The final stop in the Davis/Thomas area (this time) was at Siriannis, the local pizza joint. Joint may not be the right word, though, as when I think of that, I think of a hole in the wall with great pizza. But like most small restaurants in this area, it's hip and has some character.

Plus maybe my favorite door ever.

Since we spent our entire time in the towns eating, we just ordered a small pizza and split it between the two of us. I got mushrooms on my side.


A pretty good pizza overall. I was a fan of the sauce. Crust was a bit poofier - but that may because of the size we ordered. I'm used to more toward flat slices in Morgantown. Very tasty, though. A nice crisp on the bottom and tons of oozing cheese. Nice way to round out my short road trip and get a taste - literally - of the area.

Grade: A

The original Mountain State Brewing Company is located in Thomas. I've been to the one in Morgantown many, many times. So I wanted to see what the original looked like.

From the outside, I was a little confused. I had to like drive around the back, and an entrance wasn't totally clear. When Brittany and I walked in, the one guy sitting at the bar and the other working were dead silent. The TV was on mute. There was no music. It was painfully silent. I awkwardly sat at the bar and asked if they're serving food, and I was told no. Just beer on Sunday. Oh, ok.

Well, we're already here. So, I ordered a pumpkin beer - as I've already had the others on tap - and this one was new. Still, no one is talking. We clearly broke up the boys' club, and it was painfully obvious. The pub part of Mountain State must be more like a man cave, and we were violating the code.

The man working was watching some weird gory cartoons on his laptop, and would occasionally laugh and point at it. OK, time to finish this beer - which was a little too heavy for my tastebuds - and get out. We took turns chugging this, paid quickly and left. I'm sure they felt as relieved as we did.

So, it may be different when they're serving food. I hope. And it is cool that they are brewing the beer there. Luckily, I'm a fan of most of their other beers. The seasonal didn't quite do it for me. So, if it's pub only, I'll pass.

Grade: C

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The Purple Fiddle is one of those places that I would pay to have a location in Morgantown.

It's a cafe with great food, beer and music. It's comfortable, eclectic and full of character. There's a bar along the right side where they dish out ice cream, a main counter to the front where you can order and a stage off to the left.

Along the way, you can pick up bumper stickers, buttons or other momentos characteristic of West Virginia.

Once Brittany and I got to the front, we grabbed some menus and looked over our options. We ordered the Fiddle platter, which had hummus, feta, olive tapenade and pico de gallo with pita. Plus a slice of pumpkin cheesecake.

The platter was served in individual ramekins and was pretty good. I loved the feta and fresh pico. The hummus was tasty - though I tend to like mine a good bit more garlicky. And the tapenade was good, too. Most of my pita bites tended to have a thick slathering of each ingredient.

The cheesecake was super indulgent. Rich. Tasty.

Oh, and I also got a blueberry pop. I was going to get something different - something more local, maybe. But I had a hard time passing up this adorable little label.

It's Maine Root, and it's kind of a little bit of heaven.

First of all - have you ever had blueberry soda? If you have, you're already way ahead of the game - from me, at least.

I wish blueberry soda was a more common thing. Why isn't that a common flavor? It's delicious. Somebody, make this happen.

Or ship me some of these, that would work just fine too.

OK.

The Purple Fiddle is great, and I'm actually hoping to do a piece on them for Taste WV soon.  So, I will hopefully have more details about the history and background in the future. In the meantime, go go go if you haven't. Super cool vibe, good food and an awesome environment.



Grade: A 

I'm doing a story on Blackwater Brewing Company for Taste WV Magazine, so I was lucky enough to try some of their beer and food while there. You'll have to check that out for their awesome story and plans for the future.

The restaurant features a handful of beers and a weekly rotating menu during the weekends.

Let's start with the beer: They have some German-inspired beers due to the owner's brewing history. They have the Canaan Valley Kolsch, a 3200 Alt Bier, The Goldenrod Gold Ale, The Laurel Run EPA, and The Angus Macker Hardy County Sweet Oatmeal Stout. I had a taste of the Goldenrod Gold Ale and had to get a growlette of it to take back to Morgantown with me.

It's smooth and uses a local honey. How cool.

OK - food. He literally serves food only Friday-Sunday and it changes weekly. As far as a theme, he tries to play on seasons, and there's usually a soup or stew. He had a beef carbonnade, which is a Belgian beef dish with cubes of beef in a rich broth incorporates the Belgian blonde ale as the base. Hot and flavorful. With a side of beer bread.

Then there was a bratwurst that incorporated his Kolsch bier, served with homemade potato salad and sauerkraut. This potato salad was so delicious. It was warm and hearty. So loved it. The bratwurst was delicious and on a nice toasted bun.

My favorite, though, was this beautiful peperonata di patate soup, which had four types of peppers and potato. For one, it's beautiful. And two, it had this really deep, slightly spicy, slightly sweet soup with some potato for some substance. Just super good. Plus some nice buttered crostini.

So, if you go during the week, get a really good beer. If you're there on a weekend, choose one of his meals (there are only a couple options), but I know it'll be worth it.

Grade: A