Candace Lately

Princeton Edition: Shoney's

2:38 PM

So, did you know that Shoney's (yes, that Shoney's!) was started in Charleston, West Virginia? That made it rise to my "must try" list pretty quickly. While I haven't been to Morgantown's location yet, Chris and I ventured to the Princeton restaurant one snowy evening. We kind of risked our life in hopes of a delicious fish sandwich (this is true - I was googling where in town had a fish sandwich. This was one of my few options).

When we walked inside, I noticed the odd kind-of store inside with random bags, clothes and other merchandise. Odd. We were seated, and I already knew my order. We got a spinach/artichoke dip for an appetizer, and Chris' eyes lit up at the sight of the buffet, which was a surf and turf of sorts on Friday apparently.

Long story short, the service was not ideal. The waitress forgot something and clearly loved* (*hated) her job. I asked for a to-go box for my food, and the hostess wasn't thrilled and told us to ask our waitress - apparently because Chris got the buffet it was an ordeal. But the food was actually pretty tasty - for American chain food.

The fish was fried, but white and flaky inside. The tartar was a little heavy on the relish, but still hit the spot. A thick bun to house it, and I was good to go. The onion rings were mediocre. The spinach and artichoke dip was pretty good, but it became really thick and hard to dip the chips into. The chips were thick potato chips, but also kind of chewy. Different, but good. Chris was pretty thrilled with the buffet, too. I snuck a hushpuppy - yum!

Sometimes, you just want a fish sandwich.

Grade: B

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Asian

China Kitchen

9:03 PM

China Kitchen is located in the Cheat Lake area in a plaza with a gym, a pizza place, and a few other odds and ends. If you didn't live in that area or were specifically seeking it out, you might not know it ever existed.

It seems as though they cater to the takeout crowd, as there are only a couple tables inside. It could use a nice scrubbing inside.

They have the typical menu board with photos of select items - General Tso's, Sweet and Sour chicken, Chicken and Broccoli, the usuals. We happened to be here around lunch time, so flipped a paper menu over to see their options. $5 for their general tso's, with white rice. Also ordered a side of cheese wontons, $4, and a pop. I ended up paying around $10.

Our cheese wontons came out on paper plates, steaming hot. After a few minutes, the guy working brought out some sauce. A few minutes later he brought out my friend's entree. Then a few minutes later, he brought out mine. It was a little awkward and disjointed with the timing here.

The cheese wontons, while having lots of wrapper, also have lots of filling. I broke off much of the top part and ate the pocket full of cream cheese. Tasty, too. The sweet and sour sauce was a little odd in that it hardened, or congealed, quite quickly. After a minute or so, I actually had to break the topping through to get to the liquid part - eh, no thanks. Turn off.

The general tso's sauce was good, but it had that low-quality, stringy meat that I can't stand. If it's steaming hot, it's pretty good. You can focus on the taste of the slightly spicy, but sweet sauce. As it gets cooler, it 's hard to ignore the texture of the chicken - instead of white, striated meat, it is processed, stringy, darker pieces. Not my cup of tea. Also, I wish there was some more broccoli.

It was also pretty smokey in here, so when we left, we smelled of hot oil and grease. If it's the only place in town, I can understand this being your go-to. But I'd prefer other places over this.

Grade: C

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Mt. Morris, PA Edition: Rising Creek Bakery

8:00 AM

Mt. Morris is right across the state line into Pennsylvania and is home to Rising Creek Bakery, a sweet, hidden treasure in the town. Known for their salt-rising bread, the bakery ships it all over the United States. You can even get a shirt or bumper sticker proclaiming your love for the bread. They have other kinds, baked on different days, as well as a breakfast menu, lunch menu, and pastries on pastries on pastries...

The shop is a little off the main route and overlooks a creek, so I suggest you Google it to get the specific location because I kept that photo on my phone, and it got me right there. We walked in and fell instantly in love with the traditional charm and modern flare. Along the wall was a long bench with pillows and chairs on the opposite side. Cases were full of pies, pastries and desserts. A chalkboard menu hung above the counter, and I took a few minutes to digest the options.

Mostly, it looked as though they had some typical sandwiches: turkey, BLT, grilled cheese. But I saw they had quiche, so that was something different - turkey and caramelized onion. I also got a side salad with their balsamic vinaigrette, as well as a coke.

The quiche was pretty tasty; I would've liked an even bigger piece, but it was great. It definitely had more of an egg-y taste than ones I've had in the past. It was a great flavor combo - like breakfast flavors. Even more cheese would've made it over the top.

The house salad was surprisingly stacked with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers - much more than your typical house salad. The balsamic was tasty, too. While eating, I was trying to figure out how much more I was going to spend here - I definitely needed a loaf of the salt-rising bread. But before I could say much more, the sweet woman working the counter asked if it was our first time visiting, which it was, and she asked if we knew about salt-rising bread. She came over to our table to try to explain that "old folks" know about the tradition. She brought us over some slices of toast so we could try it. Quite tasty!! I think it was around $8.50 for the quiche and salad, so not a ton of food, and I was still a little hungry.

I browsed the case to select some goodies - banana bread with walnuts and a brownie were headed home with me. The banana bread was phenomenal - I think they added some coconut, but it wasn't a prominent flavor. I'm not huge on coconut, but I was huge on this bread. The brownie, though huge and looking milk-chocolatey, was more bittersweet. So much so that I didn't finish it. I like my sweets sweet.

Overall, it's a really nice little place, just outside of town, with some delicious fresh food. Check out their Facebook. The bakery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Grade: B

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Food truck

Late Night: Hotdog Man & Morgantown Tacos

12:57 AM

While a large city with a vibrant nightlife may don dozens of late-night food services for the club-goers, Morgantown does so on a smaller scale. Two options: Hotdogs and Morgantown Tacos.

The Hotdog Man has been a staple downtown forever (here). Though, honestly, I didn't know about it until more recently. He goes out onto High Street at midnight, and this guy can make a hotdog in about a half-second. $2 with any toppings you want, and you're good to go. There's another hotdog vendor, Byrdman, who does the same, but hasn't been around quite as long.

And then there's the more recent Morgan- town Tacos, who sits outside of Joe Mama's starting at 11 p.m. Check their Twitter because I won a free taco recently!

@candace07 you are the first winner today, stop by tonight to claim your prize
— Morgantown Tacos (@morgantowntacos) December 6, 2012

Bottom-line is that it's made for the drunk college crowd. But, hey, it's probably something you should try before you leave town (holla December grads!)