So, when you want a late-ish dinner in Wellsburg, you really don't have too many options. A friend and I narrowed it down to, well, one: Station Grille.

I don't think Station Grille was around when I was growing up. If it was, it just wasn't on my radar. I was visiting recently and decided to check it out.

The Station Grille is right downtown in Wellsburg, and parking really isn't an issue in town. The dining portion was closing, so we went upstairs to the more bar area.


It was a weekend night, so I expected it to be full, but there were a handful of people upstairs plus the bartender.

We ordered a few beers and got something off the menu before the kitchen closed. I went for the pulled pork sandwich.


It had an impressive presence, stacked high with two crispy onion rings drizzled in BBQ sauce. The flavor was solid, with a slight tang, but the meat could've been of better quality. I had a few grissley/tough pieces, which can kind of ruin the experience. So, it was alright overall.


Surprisingly, for me at least, the chips were damn good. They were garlicy and just slightly thicker than typical ones, so you got more of a bite.

There are better options in Wellsburg, I think. But this one isn't bad.

Grade: B

Grade: C

Hole in the wall sushi shop, that's what Sushi Atlantic is. Located near the hospital downtown, Sushi Atlantic would be easily missed if you weren't paying attention. I've passed it numerous times going to Capitol Market, but I never noticed it was there. 

My friend Karie and I walked inside to an empty restaurant. It was just us and a single, older gentleman who asked us what we'd like to drink.

He came back with a few mismatched glasses and some menus.

Looking around, it looks like the restaurant could handle a good scrubbing. It just looks as though it's old and has accumulated dust and other things.

I looked through the roll sushi, and I decided on the classic philadelphia roll, with smoked salmon, and I tried their West Virginia Roll, which has sour seaweed, cucumber, crab stick, smelt roe and shrimp.

The older man was the only person in the restaurant, and he handmade our rolls, too. So, it did take some time, and I imagine if others were here, it would take even longer.

Eventually, he brought our rolls out. He was really sweet, and he clearly has been doing this for a while. Because they were great.

The Philly roll - salmon tasted fresh. So important. Simple flavors, but fresh and tasty.

The WV roll - little bit more complex here. If the sour seaweed scares you, don't let it. The slight, slight tart flavor really made the flavors shine here. It's like a california roll, but with shrimp on top and the slight tart taste. Really good.

The local sushi place that's down-to-earth, find sushi. A lot of classic rolls here with some fancier ones, too. I can see how others would say it takes a long time, but I guess I lucked out.

They DO accept Mastercard and Via. Minimum charge of $6. Their hours are a bit tough: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday for lunch. 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday for dinner. They're closed Sunday and every third Wednesday.

Grade: A

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