The unofficial end of summer is upon us. That calls for ice cream.

The Stache in Fayetteville is a brightly colored ice cream shop and toy store that serves up tons of fun flavors, but their most popular is Blue Moon. When I asked, like the beer? They said nooo, it's just "blue" flavored. K.

But, it's true. It tastes like artificial "blue." It's not my favorite flavor, and considering it's the most popular, I'm a bit interested to see what else they have. It is a bit reminiscent of childhood, though, and the brightly colored throwback toys lining the walls only add to that memory. If you're looking for a bit of a walk down memory lane - with a cool treat at the end - this place is calling your name.

Grade: B

I scream, you scream, we all scream ... for Fat Eddie's!

The ice cream shop located at the Summersville Lake (technically in Mt Nebo) is open seasonally, so when I recently had to travel through the area, I had to stop while I had the chance.

Well, is there anything that says simply summer more than an ice cream stand, hot dogs, a hot sunshiney day and a beautiful lake? A group of teenagers doling out ice cream as their summertime job, dirt-cheap prices and overflowing portions? No, no there isn't.

So, I ordered a hot dog (with an English bun) topped with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. When I asked the girl taking my order what her favorite ice cream was, she directed me the "mudslide" storm, which has vanilla ice cream with peanut butter, Heath bar and hot fudge on top.

The hot dog was delicious. I love the toasted English bun, and the toppings were plentiful and perfectly portioned. The mudslide was delicious (mental note: Always listen to the teenagers' ice cream recommendations). It combined a few of my favorite things and ended up in a delicious mix that is even more than the sum of its parts.

Before the last days of summer slip through our fingers, get yourself to an ice cream stand - preferably Fat Eddie's - and treat yourself one last time for the season.

Grade: A

University Place, the University housing complex in Sunnyside, has a handful of other eateries, and this Pennsylvania-based restaurant is the newest addition.

A burger and hot dog joint unlike others, BnD'z operates on a "fresh" concept:

The BnDz's concept evolved from my love of burgers and hot dogs. I love these staples of American food, but I could do without that first bite guilt. You know the feeling: Is this burger processed, full of additives and preservatives? Fresh buns aren't supposed to be crunchy, are they? Seems like these condiments are just covering up the flavor of the hot dog, not really complementing my meal like home made toppings should. And who actually prepared this? It was just handed to me in a paper bag or was brought to my table from behind some closed swinging doors!

My dream was to offer Pittsburgh the purest burgers and dog's possible. The buns surrounding them would be as fresh as they could be! The condiments meant to enhance these delicious meals would be made fresh, on site! What else could I do to add to the wonderful experience of eating one of these creations?

I've always been fascinated with cooking shows, being able to watch a World Renowned Chef prepare a mouth watering meal with the freshest ingredients right in front of my eyes. The creation is half the fun. That's it! Our customer's will be able to not only witness the evolution of their meal in our open kitchen, they will be able to choose all the ingredients that go into their food! Want a hot dog inside a gluten-free bun, with home made BBQ sauce and a side of fresh, from scratch cole slaw? We can create that! Want a vegetarian burger on a fresh Cellone's bun with balsamic vinaigrette? Done! How about just an all American burger made from grass fed beef, cooked up just the way you like it? Absolutely!

Here at BnDz's, we're committed to bringing you the freshest, tastiest dogs and burgers in the 'Burgh. Stop in and tell us how you want us to create your masterpiece. Oh, and hold the guilt!

We went to the counter to order two of their specialty burgers (you can also make your own). We got these two and got them cut in half so we could share:



BIG DADDY BISON BURGER
Light tomato vinaigrette salsa, sauteed portabello mushrooms, sweet white onions, steakhouse onion cheddar cheese, and our special seasoned oil.!

MAC N' CHEESE BURGER
Comfort food at its finest! A heaping helping of mac n' cheese is the star of this burger!

The bison burger is very good. It was also about $18 total for the meal, so it's not cheap for lunch. But the patty is very well-seasoned and cooked well. The toppings were also a nice mix of flavors, and I was pretty impressed with this burger. Though, that price tag for lunch was a bit hard to swallow.

The mac n' cheese burger wasn't quite as exciting (I know! Me! Saying mac & cheese is eh!). But, the burger was significantly not as flavorful, and the macaroni was OK. Not much else going on there.

The fries were decent, too - if not a bit too salty. But, overall, I was pretty impressed with the bison burger. Only downside there, really, was the price. The regular burger, though, I would skip.

Grade: B

Let's Taco Bout It is a new food truck in Morgantown that has been making its late-night taco rounds downtown. It recently made an appearance during a daytime event, so I was sure to swing by and get my fix.

The truck featured:

• tacos (hard or soft) with choice of chicken, beef or bean, lettuce and cheese
• burritos with choice of beef chicken or bean, cheese and rice 
• Taco in a bag with choice of beef, chicken or bean, lettuce, cheese, and Nacho Doritos or Andy Capp Hot Fries

Grade: C

For our final (!) meal in Philly, we went all out. We had reservations at Fork, a contemporary American restaurant that specializes in small plates.

We had reservations, but couldn't be seated until exactly that time. So, we waited for a bit and then returned inside. This is when we decided, well hell, let's go all out and do the house tasting menu while we are here. That gave me a choice of starter, pasta, main course and dessert. Plus, it includes all the little surprise gifts from the chef between courses. Nothing I love more than an amuse-bouche.

Well, we started with a celery soda palate cleanser. It's exactly what you would think - liquid celery. It certain woke up my tastebuds.

Next was this tasty little crisp cracker bite.

Then, a bialy with real, housemade Philadelphia cream cheese. Tasty, roasty flavors.

Finally, our first course. I ordered the chilled melon soup with yogurt, basil and tamarind. It was a beautiful dish presented as just the bits of melon and veggies before the soup was poured into the bowl. Lovely presentation.

Next was a bread course with butter; hearty and rustic.

Then, the pasta dish, which I think was my ultimate favorite. The black and white pici is served with fruits of the sea and pickled chili. The noodles had the perfect amount of chew and large chunks of buttery crab, lobster, calamari and more.

Then, another fresh bread gift. This one was a buckwheat roll with a seasonal jam. Very tasty.

For an entree, I ordered the duroc pork, which came with loin, rib and belly, summer squash and chanterelles. This dish was a nice summery take on the pork. Green, fresh flavors to go with the pork. The pork was tender, moist and quite good.

Afterward, another small, sweet bite from the chef. Light, but creamy.

And, my dessert was peach crisp with sweet corn, sour cream and chamomile. Not overly sweet, but comforting and quite lovely.

The final gift from the chef came in the form of these chocolate chip cookies. I think we're all aware on my feelings about chocolate chip cookies, but I imagine this hits a certain level of comfort food for many people. So, it makes sense to end on something like this.

Overall, this was a lovely experience. It's more than a meal. We laughed as we stumbled through a fancy meal together and got excited with each new surprise from the chef. It was a great way to end our time together in Philadelphia. Until next time.



Grade: A