There's a pizza shop in Montgomery called Frank's Pizza.

This pizza shop is pretty straightforward and has been around for quite some time.

I called in an order for a calzone with cheese, sauce and mushrooms.

And, once I arrived, I saw a few locals enjoying meals at the standard diner chairs. I took my calzone home to enjoy.

Have you been?

T&L is a hot dog chain in northern West Virginia established in 1984.

There are a half dozen restaurants in the area - and I need to make my way to all of them.

The T&L in Weston has a diner theme, which also serves burgers, wraps, sandwiches, salads and fries.

Established in 1984 by the Henderson family, Dave’s Famous T & L Hot Dogs grew from very humble beginnings. The Proprietors, Dave and Barbara Henderson along with their children Scott, Mike, Lori, and daughter-in-laws Joyce and Bev, began an adventure that is still going strong after a quarter of a century. Now, Third generation managers/owners and grandchildren Kristin, Corey and Troy are continuing that adventure in their parent’s footsteps. 

In the early 1990’s the Henderson’s added a new “twist” to their already popular restaurants. The Oldies Diners were created in an effort to re-create the happy and carefree lifestyle of days long gone by. The walls are covered with antique pictures, toys and memorabilia for customers viewing pleasure. You can listen to the sounds of the oldies as they play on the restored 1950’s juke box only 5 cents a play, and enjoy the great hot dogs, famous “fresh cut” fries, and fabulous specialty sandwiches. Don’t leave without looking at the restored antique gas pump with its unique glass dial. 

Welcome back to the 50s! “Being West Virginia’s #1 selling hot dog, we are grateful for our faithful customers and to the hundreds of employees, who over the years have been the secret to our success. Hot dogs are still our specialty and the original homemade chili sauce (prepared daily in our stores) continues to attract customers from all over the country. We invite you to visit any of our seven locations throughout Harrison, Taylor, Marion and Monongalia Counties. Bring the kids, but don’t be surprised if you’re asked to explain who “Howdy Doody” was!

Of course, I went with a West Virginia-style hot dog! Have you been here?

I've finally made it to my first Malden Salt Fest.

The 3rd Annual BB&T Malden Salt Fest will be Saturday, September 28th! This event is free to the public and will host artisans, food vendors, musicians, lecturers and activities from all over Appalachia to celebrate the history of the Kanawha Valley. Specifically the history stemming from the Salt Industry that once thrived in the valley, and now, thanks to Nancy Bruns and Lewis Payne, continues to prosper in a new light. 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Presbyterian Church in the Valley. We will celebrate this as well.

While I didn't have much time to spend here, I made a quick trip to check out some of the vendors and food, of course.

My first stop was for a pepperoni roll from Kelli's Catering.

She had this huge banner that said "Pepperoni Rolls" and I almost asked her where she got it because I would also like one.

Instead, I went for a homemade pepperoni roll!

And, as if one pepperoni roll wasn't enough, I made my way to the Salt-Works Snack Shack.

They had a list of pretzel, popcorn, chips, and pepperoni rolls.

Initially, I thought these may be homemade at JQ Dickinson.

But, they were from Swiftwater - still one of my local favorites!

Did you get a chance to go?

The China Palace in Lewisburg is a local Chinese buffet that also features bubble tea and smoothies.

While in Lewisburg, my friend and I were hungry so we stopped by this Chinese buffet to get our fill.

The buffet features General Tso's, sesame chicken, crab rangoons, a cheesy seafood bake, chicken & mushrooms and more.

It's not a huge buffet, but there is a nice little variety here.

One of my favorites was coconut chicken and dumplings. Have you been?

I've been to Shoney's a few times - in Princeton and in Morgantown.

But I've been wanting to try the Charleston location because it's the city where Shoney's was born.

In 1947, Alex Schoenbaum opened the Parkette Drive-In next to his father’s bowling alley in Charleston, West Virginia. After meeting with Big Boy founder Bob Wian in 1951, Schoenbaum became a Big Boy franchisee on February 7, 1952, now calling his several locations the Parkette Big Boy Shoppes. In May 1954, a public "Name the Parkette Big Boy Contest" was announced, and in June 1954 Schoenbaum's five Parkette Drive-Ins were rebranded as Shoney's.

Shoney's (the Parkette) was originally the Big Boy franchisee for West Virginia; however, Schoenbaum rapidly grew the chain through subfranchising, expanding his Big Boy territory through the southeastern United States, excluding Florida only because the rights already belonged to fellow Big Boy franchisee Frisch's.

Schoenbaum's earliest subfranchisees operated under their own names. In 1955, Leonard Goldstein became a subfranchisee in Roanoke, Virginia. Originally operating as Shoney's, he eventually changed to Lendy's Big Boy after another Shoney's subfranchisee called Yoda's Big Boy opened across town. In 1956 a subfranchise was sold to the Boury brothers in northern West Virginia, who operated as Elby's. Elby's, Lendy's, and Yoda's units were originally listed with Shoney's units on the back of the Shoney's menu. Also in 1956, Schoenbaum sold a subfranchise to Abe Becker in Rochester, New York, for Becker's Big Boy. Two Philadelphia area subfranchises, Tunes and Arnold's, were opened during this period as well. In 1959 Shap's Big Boy was subfranchised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, later assuming the Shoney's name. After this, all subfranchises went by the name Shoney's.

Doubling in size every four years, Shoney's became the largest Big Boy franchisee, operating over one third of the Big Boy restaurants nationwide. As Shoney's dominated Big Boy, a 1959 franchisee named Raymond Danner would dominate Shoney's, acquiring the company in 1971 (WIKIPEDIA).

The great thing about Shoney's is that it's close to my work, and they have a buffet. So, it's an easy lunch trip. I met my friend Dawn and we happened to be visiting on a "comfort food" buffet day.

So there was meatloaf, lasagna, fried chicken, fish, etc.

I piled a plate full of some of my favorites - including mac & cheese, pulled pork and garlic bread - and was stuffed to the gills for my lunch. Have you been?