North Central West Virginia is like a mini Italy right in the mountains, so it makes sense that there are quite a few delicious Italian restaurants that made the Division of Tourism's most recent 101 Most Unique Places to Dine in WV list.

From the mountains of Calabria to the appalachian hills, Oliverio's Ristorante has been bringing old-world cuisine to West Virginia for more than 40 years. Known as one of West Virginia's most respected Restaurants for fine italian cuisine and top-knotch service. Oliverio's flagship restaurant is located in the heart of downtown Bridgeport. It is locally owned and operated by the Oliverio family. This old world, stylish trattoria has been a family tradition for generations. We are open seven nights a week featuring nightly specials, homemade pastas and sauces, our famous house italian dressing and homemade breadsticks, great seafood and steaks, creative appetizers, fresh baked desserts, and our extensive wine list. Stop in for lunch Monday-Friday and enjoy our large selection of outstanding sandwiches including our famous hoagies and paninis, or treat yourself to a plate of angel hair pasta with our award winning meatballs and sauce. Three generations of Oliverios participate in the daily operation of the four location family owned business. The tradition of quality food and service has been passed down for generations. From our family roots in Calabria, Italy, to your table, all the love and care that went into these family recipes is still a part of every dish. Join us today to enjoy italian cuisine at its very best.

Oliverio's Ristorante is one of the larger Italian restaurants in the area, with a sister location in Morgantown, as well. I have been to the Morgantown location but never the original Bridgeport one. Their inclusion on the 101 list prompted me to mark them off my list sooner rather than later.

Oliverio's has a ton of parking, which is an added benefit over the Morgantown location. Walking in, they certainly know how to set a scene. Large brick entryway with an extensive wine collection in full view. Green plants drape the corners, and small twinkle lights make the space seem intimate.

The menu has everything you'd expect: lasagna, ravioli, eggplant parmesan - plus a variety of steaks, seafood, chicken, and veal dishes. I ordered the chicken marsala over angel hair because I've had their red sauce multiple times, so I wanted to try something different. And, doesn't this sound good: tender medallions sautéed with mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, garlic simmered in a Marsala Wine sauced served over angel hair pasta.

But, first, these freshly baked bread sticks. They're dusted with parmesan, and they are heavenly.

The salad with house dressing is decent; it's not bad, but the dressing isn't super duper exciting for me either. And, maybe a bit overdressed?

The main entree was great! I loved the tons of veggies that were perfectly cooked. Angel hair is usually not my thing (because the more carbs the better), but I loved the pasta, the creamy rich sauce and the tender chicken. Seriously good.

And it was all quite tasty. I think, a lot of times, you can get a fairly mediocre Italian dish at so many restaurants in the area. But, there are few that really take the time to perfect a dish, go above and beyond with service AND make you feel like the experience overall was worthwhile. Oliverio's did that. My server even bagged up some fresh breadsticks for me to take with my leftovers.


This restaurant has had plenty of experience with perfecting the, well, experience of dining out. I would definitely bring family here for a nice meal or use it as an excuse for a nice dinner outside of town.



Grade: A

Since 1995, West Virginia Fruit and Berry, an All Natural Food and Beverage Company located in Bridgeport, WV, has offered Preserves, Jams, Jellies and Fruit Butters made with a taste reminiscent of the way our Grandma would have made. While growing up in the hills of West Virginia, we picked berries and fruits our parents and grandparents had growing in their back yards, or wild in the hills around us. After that labor of love, Mom or Grandma would can and preserve or bake up our harvest in tasty treats. 

Our company brings back the memories of a time gone by. Enjoy a taste of Almost Heaven Black Raspberry Seedless Preserves, our Mountain Blackberry, or a taste of our delightful Apple Butter to name a few, on hot bread, a hot biscuit, toast or bagel. They’re delicious in recipes, too. 

In 2014, we made the decision to celebrate the Pride and Tradition of WV with a new line of our delicious Fruit Wines made from the same Fruits and Berries indigenous to growth in the beautiful state that Bob and Becky Titchenal call home.

You've probably seen West Virginia Fruit and Berry preserves products. They're in grocery stores; they're in shops that sell West Virginia products; and they're even in the wine aisle.

You can get preserves: "Almost Heaven" black raspberry preserves, "Mountain" blackberry preserves, "Wild & Wonderful" red raspberry preserves, blueberry preserves, cherry preserves, plum preserves, elderberry preserves, strawberry jam, and strawberry rhubarb. Also pepper jams: cherry jalapeno pepper, jalapeno pepper jam, and strawberry jalapeno jam. Fruit butters include apple butter, cherry butter, pumpkin butter, and peach butter.

