Ron Says ~

Ok, I’ve been asked to post this.   It concerns a Wendy’s promotion, and because Fork You was fortunate enough to receive some gift cards to try out their new Bacon Deluxe Burger.  I thought I would spread the love…  (yes… if you’re a chainfood snob, you are still allowed to participate)

so…

For a chance to win $2000, go on Twitter and follow @UrBaconMeCrazy… the contest ends Friday ( 11.20.09  ) at some point.  You can also win one of two daily gift card give-a-ways.

Now, that being said, as I mentioned over I have been dragging my heels as I promised to review that Bacon Deluxe Burger and I haven’t done so.  I will very soon.   I want to give them credit as they were warned about my last burger review… remember the Mildly Upset Whopper?  Yet they still climbed in the ring..  So I’ll try to get that up next week sometime.

Also, to win another bottle of Country Bob’s look below or just click here as that contest ends on Friday I think!!  You people are lazy.

Italian Grinder - what's left of it anyway

Susan says…

Who doesn’t like pizza?  And who goes through a week without eating a sandwich of some sort?  Pizza and sandwiches are everyday foods and wildly popular.   You can get either one at Bellacino’s. 

This chain is relatively new to our area, but two of the four area locations have already closed as reported in Ron’s post yesterday.   The first Bellacino’s Pizza and Grinders opened in 1998 and all 85+ franchised locations are locally-owned and operated.  Making their way westward, most are on the east coast but have stretched as far as Texas so far.  The term “grinder” was applied to shipyard workers on the east coast during WWII and eventually labelled the super-sized sandwiches they enjoyed for lunch served up by Italian immigrants.

Recently, we have made two visits to Bellacino’s so I can talk about both in this review.  Wishing to end on a high note, I’ll start with the ill-fated sandwich.

Turkey Grinder

The turkey and cheese grinder is a very large sandwich.  Really, I only needed half of it.  The bread, baked fresh in the restaurant daily, is good and nicely toasted.  They aren’t skimpy on toppings, placing 4 tomato slices on my bun, which I deemed was one too many.   I also requested lettuce (there was a lot of shredded greenery), banana peppers, and green peppers.  The regular grinder will set you back about $8, which is a lot for a sandwich in my opinion, but it is quite large.

You might be wondering why my foreshadowing indicated that I did not like this sandwich.  One word: slimy.  The turkey was completely and disgustingly slimy.  I took a couple bites before I identified the turkey as the offensive ingredient and then I started pulling pieces of it off my sandwich.  In the end, I ate a veggie sub.  The meat was wet and slick and left a bad taste in my mouth.  The texture was inedible.  I will never again order a turkey sandwich there.  In fact, I am so very traumatized that I may never order ANY kind of sandwich, for fear that all the meat is slimy.

That’s why I am glad they make a good pizza.  For around $5, you can get the kid’s cheese pizza and a drink.  Not only is it an economical choice, it’s also a tasty one.  The crust at Bellacino’s is on the thin side and crispy, usually with some burnt spots here and there around the edges.  I love the burnt spots.  When I add parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes, I don’t miss any other toppings since I never order meat on a pizza anyway.  

Kid's ravioli - Misty was hungry

With yummy pizza comes calories, though – this kid’s pizza has 556 calories according to the limited nutritional information on the Bellacino’s website.   A lite turkey grinder (which is a half of what I ordered above) is 566 calories.  The kid’s size turkey grinder is only 300 calories.    Misty usually orders the kid’s ravioli which weighs in at 249 calories but I am sure that does not include the two pieces of garlic toast that comes with it.

Kid's Cheese Pizza

I also sampled the southwest eggrolls on my last visit.  I received a basketful for about $3.  These rolls are baked, not fried, as are their French fries, so there was less fat to feel guilty about.  They had a nice taste, some heat to them and were quite crispy.  I enjoyed them, but they can’t hold a candle to Chili’s version.  Speaking of fries, they are surprisingly crispy for a baked product.  But the sandwiches are so large, I am not sure how anyone could eat a sandwich AND fries. 

Southwest Eggrolls

Baked Fries

It’s a typical fast food setup: stand in line to order at the register, get your own drink, and they deliver the food to you.  The Kanawha City location offers easily accessible, free parking. 

Even though I won’t get another sandwich at Bellacino’s, their pizza keeps me coming back.   THREE FORKS.

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT -

The Charleston Daily Mail’s very own George Hohmann is reporting that two Bellacino’s pizza joints are closing.

SHOCKING!!!!!

The paper article tells us the official story, now all you fabulous commentors feel free to tell us all the rumors, propaganda,  unfactual reasoning, and inuendo for the unfortunate demise of these two fine places.

Ron Says….

Ok, It’s been a while since we’ve given a bottle of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce away…   (Editor’s Note:  Right out of the gate, Ron looks like an idiot.  Usually it’s two or three sentences before that happens.  Obviously he never reads this blog, since we just gave a bottle away on the Trick or Treat post.)

That being said, due to new FTC guidelines, I have to say we were given this box of sauce by Bob himself.  (ok it was actually one of his representatives I’m sure, but for the sake of telling a story that’s just not too damned interesting is it?)  (Again with the reading problem – it DID come from Bob himself.)

