Daniel Vineyards, located in Crab Orchard, is a winery I first learned about while at one of the wine festivals in the state. When I saw the sign for the winery driving back from a day of skiing, it was a god-send. What could be better than a glass of wine to pair with sore muscles and a chilly day?



The property is beautiful. Winding up the hill are the vineyards, and the stone building looks as though it could be the perfect venue for parties. Just picturesque.



The main building is large, and it looked as though they just had a paint and sip recently, as canvases and easels were pushed off to the side.


We made quick use of our time tried all the wines they had available: 2010 Esprit, 2013 Esprit, 2012 White and 2012 Pink were what we started with. My favorite was the 2012 white - a semi-dry white blend of Seyval, Chardonel and Esprit grapes. The red 2008 St. Vincent was good - similar to a merlot. Plus there were two dessert wines: blackberry and 2008 port. The blackberry is a top seller, so I had to get one of those.

Daniel Vineyards is a beautiful place with a handful of very tasty wines. If you're in the area, definitely give 'em a try.

There aren't many drive-ins left in West Virginia. Maybe that's why I have a fascination with them. They're like these remaining artifacts from a different time, still preserved in areas.


On a recent trip to McDowell County, I drove through Pineville in Wyoming County. In addition to the area being known recently for a "documentary," Wyoming County is also home to the Pinnacle Drive-In.

While I discovered that you can remain in your car in the parking lot and a carhop will come out to you, I didn't realize that. So, we went inside. There are only a few tables inside, but a few cars had been waited on outside. That's clearly the preferred method here.

The menu has sandwiches - BBQ, grilled cheese, ham - as well as specialty sandwiches - pizza submarines, giant cheeseburgers, Italian submarines. Plus dinners, seafood dinners, soups, salads. It's pretty run of the mill. Their big-sellers are the hotdogs or the "submarine," which is turkey salad, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and cranberry sauce. That sandwich sounds a lot like another in the nearby area. Scott, my coworker, ordered that. But I went with the hotdogs.


The weenie wonks over at the West Virginia Hot Dog Blog have a more comprehensive look at the hotdogs, but I'll do my best here. I LOVED the buns - which are these buttered and grilled. They are definitely more bun for your hotdog, but they hold up well with all the toppings. I ordered chili, slaw, mustard and onions, but my slaw was nowhere to be found. I didn't realize this until later because I was super hungry (and late), so I didn't want to fuss.

I liked the flavor of the chili (not so much a sauce), and I liked their own little spin on the hotdog. It was more filling, and the bun had a little crisp, which I liked. Overall, I think it was pretty good. I think slaw could've taken this up a notch. Pinnacle is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed Sundays.

Grade: B

Thyme Bistro, a small Weston restaurant, caught my attention a couple months back after hearing the Cast Iron Chef Cook-Off earlier this year. I put it on my to-visit list, and when the opportunity arose recently to head to Weston, I already knew where my dinner plans would be.



The Thyme Bistro doesn't look like much from the outside. It looks like an average corner restaurant, but once you walk inside, it's a completely different story. Dark decor with candles and fresh flowers atop every table fill the small dining area. It's warm, comfortable yet sleek.



The menu is small with a few entrees like a potato parmesan encrusted salmon, shrimp judith, filet mignon, and pasta. To start, though, we wanted to try the "bistro fries," which are garlic and parmesan fries with a smokey aioli for dipping.

They were tasty! They were served standing up in a glass mug, and the tower of french fries were topped with garlic and parmesan. Wonderfully crispy, and the smoky aioli sauce was unexpected and tasty.

We also had some olive bread (!) delivered to our table prior to our entrees. It was warm and nuzzled in a cloth napkin to keep the heat in. It's the little touches like this that really stick out to me after visiting so many restaurants.

The thick cuts of bread went perfectly with a slather of butter. So tasty.

The next course was my house salad. And I really, really love a good house salad. Greens > iceberg. Flavorful tomatoes > watery bland ones. This salad had some delicious, fresh greens, tomatoes, cucumber, red onions and housemade croutons. All topped with a homemade blue cheese (in my case) dressing.




For main entrees, Vicki went with the filet mignon, which she loved. It was tender and flavorful.






My shrimp judith was not quite as bold with flavors, but the light and buttery flavor was perfect for my mood. Because I didn't feel super heavy from the main meal, I decided to order dessert.

To be honest, I cannot remember what they called this, but it was a lemon cake with these delicious like candied nuts and whipped cream and a candied lemon. It tasted like summer exploded in my mouth. In the best possible way.

