A new, beautiful Mediterranean restaurant opened in St. Albans. And, wouldn't you know, I found myself there the very first day they were open.

Mediterranean Breeze is a family-owned restaurant serving authentic Mediterranean food along with brick oven pizzas, burgers and other American dishes. They have a full bar, seasonal outdoor seating and access for boaters for to-go orders.

The menu is pretty varied. So, it's perfect for families who might have picky eaters. Because while there are some great Mediterranean dishes like shawarma and falafel, you can still get pizza, burgers and sandwiches.


I actually ordered a Sicilian Roll as an appetizer. It has homemade dough stuffed with pepperoni and cheese, topped with garlic parmesan and served with marinara sauce. Plus onion rings on the side. The sandwich was a bit heavy on the dough, but flavors were there.

Then, I ordered the Manaeesh Pie, which is a cheese pie with herbs. I've never heard of it, so I was excited to try something new. And, it was essentially like a pie of cheese sticks. I maybe, sorta dipped the slices into my leftover marinara. And it was, chef's kiss, perfecto.

Gino's has a bazillion locations throughout West Virginia, and just like Tudor's, I'll eventually visit all the locations. Maybe.

Well, I found myself in Dunbar so I called in an order at Gino's. The interesting thing is that the menus at each of the Gino's vary just a bit.

One of my favorite items I've discovered on some of the menus is the calzone. And Dunbar offers it!

So I ordered a calzone with sauce, cheese and mushrooms.

These are quite the hefty size, but they are full of ingredients. And, I really like the sauce they use. They do get a bit soggy, but still worth it.



Grade: B

Logan's Roadhouse is a larger national steakhouse chain. But it only has a handful of locations in West Virginia, and I just made my first visit.


"It’s a welcome rest for the hardworking rooted in American tradition. A laidback, “come as you are” kind of place where you can crack open a cold one, throw your peanut shells on the floor and enjoy steakhouse quality meat in the comfort of jeans and a t-shirt. It’s where the atmosphere is lively, beer is served ice cold, rolls are made-from-scratch and are endless, steak is grilled over real mesquite wood… the way it was meant to be and genuine hospitality is part of the DNA. There are no strangers at a Roadhouse, only friends."

This steakhouse seems similar to others - the whole peanuts on the floor thing - and Western-themed decor decorate the walls. 

First, rolls with a sweet butter. Very good.  Then, I had a sirloin cooked medium, with a horseradish sauce. 

And with sides of macaroni and cheese and loaded mashed potatoes.



All in all, not bad. Especially since I got it to go.


The steak had a bit of gristle, and the mashed potatoes were underwhelming.


For dessert though, I got these campfire s'mores that were fun and tasty, too.

In my never-ending quest to try all things Girl Scout Cookie flavors, I found a Samoa flavored donut at Donut Connection! Caramel, toasted coconut and chocolate. It's a winning combo.

Kita Modern Japanese restaurant is a new, flashy restaurant in Charleston.

The restaurant replaces a number of failed Asian restaurants in the same space.

There has been a great deal of turnover - from Red Fire Asian Grill to others that displayed business names that never even opened.

The interior is not unlike its predecessors. It's modern with some flashy details and a pretty open layout.


It wasn't long after they first opened that I visited. So I couldn't find a menu anywhere. But I arrived, pull up a seat to the bar and picked a few options to take home.

One of the first things I ordered was "Octopus" - brasied soft and charred, yuzu butter and tonkatsu grits.

This had some fantastic flavor. I really like octopus in general, and I appreciated the unique flavors here.

They were out of a few things I wanted - like bao buns and candied bacon. So I went with some other options.

Fried wontons are always an easy go-to for me. These little purses had a little sweet chili sauce underneath. A nice sweet and creamy combo.

We also went with an order of Kalbi, which is Korean BBQ short ribs. These had a good flavor, though the texture could use some improvement. A bit fatty and more bone than meat at some points. But the flavor was good.

Moving onto sushi.

We ordered the "Mango Madness," which had smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado, mango and covered in shoestring potatoes.

Definitely different - and tasty.

Grade: B