A True Taste of Americana – Trivillian’s Pharmacy

Susan says…

Eating at Trivillian’s is like being in a Norman Rockwell painting. The waitstaff deliver milkshakes and hot dogs to patrons, dressed in uniform shirts with their first names embroidered on the front in a cursive font. After my first visit here, I knew this was a place my kids have to experience. Of course they won’t think it’s as cool as I do, but I want to take them there anyway. Maybe they’ll appreciate the memory when they’re older.

I have already gone back a second time before I could finish this review. Misty and I went on about it so much, I think Daniel felt he was missing out. We are mad at Daniel, and Phil. Both of them had been to Trivillian’s and both were well aware they make fresh cut fries.  However, neither of them passed along that critical need-to-know information to us.

Phil had mentioned this eatery in the past, but based on his comments, Misty and I had pictured a small counter with stools and a limited menu featuring chicken salad, soup and hot dogs. What is wrong with this man that didn’t say a word about the fries??? After all the times he has dined with us where we swooned over hot, crispy fresh-cut fries… After all my whining about how CJ Maggies has quit making homemade fries… He even knows I am working on a Top Five Fries post!

Thoughts About Eating on the Road

Susan says…

Over the weekend, Ron & I traveled to Charlotte with the little girls to see Pat White play his final game in blue & gold.

Final Score

I have to give props to my youngest, Hope – she has to be the Greatest Mountaineer Fan under 4 feet tall.  Evah.  She threw up all the way to Charlotte but was determined to go to the game. She said Pat White was “really special” and she didn’t want to miss the game.  I asked her what we would do if she felt sick but we couldn’t get out of our seats quickly. After a moment of reflection, she announced: “plastic bag”. And that was that.

Hope made a miraculous recovery, almost to the minute, 24-hours after the first signs of illness the day before.  A great time was had by all at the game and we lingered afterward to hear Country Roads and waller in the victory.

There are two aspects of a road trip that really make it worthwhile to sit in a car for what seems like forever. First, one of the greatest inventions of the modern age, the audiobook. This trip we would be enjoying Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs which I purchased on ebay for around five bucks. The coolest thing about this purchase – six CASSETTE tapes! Thank goodness my V Dub has a cassette deck.  I got hooked on Reichs during the trip to Connecticut where we listened to one of her more recent works.  The second thing I love about road trips is discovering new restaurants.

Roadside BBQ – When Pigs Fly

When Pigs Fly – Lewisburg, WV (sometimes)

Dan says…

I enjoy BBQ.  I am not a BBQ expert. So if you are a BBQ competitor or a BBQ judge feel free to correct me in the comments.  I generally make it a point to stop at every BBQ joint I pass when I’m traveling for work.  The Vegetarian Wife is accomodating, but sometimes the only vegetable on the menu is french fries. I have to keep BBQ dinner requests to a minimum.  So when I noticed the When Pigs Fly BBQ (WPF) trailer on the way into Lewisbug in September I knew I had to stop. I had tried to get some BBQ in previous visits to Lewisburg, but WPF BBQ is mobile and on more than one occasion they were located in Jackson’s Mill. So consider yourself warned before you take a trip to Lewisburg for this BBQ.  (Side note – I made two special trips to Lewisburg to eat at Jim’s Drive-In and it was closed both times.)

A Shot in the Dark Hits a Bullseye – Cannonball Deli

Susan says…

Ok. We have an hour and a half for lunch during a conference at a nearby hotel that Terry aptly dubbed The Low Quality Inn.  Misty, Terry and I head to downtown Harper’s Ferry in search of nourishment. 

There are all kinds of school kids snaking through the streets and stairways of this historic town. A local-ish conference attendee had recommended a barbeque place that we quickly discovered was closed.  As was the next two places we walked past.  Apparantly this is a seasonal destination.

A couple deli/diners had items on the menu boards I thought would be a safe bet and then when we turned up High Street,Terry spotted the Cannonball and suggested it get the nod.  I think he picked it because it has a manly, civil war-inspired name and we got to enter by walking down a flight of stairs into the cool, dank lower level of the building.

Mountaineer Brewing Company – A Tasting

Dan says…

I received an email a while back extending a special invitation to a tasting of Mountatineer Brewing beers distributed by Proud Eagle, formerly Central Distributing.  Now to say the least, I was excited.  I thought this blog was finally paying dividends and Ron’s dream had finally come true in the form of FREE BEER.  So I spent a few minutes forwarding the invitation to the Fork You crew.

It seemed that everyone was either out of town or going out of town.  So it left me to take one for the team.  So after attending church on Saturday evening (a rare occurrence) I sped down I-64 to Mardi Gras Race Track for the Tasting. 

How Big is the Food at a Place Named Biggie’s?

Note:  Susan’s daughters, ages 8 and 10, are guest bloggers for this review.

Susan says…

I take my mother duties very seriously. Every daughter’s upbringing should include shopping training. I am so committed to this ideal, I started shopping with my girls, explaining how to calculate sale prices in your head, sharing my secrets for strategic routing inside the mall, and how best to stuff everything in the trunk of the car - well before they could walk.

In addition, I am somewhat of a patriot. Now, I don’t go around waving flags on an ordinary Tuesday but I try to do my part to help keep America the greatest place on the planet.

As a means to these ends, I felt it was both my civic and parental duty to stimulate the fledgling economy the day after Thanksgiving. 

All our intensive study of shopping served us well this year because we were in Grafton, WV. You really had to get creative to find good shopping in that area. We had already exhausted the possibiities at the Grafton Wal Mart, grabbing quite a few of the $4 specials and had worked up an appetite before trekking to the Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport.