The Peach Cobbler Factory opened recently in Huntington after much fanfare on social media leading up to the date. 



Huntington is the chain dessert restaurant's first and only West Virginia location.



The restaurant serves up 12 different kinds of cobblers - like caramel apple, blackberry, strawberry peach - as well as 5 flavors of banana puddings - like Oreo, strawberry, and Nutella. AND, finally, three types of cinnamon rolls. My mouth is watering just typing this all up.  



So I went to check it out with my oldest and very first friend Kristin. They have a handful of tables inside, so you can eat in, or they have a drive-through where you can get it to go. 



I went with the standard peach cobbler - gotta try the original right? It was good, but maybe too dense and stodgy than I was hoping for. I think had I let the ice cream melt down a bit and get into the nooks and crannies, it would've help meld those flavors together. That said, I still finished the whole thing. 



Grade: B

Cakes & Plates in Dunbar offers cakes to order and daily plates for takeout only. It's quite a range from custom cakes to seafood boils. 



I was keeping an eye on their Facebook page and waiting for a day that had some offerings I was interested in. That's what shrimp and grits was posted, and I was sold.



The space, while it has a set-up for events or dining it, it is takeout only from the kitchen. I got the shrimp and grits, as well as some strawberry cheesecake nachos. 



I've had this dish in a lot of places, so I know what I like. And, this rendition of shrimp and grits was just lacking a little bit of flavor. It was thick, and grits really need some salt and spice to keep me coming back. I did like the corn and tomatoes to offer some textural difference. It wasn't bad, but some heavier handed seasoning could really punch it up.



The strawberry cheesecake nachos had a bit of a texture faux pas with some parts of the cheesecake mixture a bit too gloopy and others a bit gritty. But, cream cheese and strawberries and cheesecake - the flavors are there.

Grade: B

Super Red Bowl Asian Cuisine is a new-ish restaurant in Morgantown that has a little bit of everything: sushi, bubble tea, poke, and a "build your own hibachi bowl," which caught my attention. 



There's something fun - to me - about being able to create your owl meal without doing any of the work.

 
With the hibachi bowl, you first choose from fried rice, white rice, brown rice, lo mein, flat noodles, udon, soba or tortilla. I went with white rice. 



Then, what meat? Imitation crabmeat, shrimp, beef, chicken, pork, squid, dark meat chicken, mussels, ham or sausage. I went with the crabmeat and shrimp. 



Then, all the toppings: broccoli, cabbage, carrot, onion, mushroom, green pepper, celery, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, zucchini, pineapple, baby corn, sweet corn, bok choy, red onion, snow peas, tofu, egg and peanut. I went with as many as I can. 



And, finally, top it off with chili garlic sauce, teriyaki sauce, yummy sauce, kung pao sauce, sweet sour sauce, garlic sauce, mongolian sauce, honey soy sauce, chopsticks sauce, garlic, butter, hot chili, scallion and jalapeno. I did a combo of garlic sauce and yummy sauce. 



OK to start - crab cheese wontons - these are always good in my book. I liked that these weren't too greasy, and they had an average amount of filling. For the hibachi bowl I made, it was maybe a bit TOO much sauce, so noted for next time. But it was packed full of all the veggies and protein I requested, which I loved. I do with the shrimp had been deveined - not super appetizing to see that. The only downside is I found a hair in my meal. Not one that was mine. It was hard for me to continue on after that, but I definitely need to check it out another time. 

Grade: B

Despite having been to 5 million Gino's locations, when it came to the Mason location, I wasn't sure what I wanted.



So, I went inside to take a look at the menu. While the bulk of the locations have a similar menu, there are sometimes local twists that are fun.  



I didn't see much different in this location, so I instead went with a tried-and-true: the cheesesticks.



Sometimes cheesesticks can be pretty dry - with just cheese on bread, and then you get some moisture from the dipping sauce. 



But, Gino's does something like a buttery sauce in that middle layer, which makes it all the better.



Overall, a solid app.



Grade: A 

Here's my latest column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail:

Salt. Fat. Acid. Heat.

These are the four basic components of good cooking.

And in Appalachian cooking, fat is a staple - whether it’s sausage gravy made with pork fat, pie crusts made with lard or green beans cooked with fatback.

You may not have seen fatback in your local grocery store, but if you’ve had good home cooking, you’ve likely tasted it.

Fatback is “the strip of fat from the back of a hog carcass usually cured by drying and salting,” according to Merriam Webster. Think of slabs of just the white fatty bits of bacon. While that hard fat from both sides of the backbone may not sound appetizing, it can be used in many different ways to make food delicious.

While fat is an oft maligned ingredient, it is necessary for browning foods, creating interesting mouth feel, and adding in layers of flavor.

Fat means flavor. It can be cut up or ground for sausages, charcuterie or pate. It can be added to lean meats to increase moisture. It can be rendered and used in cooking.

There are a number of variations, including:

Lardo: a type of salumi that is made by curing strips of fatback with rosemary, garlic, herbs (like oregano and wild fennel), and spices commonly found in Italy. Once a poor man’s food, lardo is now considered a delicacy, with the most famous hailing from Colonnata in Tuscany, where it’s been made since Roman times.

Streaky Pork: a section of fat between the solid sides of hard fatback near the backbone used in Asian dishes. While it primarily is composed of the white fat, streaky pork has some pink streaks of meat.

Salt Pork: fatback that has been salt cured, which helps prolong its shelf life. It may also be called white bacon, fat pork, side meat, middling meat or sowbelly. It is often streaked with lean, but it is not smoked like bacon.

Salt pork became popular in mountain cuisine because not only does it add flavor and texture to dishes, but it also is relatively cheap, keeps well, and helps food go further during the year.

Appalachia cuisine is known for making use of what’s available and creatively preserving foods to last longer, but flavor is key.

From a breakfast of eggs, potatoes and biscuits to a dinner side of fresh vegetables, salt pork creates a balance that tastes like home.

What’s your favorite way to use fatback?