I love a local fair. The big rides are all lit up, games have giant stuffed animals hanging around and everything is fried. The Mon County Fair was held at the end of July/beginning of August. And I, of course, had a pepperoni roll. I think it's the first time I've had one split with chili and cheese. Pretty good!

I've been posting a lot about a lot of restaurants all over the state. Many came from a road trip I took this summer. Because I have a lot of other photos and cool things I did during that time, I wanted to have one all-encompassing post about this cool trip!

DAY ONE
Prickett's Fort
Ye Olde Alpha
Wheeling Independence Hall
Site of First WV Capitol
Figaretti's
Oglebay Resort

Prickett's Fort

Independence Hall

First Capitol

Ogelbay

DAY TWO
Jennings Randolph Lake
Tari's Cafe
Berkeley Springs State Park - George Washington's Bath Tub
Cacapon Resort State Park
Bloomery Plantation Distillery
The Press Room
The Bavarian Inn

Waffle Rock at Jennings Randolph Lake

Jennings Randolph Lake

DAY THREE

Coach's Crab Shack has opened a new location in Cheat Lake recently. The original location is on Collins Ferry Road, a bit out of the way for most folks. A lakeside space just makes sense for this seafood restaurant.

The dining space is large and open. Bright teals and yellows accent the space, with some fishing-themed trinkets scattered about. Outside, there is a lovely deck that overlooks the lake. Unfortunately, all those spots were taken up when we visited. I can see why, though. A sunset while sipping bloody marys and eating seafood? That sounds lovely.

Vicki and I got an appetizer of peel and eat shrimp. Correction - Vicki got the appetizer and was so kind as to let me scarf down a few pieces. The shrimp were seasoned with old bay lemon and had a nice cocktail sauce that had some heat to it. These were really, really good. The shrimp were plump, that cocktail sauce was perfect.

For my entree, I built my own steamer. They recommend three shellfish options with corn and potatoes/fries for a single person. I was trying to be a bit more calorie conscious (lolz despite everything doused in butter), so I got 1/3 lb. shrimp, 1/2 lb. scallops and 1/2 lb. snow crab. All of that in the "garlic herb butter."

It all came served in this plastic bag just steamed with butter. I liked that I could pluck the scallops right out first. Could use more of a sear, but still good. Then the shrimp were the same that were in the appetizer. A little more work to peel - but worth it when all that flavor is trapped inside the shell. And then a good bit more work is the crab. Luckily, Vicki is used to me being ridiculous because I was making a mess. But it was so worth it. Nice hunks of fresh crab meat pulled out from those shells. Delicious.

Vicki was less impressed with her crab cakes, but I have yet to try those.

Grade: A

Ever since the Mediterranean Market on High Street closed shop, this space has gone through a bit of an identity crisis. It first transformed in Dos Bros and then changed its name to "Speedys 2." And now, it is Zaytun.



The interior looks like it still belongs to Dos Bros, with brightly painted walls and colorful accents. The bar is a huge focal piece, but it doesn't seem like they use it at all. Instead, go all the way to the back of the restaurant and order at the counter.

From their menu, they serve pizza, calzones, gyros, shawarma, sandwiches, pasta and salads. I'm thinking they're going with a "spray and pray" method - try a little of everything, and then there must be something for everyone! To me, this just says kinda confused and unfocused.

When figuring out what to order, I asked the man behind the counter if these folks are the same ones who owned the previous restaurants in this space. He said no, not really and that the current owners are folks who used to work at Casa. The pizza connection makes more sense.

I wanted to try the Chicago Style "Dip" (?) Dish Pizza, because where else in town can you get a deep (I think that's what they were going for) dish pizza? That's unique on this menu. But you couldn't purchase it in slices. Well. Hell with it, give me a whole one. (I just ate a slice or two and took the rest back to the office. My coworkers benefit from me wanting to try something.) Now, the guy behind the counter warned me this isn't a traditional Chicago deep dish pizza. He said they make a pizza, then they put another pizza on top. So I guess it's kind of more like a calzone.

Well, it really is essentially a whole pizza, with just another crust put on top. So if you really love the crust part of pizza, you'd probably love this. But who the hell loves the crust part? The sauce and cheese are what I want. And it did have that, plus onions and green peppers and mushrooms. But mostly I could just taste the crust since there was so much of it. It itself isn't really bad. It's not. I just was hoping to have layer upon layer of toppings, instead of this contraption.

It's different, so points for that. But would I want it again? Meh.

Grade: C