If you find yourself in Weston, Thyme Bistro is really quite the treat.

Grade: A

Perched on a rolling hillside complete with brick walkways, Lamberts Vintage Wines hosts wine tastings. The picturesque stone building features large wooden doors, a fireplace and rocking chairs, and is surrounded by a vineyard.

The building is located at 190 Vineyard Drive in Weston, W.Va., (304) 269-4903. Hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

My friend Vicki and I stopped here after our adventure in Ireland (W.Va.) to watch road bowling. The day had been drizzly, and it was a chilly. We made our way up the road back to the tasting building (passing a banquet hall and another gorgeous building along the way). And as soon as we opened that large wooden door, the inside of the tasting room was welcoming, cozy and warm.

Local pottery and products decorated the room. Vicki even ended up buying a stained glass pumpkin they had for sale.

Our tasting was so fun, as we just chose various wines to choose from this list. They increase in sugar level, so I stayed near the middle range. I ended up buying a bottle of the Symal (which is a blend). I've tried many of Lambert's wines before, as they are a mainstay at the WV Wine & Jazz Festival in Morgantown. But the symal was one I needed again in my life.

It's a perfect little day trip out to the area if you want to get out of Morgantown. It's a cute property, with tons of space to relax and drink wine.

Has anyone tasted the wines here at Lambert's? If so, which ones are your faves?

"Sweets for the Sweet" is a local restaurant dessert competition hosted by the Caritas House Inc., which assists people living in 25 counties of northern West Virginia who are living with HIV/AIDS. The Caritas (Latin for charity) House was created in 1994 and is one of three organizations in the state who assist these individuals.

The 19th annual event was held on Saturday at the WVU Alumni Center. It cost $20 and the proceeds benefited the Caritas House. The event featured the dessert tasting competition, the Fairmont State University Jazz Ensemble, door prizes and auctions.

We started with some heavy hors d'oeuvres - sliders, corndogs, pepperoni rolls - before devoting our evening to straight sugar. 

We picked the restaurant nearest to us and made our way around the room.

Table 9 - caramel pot de creme & devil's on horseback. This set the bar pretty high. While I've had the devil's on horseback, which are really quite tasty, the pot de creme was really quite good. The top was a salted caramel pretzel almost, and the consistency was smooth.


Ramada / The Heritage Grille - tiramisu. When we went to this table, there was no one there to talk to us about it, but it seemed fairly standard tiramisu. Nothing too outstanding or different.


Erickson Alumni Center - pineapple toasted coconut cake drizzled with warm pineapple sauce made with Heston Farms moonshine & fruit (kiwi, strawberry, blueberry) shooters & chocolate-covered strawberries. They really go hard. I had the cake and a shooter, and both were really pretty good. The pineapple cake was familiar, but a little different at the same time.



Rising Creek Bakery - "gone bananas" buttermilk banana cake with a buttermilk custard mouse, malted chocolate ice cream, caramelized white chocolate sauce and hazelnut sand. This was one of my favorite desserts, for sure. Tons of different texture and flavor here. And it all comes together seamlessly. A well-thought out plate here with a delicious dessert.

Jameson's Pub & Eatery - salted caramel brownie with a pretzel crust. This sounds like it would be my be-all, end-all dessert. But I was getting some odd coconut notes I wasn't super crazy about. I DO love that a lot of the places this year have gotten the "salted caramel" dessert, because it's my absolute favorite.

Tutto Gelato Cafe - salted caramel pretzel cake. I loved this idea, but I think the pretzel crust was more salty than the sweet part of the ice cream. But it was still tasty.

The Cupcakerie - fluffer nutter, strawberry lime margarita, mudslide and orange crush cupcakes. The Cupcakerie tends to do the same sort of cupcakes at these events, so I've had many of these before. I went with an orange crush one, and it was good.





The Preston Co. Inn - beignets. The Preston Co. Inn had a really cute theme going with the props and whatnot surrounding their dessert of choice: beignets. They were fresh from the fryer and covered in powdered sugar. Just like a donut, but airy.


Morgantown Brewing Company - pineapple upside down cake (but fancy). This was one of my favorite desserts because it was different. I always love that Morgantown Brewing Company brings it to these competitions. They do something new and fun and incorporate their beer. It is always inventive, but I think some people just don't know what to do with a non-traditional dessert. Pastrami crisps on my cake?! What?! People don't know how to handle it. But it was great, and these guys deserve some more recognition for all the cool shit they do.