Just as an FYI:

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department makes it pretty easy to see how a restaurant has done with its health inspection: http://www.healthspace.com/clients/westvirginia/kanawhacharleston/kanawhacharleston_web_live.nsf.

In my experience, it's not always easy finding a nice, sit-down Chinese restaurant in West Virginia. Half are takeout, and the other half are buffets. Somewhere inbetween those are the ones you can actually sit down to enjoy a meal.

Chin's fills that void for me here in Charleston.

It was raining this particular day so my friend and I ran inside. As soon as we entered, she was recognized and warmly welcomed.  Chin's is run by a family, and my friend is from the area. She has been going to this restaurant for a long time.

This is one of the best things about eating locally - actually knowing the people who are cooking and supporting local families and having that connection.

Chin's has every kind of dish you can think of, but if you're wanting a real treat, check out their chef specialties. Yum.

I decided to go with a dish that just about every restaurant has, so it's a solid benchmark to provide a sense of consistency for judging: sweet and sour chicken.

But before that, it's eggroll and crab cheese rangoon time.

Chin's is known for their eggrolls. Crispy outside and packed with hunks of cabbage, carrots and steamed veggies. Must try these babies.

The crab cheese rangoons are always good, and that's no exception here. Who doesn't want a crunchy coating filled with oozing cream cheese and crab meat?

But let's get to the main attraction here: sweet and sour chicken. I love love love the sauce it as cooked in. The tangy sweet sauce with cooked veggies - tomatoes, green pepper and pineapples. Everything was so fresh and so hot.

The sauce spread to the fried rice - a welcome development. I would pour the sauce on everything, if I could. And for whatever reason, I can never find an equivalent in the grocery store. Just too good.

Grade: A

The Nelson Ratings
Get it? Like the Nielsen Ratings? I thought it was clever - compliments to my friends for the wordplay. But anyway. Around this time of year, we see tons of award shows - Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, Tonys, etc. or we'll at least be hearing about them soon. Even Morgantown Magazine will come out with their Best Of Morgantown list. I often get asked "what's your favorite restaurant in Morgantown?" Well, here you go. I'm hoping I didn't forget many or leave many out. Let me know your favorites!

Pizza
1. Pizza Al's
My first experiences in Morgantown began living in Pierpont my freshman year. It didn't take long for my roommates and I to discover Pizza Al's, then subsequently stuff our faces with an entire pizza at least once a week. Huge, flat slices with a perfectly seasoned sauce and tons of cheese make this my #1 choice, hands down.
> Runners-up: PeppeBroni's, Milano's

Pizza II - Specialty Pies
1. Mountain State Brewing Company
Specialty pies get a special category because sometimes you just want a typical cheese pizza. Other times, you're feeling more adventurous. Mountain State has probably the coolest environment in town - laidback, relaxed, cool craft beer and delicious, creative pizzas. Try the Cuban if you haven't already.
> Runners-up: New Day Bakery, Vintage Room

Indian
1. Mother India
Try their buffet on Sundays. Chicken Tikka Masala? Gulab Jamun? Samosas? Pakora? It's all there, and it's all delicious. And if you're unsure about what to try, nothing is better than a buffet where you get to try a little of everything and discover your favorites!
> Runner-up: Saffron

Mediterranean
1. Ali Baba's
In the mood for hummus or falafel? Why not enjoy it while watching planes take off into the sky? In addition to the excellent service and atmosphere, the food is delicious and of the highest quality.
> Runner-up: Mediterranean Market and Deli

Italian
1. Puglioni's Pasta and Pizza
Their pasta carbonara is the stuff dreams are made of - oh, and that bread! If you want to splurge on your carbs for the day, there's no better way to do it than Puglioni's. It's homey, cozy, delicious and there's no way to leave still hungry.
> Runners-up: Agresti's Tuscan Grill, Oliverio's Marketplace, Oliverio's Ristorante

Sushi
1. Volcano Japanese Restaurant
I fell in love with Volcano when I first wrote about its opening in town. I tried a few rolls - the West Virginia roll and the Candy Cane roll. To this day, I still order a West Virginia roll 90% of the time. It's just so good.
> Runners-up: Yama Japanese Restaurant, Ogawa Japanese Restaurant

Asian
1. Chaang Thai
> Runners-up: Peking House, WV Panda

Take-Out
1. China One
> Runner-up: Lavender Cafe

I started this list a while ago, but then I got a job and moved, so I wanted to at least publish what I have so far. And if I find the time to finish this up with the other categories I had or start a Charleston one ... we'll see.