So since we last did this, I’ve been dumping this stuff on everything that deserves sauce.  Hamburgers, eggs, (ok, I didn’t really like it on my eggs), Turkey Sandwiches, Ham Sandwiches, etc etc…  It’s just good stuff, and it’s really great on Burgers.  It’s a staple of the Tailgating tub.

We’ve given a few bottles to friends and family… they love it.  (Liar, liar, pants on fire.  He didn’t give any of it to family.  He is keeping it all for himself.  I am surprised he’s willing to part with a bottle for this post.)

All that being said, well I’m looking forward to splashing some on some fresh long legged rats venison.  (yes isn’t that a cool Sex Pistol’s pic??)

I digress… stay on topic … Susan keeps yelling at me.  (I’ve told him to quit using all those periods when he writes, too and he’s still doing that.  I am not very hopeful that he’ll stay on topic.)

WELL Gun season is just around the corner, so I should be able to try it then too.   Yes I shoot helpless animals.   Hell I even shoot the eggs.  (What does that even mean?  Shooting eggs?  Deer don’t lay eggs.)

But that’s not all… it’s also just in time to splash some on old Tom Turkey.  Thus  Fork You is here to save your Thanksgiving and thus will give another bottle away.

So to get your bottle of Country Bob’s we’ll select some random commentor who tells us what their Thanksgiving Dinner is like…  But let’s not just stop there… tell us about your Thanksgiving horror story…. you know, when aunt Gertrude brought her internet date to the family dinner – stuff like that.

Contest ends Friday November 20th, at Noon.  (I can’t believe I have to add this last part, but the way some of you viewers take things so serious, well it’s noon EASTERN TIME)  (Awwww…look how sensitive Ron has become.  Ain’t that sweet?)

That should give all of us here at the Fork You mansion time to get off our collective butts and announce the winner and mail your bottle out in time to splash all over your bird or buck!

Ron Says….

I’m sitting here about a month after dining at this place, trying to write about it.  You know – catching up on the duties that require my journalistic cuisine credibility.

Magnolia’s - in Charleston South Carolina – the so called low country.   This is a place we have talked about going to for some time while visiting Charleston.   Never made it though.  Hell I even bought Susan a cookbook about the place and we have yet to make a dish out of it.

  Magnolia’s Authentic Southern Cuisine -  Click the link and buy it at Amazon.  

So on this trip we had pretty much decided that we were going to eat here at some point.  ( remember that thing I said about Susan’s OCD issue ? ) The only question was would we eat here to for lunch or for dinner?

Somehow we decided lunch, was it for the chance to save a little dough, because we happened to be downtown this particular day, or just a combination of both?  Well for me it was a combination of both.

Upon entering, the first thing you’ll notice is the very well kept interior.  White tablecloths, folded napkins, shiny silverware, bright sunlight shining through the windows.   It is a far cry from the dissarray at the Fork You mansion where we have grease stained placemats, spotted utensils, and the shades drawn tight.   

We were promptly seated at a space by one of those said windows.  I liked it, my table didn’t wobble.  And we began to peruse the menu.

The lunch menu didn’t have the item I was looking for on it.  You see there was something in the aformentioned cookbook that they talked about a lot (for the record I still forget what that item is and I’m too lazy to get up and go look for it)

 So I decided on “BooYaBays”  – as Susan will soon correct is spelled “Bouillabaisse“.  Or more easily pronounced and better understood – FISH STEW.

The fish stew had shrimp, mussels, fish, shallots, okra ( I like okra – just thinking about it I may make this over the weekend ), and other vegetables.

It was a very pretty looking dish, served to me in a bowl on a plate with a little frilly thing.  But when the lady plopped down one of the kids dishes of a Hamburger and Chips, well I start to think to myself.  “Did I really want Fish Stew for lunch on a hot day? ” Especially when I could have substituted those chips with french fries?

Therein lies the problem with my meal.

If I was to describe myself in a food way, I would have to say that I’m pretty much a “Meat and Potatoes” type of person.  I like all kinds of different food - don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat pretty much anything, and I love Cajun food.  But something about red meat and a potato will put a smile on my face.  

Now when I’m ordering lunch, I think my default food type is more prevalent in my decision making, thus causing most of my lunch meals to be satisfactory.  However like the day we are eating here at Magnolia’s, my default meat and potato food type sometimes takes a back seat and the “let’s be different” pops out. 

Well, my BooYaBays, was very good.  The problem was that it wasn’t very satisfying.   The flavors all blended together in an excellent manner.  The seafood taste was great, but not overpowering.  Very good fish stew.

But I left hungry and unsatisfied.  If I recall the soup was about $15 for a standard sized bowl.   Is this a good price?  Probably for the ingredients in the soup I ordered today, but yet for $15 I feel I should leave stuffed and it is soup, remember BooYaBays was created because the fisherman wanted to eat all the cheap fish, and sell the good fish (read the wiki).  Plus, I’m not a food critic or connoisseur, I just like to eat.  I like to eat things that taste good, but I also don’t want to eat something that is not going to fill me up.  I want something that tastes good, that I will keep eating just for the enjoyment of eating, all the while thinking to myself - man, this is great food for a great price – I can’t get enough of it. 

