I'm familiar with the incredibly delicious Lewisburg Chocolate Festival, but did you know there's the West Virginia Chocolate Festival held in Ripley? This year, they both fell on the same day!

Ripley will host the 10th annual WV Chocolate Festival on Saturday, April 8. The chocolate parade in downtown Ripley begins at 11 a.m. Vendors will offer everything chocolate at Ripley Elementary from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Afternoon entertainment will be provided by the bluegrass group The Cossin Brothers and the country sounds of Corey Hager.

So, I read a little bit about the festival in the newspaper and learned about the Ravenswood chocolatier Sweet Dreams Chocolate that would be attending. I knew I had to check it out, so I made the long trek to get my chocolate on.

The festival is held in a gymnasium/cafeteria area of Ripley Elementary School, so it's not huge. There were probably 15-20 small vendors serving up cake pops, chocolate-covered coffee beans, chocolate eggs, and other treats.

Just outside of the main area, there were a few other vendors selling their wares - like art and crafts, and a kettlecorn vendor was outside.

Sweet Dreams Chocolates had a huge line extending out past the room we were in. Fortunately, I had just stopped at their location in Ravenswood, so I looked around at the other vendors. There were a few churches and otherwise what seemed like local chocolate-makers doing some pretty cool things.


I ended up getting a chocolate-peanut butter egg from Grace Community Church. It was phenomenal. Think Reese peanut butter egg but 5x the size. Yaas. I also ended up getting a cakepop - also delicious.


The festival was free to get in, but each of the chocolates were priced. Some were doing free samples.

Did you go? Did you get anything good?

Morgantown has yet another Asian grocery store. For those keeping count, we have Vonson Asian Market, Asia Royal Grocery and now Miss Shen's Asian Grocery.


Miss Shen's Asian Grocery is located at 503 Burroughs Street, Suite 102. Plenty of parking is available, and it's right near another new Asian restaurant and The Wine Bar - so great company!

The grocery store seemed a bit unorganized, but they had some fresh produce at the front, and then aisles full of snacks, cooking oils, and other staples.

Lisa so kindly endorsed these Hello Panda cookies so much that she got a packet for me. And, they are super good! So glad she did.

I also got these snack cakes because why not?

Have you been yet? Any favorite purchases?

So, a new Asian fusion restaurant has opened in Morgantown bringing a mix of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai dishes with it.

Green Tea Asian Fusion has opened on Burroughs Street (in the former Nonna's Bakery location across from The Wine Bar) and is under the same ownership as Asian Bistro in Northpointe Plaza. So, the two are very similar. Green Tea is like a mini Asian Bistro for this side of town.

There are just a handful of booths, a couple tables and some bar seating. The lights glow and cycle through bright colors, and the bar is lit up as well. It's simple, if not a bit sparse. A small case full of toys for purchase is available at the entrance (a nice way to keep kids entertained during dinner?).

The menu has standard items from Thai, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and sushi. It's hard to know what to order in a place like this, because it's just a mish-mash of cuisines. Not that I think that's bad - I think it creates its own cuisine in its own right. Some people poo-poo Americanized Chinese food, because it's not ~authentic~ but that is so dismissive to the cuisine in its own right. No, it's not native to its country of origin; instead, it has crafted dishes specifically tailored to American palates - and some places are doing it really damn well. That's respectable in its own right. Plus, it's always nice to have places like this for when you want sushi, but your friend wants Chinese.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So, Lisa and I took a long look over the menu and decided to just go all out and try a few different dishes. But first, we both ordered bubble teas. The mango was the original/most popular, so we went for that. These were deceptively giant. Light, fruity - I'm on board.


And, I already knew I wanted cheese dumplings, because they are my lifeblood. These did not disappoint. Very creamy, perfectly crispy outside (I think I like these folded over versions better than the folded up because they get more crisp). A sweet chili sauce for dipping - very tasty.

Lisa got the shumai - also delicious. I used to buy these at the Asian grocery store frozen, nuke them and pop them like popcorn. They're pretty cheap - like these - but so good nonetheless. Love these little things.

We got an order of General Tso's, because as you know, it's my benchmark for Chinese restaurants. Any decent Chinese restaurant should be able to make a good version of the most popular dish. So, it's a good way to start. And, I think this is a pretty solid rendition of it. The quality of the meat was good - not stringy or too dark. The sauce was sweet, just a touch of heat. It's what I was expecting, if not a little bit better quality. I was satisfied.


So, it came with soup and salad, which I passed to Lisa. Not my favorite parts of the meal. I'll occasionally go for the soup if it's chilly out, but otherwise, bring on the main dishes.

So, in additional to the General Tso's, we decided to try out the sushi menu and ordered the "Crunchy Unicorn Roll" because it just sounded so ridiculous. It was shrimp tempura, avocado, cream cheese topped with spicy crabmeat and crunch flakes. They definitely know how to put on a presentation. Take a look at these photos on Yelp. These were tasty; I'm not sure this combination of ingredients could not be tasty. It was maybe a touch dry with those crunchy things. Spicy mayo would take this up to another level. Spicy mayo takes everything up to the next level.

So, I think this is a nice addition. It has a little bit of all my favorites, and it's in a place that was void of this type of cuisine. Everything we had was good. I haven't tried anything yet that is an absolute "must-try," but the menu is large, so there is time to explore. And, I could see them doing a lot of takeout business since they're small. Or, delivery ... and since they're close to me, I might have to try them out sooner than I originally thought ...

