Would you believe it took until my 30s to visit Myrtle Beach? I once made a quick drive through as I embarked on my Carolina BBQ tour, but I've never spent any time there. Until now.



On a long weekend, I mapped out the places I wanted to go, the things I wanted to see, and of course, the meals I wanted to eat.  



One of my first stops was River City Cafe. They claim to have been voted the best and have world-famous burgers. 



It definitely has a burger joint vibe, with license plates on the walls and funky colors dancing on the ceiling.



They have a number of burgers - from a Nacho Crunch Burger and Peanut Butter Banana Burger to Fried Mac & Cheese Burger and Philly Cheesesteak Burger. 



I went with the Palmetto Cheeseburger, which was topped with pimento cheese. This is sometimes risky because pimento cheese can vary so much. I prefer a creamy version that has some sweetness to cut through the sharpness of the cheddar. This rendition was decent - not a super flavorful pimento - but a nice little melty cheese flavor that always makes and burger better. 

Grade: B

Food Among the Flowers is a decor and catering company that recently moved to a new location and hosted a spring open house.



They have florals, candles, home goods, garden statues, gifts and even their own line of canned goods. 



I've not ever been in this place before, but I was excited to see what it was all about. 



First, there were a ton of florals and garden decor greeting me as soon as I walked in. It was like spring exploded.



I did like that they had some candles, cards, other gifts and some specific West Virginia items.



But I think the thing that was most interesting was that they had their own line of canned goods that included everything from pickled green tomatoes to garlic stuffed olives and chowchow.



They definitely came at a cost though. They were not cheap so I had to pick and choose what I actually wanted to bring home with me.



I decided on the pickled okra because it's not something I can't find everywhere and I've kind of been addicted to it lately.



I learned that they have a co-packer out west who helps produce these items for them. While I was there, they also had a large spread of fruits vegetables cheese and crackers for the open house. Have you ever been? What's the must-have item?

Oinks BBQ in Buckhannon is a new restaurant focusing on pulled pork, chicken, ribs and brisket.



"Smokin' low and slow for that perfect flavor that pairs wonderfully with our homemade sides. Come in as hungry strangers and leave as family with your belly full of BBQ!" 



They also have a handful of sauces - hot, sweet, mustard. I got one of each to go along with my meal.



That meal? Pulled pork sandwich with cornbread, slaw and macaroni & cheese. The sandwich is served on grilled Texas toast, which is not something I've seen often. So, starting with the slaw, it was a mayo based as opposed to a vinegar base. I liked the crisp of the red cabbage, though I wouldn't have minded it more chopped up.



The sandwich was piled with pulled pork, which was tasty. The buttery bread makes me crave a cheese or something, unlike other buns where the bread is mostly an afterthought. Here, it's a crucial part of the experience. I shoveled bites of mac & cheese - which I wish was a bit creamier - into my mouth between bites of the sandwich for a pretty decent flavor overall. 



Grade: B

While in Oak Hill, my tummy was rumbling and I saw the Heart of Gold Diner open. It wasn't until I walked inside that it all felt familiar. I had been here before - when it was Delfino's.



The prior restaurant seemed to have more of an Italian influence, whereas the diner has classic diner dishes - from pork chops and country fried steak to hot dogs and patty melts.



I'm not an eggs and bacon kinda person. If I get eggs with a dish, I'm usually trying to mask the flavor with lots of cheese or onions or hollandaise. So when I saw they had an egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich... it appealed to me because this could easily be a BLT. I ordered a BLT, plus a custom order of hash browns topped with a delicious mix of toppings: ham, onion, cheese and mushrooms.



You know how Waffle House hash browns are really the star? Same deal here. The BLT was fine (watery tomatoes kill me), but the hash browns were bangin'. They were nice and crispy, plus had all kinds of tasty toppings. I used an ungodly amount of ketchup for a sinfully crunchy, greasy dish that was comforting.

Grade: B

There are very few Gino's locations in the state that do not have a pick-up window. But, it never fails that when I do stumble upon one, I am ill-prepared and wearing something not appropriate for public (e.g. pajamas).  



Such is the case with the location in Elkview. I placed my order online, and I had to go inside to pick it up. Fortunately, it was ready to go and I spent minimal time in my pjs in public. 



One item that I haven't tried much is their "Pubwich," which uses their pizza dough folded over as sandwich bread stuffed with ham, lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo and sweet onion. It's cut into sections, which makes it easier to eat. When it's done right, this sandwich has a great blend of ingredients that have the perfect proportions. Not done right, it's sloppy, has too much watery lettuce and the bread is dried out. This version was somewhere in the middle - not the best rendition, but not the worst.



The bread was a bit too dry for me, but the proportion of ingredients was good. I also had a bite of my friend's Italian sub - she thought it was OK - the bread was too crunchy and fell apart for my taste.

Grade: B