You can even get Mountain Blackberry Wine, Uncle Jake's Elderberry Wine, and Wild & Wonderful Raspberry Wine.

West Virginia Fruit and Berry is not a winery, however. A little more on how they got started:

Bob and Becky Titchenal, both native West Virginians, formed West Virginia Fruit and Berry in early 1995. We started growing berries in the Sun Valley area of Clarksburg, WV and then moved, in 1998, to a new farm location in Bridgeport, WV. It was our intent in the beginning to grow berries for West Virginia wineries, and then expand our ideas to introduce our own line of “Value Added” products. 

The more we researched the potential of quality West Virginia food products for the specialty food market, the more we were excited by the potential of expanding WV agricultural production for the average family farmer. 

We started marketing our WV Fruit and Berry products and continued to preach alternative sustainable agriculture for small family farms. This offers small family farms the potential of growing specialty crops such as fruits, berries, herbs, flowers and whatever the niche markets would demand, thus giving the farmers a chance for additional income from either selling what they grow or creating their own value added products. There is a need for small fruit growers in our state. We can help create a market for the fruits they grow. There is no doubt that we are finding a market for WV grown products, not only in this state, but in neighboring states as well. 

Through mail order, our products have even found their way to the homes of people in Europe, the Far East and Asia. People of West Virginia are proud to share a piece of West Virginia through gifts to their friends all over the world. West Virginians, who are living all over the world, also crave a taste of the heritage of West Virginia.

In September of 2015, Bob and Becky announced that the company would celebrate their 20th Anniversary of marketing value added products for the state of West Virginia by adding a new line of fruit wines. Named and flavored from the same fruits and berries in our mouth-watering preserves, jams, jellies and fruit butters, we introduced four West Virginia Fruit and Berry fruit wines, which include Mountain Blackberry, Wild & Wonderful Raspberry/Luscious Cherry Blossom and Uncle Jake’s Elderberry Wine.

So, they essentially create the taste profiles of what the preserves should taste like and what the wines should taste like - influenced by West Virginia flavors. And, the products are made outside the state with another company. Farmhouse wineries may not be so thrilled with the concept, but this is modern-day marketing, which I have an appreciation for. I think they're using flavors inspired by their childhood, and they're getting the West Virginia name out there. That's pretty great.

This couple was kind enough to open up and show me around and teach me a little bit about what they're doing. It's not a common concept here in West Virginia, but it is smart. I think the products are absolutely delicious, and I look forward to seeing what else they churn out.

Twin Oaks Restaurant is an old-school Italian restaurant in Bridgeport that made its way to the latest 101 Most Unique Places to Dine in WV list.

"This welcoming, cozy Italian-American restaurant serves up locally famous hoagies, pizza and homemade fries." Sure, sign me up!

I parked outside, walked inside and asked to dine in. Folks are always confused when I dine alone, but I'm used to it at this point. The interior is wood-paneled, wooden-beamed, wooden-chaired and, yes, lots of wood. It's dimly lit with some dated fixtures and accents. There were a few tables of older regulars.

One of their most popular items is the pizza, so that made for an easy decision. I got the 12" regular with mushrooms. There aren't personal-sized pizzas here, so I knew I would have a lot to take home. But, if it's good, it's worth it!

As soon as the pizza arrived, I knew maybe I had selected wrong. The crust was thick, bready and not crisp enough. The oven likely isn't hot enough to get the nice crisp on the bottom. Instead, it reminded me more of the kinda of crust you get from a frozen pizza that you cook in a home oven -- again, one that doesn't get hot enough. The sauce was just OK, and the mozzarella was masked by the taste of grease more than anything.

If you like a more bready, thicker crust, this could be for you. My personal preference is that if it's a thick crust, it needs to be crisp on the bottom. Otherwise, the textures all sort of blend together into mush. Not my favorite iteration of pizza in this little Italy area. Especially with a DiCarlo's so close.



Grade: C

The latest 101 Unique Places To Dine in WV list from the Division of Tourism was released recently. I was eager to see how many were on the list I that hadn't tried yet.

TWENTY-FIVE. I hadn't been to one-quarter of the list!

So, naturally, I put all my other restaurants on hold and began a laser focus on completing this 101 list. A few restaurants were pretty close, so I made it a daytrip to knock a few off my list. First up: Gourmet Cafe.

Gourmet Cafe, located in Bridgeport, is fairly nondescript. It sits back off W. Main St., and there's plenty of parking. I made my way to the back of the restaurant, where they had a counter with a large menu nearby. The most popular item is their hoagies, and that's also what the 101 booklet suggested, too: "From hoagies and wraps to cornbread, spaghetti and shrimp scampi, you'll find something satisfying at this old-time eatery. Must-Try Item: Meatball Hoagie"

Meatball hoagie it is! I placed my order, had a seat and waited for the small basket lined with paper to deliver Italian goodness. And, after a few minutes, my wish was granted.

