As part of my effort to complete adventures from the 55 things to do in the Mountain State list, I convinced Tom to accompany me to southern West Virginia to see the Coal House in Williamson and check out the grave of Devil 'Anse' Hatfield, as well as stop in Matewan and try the Tunnel Drive-In. It was a first me to travel through Lincoln, Logan, Boone and Mingo. Woo!

1) The Devil Anse Hatfield grave is in the middle of nowhere, but we found it without too much trouble. I realize how tough it is to not rely on my phone in an area where I have no idea where I'm going. I'm actually surprised I didn't get more lost. We climbed a hill to see that guy right over there ----------------> and nearly died on the muddy hill, but it was worth it to see this near-life-size statue of Hatfield. Fun fact, my friend BJ is a relative.

2) The Coal House is pretty cool. It's, well, a house made out of coal and is also home to the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce. Inside, I bought a coal pig. The whole Hatfield/McCoy thing is a huge thing in this area of the state, so I figured a pig would be fitting considering it is rumored that a stolen pig is what helped start the war between the families.

3) Matewan, of Matewan Massacre fame, had a nice little area devoted to the history of the massacre, as well as more Hatfield/McCoy stuff. I bought the book on Matewan there, because it seemed fitting.

OK, food!



The Tunnel Drive-In is one of the few drive-ins left in the state. It's located in Williamson, and it took me a few tries to find this place. The address has it listed on the road down below (so I thought), but I happened to look past the road and saw it, thankfully. As soon as I pulled up, my car was beside none other than Don Blankenship himself sitting in his Beemer eating some drive-in food. I was a little shocked.








After some awkwardness about omfg, that's Don Blankenship in the car beside me, we figured out what we wanted from the menu and went inside to order. After being in my car for hours upon hours, I didn't want to sit in there to eat, too.

I wanted to order the Tunnel burger, considering the namesake, but they were out. I found out it is a 1 lb. burger, so I'm glad they were out. Somehow, they weren't out of regular sized burgers, so I ordered one of those instead with a side of fried mushrooms. And a strawberry milkshake.

My burger was not bad - the burger was kind of dwarfed by the size of the bun and a giant piece of tomato. It was definitely well done, bordering on crispy, but a slice of cheese masks some of that. But a burger is a burger. It's still good because you can't mess up a cheeseburger too terribly bad.

The mushrooms were aplenty, and the ranch dip wasn't a bad touch. I don't know if I've ever dipped mushrooms in ranch? It worked, but I kind of liked them all on their own.

The perfect touch was a strawberry shake. I can't tell you the last time I had one, but it was so delicious. What goes better with a burger and a side of fried food than a smooth, sweet shake? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing.


Grade: B

Old-fashioned, regular food is the name of the game at Parkette Family Restaurant. Chicken dinners? Check. Baked steak? Check. Liver & Onions? Yep.



Once seated - and it took a little while considering it was a Sunday afternoon and we were in solid church-crowd territory - we looked over the menu. The first thing that jumped out at me was creamed turkey and biscuits - oven-roasted, shredded turkey with homemade gravy over biscuits. This takes me back to high school days with the one day a year when everyone ate hot lunch - creamed turkey day.



So, I ordered that, and it came with two sides. I went with coleslaw and mashed potatoes. My coleslaw came out on its own first, which was odd. I didn't want to just eat a bowl full of coleslaw, so I kind of picked at it until my main entree came out. It was also a little heavy-handed on the mayo.


The plate was full of this gravy/turkey/biscuit mess - and I mean mess as a term of endearment. A made a forkful of mashed potato, biscuit, turkey and gravy in every bite, and it was pretty good. Really good? Nah. But pretty good, yes. Hot comfort food - not as good as when mom and dad make it - but a decent substitute for now.

Grade: B

I recently accompanied my friend, Vicki, on a trip to Home Depot in Uniontown, PA, to buy a chiminea. (Add “purchasing a chiminea” to list of life goals, because they are the bestttt). But, of course, we scoped out the best place to get lunch while on our mini-adventure in the area.

I dig Huntington. Good food, craft beer and some pretty cool events. That craft beer bit? Yeah, there's a whole store devoted to it that I was able to visit while in Huntington recently.

Bottle & Wedge is located in Heritage Station and features beer, wine and specialty cheeses. I perused the wines and cheeses, but I was mostly excited about buying some local beers.

I gathered a six-pack with Country Boy Brewing's Cougar Bait, Bridge Brew Works' Hellbender Black IPA, Mountain State Brewing Company's Seneca Indian Pale Ale, Mountain State Brewing Company's Cold Trail Blonde Ale, Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company's Wild Trail Pale Ale, and Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company's Mothman Black IPA.

I haven't finished all of them yet. Has anyone had these?

With the demise of Carmona's Cocina Mexicana in Morgantown, a new space opened up in the Suncrest Town Center that a new Mexican restaurant has taken over.

(Don't worry, the owners of Carmona's opened "Rosemary's Thyme" - with the same items - in Preston County if you're craving your Carmona's fix. I know lots of people who are devotees.)

Habanero's Mexican Grill features some of the same Tex-Mex in town that many have come to know and love. Burritos, chimichangas, quesadilla, nachos, fajitas, tacos, tamales and even fish tacos are the main menu items here.

It's no secret that Mexican food is not my favorite. I don't love crazy spicy foods - occasionally I'll do, like, medium heat. But, I feel like many of the "Mexican" restaurants in town serve kind of mushy, bland food. But, I was willing to give Habanero's a try.



We parked, walked in and ordered at the counter. I always have a mini meltdown trying to order Mexican food because it's all so similar, so it's like I'm rushing to solve the puzzle of what has the perfect combination of items I'll like. I took the guess work out of it, really, when I ordered the Burrito Durango, which seemed to be their kind of signature burrito here.



Anyone can make a chicken taco or a beef burrito, right? So, I wanted to try something unique to this place. The Burrito Durango features a giant 12" flour tortilla stuffed with chicken, beef and shrimp, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, rice and beans, topped with melted cheese and tomatillo sauce.



My first concern was when he laid out the tortilla on a tray - not a plate - the actual tray. You know, the thing underneath the plate that people take back to the top of a trash can after they're done with their meal. I just prayed this one was clean. But once he finished making the thing, he moved it to a plate. Then, they didn't have their credit card machine hooked up yet, so it was an old school scan an imprint of my credit card. No fault there, they had just opened.

So, how was it? It was OK. It was OK just like most of the other Mexican food in town. Was it awful? No, it was average. It was some overcooked shrimp, flavorless chicken and beef with rice and peppers. The cheese was good - cheese makes everything better. I think things had been sitting out a bit too long because the meat was tough.

Chips and salsa tasted like chips and salsa.

I think I'm always looking for something to make a place unique - is the meat super flavorful and tender? Is there a special sauce they make on their own? Do they use a special blend of spices? What sets you apart?

And I just didn't find it here.

Grade: C