Grade: A

The highly anticipated Morgantown Flour & Feed Co. restaurant has opened in the Wharf District, taking on the namesake of the historic building.

For some background, this location hasn't seemed to be prosperous during my time in Morgantown: First being Synergy Chophouse and Saloon, then Mon River Chophouse, then Careyes Grill then Lebanese Bistro, before its current incarnation.

The name - harkening back to the building's roots - gave me hope. I think it's trendy. But, one day whilst walking by the building before it was opened, I saw a man hunched over the railing taking a break from his work. I asked if he was an owner, and he said yes. I said I was excited for the opening and asked what kind of food they would have, he responded unenthusiastically with "bar food," which was disappointing. Though, I wonder if he was instead a contractor or involved with the restaurant in another way.

Nonetheless, as soon as I got the chance, a few coworkers and I gathered to try it out. The building is - and always has been - quite beautiful. Though parking isn't easy (there is a metered lot a little walk away), the space is lovely. Black industrial ceiling, exposed brick walls, dark wooden floors and a giant, beautiful copper installation displaying glassware. Outside, there's a great dining space that overlooks the Rail Trail. It was too rainy this day, but I'd love to come back and check it out.

The menu is a bit eclectic - ranging from poutine and pierogies to wings and swordfish. It is all supposed to be handmade, though, so that's exciting. We put in two appetizer so we could sample: the poutine and the pierogies. Poutine seems to be creeping up on menus in Morgantown lately, but my first experiences with poutine came in Montreal - and it doesn't get much better than that.

The "poutine" wasn't so much poutine as it was like a sausage gravy overtop fries that quickly became soggy and a few hunks of very chewy pieces of pork fat. I think there was some squeezy cheese in there somewhere. All in all, not great. They were described as "hand cut fries, bourbon gravy, aged cheddar and crispy lardons," which sounds amazing. But, the actual flavor, not so much. The french fries that were not covered in the gravy were good - crisp and fresh - but others weren't crisp enough to stand up to the gravy, which was heavy and cheese curds were nonexistent. That said, changing up the gravy and adding cheese curds would make a world of difference.


Pierogies - I was impressed to see these were homemade! They were a bit thick, a bit dense. It says they are filled with herbs, cheddar, potato with andouille and herb butter. Description on point, execution lacking. I wish the filling was a bit more flavorful (maybe that's my fault for not adding an additional topping?), and the sausage was good. This was my favorite meal of the night - though it also needs some editing.

For my entree, I ordered the sloppy jo -- because how many times have you seen a sloppy jo on a menu? "Slow cooked house ground blend, southern tomato sauce, aged cheddar, slaw, brioche roll." Maybe I'm revealing my poor roots, but I can get down with some Manwich and a slice of Kraft American cheese. Mmmhmmm. I think this rendition missed the mark. The ground beef had this sort of odd sweet flavor to it, and any sauce was nonexistent. The cheese flavorless, and the slaw looked like it hadn't had enough time to come together, instead leaving bits of soggy cabbage. I realllllly wanted this to be good - to be a cool take on a childhood favorite. Some changes, though, and it cool be a cool dish.

The macaroni and cheese was broken. Mushy, flavorless and the texture was off.




It is not bad, but as it is, it's pretty average. I think the menu descriptions and ambiance are lovely - but the execution of the food needs some work. I think my expectations were high, and the food didn't quite live up to them. I know they've been pretty busy, so I wonder if it's suffered a bit because of that. I truly want this place to do well, but I haven't been hearing great things. It's still early, so there's some time to pull it together.

Grade: C

Located along the main drag in Shepherdstown, this cafe had its doors open on a warm spring day, welcoming all those who pass by. It looked bright and happy, so I took a step inside to look over the menu.

In February of 2006, Philip and Shanna Mastrangelo exchanged marriage vows [barefoot] at sunset on a beach in Hawaii. As they honeymooned on the rural island of Kauai, taking in sunsets from black sand beaches, exploring the earthy canyons of Waimea, discovering a surreal solitary beach on the Na Pali coast, investigating farmers markets, making friends with locals, and witnessing the simplified success of Tropical Taco. It was during one of those sunset conversations from the beach near their plantation cottage that Philip first proposed the idea of opening up a public establishment that would somehow allow them to distribute that same laid back island vibe that they could never live without again. Now, at first, Shanna didn't take the idea very seriously. "A juice bar/smoothie shop?" I mean, they dug the idea...but would enough other people feel the same? As they boarded their flights home, they took one last deep breath, taking in the overwhelming aroma of falling plumeria and they knew that one day they would share the love and energy they gathered there (ABOUT).

Fresh juices and smoothies dominated the drink menu, with additions of fresh pressed sodas, coffees, teas and things like “wheatgrass shots.” Over on the food menu, there are soups and salads (quinoa salad, apple walnut), hot sandwiches (southwestern chicken, tempeh and avocado reubens), cold sandwiches and breakfast sandwiches (egg burrito, lox sammies).

I felt like the ~thing~ to get here was the juice, so I opted for the “Mellowed Out,” which came with apple, strawberry and grape. Sounds delicious, right?

It absolutely was. I took a few sips inside while checking out the place. It’s trendy & hippie with mixed-media art and an embrace of the space’s structural elements. All underneath the “No shirt, no shoes, no problems” sign. Lots of little spaces to enjoy your freshly pressed juice and a snack.


My juice was sweet, cool and refreshing - exactly what I wanted. While it may cater to a specific crowd, I think there’s still something here for everyone.

Grade: A