Tuesday Lunch Date

Keith and I wandered downtown Tuesday and didn't know where we were going until we ended up at the Morgantown Brewing Company for our lunch date.  For a change of pace we sat in the dining room, which is all dark wood and low lights and all over the walls are drawings of different parts of the city.  Very cool, I would like to get some of that art for my own house!  They were out of Alpha Blonde, which is one of Keith's favorite beers, so that was a big old bummer to start with.  Fortunately for me there was plenty of Coal City Stout on tap, and Tuesdays are Two, Two, Two Beers for the price of One! Unfortunately, I couldn't drink 2 beers.

We usually end up at the BrewPub on nice afternoons when we can sit on the deck and watch traffic stream across the Westover Bridge.  Yesterday was cold and windy, and we were hungry, so we sat in the dining room and ordered lunch.  I have to say I was not terribly impressed with the food there.  I got a Veggie Melt, and it was just so-so.  Really, it was the sad wilted lettuce that threw me. Perhaps the sandwich was microwaved, or they put the lettuce on it and then sat it under a holding lamp for a while. Either way, ick.  If I were making that sandwich at home, I would have done it differently, and it wouldn't have been so greasy or cost me nine freaking bucks. 

The onion rings were just OK, and they could have been warmer.  I LOVE onion rings, but even with Keith's help I couldn't eat them all.

Keith's fish sandwich was ok, he said, but not particularly hot.  It looked nice and crispy but evidently was on the cold and greasy side.  The fries were the weird seasoned kind that I don't particularly care for, but I ate some of them anyway because it is my job as Keith's wife to never let him eat all of anything ever again.  He gave me the last french fry but I clumsily dropped it on the floor, smearing catchup on every article of clothing I was wearing, and then it got stuck in the tread of my shoe.  So yeah, maybe we got caught in a little cosmic eddie of mediocrity.  But the BrewPub sandwich prices are higher than most of our other regular lunch haunts, and in my opinion the food is just not good enough for me to pay two extra dollars.  Because I am a cheap bastard.

I love having beers at the BrewPub, the bartender is awesome, the beers are tasty, and the atmosphere is pleasant.  In the future I am just going to have my meal somewhere else.

Tuesday Lunch Date

It was funny trying to eat a sandwich that big!

For our lunch date Tuesday Keith and I went to Tailpipes. It is a locally owned burger and shake joint on the High Street. Neither one of us eats much red meat, but sometimes you just hanker for a burger, you know? We were not disappointed.

Two reasons led me to the eatery. First off, one of my co-workers told me they use locally grown grass fed beef, which I thought was pretty neat. According to materials posted in the restaurant, the beef comes from Hawthorne Valley Farms, a family owned operation in Harrison County. You can also purchase frozen 1 lb packages of said beef right at the restaurant, which again I thought was pretty darn neat. The second reason was just kind of coincidence, because I had been looking at the Chestnut Ridge Park website over the weekend, trying to suss out places nearby to camp, and I noticed that Tailpipes was one of their sponsors. If by eating there I am also supporting a park I like, so much the better.

The eatery is clean and somewhat spare, with booths on one side and tables on the other. The upholstery is that old fashioned 50's diner sparkly vinyl, and the tables look like old kitchen Formica with the metal edges. Reproduction metal signs decorate the walls, we chuckled especially over the road signs peppered with bullet holes. It reminded me a little of the T&L Hot Dogs in Rosebud Plaza, but with more of a classic car theme instead of Rock & Roll.

We went at about 1:00 in the afternoon, and there were only a few patrons, one of whom was intently typing away on an iPad. I guess there must be free Wi-Fi in the place because that's what it says on the UrbanSpoon entry, but I saw no signs about it and didn't really think about it at the time. The girl who took our order was very friendly and gave off an aura of competence that I appreciate in a restaurant worker (since I am one!). I read a couple of bad reviews of the service at Tailpipes, but I must say I was impressed. Keith always orders a specialty item that comes with cheese, and then says "with no cheese." So when our food came and his burger was cheese free, we were happy.


All the burgers are named after classic cars, and I think Keith was swayed by that a bit more than I was. He ordered the Charger, which was a burger with hot banana peppers and pepper jack cheese. Of course he didn't get the cheese, since he has no patience for that sort of milk product. I thought it was kind of naked looking, but he isn't a big fan of toppings or sauces anyway. There were, however, a LOT of peppers on that burger. He ate it and really enjoyed it, but I could see sweat beading up on his forehead and the AC in the joint was working just fine, if you know what I'm saying. He was also happy that they had a full line of Stewart's Sodas in the cooler, because he's partial to the orange.

I ordered the Corvette, which has a slice of fried green tomato, bacon, coleslaw and BBQ sauce. The slaw is old-fashioned tasting, very creamy with a lot of celery seed. The green tomato was deep fried, and it was so thick it made the burger absurdly tall. I had a devil of a time keeping it together to eat it, but it was worth it. I would have been completely happy with the sandwich if they left off the burger, but that's probably because I am in love with fried green tomatoes. Both of us ordered our burgers cooked through, as opposed to medium. I didn't know the food code allowed restaurants to serve hamburgers medium rare, maybe next time I will try my luck and order one that way. They were tasty even so, with a nice crust on the outside. The burger reminded me of something I would have eaten as a kid, shaped by hand and cooked on a grill at a family gathering by my Dad or Uncle Eddie.

The burgers are about $7.50 and come with fries, which were pretty good, natural cut with the skin on. There was also some kind of dipping sauce which was awfully sweet and possibly BBQ flavored although I abandoned it in favor of ketchup. It was too much food for me to eat in one sitting, but I tried. Lunch for two for around $20 downtown, you can't beat that with a stick. The only drawback being they don't serve beer, but they do have a bunch of different fountain drinks and bottled sodas if you like that sort of thing. Also shakes, which we might sample sometime in the future if Delia comes with, as she is our in house shake aficionado.

