Dairy Creme Corner is definitely not new, but it's new to me. It's located in Fairmont - the next frontier for me.

They have a walk-up window, as well as some spaces inside, I believe. If you want hotdogs and the like, that's available. But, we were here for the ice cream.

Their version of a blizzard is the "avalanche," and they have a bazillion flavors: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Poptart, Cheesecake, Whatchamacallit, Peppermint patty. The Choco Taco was calling my name.

For only $3.54, you get a full styrofoam cup full of ice cream. Considering what a huge fan of ice cream I am, you would think I could put some away. Not so much the case. I just can't handle that amount.

It is a LOT.

And it's pretty good. There are giant chunks of waffle cone and chocolate and nuts all mixed into a vanilla base.  I was a fan. And it's a ridiculous amount of ice cream. Kudos to you if you can finish it.


Grade: A

I had previously reviewed Coach's as a mediocre sports bar. They've revamped and found a niche market in Morgantown: seafood.

Coach's is now Coach's Crab Shack, and if you're hesitant about a sports bar transforming into a seafood restaurant, you're not alone. I definitely had my reservations. But I'm always up for an adventure, so my friend Afton and I went out Collins Ferry Road to check it out.

Walking in, I could tell a good bit has changed. The theme is more nautical. A hostess seated us, and we looked over the menu.

They have "steamers," which are these huge combo plates of seafood. I went with the shack classic ($19), which has snow crabs, shrimp and kielbasa. Others have variations of this plus crawfish, clams, and other types of crab. All steamers come with corn on the cob, red potatoes and hushpuppies.

You get to choose which flavor you want your seafood cooked in, and I went with garlic herb butter. They also have spicy cajun, old bay, bbq, good old steam, and Signature J.O. - which is their special seafood seasoning.

After a bit, our waitress came back with two metal trays overflowing with food. We were so excited, we dived in. It wasn't until a solid 15 minutes later that the waitress realized she forgot our tools. Clearly we're resourceful because we had devoured about half the meal anyway.

What Coach's has going for it is there is literally no local competition. If you want food like this, you can go here or Red Lobster. This is the much better option. It's a ton of food. It's fresh and delicious. I have little qualms - like the potatoes and hushpuppies are basic and could use some spices, but overall - awesome.

I was completely surprised. I think you might be, too.






Grade: A

Remember Jackson's Bar & Grille? It didn't last long. In its spot is "Tropics Restaurant and Bar," a restaurant that has a Hawaiian theme.

This is the third restaurant I've known of in that location since I moved to Morgantown. I can only assume it doesn't do very well because of the location and how it's hidden all the way at the back - 2500 Cranberry Square. But my experience at this place was the best of the locations, yet, so hopefully it breaks the curse.

Walking in, it looks similar to the other places with some light-colored wood and nice fixtures. It's clean, classy and looks like the interior probably cost a pretty penny. Tropics has added some Hawaiian-themed photos and decorations, but the bones of this place are still gorgeous.

The menu is pretty expansive with a ton of different offerings. Poke, fish tacos, salads, burgers, Hawaiian-style plates, steak, pizza and more. It's really all over the board. Our waitress was pretty friendly, so I asked for her favorites. She told me the "Mochiko Chicken" is her go-to, so I ordered that.

For an appetizer, I ordered the pork spring rolls. I really don't know if these are homemade or what, but they are amazing. So good. So perfectly crisp on the inside with ribbons of cabbage, pork and veggies on the inside, and it was just pure bliss. Their soy-chili dipping sauce is a great sweet chili sauce that I got extra to use with my main dish.

I even ate some of the garnish. What can I say, I love cabbage.

When the Mochiko chicken came out, it certainly had a presence. Mochiko is a kind of flour used in Hawaii. And this dish is a classic.

The chicken is marinated in soy, garlic and ginger, then lightly breaded in Mochiko flour and fried. It was serve with rice and macaroni salad. And there's some dotted sauce around the edge.

The chicken is quite good. It's just lightly crisped on the outside and hot, white meat inside. It is good, but I really just wanted that balance of flavors (like pineapple would be awesome on this dish, I think), so I dipped a lot of it in that chili sauce that I had. As well as the sauce around the plate. But yes, tasty.

The rice warranted a tablespoon of soy sauce on it, and the macaroni salad was fairly mild, but had a slight hint of banana. Weird, I know. But I confirmed this with my friend.

So, it's good. It's a little different, and I got good vibes. Will go back.

Grade: A

Bartini is just about two months old and is one of a bunch of new businesses popping up at the Suncrest Towne Centre. It's marketing itself as a more high-end establishment focusing on martinis, of course, and higher end appetizers.

One thing it already has going for it is plenty of parking. And it's on a side of town that could use a bar. So, positives all around.

It seems as though its aiming for an older crowd: read "wealthier," but the volume at which they play music had me leaving almost instantly.

