hospital
8075 Medical Center Drive
Morgantown, WV 26506
304-598-4133

I'm well known for espousing my love for DiCarlo's pizza. It was a childhood favorite. It was a special treat on payday. I have very fond memories of Wellsburg's DiCarlo's from the old-school Italian feel to the amazing squares of pizza. It's a Northern Panhandle thing, as there are small locations sprinkled throughout. And each person's favorite depends on what they grew up on.

However, I have heard many times that Elm Grove's DiCarlo's is the best. I believe it's the original location, from which others in Wheeling, and Warwood and Wellsburg and Follansbee and Weirton spawned from.


Since I was heading back to Morgantown, I figured I could stop through to get an idea of what the original location is like. I had never seen it before, but luckily my dad gave me excellent directions. It's located right along National Road, and there's a sign out front, so it's hard to miss.

A dark building with a sign on the front, in addition to a tall sign in the parking lot, alerts you you're in the right location. There's more parking here than at Wellsburg's location, which is good. Wellsburg's is like a free-for-all. As soon as we walked up, I just saw the wall lined with people. I wasn't sure if that was the line to order or they were waiting or what. So, I asked. That certainly set me apart. Most of them were just waiting, so I walked up to the counter.

I located their price-per-slice sign on the wall and figured out how many pieces I wanted. I forget how many slices a tray is, but I got 10. I saw a few people get bags of extra cheese. They have tickets they give you with a number, and they call our your number when your pieces are done and you can pay at that time.

I think I waited for a half hour or more, awkwardly finding a space along the wall to wait. But finally, my number was called. I rushed up to the counter to retrieve my 10 squares and paid. I waited for my friend, who had ordered right after me. For some reason, his number must've got lost in the shuffle. he didn't want to bother them by asking when he was next, so he waited quite a while before it was clear that he had been skipped - folks who were coming in after us were getting their pieces before him. And people called in orders, had their numbers, and they still don't really start making it until you walk in the door, and they were getting theirs. After he asked them, he quickly got his pieces and we left.

There aren't any dining spaces inside. In fact, there's barely enough standing room inside. So we took our carboard boxes full of goodies outside and placed them on the trunk of my car. I was too excited and wanted to try this pizza as soon as possible.

Opening the box, it's the same familiar scene. That crust, flash-baked in their brick oven, topped with a tangy sweet sauce comes out of the oven to be topped with tiny specks of provolone all across the top. Add a few pepperonis, and it's perfection.

I noticed the sauce was slightly sweeter and pepper-y than what I'm used to. Is it still fantastic? Absolutely. Better than my hometown? I don't think so.

P.S. this location seems as if it ships pizzas!

Grade: A

The Evergreen Buffet, located in the University Towne Center, is one of three Chinese buffets in Morgantown. It's probably the smallest one compared to Great Chinese Buffet, located at the old mall (which I haven't reviewed yet), and the No. 1 Super Buffet, which is the largest. It does have convenience on its side, though, as it's right in the middle of the shopping plaza.

The Evergreen Buffet is convenient, offers typical Chinese buffet fare, and has mediocre service. We walked in, ordered drinks and headed to the buffet. My water tasted terrible; not sure what the problem was here. I know what Morgantown water tastes like (still pretty awful), but this surpassed that level of "ick." But it's usually not busy, and there was only another couple or two when my friend and I were there. So, that's a plus.

There are only a few islands of items here, but they have the main items I look for: crab cheese rangoons, sweet and sour chicken, general tso's chicken, coconut shrimp, beef and broccoli, stuffed mushrooms. Nothing here was out of the ordinary, and nothing was entirely tasty. It was pretty average across the board.

They do have some sushi available, but there was no sushi chef on duty. Instead, a few rolls were placed behind a glass that you had to lift (which was broken). Some of the items ran out and weren't replaced during the time I was there, but for what I did eat, it wasn't bad. The crab rangoons have a good amount of filling, and I like the perfect amount of crunch. The general tso's has a good flavoring; quality of meal isn't ideal, though. Overall, not bad.

Grade: C