A work trip took me to Lewisburg. And there are only a handful of restaurants I haven't tried there yet - including The Market, the breakfast and lunch arm of Food & Friends. As soon as we entered town, we parked along the street and walked to the side of the building.

The Market operates out of the back end of the building, with just a few tables inside and more outside under a shady tree. After quickly looking at the menu board behind the counter, I decided on The Mountaineer – roast beef piled high with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheddar and horseradish mayo. It's a quick turnaround, and my meal was out to me within minutes.

The bread was pressed and had a nice crunch. There was a ton of meat and cheese and crunchy onions all held together with a horseradish mayo that gave just a slight kick without being overwhelming. Everything was fresh, crisp and despite being incredibly filling - but light. Awesome.

I wasn't able to go to this year's Second Annual Best Chef Cook Off at Lakeview because I was out of town (and state and country!). Don't worry, I'll post some (brief) reviews from Montreal soon, but I wanted to share some photos that superstar photographer Sher Yip took while there. BRB, salivating over all these amaze dishes.

ATOMIC GRILL - pork belly duet with braised cabbage, cilantro grits, pickled melon trio on arugula, apricot sambal and soy lime reduction. Pulled pork sliders with housemade BBQ. Mojito meringue pie with mint and lime.





MORGANTOWN BREWING COMPANY - House brined 'Zack Morgan's IPA' beer pickle served with '80 Shillings Scotch Ale mustard. Roasted ratatouille with green and yellow zucchini, purple and yellow onion, red, yellow and orange peppers, roasted then simmered in a sauce of red and green tomatoes, basil, garlic and scallions. BBQ pulled pork canape with 'Old Morgantown Amber Ale' braised and hickory smoked pork sauced with a sweet spiced BBQ and served on bicolor corn tortilla chips, topped with hot pepper peach puree and purple onion marmalade. Mixed berry, basil and beet bavarian with sweet beet bavarian swirled with basil, blackberries and blueberries topped with a burnt orange caramel and toasted almonds.





COACH'S CRAB SHACK - crabby spaghetti - pasta cooked with old bay seafood seasoning loaded with blue crab meat. Lobster meatball made from scratch with Maine lobster in red sauce with parmigiano reggiano. Gator eggs with alligator meat, crab meat, cream cheese stuffed in a jalapeno and panko fried.



LAKEVIEW - vegetable pad thai with pan-seared scallops and firecreacker shrimp






LEBANESE BISTRO



PRESTON COUNTY INN



LAKEHOUSE - Steak and lobster empanadas



STEFANO'S - shrimp and grits



TABLE 9 - pan-seared lamb, charred onions, roasted garlic, salted yogurt, celery root crumble. Buttered popcorn, pot de creme and salted caramel.

The United Way hosted Morgantown's first macaroni and cheese cook-off. I was honored to be one of the judges, along with Del. Amanda Pasdon. The event had an incredible turnout with more than 350 people attending and eight incredible restaurants competing: Atomic Grill, Iron Horse Tavern, Hash Browns & New Grounds, Oliverio's Ristorante, Morgantown Brewing Company, Table 9, Terra Cafe and Tailpipes. For whatever reason, Stefano's didn't show up. No home cooks entered the competition, but I think that's something that might take off next year.

Iron Horse Tavern - tater tot wafer with black truffle sour cream topped with four cheese macon mac - smoked gouda, pecorino romano, white cheddar and gruyere - smoked paprika, garlic panko crust and chives.

Tailpipes - "Maki Roni & Cheese" - Irish cheddar, goat cheese, candied bacon, parmesan, spicy mayo and Japanese panko.




Terra Cafe - "Blue 'BLT' Mac N' Cheese" - homemade orecchiette in a tomato and blue cheese sauce. Served in a fresh-baked bread bowl and garnished with candied bacon and kale chips. Kale and onions from Round Right Farm. Allegheny Chevre and Black & Blue from Firefly Farms. Eggs from Possum Tail Farm.

Morgantown Brewing Comapny - "Beer & Bacon Cheesy Mac with '80 Shillings Scotch Ale" - asiago, sharp white cheddar, mozzarella, smoked provolone and smoked gouda cheeses with whole wheat macaroni and semolina cavatappi pasta with grilled leeks, black beans and roasted red peppers topped with crispy house-cured pork jowl bacon crumbles.

Oliverio's Ristorante - "Lobster Mac and Cheese" - homemade lobster stock, lobster base, butter, heavy cream, scallions and garlic with cheddar, parmesan and smoked gouda cheeses tossed with cavatappi pasta, langostino and lobster tail meal.

Atomic Grill - "Atom-Mac" - cavatappi egg pasta, a proprietary blend of six cheeses, serrano peppers, cayenne sauce, scallions and white pepper.

Table 9 - orzo, pork belly and smoked gouda.



Hash Browns & New Grounds - jalapeno gnocchi macaroni and cheese with toasted peppercorns, panko and red chili sauce.

Overall thoughts: I really liked Tailpipes' creativity. Super cool theme, and the crust on the outside was slightly sweet. Loved that. Terra Cafe was also tasty with homemade pasta, creamy cheese with a tang and nice texture with crispy kale. Plus local ingredients. Oliverio's rounded out my top three with their lobster pasta - it's a staple on their menu, and it's just so rich and delicious.

Iron Horse had a solid more traditional mac and cheese, but well executed. Morgantown Brewing Company was similar to Iron Horse, but I love that they included their own beer. Atomic Grill had a super thick and slightly spicy mac and cheese. I was bummed they only had two servings, and it was just almost too thick to be able to eat too much. Table 9 got points for creativity with the orzo, but it almost seemed like a casserole to me - minus the chicken and broccoli. And Hash Browns and New Grounds didn't save any tastings for the judges, so we didn't even get to try it.

Morgantown is venturing into new territory - food trucks! Well, kinda. There was some hubbub over food trucks on High Street - the taco truck and hotdog vendors have had some trouble with that.

And then we have Hash Browns & New Grounds, who currently mostly sticks to the college housing complex on Van Voorhis and the Bridgeport Farmers Market.

And now there's Street Meatz. Located - fairly stationary - in the parking lot of Ace Hardware on Maple Drive. Near Mon General. The name is a bit off-putting, but their shtick is featuring local meat and locally sourced produce. Can't really go wrong with that.

Their burgers and hot dogs are their main features, and each day, they have a different theme. Wednesdays seem to be "Wild West" with elk or antelope, and Fridays are "Fiesta Friday." In the middle, they sprinkle an Italian day or maybe a veggie day or something different.

The day I went, they had a steak salad as their special. I opted for the burger, and you can get what kind of cheese you'd like. Blue cheese for me. And a side of jambalaya - because how often do you see that? Apparently it is the owner's own recipe.

They were fairly busy, and as I was waiting, the woman working noticed who I was from my name & my comment on their page earlier that day. She came and talked to me about how this is the owner's creative endeavor, and they've been seeing a good bit of business. She said they hoped to have phone orders to call in ahead of time soon - looks like that's active now at 304-777-7456.

Super friendly people and really excited about this new endeavor.

When I got my bag of goodies, I took it straight to my car to get some quick photos before having to drive back to work before I could eat.

Okay, first I tried the jambalaya - while it had great flavor and large chunks of sausage and peppers, it became a little soggy by the time I was back. That could be my fault because it was so hot and trapped in that container, and it could've been steamed. Or it could've been a little soggy from cooking all day. Not sure, but that's a minor complaint. The flavor was spot on.

The burger: They expertly craft this as two halves so you can assemble it right before you eat it. Genius. These little boxes keep everything in tact so not all the sauces are mixing and your tomato is getting soggy, etc. Really nice.


I wish they ask how you'd like it prepared, because it was just a tad overdone for me. I assume most people probably (incorrectly) like their burgers well-done, but knowing where their product comes from - I could've gone more medium/medium-well. It definitely has that kind of char outer taste. But good, flavorful meat, fresh ingredients. And a bigger bun will help hold up all that goodness.

Overall, though, pretty solid. After a few kinks, I think they will be running smoothly.

Grade: B

Have you seen that small blue shack on University Avenue in Star City? You know - the one that looks like it seats maybe three people, has a sign that says "hotdogs," and you're not sure if it's even a real restaurant anymore?

It is.

It's called Star City Hotdogs, as evident by the makeshift sign plastered in front of what used to be a Hometown Hotdogs sign. Apparently they split ways at some point, and this was an easy solution.

This is one restaurant that I've known about for - years - now but most of my close friends scoffed at the idea of coming here. My friend Heaven is a risk-taker. I dig that.

We waked inside to one woman slinging dogs, while hungry onlookers awaited their meal. Meanwhile, orders were being called in. This place was kinda busy.


With only a handful of stools in front, it gets tight in here real fast. Off to the left, there is this strange blue concrete dungeon that has a few mismatched tables and booths.

I ordered a hot dog and a Frito pie. I only had this one other time - at the other hot dog joint across town - and loved it. I was quickly informed there was no sour cream. Meh. Oh well, tried it anyway.

My hotdog - with mustard, slaw, sauce and onions - was OK. Too much slaw kind of overpowered anything, really, and the onions were lost underneath the slaw - so those just blended in. The sauce wasn't bad. I got medium, and it had a big of a bite to it. But beyond an overwhelming cold, chunky texture - not a ton of flavor.

Frito pie suffered from the same lack of flavor - but I did dig the cheese. Cheese can make most things better. Sour cream can make all things better.

So, overall the food is nothing to write home about, and the actual building itself is... well, kind of scary. If you're really interested, I would suggest to-go.

Grade: C