I didn’t have that reaction at Magnolias, it was more like:  yeah that’s pretty good, but damn that burger looks a lot better.

Three Forks

 Susan says…

Magnolia’s was on my must-eat list for this trip to the low country.  After reading through the cookbook Ron gave me and learning Chef Donald Barickman is a West Virginia native, I was excited to sample their fare.

I already knew what I was ordering: shellfish over grits.  Quintessential low country food, the combination of shrimp and lobster sitting atop creamy grits, called to me like a siren song.  It was available on both the lunch and dinner menus, so in an effort to be economical, we chose lunchtime for our visit.

Magnolia’s sits on East Bay Street in the historic section of Charleston.  It’s great fun to walk those streets and admire the architecture of the commercial buildings and the stately homes.  The interior of the restaurant is less pretentious than I thought it would be.  It was comfortable but dressed up in white linens.  Each window had a large magnolia branch in a glass vase.  That was a great touch.  

After ordering, we were served bread and butter to whet our appetites.  Of course we all had some bread and then the funniest thing happened:  My younger daughter, Hope, who was only eight years old, announced that she believed the butter had cream cheese in it.  I poo-pood her, telling her that it was just butter with maybe some citrus added.  But she insisted that the butter was unusually creamy.   Insisted to the point that we made a wager.  I lost a dollar on that one.  I was so proud of her!  Not only was she absolutely correct about the cream cheese, but she tasted the food with an inquisitive palate and cared about the food she was served.  She is truly my Mini Me.

Why Ron ordered bouillabaisse in the heat of summer remains a mystery to this day.  Even he can’t offer a reasonable explanation for that one.  I knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with it when he ordered it and when I saw it placed before him, I was even more sure he’d leave hungry.

The kids really enjoyed their burgers and housemade potato chips.  They ate a lot of burgers that week.  At least they have moved past the “chicken nugget” phase of their childhoods.

At first glance, I thought the serving was small enough that I’d have no trouble finishing it.  Not true- there was more in the bowl then met the eye.  At first smell, I was in love.  The creamy lobster sauce smelled divine and tasted rich.   The grits were creamy but some of the texture remained for the perfect mouthfeel.   A glass of sparkling wine was a refreshing contrast to the rich, warm dish.  At $15, I felt the entree was a little pricey.  I expected more of a wow-factor with the presentation, and the amount of seafood was small for the cost. 

Service was polite and prompt.  It kind of bugs me when you aren’t offered a refill of bread, especially if your entrée would be complimented by it.  Say, for sopping up the wonderful lobster sauce? 

I recommend Magnolia’s and would like to go back there myself in the future.  FOUR FORKS.

Ron says…

10.19.09

BW3 or the way I first heard it referred to –  ”Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck” – I remember the first time I heard the word “Weck”, back in the early ’90s as I was stumbling down High Street in Morgantown, looking for the Hot Dog Man, I asked myself, what the hell does “Weck” mean?  My room mates were of no help, as if I was ripped they were surely torn.

As you can see from my opening intro for BW3 – well I have a soft spot for it.  Back then, to me, BW3 was nothing more than a bar where I could get cold beer, the food was served till past two AM, the wings were really hot, there were these great little round things like fries that they called “Buffalo Chips”, and if that didn’t satisfy you, well they had burgers too.  (plus I could sit and play trivia with various other losers throughout the land)

What’s not good at 2AM?   I don’t ever recall saying, “dudes, I don’t feel like drinking, let’s go to BW3, and get something to eat.” (course I probably never said “I don’t feel like drinking”, but that’s another story).

WELL – BW3 is now open out at Southridge, brand new large facility right next to Famous Daves.  Having to go spend our payday at Sams Club, Susan and I decided to go have a beer.  I love shopping at Sam’s with a buzz.

So, we go in, I go check out the little beer drinker’s room…  and well they’re nice and clean, good, pomptly back to Susan and we’re seated in the Bar area.

Tons of TV’s around the joint.   We’re at a high table, unfortunetly we’re on the end near a high traffic high congested area.  Oh well, $3 23oz drink is sitting there waiting.  ummmmmmmmmm

I browse through the menu.   I hate menus that have inserts, that fall out.   I HATE IT.  Just staple the damned thing to the menu.  (mental note to carry a Stapler and just do it for the establishment)

So I’m pretty familiar with BW3’s wing selection.  Their hottest is hot and good, they have a great selection of wing sauces, most of which I’ve tried and admit to liking.  Currently, the Mango Habanero is my choice.  Spicy – very, and sweet.   Has a great habanero taste and kick, but plenty of sweetness.

But I didn’t get wings….

As I’m perusing, Susan asks me “what are you going to get?”…  my response will say a lot about my familiarity with BW3.

“.. something I’ll regret…”   I respond.

Those three words say a lot.  Because I know this place.  Food is not their specialty.  Their specialty is atmosphere and hanging out.  As I stated, I never really came here for the sole purpose of eating. Other than getting friends to try the hottest of the hot wings, I don’t even think I’ve ever recommended a BW3 as a place to go eat.  It’s always been kind of like…. “yeah, plenty of TV’s there, and I can get something to eat while I’m there“.