The first thing I noticed about this hoagie is that they slice the meatballs, which makes it 1,000 times easier to eat. At first, I was thinking it wasn't a ~real~ Italian sub, because who cuts meatballs? But, listen, this is a good idea and more people should do it. Secondly, this is GOOD. There is a thick layer of melted mozzarella over top of these meatballs - moist and flavorful - enveloped into a nicely toasted hoagie bun.

This unassuming little cafe puts out some good sandwiches. I might just stop back if I'm in town during lunch time!

Grade: A

Let me tell you about the time I read one of those lists about the best restaurants in West Virginia. This list talked about the wonders of Cool Springs Park, located just about an hour away from Morgantown along Route 50 over in Preston County.

So, I had some time to kill, so I thought 'why not?' I made the very windy journey, sans cell phone service, to this truck stop/general shop/homestyle restaurant.

"Well, I'll make a long story short. I was working in the coal mines with my brother," started Edward Harlan Castle, owner of Cool Springs Park. 

It all started back in the 1940s, when Castle decided to leave his job as a miner and open up a truck stop. 

"I thought that would be better than working in the mines," Castle recalled. "So I started looking for a place. I knew it had to be on a route that had traffic and Route 50 was the only one that had traffic those years." 

After driving up and down Route 50, he picked a plot of land near Rowlesburg and started building from scratch. 

"There wasn't anything here but a little log cabin when I came," Castle added. 

But now, Cool Springs Park is a one stop shop for anything you could ever need. 

Have to pick up some groceries? They've got ‘em. 

Looking for locally made favorites? They've got you covered. 

Nails for construction, feed for the farm, old locomotives and even a park for the kids. 

You literally can find it all at Cool Springs. (Restaurant Road Trip)

The shop has a thousand signs on the front that lists the various things they have - everything from hot dogs and milkshakes to construction materials and toys.

Outside, there are various antique trains and tractors and other lawn ornaments that are good for getting out to stretch your legs and look around. There's also a little playground for kids. I'm told there are animals, too, but I didn't see any during my visit.

Walking inside, it looks like a mash-up of some local, fresh produce, travel essentials, construction materials, farming supplies, random toys, and, really, a little bit of everything.

It's a pretty popular place on the day I went; the folks running the register were also running the restaurant, so they were going back and forth between the two. I went to the register to ask if I can just sit anywhere to dine in, and the girl said yes. So, I took up a seat on the outer U-shaped bar area. A few booths filled the interior of the space.

And, it was a clear this was a local gathering spot for folks, because the entire row across from me was chatting and greeting new people who came in. They'd occasionally glance at me, wondering what I was doing there likely.

Finally - after what felt like awkwardly forever - one of the waitresses came over to take my order. I ordered their famous footlong hot dog with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. I also got a small caramel shake, because I am in love with caramel, of course.

This is where things took a bit of a turn.

You see, I never expected fine dining. I am as comfortable in a small, dive bar with excellent food as I am in a high-end, fancy restaurant. But, they both have to have something in common: cleanliness.

Remember that bit I mentioned about the waitresses also working the cash register? Well, it was at this point when I realized they were going from handling cash to assembling my hot dog - no gloves, no hand-washing.

And, let's be clear for a second. I'm sure much worse goes on or has gone on at restaurants I've been to. But, seeing it blatantly right in front of me turned my stomach. If they will grab a dollar bill, then a hot dog bun right in front of me, what's going on that I'm NOT seeing?

Cleanliness is a biggg thing for me. I will try just about any crazy, ridiculous food - but I want it to be handled safely. Clean.

And, I could be being a brat, maybe, but I'm sorry? Just bein' real.


So, I, did, however, nibble on the hot dog. I still wanted to try this, and I have made the two-hour roundtrip to get here, so I'm definitely eating the hot dog.

And, you know what? It was decent. The weenie was boiled, the slaw was fresh and chopped finely. There was a good bit of mustard and onion, too. And, the caramel shake? Even better. Fine ribbons of caramel were weaved throughout. Delicious and thick.

Well. I didn't die; I was totally fine, and it was tasty.

And, I don't want to take anything away from this place. I know it has a lot of sentimental attachment for folks. It's a local dive, and I think you know that going into it. Just because I'm extra sensitive to the non-glove wearing folks doesn't mean you are.

And, I still think this is a cool spot. It's kitschy, it's eclectic, and it has a lot of character. I think, maybe, this isn't an everyday thing for them -- they may have just been extra busy this day. Either way, there's so much to see here. Really cool stop along your way.



Grade: C