Someone explain to me the difference between Mediterranean and Middle Eastern. Because what I usually associate with each seems to be interchangeable. And Greek food for that matter.

I tend to think of olives, pasta, feta as Mediterranean. And hummus, falafel, kebabs as Middle Eastern. But that's not a hard and fast rule.

Regardless, Sahara Restaurant is a Middle Eastern restaurant in downtown Charleston. They have a nice lunch buffet - which isn't too far from work - so a friend and I decided to fill up on pita and roll ourselves outta there.

The lunch buffet runs Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Friday, the Buffet runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The dinner buffet is Friday 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.




There's a long hot bar with some lemon chicken dishes, pasta, kebabs, rice, eggplant and others. To the side is a cold bar with some hummus, baba ghanouj, etc. plus some desserts. It's a pretty good spread with a decent variety for lunch. I do think there could be a little more. And it's the perfect time to try something new if you're not familiar.

I got some grape leaves, meatballs, garlic Parmesan pasta, curry, hummus and pita. It seems to spread to some American dishes, so a hybrid of sorts. The buffet offers a variety of flavors and dishes to choose from. Great quality ingredients, spices and recipes here.

I was a fan of mostly everything I tried, and nothing stood out to me as undesirable. That's rare - usually I try one or two things that I'm not crazy about. Pretty good all around.

It's not a bad price, but if you're not used to spending $10 or so on lunch, you might look elsewhere.

Grade: A

Charleston loves a festival. I've written about all the ones I've been to earlier this summer. Multifest was held this weekend and celebrates the multicultural diversity of the state.

It has a storied history, as apparently the treasurer pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $300,000 festival funds between 2005 and 2010. The treasurer's husband was the founder of the festival and board president. The treasurer was sentenced to 21 months in prison, and the president resigned.

There was some uncertainty as to whether or not the festival would go on. Luckily, it did.

Then, just before the festival, there was a party that marketed itself as a "pre-party" to Multifest where a person was shot.


Despite this, I wanted to go see what it was about. It was held on the north side of the Capitol grounds - most of the others have been on the river side.

A few little booths were set up selling jewelry, clothes, wigs or other knick-knacks. We came upon this stand that had a bunch of drums that I just thought were super awesome. I waited around to see who was manning that area before a guy came over to me. He said "I like the way your hair smells." I awkwardly said thank you. He said "Did you just get out of the shower?" I laughed awkwardly, asked how much the drum was, handed him $10 and left to find food.

There were many typical food vendors - like Kona Ice and other general festival food places.

I saw only a handful of local places, and Dem2 Brothers and a Grill stuck out to me because I know I've seen them other places. Their menu says they are located at 5 Corners - 426 Virginia Street West. Open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They deliver $20 or more plus a $5 delivery fee. (304)-550-4431

Their menu consisted of hot beef bologna, pulled pork and Italian sausage sandwiches. Ribs and chicken baskets. You can choose hot sauce or mild.

I ordered a pulled pork sandwich for $6. It was quite smokey - but in a good way. After just a minute or so, I had a plump sandwich in a styrofoam to-go container. When I got home, I opened it up to see what awaited me.

Between two pillowy, yellow buns was a plump heaping of smokey pulled pork topped with creamy cole slaw.

It was tender, smokey tangy sweet and the slaw was the perfect cool complement atop the steamy pork.

I've had a lot of good pulled pork at these festivals this summer, but this, I think, topped the list. It just seems as though it was thought out. It wasn't just good pulled pork and good slaw - it was good pork and good slaw that were great together.

Next time I'm at a festival, I will not hesitate to make a stop here.

Grade: A