So not wanting wings today, I choose a $7.99 Grilled Chicken Wrap – described as “Take The checkered flag with this large flour tortilla stuffed with our juicy, seasoned, grilled chicken, a blend of cheeses, lettuce, tomato, and your favorite “Buffalo Wild Wings” sauce“.   ~ you know what sauce I’m ordering.  That’s right, the Habanero Mango.

Also, it comes with salsa and chips, I could add fries or buffalo chips for an extra $0.50 or something like that.

I wanted the Buffalo Chips… I loved those things.  Still do.  I mean who wouldn’t?

“You’ll have the green flag to enjoy these crisp natural cut potato slices“… the word “crisp” has me concerned as I never remember them being crisp, maybe they’ve changed some.  Oh well, I want the basket for $4.49 anyhow.  Forget the chips and salsa.  Negotiating with the waitress, she figures it out, and writes it all down.

We don’t really wait long before our meal is served, even though we did wait a little, but the crowd was pretty busy, surprising to me.   It looks as though Bw3 has done a good job of attracting the non-late night drinking crowd out here to South Ridge (btw, I don’t know what their hours are out here, I do know in Morgantown, and the Greater Barboursville Area that those Bw3’s stay open till around 2AM serving food or at least used to).

Well our food comes out, my meal is screwed up I didn’t get a basket of buffalo chips.  But the sandwich wrap is decently sized and thick.  My iPhone picture does not do it justice at all.  Plus I also recieved some salsa and chips (these were not supposed to be here so obviously I’m wondering about the itemized statement of our bill). 

But size and quantity is only half of what’s important - how does it taste? (well to some of you taste is all that matters)  It tastes like a Kroger or Wal-Mart wrap that’s sat in the refrigerated aisle, the only difference is that the meat was warmed up prior to wrapping.   Yes that sounds harsh to say, but it’s the truth.  The item just wasn’t that good.  I don’t think the chicken is grilled, if it’s grilled, it’s grilled like Tyson, and then shipped in shrink wrapped packages only to be warmed up.     There is no smoke and steam coming from the kitchen?  None coming from the building – looking across the street at Famous Daves – they have smoke coming off their grill – or at least they have the illusion that it is.  But not BW3 and my grilled chicken wrap.

I would have thought that they expected the Habanero Mango sauce to grill it and heat it up, except BW3 forgot to add the sauce to my wrap.   Normally I would be having a shit fit over all these blatant fouls, but today, I’m just going with, well it’s BW3 and it’s par for the course.

I didn’t like my chips… I’m like a cat and finiky when it comes to tortilla chips.   These didn’t pass my finicky muster.  

My Buffalo Chips were just like I remembered them.  NOT CRISPY.  lol.   (woohoo thank god for false advertisment)

Our server (forget her name) was very kind, she caught some of the mistakes at first site without being told and promptly made corrections.  She quickly brought out the Habanero Mango Sauce for the wrap.  No, I was nice today, I didn’t complain about the faux grilling.  

So how was it fork wise?  I cannot with a straight face give this meal three forks.  It really came off as not grilled, they get by on a technicality with the Buffalo Chips.  There’s just a lot of hype, and not much substance with the meal I had today.   TWO FORKS.

That being said, I saw several trays of wings, I did not have any, but the wings looked small.  IE the smallest order of six wings, still made the serving container look empty.  They were very small, and it’s a rather steep price to pay for wings in my opinion.   My Habanero Mango sauce though was very good, and I can only assume the rest of their sauces I like are still delicious.  Plus you can purchase them to take home for a reasonable price.   I highly recommend you try the Habanero Mango Sauce.

I hope some of the experience I had are just because of this being a new establishment and still working out the kinks as I’d really like to give it three forks just for sentimental reasons, even if the food never blows my skirt.   

But as I said today – TWO FORKS.

Susan says…

I knew coming in that this would be all about the TVs and the beer and the food would be incidental.  The only hope for “excellence” with the food was the wings.  I don’t eat wings – too messy, too primal and the sauce gets under my fingernails.  But I know they offer boneless wings, so that was a possibility.

The new location is large.  The parking lot and entrance are set up kind of weird – if you park near the access road, you’re in the back of the restaurant, so drive around toward the Corridor for a better spot.

Unfortunately we were seated right in the traffic lane beside the waitstaff’s holding area.  The seats were really comfy, though.  At least mine was.  We were at a high-top table with one tall chair and a bench.  I slid into the bench quickly before Ron could. 

They must have 50 beers on draft.  The only one I cared about, Michelob Ultra, was available so I didn’t pay too much attention to the rest except to note there was a whole lot of them.  I asked Ron where they kept all those kegs – the bar was one tap after another.  We theorized that they were behind the bar wall and therefore, out of sight.

My 23 oz Unbeer was $3.07, the same price as Ron’s Bud Light.  I was glad not to get ripped off on the pricing – a lot of places charge more for Mich Ultra.  I once was charged the import price at another restaurant – I politely explained to the server that Michelob is indeed made in this country and is therefore not an import.  Unfortunately, the geography lesson did not impact my bill.  But BW3 does not discriminate.

They have mystery ketchup at BW3 – they put their own label on it so you couldn’t tell who the manufacturer is.  I asked Emily if she knew if it was Heinz and she did not know. 

I have been mildly obsessed with Southwest Eggrolls lately.  I love, LOVE the ones from Chili’s.  Last football season, I would call an order into Chili’s when we reached Clarksburg for southwest eggrolls and the spinach-artichoke dip, picked it up on our way into Morgantown and that was my tailgate food.  Ron could eat all the grody brats he wanted.  I was in bliss.

I tried southwest eggrolls at Bellacino’s and they were okay.  Kind of small and therefore skimpy on the fillings, and they are baked, not fried.  Better for the waistline but you can’t beat some deep-fried grub.

I made my own southwest eggrolls for a tailgate earlier in the season this year and will be making them again for the matchup with Pitt.  My filling rocks!  Based on user reviews on the recipe sites, I used wonton wrappers instead of flour tortillas for the exterior.  Next time, I am going to try flour tortillas because mine weren’t quite as good as Chili’s.  I’ll report on it and share the recipe later.

BW3 offers an item called Southwest Dippers.  The menu description is as follows:  Golden-crisp tortilla dippers filled with fajita-spiced chicken, Pepper Jack cheese, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, corn and black beans.

That’s sounds a lot like the Chili’s version.  To heck with boneless wings.  For $4.99, I was hopeful that I would have some great, crispy southwest goodness.

My hopes were immediately dashed when I received the basket of half-moon shaped little nuggets.  It didn’t look like there was any type of tortilla involved in this dish.  I broke one in half to examine the cross-section.  Nope – looks like regular ol’ breading to me…no tortilla.  And they are so small, the breading to filling ratio would be all wrong. 

The filling was hot and cheesy.  In a typical “nugget” you might find one black bean and two kernels of corn.  I occasionally found a small bit of chicken, but since the nuggets were so tiny, you couldn’t fit a hunk of meat inside them anyway.

Even though the place hadn’t been open for long, our server was great.  She was friendly and joked around with us.  Good job, Emily.

I tasted the chips and salsa that came with Ron’s wrap even though he ordered a substitution.  Trust me, it was no bonus that we received them.  You could bend these chips in half backward and they are not breaking.  You could see the oil glazing each chip.  They reminded me of those awful chips we got at the Town Center Chili’s after seeing Sex & The City.   I agree with him about the buffalo chips – they weren’t crispy by any stretch of the imagination.  I thought they tasted good anyway, but if you describe them as crispy in the menu, then they ought to arrive at my table crispy.  We received two different orders at two different times - both were thick-cut and soft potato slices, barely golden brown.

This was a case of false advertising.  The item I received was nothing like the menu description.  Talk about a padded resume….  They need to just tell it like it is – people are coming there to drink and watch the game, not eat gourmet food.  There is no reason to fabricate the menu – it only builds expectations that will not be met.  TWO FORKS. 

Dan says…

The Creperi has been on our radar screen for quite a while.  The Five were eating subs when we saw two familiar faces looking at the vacant space in the building that houses Intajuice and Penn Station.  I was overjoyed because I love Greek food and this couple make the best Greek Salads and chicken and rice soup I have ever tasted.  Sadly I never got to enjoy soup and salad, because due to an archaic lease the Creperi is not allowed to duplicate what is served at Penn Station. 

I need to say why this is stupid and ignorant.  Do you know why all the good restaurants open around a Wal-Mart?  You open a business where there is foot traffic to support it and Wal-Mart brings traffic.  So if you bring more traffic to that block of Kanawha City then everyone will do well.  That stupid lease hobbles the Creperi and lets Penn Station do a half way job.  The landlord would benefit from having successful businesses in the building. Rant off.

I have visited the Creperi two times recently.  Once for lunch with the crew and once for dessert with the veggie wife and offspring.  During my lunch visit I ordered the smoked salmon and gouda on a buckwheat crepe. 

This creation starts by spreading a thin batter across a well seasoned, large circular griddle.  As your crepe cooks the ingredients to fill the crepe are gathered.  Smoked salmon, creamy gouda, mixed greens, roma tomatoes and homemade greek dressing are layered onto the crepe after in has been flipped.  It is folded once, twice and then a third time to form sort of a crepe envelope.  I enjoyed this made to order creation. 

Also on this visit we ordered up a dessert crepe.  This crepe had a traditional shell filled with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and sliced almonds.  We 86′d the raisins due the “quirky” (these quotes are not for emphasis.  This is a quote) requirements of another Forker.  I enjoyed this crepe too.  How can you go wrong with brown sugar and butter?

On my second visit we had dessert for dinner.  Tracey and the girls had Belgium chocolate and fruit filled crepes.  Fresh raspberries and bananas topped with powdered sugar was a hit.  I went with a breakfast crepe. The basic crepe batter is topped with cream cheese, fresh blueberries and grape or blueberry jelly.  Now I wanted it to taste like my mom’s born jewish and converted Roman Catholic best friend’s cheese blinz.  No where close.  There was too much cream cheese for my taste.  The blueberries were nice and plump, but when I figured out that it was filled with jelly I could finish it. I think I imagined it would be made from blueberry pie filling.  Is canned blueberry pie filling a quality ingredient? Ah..no.  Does it taste good? Oh yeah!