We walked through the inside and quickly discovered we wouldn't be able to talk to one another, so we made our way to the outside at one of the furthest points away from the band that was playing.

It is a classier atmosphere, free of sticky floors and other things you would see at many Morgantown bars, so that was good. I just wish I would've been able to talk loud enough over the band to express that sentiment to the two friends I was with.

I ordered a French martini, which was Titos vodka, raspberry liqueur and pineapple for $8. And it was fine. I think if it was colder and had more vodka, less raspberry, I would've been happier.

I also convinced my friends that we should order the grilled mac 'n cheese tomato soup shoots, which is grilled mac 'n cheese, Texas toast and shots of tomato soup. Could it get much more comfort food than that?

We were actually pretty full from dinner earlier, but I wasn't going to leave without trying some food. So,  when it came out, we just started at it for a second.

When I pulled a small triangular macaroni and cheese sandwiched between two buttered pieces of Texas toast, the soup nearly sucked half the sandwich back in. It was incredibly soggy. Either they had been sitting at the counter before they were delivered to us for a while, or the shelf life just isn't very long on those bad boys. If that's the case, they should really consider maybe placing the sandwiches in between the shot glasses or maybe lay the sandwiches on top. Something. Because the sog just wasn't cool.

But for the half of the sandwich that doesn't get soggy, it's not bad. This is something I could totally do at home and it's super marketable. Macaroni and cheese AND grilled cheese? Uh, duh. Who does this not sound good to?

I think it's better in theory than in practice. The macaroni and cheese itself is basic - if it were homemade, that could make this dish amazing. But otherwise it's Kraft on a sandwich, which is really more nostalgic and comforting than fantastic dining. Grilled cheese with some noodle.

So, while it is more of a novelty item, it's tasty, too. It could be kicked up a notch with some really good mac and cheese, though.

Bartini is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. For more information on the Bartini, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bartini.







Grade: B

Atomic Grill has quickly gained some positive attention in Morgantown during the short time that it's been open - since June 17. I've been hearing a lot of great things about this bbq place, so when I made the trip up there recently, it was first on my list to try.

It's located in the former Hostess store on the intersection of Greenbag Road and Kingwood Pike.I had actually been to the old Hostess store and bought a few fruit pies. It reminds me of the bread store we used to have in Wellsburg.

It does have a parking lot, which is a luxury for many Morgantown restaurants. The inside is quite small. It's just one open room where they placed a bunch of tables, which is odd. I would think some sections or dividers would help break up that space a bit.

It has a very cool vibe, though. Dark colors, some alternative staff - tattoos and piercings galore, and some  locally sourced foods are throughout the menu. I love the locavore movement, just FYI. And the dishes are a little bit more upscale than many other restaurants in town.


A friend told me to start with the Appalachian Bruschetta. Sounds cool, right? It's cornbread crostini served with a variety of regionally influenced toppings. Those toppings ended up being a compound butter, smoke roma ragu, green tomato relish, boursin and collard green pesto.

Definite points for creativity, right?

I didn't blow me away, but I appreciated the thought that went into this dish. They were all fine dipping sauces. I'm not sure cornbread's flavor profile fits perfectly with any of them, but there were a few that I appreciated more than others - the pesto was pretty good, and the soft cheese is good.

Next time I want to try the fried green tomatoes, though.

For the main entree, I went with the ribs because our waitress said they were the best she'd tasted. I thought, well, this could change my entire outlook on ribs. So I did it. I just got the smallest rack I could because it's definitely on the pricey side.

You get to choose which sauce you want, so I asked for a sampler. They essentially have a West Virginia sauce, a hot sauce, a Hawaiian sauce, a horseradish sauce and a vinegar sauce. The West Virginia is the closest to a traditional BBQ, so I went with that.

The ribs came out with a giant portion of fries and also baked beans. I am not a baked beans fan, so those went to my friend Tony.

The ribs were good. They could have been more tender. But if they're locally sourced, I understand that a bit more. The fries were flimsy and not crisp. Not my favorite way to cook fries. I want some crunch going on.

We rounded out the meal with dessert. They pay homage to the roots of the building by offering some pastry-influenced desserts. The one that caught my eye was the Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding. I am, indeed, a bread pudding connoisseur. I've eaten it for many, many years. My family reunion has bread pudding contests.

That's usually a bad sign when I'm trying a restaurant's, because it's tough to live up to that nostalgia and level of expectation. This bread pudding was okay. Essentially, it became this giant cup of soft bread. And I think having some different textures is key to bread pudding. If it's all just this oddly soft goopy mixture, it's not a pleasant thing to eat. It did not taste bad - in fact, the spices used were lovely. But I think having a little crunch would do this dish wonders.

Better than many restaurants in town, but not as great as all the hype I've heard.


Grade: B