By Brooke A. Brown

I first blogged about the Tricky Fish back in April of this year (you can read that post by clicking here). Overall, I was optimistic about the possibilities held within the Washington Street beach-shack eatery, especially considering the wild success of owners John and Keeley Steele’s other restaurant, the Bluegrass Kitchen. And on subsequently tasty visits since, that optimism has proven to be bang on.

Not only have they perfected the art of frying catfish, oysters, onion rings and the like, they’ve done away with the red cabbage garnish and gladly confronted the hot sauce issue. And that bar in the back? It’s now stockpiled and margarita-ready, thanks to a brand-spanking, newly issued full liquor license. But the excitement only begins here. There are two more recent additions to the Tricky Fish that act as proverbial cherries on the cream pie.

(more…)

By Brooke A. Brown

In the August 7th edition of the Charleston Gazette, the ‘Business briefs’ section enlightened readers of the Thai House’s plan to open a bakery in Winfield. Opening day is scheduled for September 1st in the former location of the General’s Quarters Family Restaurant. Congratulations, Putnam County!

So I’m having dinner at the Dunbar location this past Saturday with a couple of friends who happen to be loyal customers of the Thai House and we get to talking about the new venture mentioned above. Turns out what is good news for Putnam Countians is not so good for Charlestonians, especially those of us who think it’s already a bit of a schlep to drive all the way out to Dunbar for our pad thai.

That’s right, folks. According to my well-informed tablemates, the Thai House will not be keeping the Roxalana Road location in operation. This is a bit of a blow to the loyal patrons who more often than not pack the tiny, yet well proportioned Dunbar dining room. But as one who refers to half a glass of Thai Iced tea as half-full, I’m hopeful that the new location will provide an even more extensive menu, more room and (fingers crossed) a debit/credit card reader.

“I’ll have one with mustard, hold the red nose.”

By Brooke A. Brown

Other than John Corbett’s role as Chris Stevens on Northern Exposure, what on earth does Alaska have to do with West Virginia? Well, perhaps not a lot. But for me, the Alaska-West Virginia connection couldn’t be stronger at the moment because that is where my Lovely Miss S is currently hanging out.

A lifelong lover of wildlife documentaries, Miss S is participating in American University’s Classroom in the Wild: Alaska. I am overwhelmed with pride as I write this because I’m witnessing a dream come true, if only virtually at the moment (thank you, iPhone). And that is where the reindeer sausage cart comes in.

Since my most favorite dining companion has been away, my meals have been, well, nothing to blog home about. I’ve been much more interested in the culinary offerings available in and around Anchorage. Miss S didn’t disappoint when informing me of the reindeer cart on a recent call.

Now, she swears she’s gonna try one before she returns home, and how could she not? I know I would. (When in Rome…  after all.) But the peculiar thing that is of interest to me is that even apart from the lower 48, in a place prized for its vast wilderness and ample wildlife, one can still find a food vendor on a random street corner. Now ain’t that America?

The only thing that doesn’t make sense regarding the cart is the cooler of Red Bull sitting next to it. Who needs an energy drink when it’s 11 p.m. and the sun hasn’t set?

By Brooke A. Brown

Looks like the Charleston Town Center may have another food-related hole to fill in the very near future. Apparently, but not definitely as of yet, Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern is in the process of closing all of its nearly 800 locations, thus rendering them Benni-gone. They’re probably running vacuum cleaners while people finish their mozzarella cheese sticks, as I type this.

According to Newschannel 3, the company that owns the Irish-American-themed eatery has actually just filed bankruptcy. The folks at the Town Center seem to not know all the details yet. As soon as there are details, I’ll copy and paste them here.

Now, if they’re in fact leaving, what does the Town Center replace them with? (I realize we had a similar conversation when Gratzi’s said ciao, but it’s fun to daydream.) How about an actual, locally-owned and operated brewpub? There’s already a decent bar in place. Any other thoughts?

Photo credit: e-magic

By Brooke A. Brown

If you’re a coffee drinker, and of course you are, then you’re probably aware of the fact that the Big Coffee Kahuna – Starbucks – is in the process of closing 600 of its 4.2 trillion locations nationwide. Okay, the second number is a touch misleading, but the first one is no joke. The folks over at Slate.com have provided a nifty chart that reflects how many locations each state in the union has, how many locations each state is losing and the overall percentage of stores closing.

The heavily populated states are, naturally, the hardest hit by the closings. But even our little slice of Almost Heaven is feeling the pinch, which is kinda tough to take considering the little mermaid from Seattle only recently, relatively speaking, set up shop in our fine state. (I’m sure she thought she had us covered since there are several locations in Roanoke.) Out of West Virginia’s 19 stores, we’re losing one: 11213 The Highlands, 36 Fort Henry Road, Triadelphia, W.Va.