I like the food, the service and the atmosphere, but I wish it had an expanded menu. 

 The owner told me that he and his wife were close to closing a deal to open a lunch counter downtown that they would run in addition to the Creperi.  The “Cafe Sophia” would serve soups, salad, gyros and other Greek offerings. 

If you are looking for something different for lunch or a cool dessert, try the Three Fork Cafe Creperi.

Susan says… I was concerned that just a crepe for lunch wouldn’t fill me up.  Boy was I wrong.  These things are as big as the plate. I ordered the shrimp crepe for $6.50 which came wth feta cheese, Greek dressing, mixed greens, and onion.  It was interesting to watch the batter being poured onto the crepe plate and swirled around.  The crepes are thin and delicate.

At first, I was loving my dish.  There were a lot of shrimp, plenty of crumbled, sharp feta cheese, tomatoes, onion and a pile of greens.  (And we all know I don’t like it when folks skimp on the lettuce.)  BUT….as I ate my way through the crepe concoction, the lettuce became wilty from the heat of the crepe and the dressing soaked into the bottom half of the crepe making it somewhat soggy.  By the end of it all, I was cutting off pieces of non-soggy crepe to eat along with the shrimp and feta, and leaving the wilted greens alone.

In the future, I will ask for this crepe with the greens and dressing on the side.  That way I can enjoy all the flavors and textures in combination, but keep my crepe non-soggy and my lettuce crisp.  I’ll just add this to my list of food quirks and move on with my life.

Not able to resist the yummy dessert options, the table (minus Phil) decided to order the Crepe Buena, made with brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and toasted almonds, for $5.50.  As Daniel already mentioned, we passed on the raisins.  It was just as good as I thought it would be.  I would like to try one of the chocolate options with Nutella.

Here’s the perfect visit to Cafe Crepari:  bring a friend with similar taste in food, order one savory crepe to share for the entree and a dessert crepe to share afterward.  That way you don’t miss out on any of the good stuff they have to offer.

Unfortunately, there were some things that detracted from the dining experience.  Our food was served on flimsy paper plates.  The kind your mom would buy in a pack of 100 for $.99 and use at picnics with the rattan paper plate holders.  Only here, you don’t get a rattan holder.   Plastic utensils are a pet peeve of mine.  My first fork suffered a broken tine midway through the meal.  Fountain drinks are not an option, but the availability of Perrier made up for that.  French sparkling mineral water to go along with my crepe…

Don’t forget that you can visit the Creperi for breakfast – they are open 7 am – 8 pm on weekdays and 8 am – 8 pm on weekends.

I like the personal service by the Master Crepe Maker himself.  I like the menu options and wish they could offer even more (damn that lease) and the prices are reasonable.  Good tasting, unique food.  TWO FORKS.

Creperi Cafe

Ron says…

Wow, we here at Fork You are getting lazy. So lazy that today, I’m taking the initiative and “Going Rogue”. 

Posting some unapproved nonsense, and plagerizing from the New York Times.

But before I begin… rest assured Fork You has 25 draft posts in the hopper, and several ideas in our collective melons.

Back to my original post…

In the New York Times – (yeah being the world reader I am) I noticed an article on One Hundred Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do (Part 1).

Reading through this first list is like a cornucopia of dining experiences here in West Virginia – at least it is for my hilljack ass.

Take a look at some of these -  here’s four of the first five.

1. Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.

-  Ron Says - Well you would think this is common sense, but how often does it really happen.  Yes I get tons of “Hi, how are you”, “So nice of you to join us”..  insert lame ass greeting here.   – the problem is I don’t think any place ever actually sells it to me.  What I mean is I don’t believe it.  What I’m actually hearing is “Dammit, another costumer, I’ll never get out of here tonight”. 

- Susan says - One place that really did sell it was Hall’s Chop House in Charleston SC.

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.

- Ron Says -GOD I hate standing in line at Applebees (or other establishment), and there’s seventeen empty tables just across the room.   I often make the comment that “we’ll take that empty table right there” only to be told, “we’re not serving in that section” or some other stupid excuse.  I would much rather wait sitting down than standing up.

-Susan says – I hate what Ron hates in his above comment, too.  But I don’t think that’s the focus of item #3.  In some high-end restaurants, the party won’t be seated until all the members of the party are present and accounted for.  Since we don’t eat in a lot of high-end restaurants and most of the time it is just the two of us, that’s not really an issue.

What Ron mentioned IS an issue, though.  It is tough to be standing there waiting for a table and look around and see a dozen empties.   

 4. If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche. The guests may be tired and hungry and thirsty, and they did everything right.

- Ron Says -”reasonable length of time”…. ok I know that West Virginia is the dining capitol of the world… just try getting into a Logan’s Roadhouse any evening between 5 & 6.  But what is a reasonable length of time?  I don’t know.. but I would settle for at least an estimate of how long I am going to have to wait.

-Susan says – That would be super duper, but again, I believe we are talking about pricier restaurants.  Hell, does the staff at Logan’s even know what an amuse-bouche is???

