A little midday jaunt to Berdine's Five & Dime (which is so cool) led us to North Bend State Park (also cool), which led us to stumble upon Shemp's Cafe. As we made our way through the little town of Cairo, this ice cream shop just popped up out of nowhere. An who am I to say no to ice cream?

The shop has an old-school Three Stooges theme. They have a cute ice cream bar with all sorts of flavors like cherry nut, Turtle Tracks, Moose Tracks and butter pecan.

They also have a food menu full of fried appetizers, sandwiches, wings, pizza and stromboli.

I ordered a Turtle Tracks ice cream cone, because I can't really think of anything more fitting. Fun Fact: Moose Tracks- vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks and peanut butter cups all swirled together in chocolately peanut butter goodness. Turtle Tracks- vanilla ice cream with chocolate caramel turtle chunks, with chocolate covered pecans and a caramel swirl.

Verdict: Turtle Tracks are pretty good. But, it was almost a little TOO sweet. It was kinda like pure sugar. And, I was totally bummed it wasn't this old ice cream shop restored and was instead crafted to look like that. But, it's cute and has ice cream, so it can't be all that bad.



Grade: B

The Blennerhassett Hotel is this beautiful landmark hotel in downtown Parkersburg that also happens to be home to Spats, a fine restaurant that spans a wide range of flavors.

Veronica and I stopped here for breakfast. Options included vegetable strata, classic eggs benedict, Scottish smoked salmon benedict, lemon blueberry ricotta pancakes, eggs, oatmeal and a smoked salmon bagel platter.

You thought I was going for the salmon bagel, right? Well, I thought about it. But the "Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes: Served with country style sausage patties or applewood smoked bacon" sounded too good to pass up.

I typically think of ricotta pancakes as these thick, fluffy pancakes with a creamy, almost custard-like center. These were much flatter and lacked that fluffy aspect I really wanted. They were piecey, but I could taste the lemon and the real blueberries - which was great. The sausage was good quality, too.

Overall, this was a fairly good breakfast. They treat you well, the food is good (even if it is a bit different than what I expected), and the atmosphere is lovely. I think I'd like to try another meal or two - because so many things looked delicious!


Grade: B

Mango Latin Bistro is a swanky restaurant in downtown Parkersburg that boasts a menu full of arepas, cubanos and other specialties.

The inside is sleek and modern. Veronica and I stopped here for second dinner. We were the only diners in there, with a few people hanging out around the bar area.

We were started with some bread, which was fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Next up was the entrees. I ordered the "Camarones a la Criolla" which is shrimp sautéed in a "criollo" style sauce. It came with two sides, so I went with ripe sweet plantains and french fries - because the other options were rice or black beans, both of which I've had many times prior.

The result is this kind of random mish-mash of items on my plate. Once I saw it, I realized I probably should've ordered rice to help with that sauce situation. The sauce was similar to a marinara? Not bad, but nothing entirely unique to me. The plantains were good. The fries OK. The combination odd.

For dessert, a piece of cake that I regret. It was a bit hard and dried out. I think it was just hanging out in the cooler already cut into pieces and uncovered which did it no favors.

Overall, I left a bit disappointed. Maybe I chose wrong. But I also wish the actual flavor was just a bit  ... more. Off night? Have you been?

Grade: C

During my trip to Parkersburg, I set up my home base at The Coffee Bar. I had a bit of time to kill and some work to do until Veronica got done with work, so I found myself squatting at the coffee shop.

This place is the cutest, first off. Minimal, light rustic wood, black accents and exposed brick. Totally adorable. I ordered a "Goldie Hawn," which has espresso, honey, steamed milk and vanilla.

And, I also ordered this sort of strawberry pastry that was crumbly and huge and delicious.


The coffee = a very soothing, good cup o' joe. The pastry = very sweet with small sugar crumbles all over the top with a thick layer of strawberry spread in the middle. Perfect combo.

Grade: A

Bricks & Barrels: Blackened flat iron served with crispy fingerling potatoes, vegetables, and garlic compound butter

I know it's just a teeny bit late, but I wanted to mention all the great food I had during Charleston's Restaurant Week. Held during the last week of January, Charleston really did Restaurant Week right. I went to three different restaurants this week in order to write something up for Taste! WV Magazine (I really should get on that...).

Bridge Road Bistro menu

Buzz Food Service organizes and sponsors the event, which featured 20 different restaurants offering a three-course meal for $30. Appetizer, entree and dessert for $30? Yes, yes and yes. During the first year, there were 8 restaurants, then 16 in the second year. And this year - 20!

Bricks & Barrels - Chocolate decadent cake with vanilla sauce and fresh berries

Tons of people go out to find new restaurants and revisit old favorites. Aladdin Restaurant, Bricks & Barrels, Dem 2 Brothers & A Grill, Fifth Quarter, Leonoro's, Su Tei, The Block, B&D Gastropub, Ichiban, Paternos - and so many more participated. The event resulted in half a million dollars in economic impact.

Bricks & Barrels - Sauteed shrimp with peppers and onions, tasso ham gravy served over grits

So, where did I go? I went to Celsius with Veronica - my first time at the restaurant, so it'll get its own post. I also went to Bricks & Barrels with Veronica, which was pretty amazing. I started off with these small bite-sized crab cakes, which were fine. The entree, though, is what was the best part. Their take on a shrimp and grits was creamy, tangy, smokey and all-around comforting. The flavors were balanced, the texture was varied, and the dish had soul.

Bricks & Barrels - Mini chocolate brick

My friends opted for their steak and enjoyed it. My dessert was their mini chocolate brick, which was this chocolate shell with cream inside. Not bad.

Bridge Road Bistro bread

The final restaurant I visited was Bridge Road Bistro. For starters, I had this French Onion Soup. It was pretty tasty. I love the croutons and Swiss cheese bubbling down the side. It's a very earthy sort of taste, but I'm into it.

Bridge Road Bistro - French onion soup with crouton and Swiss cheese

For entrees, my friend Maggie got a salmon with potatoes and greens. I went for the bacon-wrapped pork medallions with whipped potatoes, haricot verts with toasted almonds and a huckleberry demi glace.

Bridge Road Bistro - salmon with potatoes

The pork was quite good, as were the potatoes. The sauce really was a nice complement to the meat. Nicely thought out dish.

Bridge Road Bistro - Bacon-wrapped pork medallions with whipped potatoes and haricot verts with almonds.

Dessert was creme caramel with fresh berries. Anything rich and creamy such as this has my vote.

Bridge Road Bistro - Creme caramel with fresh berries.

I love the cohesive, community-driven aspect of this weeklong event. I think it benefits so many areas - including the patrons who find new restaurants, the restaurants who get a bump during a slow time of year and the economy that sees so much more money. I'd love to see this implemented in even more areas throughout the state.