There’s a saying in my native state of Tennessee (and I’m sure it’s familiar to several folks in and around the southern and central parts of West Virginia) that may best explain the downward trend that Starbucks is currently experiencing. They went and got too big for their britches. I think I’ll walk over to Taylor Books and see if they have any West Virginia Coal (an intoxicating dark-roasted coffee) brewed today.

“Is this guy and his ‘Sledge-O-Matic’ the reason I can’t find anything but a seedless watermelon in this town?”

By Brooke A. Brown

When it’s unbearably hot like it has been these last couple of days, there’s nearly nothing more cooling and refreshing than a fresh-from-the-ice-box serving of red, ripe watermelon (enjoyed in the equally cool comfort of central air-conditioning, of course). I’m on my second melon of the summer hot season and, thus far, both varieties have been the seedless kind.

I’ve been pleased with each of them as they both have been juicy, sweet and firm. (Although any true watermelon fan holds on to the hope that the next bite will be sweetest one of all.) Anyway, while forking my way through a Lock & Lock container of my most recently sliced and diced melon, I wondered: Whatever happened to non-seedless watermelons? And then I continued wondering: Did they taste better than seedless watermelons? My train of thought was interrupted when I suddenly dropped a piece of melon on my white T-shirt, forever categorizing it as an ‘around-the-house’ shirt.

But my questions remain. Might any of you watermelon lovers out there ’spit a seed’ in the direction of the comments section and enlighten me on these pressing issues? Can a person still buy a fully seeded melon? (Granted, I haven’t really put a lot of effort into finding one, but that’s beside the point.) Do they, in fact, taste better than the ones lacking seeds? And last but not least, does anyone know if OxiClean works on watermelon stains? (I don’t trust that Billy Mays guy for nothing!)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Check out Bob Schwarz’ recent watermelon primer in the Charleston Gazette, too.

“An outrageous symphony of decadent chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks …”

By Brooke A. Brown

No one likes ice cream more than I do. Absolutely no one. Well, except perhaps for mothers-to-be. But even then I’d only settle for a draw on such a wager. I consider myself a true connoisseur (or was that glutton?) of this sweet, creamery concoction. There’s a very specific, most wonderful ice cream in the world that is, to me, truly beyond compare… but I’m gonna save my adoration of it for another post. (Here’s a hint: you can only get it in Ohio.)

I was just informed, however, via my ICT-3000 ice cream telefax machine (not really) that a new Ben & Jerry’s flavor is being unleashed, only it will not be available to the masses. Instead, it’s release is part of a pretty cool promotion. On July 21st of this year, Sir Elton John will perform his first concert in the state of Vermont. Yeah, so? So, that means he will have performed at least one concert in all 50 states! That’s a pretty cool feat, if I do say so myself. (more…)

By Brooke A. Brown

I don’t have a fancy title for this post. Nor do I have any photos to share of the culinary offering I’m about to describe. So I apologize in advance for a rather bland looking post. All my efforts henceforth are dedicated solely to the purpose of hyping the Cuban sandwich at Capitol Roasters.

I have lunch with my boss about once a week, and we typically frequent the same 2 or 3 places in downtown Charleston. Every time that we’d be on our way to one place in particular, we would pass by Capitol Roasters and he’d ask if I was in the mood for a Cuban sandwich. I always declined, thinking that there’s no way that a coffee shop in Charleston, W.Va., is going to produce a Cuban sandwich as delicious as the ones I’ve tried while visiting my father-in-law in Florida. (more…)

Photo from Dorie Greenspan’s food blog

By Brooke A. Brown

Jeffrey Steingarten is a big reason why I write this blog. I’ve always loved food – both the preparation and consumption of it – and I’ve always enjoyed writing (I have a BA in English from West Virginia State University to prove it). But I never considered food writing until I first witnessed Steingarten in his role as a judge on one of my favorite television shows, Iron Chef America.

I suppose I should clarify. It was actually his sharp commentary on the food that first intrigued me. I had no idea who the guy was, but his obvious passion for and knowledge of food inspired me to learn more. So I ‘Googled’ his name and discovered that he’s a Harvard-educated lawyer turned award-winning culinary critic/food writer. This knowledge led me to the Kanawha County Public Library’s Web site to see if, perchance, the downtown branch had any of Steingarten’s writing. They sure enough did!

I quickly picked up the library’s lone copy of The Man Who Ate Everything and dove right in, as if the book were a box of fresh, hot Krispy Kreme donuts. The words were a revelation to me (albeit ones severely lacking in glaze). Within this collection of essays, most of which first turned up in the pages of Vogue, exists an inordinate amount of engaging and expertly crafted detail on nearly every imaginable food-related topic. Steingarten welcomes you into his madcap world with stories that make you think, make you laugh (sometimes hysterically) and make you very, very hungry.

If you enjoy this little food blog in the least, you will most certainly get a kick out of The Man Who Ate Everything. And don’t forget, you can also find a new Steingarten essay each month within the pages of Vogue magazine. Dig in!

“It probably bestows immortality.”

It’s too bad that George never found any blue food…

George Carlin
1937-2008