5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.

- Ron Says -I say this everywhere I go.  HOW FREAKING HARD CAN THIS BE!!!!  you would think that this is one of the easiest things to fix…  yet it just goes back to apathy.

-Susan says – Ditto.

Here’s another favorite -

14. When you ask, “How’s everything?” or “How was the meal?” listen to the answer and fix whatever is not right.

- Ron Says -not only fix it, but at least wait till I have a chance to taste it.  How many times am I asked how is everything almost immediately after it being placed on my uneven table?   Or better yet, I like it when they bring it out and they know it’s bad, the sever may point out that it’s incorrect – WHY BRING IT OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!  but this goes right along with #21….

-Susan says – A lot of times the question is asked but no one cares what the answer is.  If you say they forgot to bring something out, you never got a drink refill, the vegetable was served cold, etc. what happens next?  Most of the time, I get that question at the end of the meal experience when it’s too late.  Another thing that irritates us is when something is wrong, wrong enough for us to speak up, and then they “fix” it by giving us a free dessert that we don’t want.  Take the cost of the messed up food off our bill – we don’t want to pay for something you screwed up.

21. Never serve anything that looks creepy or runny or wrong.

‘Nuf said.

This next one is good…

31. Never remove a plate full of food without asking what went wrong. Obviously, something went wrong.

-  Ron Says -DUH…. but if they asked what is wrong, then they “may” be compelled to do something about it.   We wouldn’t want that.

36. Never reek from perfume or cigarettes. People want to smell the food and beverage.

- Ron Says -My guess this even applies to the Blackhawk Saloon.   Just don’t do it.  If you have to go out and take a smoke break, clean up before you come back.

48. Do not ask what someone is eating or drinking when they ask for more; remember or consult the order.

 - Ron Says - lol, this always makes me laugh.  

-Susan says – This one doesn’t really bother me, but I guess it might if I was spending a boatload on the meal.

Well there are several other good ones in there, and I guess next week sometime they’re publishing 51-100.  Check back.

Also comment on the places where all these apply.  Should be great.

What and how you hand out treats to the ghouls and goblins on Trick or Treat night says a lot about a person.  Here’s what the Fork You crew will be doing tonight:

Misty:

Misty is giving out a veritable smorgasborg of Halloween treats: Blow Pops, Pixie Stix, M&Ms, Twix, Snickers (all snack size), Dum Dums, Skittles, Smarties and Starburst.  Oh, and some leftover Easter M&Ms in pastel colors.  No one will know, right?

She considered leaving distribution duties to her husband who employs the “more is better” philosophy, giving out a handful of candies to each child.  After said consideration, Misty will give each child 1-3 pieces, depending on the quality of the candy and adjusts the composition according to each child’s age.  Have we mentioned that Misty is a little bit particular?  No wonder her husband just gives out handfuls.

If a child rings Misty’s doorbell without a costume…well, that’s what the Easter M&Ms are for.

Susan:

Susan has been trying to buy candy faster than Ron can consume it.  Having amassed an adequate inventory of bubble gum, Skittles, Pixie Stix, gummy spiders and snack bags of pretzels, she is now hoping Ron actually HANDS OUT the goods tonight before he eats the rest of it.

It’s hard to tell what kind of torture Ron will put non-costumed kids through. 

If it were up to her, each kiddie would receive only one item each – after all, there are over 150 homes in her subdivision and what kid needs THAT much candy? 

And I think we all know who the cheapskate is now due to the lack of chocolate in Susan’s candy bowl.

Daniel:

Daniel will be distributing a variety of chocolate snack-size candies including Snickers, Twix and M&Ms.  He hands out one item per child but if you are in Daniel’s neighborhood tonight, keep in mind Bonus Hours are from 7:30 -8:00 when he will be doubling the serving size of the treats. 

He has a stash of leftover candy from previous holidays, as far back as Valentine’s Day, that will be given to those not wearing costumes. 

Daniel has observed that there is an inverse relationship between the slope of your street and the amount of candy you need to buy.

Phillip:

Due to the relatively light child traffic in the neighborhood and the propensity for us to over-purchase, you will likely get a handful of candy at our home.  I believe that the purchased items included Laffy Taffy, Nerds, Snickers, Baby Ruths, Nestle Crunches, Butterfingers, and Starburst, amongst other things.  Basically, we purchase the candies that we like to eat ourselves (again maybe why we overpurchase in the first place.)

Although we may have old candy around the house, only fresh is handed out.  And, if you get an invitation to the costume party this Saturday, the food only gets better!

What About You?

Tell us what you’ll be giving out to the kiddies tonight in a comment below.  We’ll select one commenter at random to receive a free bottle of Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce.

Happy Halloween!

Daniel says…

Bella Via is located between Wheeling and Triadelphia off of I-70 at exit 5. (as of 10/15/2009 don’t try to get to Bella Via from I-70 due to exit construction.  Use National Road – 40E)  This two story restaurant is right on the corner and is hard to miss.  Hungry for pasta we jumped out of the car and I quickly took a picture of the building in the parking lot.  At the hostess stand we were ‘greeted’ by the owner (in cook’s apron) and asked if we were taking pictures of his restaurant.  I said, “Yes” and he replied that he was going to have to charge me.  I asked, “How much?” and after a brief back and forth he told his hostess to hurry up and seat us before we leave.  If he only new the around about way we had to drive to get there he would have known we weren’t leaving.

