Quick Bites is a new restaurant along University Avenue in Morgantown. It's located right across from the Life Sciences Building at the light. This building has been home to 5 million different restaurants since my arrival in Morgantown in 2007 (yikes!). But, none have been all that memorable.



Quick Bites seems to be specializing in burgers, with the Cowboy (cheddar, BBQ, onion rings), Sunrise (mozzarella, caramelize onion, egg), and the Diablo (pepper jack, jalapenos, buffalo sauce). The inside seems like it will be a late-night college hangout.



They also have some fried apps: french fries, chicken tenders, onion rings, etc. So I wanted to try a little bit of Column A and a little bit of Column B. First up, the mushroom swiss burger. It's a little mushed because it was in my bag in transport, but the flavor remains. A decently seasoned burger, a healthy slice of swiss cheese and some sauteed mushrooms made for a solid little burger. A little ketchup made it even better.



And, here are some macaroni & cheese bites. I always want these to be better than what they ever are. In concept, they sound great. I love macaroni & cheese. But in execution, they're always a little bland, a little greasy and a little dry.

Grade: C

It's time to try the Tudor's biscuit favorite of my vegetarian friends: The Dottie.



Winfield is home to a new-to-me location, so I made my way to their Tudor's Biscuit World. It looks more modern than many locations, with a single level and brick exterior. The menu is standard - they all are. Let's talk about the biscuit.



The Dottie has egg, cheese and hashbrown - no meat. So each individual part here is crucial. And, this is when I learned that a really crispy hash brown just completely changes the sandwich. This all is pretty dense and carby, so I ended up adding some ketchup. But my mind has been changed on the hashbrown. It totally changes the sandwich. If it's cripsy, it's delicious. If it's soggy, don't bother.

Here's another segment of Tudor's Biscuit World. This time: Teays Valley.



Our biscuit of choice: The Miner. This biscuit has bacon, cheese and a hash brown. 



First of all, I've realized just how important each element is. When the hash brown is nice and crispy, it's perfection on the biscuit. It doesn't weigh it down; rather, it adds more texture. So, crispy hash brown is key. On the other hand, too crispy bacon just tastes like char to me. Gimme a nice middle ground. And cheese on everything, always and forever.

Grade: B

The collective heart of Morgantown broke when Lefty's Place was forced to close after the building flooded and left the dynamite pizza spot homeless.



Lefty's Place, which serves up Detroit-style pizza, became a quick favorite of mine with its caramelized crust and cheesy perfection - despite my initial hesitation at yet another pizza joint in a college town. But this never was - and isn't - a typical pizza joint.



That's right. Lefty's Place is back. It's now located in Burroughs Place and has used the quarantine time as a soft rollout. I may or may not have planned a trip to Morgantown based solely on picking up a pizza here. As with all things Lefty's does, their ordering process was seamless. They open up ordering a day or two ahead of time. You place your order online for a specific time. You pull up to the shop. They have a rack outside where they will put your pizza with your name on it. No contact. No exchange of money. Perfect.



Oh, and that pizza? Perfection. You all know my love for DiCarlo's... but this may just be the second best in the state.



Grade: A+
(psst yes that's the first ever A+ on my blog - why not try something new?)

How is everyone doing? Trying to stay busy? Same. I worked with fellow Appalachian creator Sean McNamara over the past month or so to make this super nifty poster. I love it, and I hope you do, too! You can purchase on his website:
https://www.seanrobertmcnamara.com/pepperoni-roll-poster/west-virginia-pepperoni-roll-poster


WEST VIRGINIA PEPPERONI ROLL POSTER
25.00

A collaboration with Sean McNamara

18”x12” hand signed poster

Text on bottom of poster: “The pepperoni roll, a soft bread roll with pepperoni baked in the middle, originated in North Central West Virginia sometime between 1927 and 1938. It was likely first crafted by the wives of coal miners, who immigrated to the area from Italy to work in the mines and could enjoy the shelf-stable, portable snack underground. Bakeries soon began offering the iconic pepperoni roll all across the state and in various iterations - like with cheese, red sauce or peppers.”