West Virginia 2008 Official State Travel Guide - (Page 36) REPORTS Wonderful West Virginia DINING by Monica Orosz Delicious DIVERSIONS If ever there were a place to work up an appetite and then satisfy it mightily, it is West Virginia. Come to the Mountain State to raft, hike, camp, bike, boat, shop and more. Then restore your energy. From elegant spots requiring a bit of cleaning up to kick-back casual, West Virginia dining fits the bill. Fayetteville PHOTOS From top left to right: 1. Cafe Cimino, Sutton . 2. Bridge Road Bistro, Charleston . 3. Yellow Brick Bank, Shepherdstown . 4. Stardust Cafe, Lewisburg . 5. Bavarian Inn, Shepherdstown . 6. Soho’s, Charleston . 7. Chili Willi’s, Huntington . 8. Tavern 1785, Lewisburg . a b f h f b b h Going whitewater rafting? Make time to eat afterward. Smokey’s on the Gorge (866-658-5333), located at Class VI River Runners, serves up buffet-style breakfast and dinner known for its freshness. Load up your plate and sit outside overlooking the New River Gorge. Open every day from May to October; hours vary. Folks also love the ambiance at Cathedral Café (304-574-0202), a combination bookstore, coffee shop and restaurant located in a former church. Open every day for breakfast and lunch. Sedona Grille (304-574-3411) specializes in seafood with entrees changing daily. Hours vary by season. include venison, Arctic char, great steaks and more. Open daily. In the mood for pizza that’s a cut above? Try Lola’s (304-343-LOLA), tucked into a tiny cottage. It’s worth the wait for a gorgonzola mozzarella or spicy sausage and shrimp pie; make room for signature salads and a glass of sangria, too. Open for dinner, Tuesday through Saturday. Huntington Another great river city is home to Blackhawk Grille (304-736-9494), actually located right next to Huntington in Barboursville. Chef and owner Ian Patrick knows his wines – he’s likely to visit your table for a chat and to see how you like your crab cake appetizer or braised short ribs. Open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner. Or spice up your day with a Huntington favorite since it opened its doors in a 32-seat spot in 1983 and now enjoys spacious digs on Fourth Avenue. Chili Willi’s (304-529-4857) hasn’t gotten too big for its britches – or forgotten its Tex-Mex roots. Open every day for lunch and dinner. West of Huntington, Italian gem Rocco’s (304-453-3000) has been serving up authentic cuisine for 30 years, including rigatoni, lasagna and sausage cacciatore. Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Charleston The gold dome of the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston is your sign to stop for a visit and a good meal. Try top-drawer elegance at The Chop House (888-456-DINE), located at Town Center Mall, serving prime cuts of meat, great lobster bisque and more. Open seven days a week for dinner; reservations recommended. Blossom Deli (304-345-2233) on Quarrier Street and Soho’s (304-344-1905) at Capitol Market are owned by the same guy, but offer different experiences. Both make the transformation from bustling for lunch to elegant for an evening meal with a swish of white linens. At Blossom, we love the gorgonzola polenta. At Soho’s, make room for gnocchi or house-made ravioli. Blossom is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday. Soho’s is open daily. Charleston’s charming Bridge Road offers two great options. Bridge Road Bistro (304-720-3500) is elegant but not fussy. We like the homemade BRB chips to start. Entrees Fayetteville’s Cathedral Café was once a church but is now a bookstore, coffee shop and restaurant . h Eastern Panhandle When Washingtonians want to escape D.C., they head to West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. A cool breeze off the Potomac and a nice meal – what more could you ask? It would be hard to choose among four favorites in Shepherdstown. Consider Yellow Brick Bank (304-876-2208), so named because it housed a bank until 1976, when it began serving up its own breads, seafood, steaks, pastas and more. Open every 36 1 - 8 0 0 - C A L L W VA
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.