As soon as I was seated I knew I had eaten here seven years earlier. I recognized the dining room dimly lit by yellow and red glass lamps. What I really remember from that visit was the food envy I had.  The Ohio County local who brought me here in 2002 had ordered the home-style pasta with meat sauce, and I was pretty sure that’s what I was going order.  After briefly reviewing the menu and ordering a bottle of the house Chianti I stayed with my original choice, home-style pasta with meatballs.

My particular pasta dish didn’t come with a side salad so after quizzing the server about the dressings for a minute or two I ordered one.  None of the dressings are homemade - not even the Italian!  The salads and fried ravioli appetizer arrived quickly.  The fried ravioli were a perfect golden brown and the cheese filling was surprisingly spicy. The salads were a mix of iceberg and baby greens with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, white onion and a pile of canned black olives. I sound negative, but I devoured it with a piece of Italian bread.

After a seven year wait I got my long awaited pasta dish.  The homemade noodles are about one and half inches long and wider than linguine but thinner than fettuccine.  They are tender and support the red sauce beautifully.  The meatballs were just OK, but with Italian food, tastes are very subjective. Again I didn’t leave anything on my plate.

Kate provided great service and was very attentive.  The photo police checked in on us, too.  Bella Via is relaxing and the food is very affordable with my total coming to $16.50 before tip not including wine.  I’m going to round up. FOUR FORKS.

Misty Susan says…

Well, Misty has been a little busy lately taking care of sick children with the, ahem, you know…that flu.  So I’ll write a few words about her entree.

I can attest to the fact that Misty greatly enjoyed her shrimp stuffed ravioli because she cleaned her plate and hardly spoke during the process.  She was kind enough to share a bite with each of us.

The ravioli had a dinstinctive and wonderful seafood flavor.  The red meat sauce tasted great in combination, but you could choose marinara if you prefer.  For around $12, it was a unique and delicious entree worth every penny.

Susan says…

I am always agreeable to dining at an Italian restaurant, so this was an easy sell for Daniel.  We tried to go to Bella Via the previous night – luckily I called to check their hours since we didn’t meet up until 9 – and found out they close at a very early 8:00 on weeknights.

Situated on a corner lot, the exterior of the building is nondescript and plenty of parking is available.  Inside you notice the vintage light fixtures and the homey atmosphere.  A large party was seated nearby our table and they were talking and laughing loudly enough that we knew this was not a stuffy, library of a restaurant.

Daniel ordered the fried ravioli as an appetizer and we asked our server A LOT of questions.  There were so many things on the menu that sounded good to me, even though it was mostly red sauce, I had a very difficult time making a decision.  The shrimp stuffed ravioli caught my eye, but Misty had already claimed it and we try not to duplicate items during a forking.  Ultimately I made a last-minute decision to order the chicken ravioli and spaghetti combo.  I also decided to order garlic toast for a small price.

The fried ravioli were golden brown and crispy.  They were served with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.  There was some heat to these babies which we guessed came from the marinara.  Upon further investigation, however, we determined that there were some hot peppers included in the cheese filling.  On a scale from one to ten, with ten being the spiciest, I would rank these raviolis at a 2.5.  On the Misty Scale of Spice though, they were likely a 9.  Needless to say, Misty only ate one of them.

I was impressed with the size and composition of the salad.  It had a nice mix of crispy, cold, iceberg lettuce and mesculan greens.  The large pile of lettuces was topped with black olives, slices of onion, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices and croutons.  I was disappointed that the dressings weren’t homemade, but the homemade pasta more than made up for that when I received my entree.

A plain oval plate held two very large homemade raviolis and a pile of spaghetti covered in meat sauce.  Each ravioli was about the size of a playing card.  You could see that the edges were hand-pinched.  The chicken filling was tender and flavorful with what we guessed was Italian flat-leaf parsley to cause the green color.  The pasta had a nice firmness.  I must have annoyed the others emitting a “Mmmmm” with each and every bite, but it was too good to be quiet.

The spaghetti and meat sauce was great, too.  Albeit the spaghetti noodles were dried pasta, the meat sauce was thick with a fresh tomato flavor with a lovely sweetness.  The price was great and the portion so large, I could not finish it.  It made me very sad to leave anything on my plate since it was so, so good – but I couldn’t stuff in another bite.  Believe me, I tried.

The garlic toast was not very toasty – It was warm, garlicky and topped with mozzerella cheese, but I would have preferred the bread be much crisper and darker brown.  I only ate one of  the two slices I was served because I didn’t want to waste any stomach space on bread when that pasta and sauce was so outstanding.

Kate provided great service throughout our stay.  The casual atmosphere is fitting for a date, a group of friends, or an outing with children.  You can enjoy an appetizer, entree, dessert and wine without breaking the bank.

Bella Via is a must-visit if you are in the Wheeling area and a place I enjoyed enough to make a special effort to return to.  FOUR FORKS from this happy, and overstuffed diner.