Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 40

JEFF KRUZIC & JINGLE HOUSE OF PITTSBURGH.

DAVE ROMERO

Above: Built in 1840, the
Bruce House has
survived to become a
European-style B&B.
Center: Italian cuisine
has been a West Virginia
speciality for more than
100 years.
Right: The meatballs
known as Königsberger
Klopse originated in
Prussia.

asparagus spears on each plate. Place two potato pancakes on
each plate and on top of each pancake place a sausage patty.
When eggs are ready, drain each one in a slotted spoon and place
one egg carefully on top of each sausage patty. Spoon sauce over
egg/sausage/potato stacks (a little goes a long way) and sprinkle
a bit of paprika on top for color. Garnish plate with an orange slice
and you have a beautiful, hearty and delicious breakfast that serves
four.

The Bruce House Inn
201 Fayette Street
Cumberland, Maryland
1-866-777-8181
brucehouseinn.com

Minard's Spaghetti Inn
I hold a deep respect for restaurants that have never
forgotten their founders. Enter Minard's Spaghetti Inn,
located in Clarksburg, W.Va., and you immediately see
a shrine. It memorializes Rose and Michael Minard.
Their portraits are framed in gold, right inside the front
door.
In 1937, Rose started feeding glassworkers, right out
of the kitchen. At first, most of her dining guests were
Italians. The Italian population in this part of West
Virginia is significant. Many of those immigrant families were attracted to the area because of the opportunities it afforded to work in the glass factories and the coal
mines.
"In this area, they also had a railroad system that was
active during the wars," says Rose's grandson, Mike
Minard, who runs the family restaurant today. "And she
wanted to start feeding the guys coming off work late."
The resourceful Rose plated up her spaghetti, meatballs and lasagna on the family dining room table. That

40 | BlueRidgeCountry.com

table still holds a heralded place right up front inside
the Minard's of today.
"A lot of the southern Italians that came through
Ellis Island settled in this part of West Virginia," Minard
tells me. "Our food has always reflected that, with
heavier, meatier red sauces. Our original sauce recipe
has never changed."
A popular dish today at Minard's is Pasta Suprema:
freshly ground Italian sausage, diced portobello mushrooms, peppers and marinara sauce served over
spaghetti.
Still today, the Minard family reserves three entire
days every year to do nothing but can their own peppers,
usually around 100 cases.
"And that gets us through the year," says Minard.
"They're sweet, with a little hot, to give a medium flavor.
It's a tradition we're really proud of."
The Minard's Spaghetti Inn kitchen has been a training ground for several restaurant cooks who have gone
on to establish their own businesses in the Clarksburg
and Fairmont area.
"We all go to each other's restaurants," Minard says.
"Most of us are related. We have pictures of the owners
of other restaurants in our kitchen working together."
With more than three quarters of a century of history behind it, Minard's Spaghetti Inn has never abandoned the spaghetti-and-meatball and lasagna dishes
Rose first served to those glassworkers and miners during the years of the Great Depression around that family
table.
Minard's Spaghetti Inn
813 East Pike Street
Clarksburg, West Virginia
304-623-1711

http://www.brucehouseinn.com http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com

Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014

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