Ultimately I am glad we gave Tailpipes a try!

Tuesday Lunch Date

The cutest soy sauce dispenser I have ever seen in my life.

This week we decided to try out a new to us sushi place over on Patterson Drive in the plaza with the Beanery, Volcano Japanese Restaurant. The place is really nice inside (much nicer than I expected with it being in a strip mall and all), there is a sushi bar with tall stool seating on one side and a bench running all the way down the other side so each table has 2 bench spots and two chairs. I don't usually like sitting that close to other people but I got over it. We were lucky to get a table because it filled up quickly during the lunch hour. There was a little bit of a communication breakdown with our waitress when Keith attempted to order a can of Sapporo, but after a couple of tries he got his ice cold beer. She was a very nice and attentive server, but someone should probably show her how to pour beer into a glass or maybe just leave well enough alone.

We didn't even crack open the menu because the lunch bento box was what we were after. You can pick any two items from a list a mile long including all kinds of rolls, sushi, sashimi, or hot entrees from the kitchen. Keith ordered a Spicy Tuna Roll with his and I ordered a Spicy Salmon Roll. We both got Vegetable Tempura too. It comes with a bowl of miso soup, a salad, rice, and two little fried thingies - I have no idea what they were but they were tasty.

The miso soup was really good. The salad was bright and crisp and delicious. I am a sucker for that kind of ginger dressing anyway, it really makes a handfull of iceberg lettuce and some carrot shavings into something awesome. Neither of us was impressed with the tempura. The veggies were just a little on the raw side of crisp tender, and the coating was slightly soggy and tasted strongly of oil. Eh, I ate it and was nourished, but was hoping for something better. Our rolls were both disappointing as well. Instead of the solid piece of fish rolled up in the middle that I am used to, it was filled with a really mushy paste made of minced fish. They weren't spicy at all either. I wasn't inclined to eat all of mine, but Keith said his were edible.
For desert they brought us an orange on this lovely little dish. I did enjoy the lunch date as a whole, but next time we want sushi we are going to try our luck somewhere else. We'll probably be back sometime though, it wasn't awful by any stretch of the imagination, and it was a good value at around $10 per person.

Back to school lunch date!

Not only are the streets of Morgantown once again crawling with students, but my sweet husband is one of them now! He is taking classes full time AND working full time, so we are easing into "ships passing in the night" mode.

Tuesdays we found a little window of together time after I get home from work and before he goes to work, so he took me out to lunch at The Dirty Bird. It is a fried chicken place on the corner of High and Walnut. This is a picture of my sandwich, the *Bake Sale Betty* which is a lovely combination of their house slaw, a fried chicken breast, and tomato on a grinder roll. It was AWESOME, and I really shouldn't have eaten the whole thing BUT I DID. Keith got two pieces of fried chicken and a biscuit, and he liked it very much. Crispy, juicy and not really greasy, this was the freshest fried chicken I have ever encountered.

There are quite a few interesting sandwiches on the menu, including the *Jimmy Sinatra* which is salami, baked ham, pepperoni, provolone, roasted peppers, oil & vinegar, lettuce, tomato and red onion on a grinder roll, and the *Raging Bull* which has roast beef, muenster, lettuce, tomato, bacon, red onion, and garlic horseradish mayo. I think the next time we go we will probably get these, but there are plenty of other really good looking choices.

The joint is small, there are about 10 tables, but it didn't feel claustrophobic even though the place was almost full. Bright yellow walls are covered with photographs of chicken shacks from all over. They were pretty fun to look at while we waited for our food. It felt like we waited for a long time, but I was really hungry. Didn't matter though, once the food came we were quite happy.

I can definitely recommend the place for your lunch. I don't think they're open for dinner, but they have egg sandwiches and biscuits and gravy on the menu so I reckon they're open for breakfast. The most expensive thing on the menu is only $8.25, with most sandwiches ringing up at $7.25. I DEFINITELY got my money's worth out of this lunch! Sadly, their iced tea is from the soda fountain, which I think tastes gross, so next time I will just get water. They also serve pepsi fountain drinks.

Friday Night is for Pizza

For supper we went to the Sabraton location of Pizza Al's. Dudes, this is some gigantic, greasy, tasty pizza! I won't say it is better than my Bakery, but it was certainly fast, friendly service. The place had a steady stream of dine in and take out customers the whole time we were there! They have several kinds of beer on tap, including a crisp Italian pilsner which Keith ordered, served in the traditional plastic cup. If you are picking up takeout you can buy a 6-pack, or a 2 litre of soda to go.

I ordered a tossed salad to go with my pie and it was the classic plate full iceberg lettuce decorated with one slice of tomato cut in half and a green pepper ring and 2 slices of onion, dressed with oil and vinegar. So yummy! Delia couldn't believe that is what passed for a salad, but I guess she didn't live in Clarksburg long enough to learn what a real Italian salad looks like. If you want more frills than that I think they have an antipasto plate on the menu as well.

Delia whiled away some quarters and several minutes waiting for our pizza by playing pinball, and then we played some tunes on the jukebox. Not quite as awesome as my memories of Tucillo's Pizza, but fun all the same.
We got one large pie and of course took half of it home. Pizza Al's is in the same shopping center as Mother's Attic, so we walked around there after supper and found a treasure. Keith bought me a flying dragon kite. It looks like the original owners didn't even put it together once! I know I don't need any more kites, but hey, it's a FLYING DRAGON!