With the opening of new Asian and Mexican restaurants in the past few months, Kanawha City may be giving the South Charleston mound a run for its money as ethnic food capital of the Kanawha Valley.
So let's take a look at the new dining out options along MacCorkle Avenue SE.
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Fusion Teriyaki Grille is a new fast-casual restaurant offering cooked-to-order Asian fare with flair.
Fusion Teriyaki Grille rocks.
It's not fast food, and that's a good thing. But it is good quality, super-fresh, hot-off-the-grill food ready to dig into within 10 minutes or so - without the longer wait (and larger bill) you'll have at a traditional Japanese steakhouse.
I've stopped in twice now and have been impressed with the quality of food offered and the friendly manner in which it is served.
Located in the spot formerly occupied by Penn Station Subs off MacCorkle Avenue SE at 40th Street, Fusion offers a bright new clean decor of white walls, lime green accents and blonde wood. A handful of tables fill the small dining area and a short row of counter seats line a front window.
You walk up and place your order at the grill, then take a seat and wait for your number to be called. Choices include a variety of plates, bowls and combos featuring teriyaki steak, chicken, salmon and shrimp, plus items like spicy pork, Korean short ribs and glazed tofu.
Plates include an entree over rice (white or brown) with fresh salad and fruit, while bowls include meat and rice with or without veggies (a trio of carrots, broccoli and cabbage). You can also enjoy a few salads, plus miso or kimchi soups. Kids meals are offered as well.
Based on my friendly server's suggestion, I tried the spicy pork over brown rice on my first visit. It was so good that I decided right then to try the salmon on the next go 'round. Most restaurants, even upscale ones, overcook salmon - rendering it tragically dry, pale pink and tasteless - so this would be the true test.
Fusion's salmon rocks.
The fish was so perfectly moist, flavorful and glistening bright pink that I never would've believed it came from a short-order restaurant - had I not watched them prepare it in front of my eyes.
And my two other favorite things about the place?
1. Perfectly sized portions. You'll leave feeling fully satisfied, but not the least bit stuffed or bloated.
2. Beer. You can enjoy a cold Asian beer with your meal as well.
The only downside I see is you better love teriyaki, because that's pretty much the only style of food you're going to get. Offering the same proteins with a couple of other Asian sauce options might expand the restaurant's appeal and keep regulars from getting tired of the same limited choices. Just a thought.
Still, Fusion's fast-casual Asian fare is something Charleston needed. And a place I know I'll visit often when I'm short on time, but don't want to skip on quality and taste.
IF YOU GO: Fusion Teriyaki Grille, 4002 MacCorkle Ave. SE in Kanawha City, is open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 304-925-3663 or visit www.fusionteriyakigrille.com.
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Something the Kanawha Valley didn't really need was yet another cookie-cutter Mexican restaurant, but add Kanawha City's new Plaza Maya to a list that keeps refilling faster than a basket of free chips and salsa.
Outside of the West Side's Mi Cocina de Amor and Huntington's late Chili Willi's, may it rest in peace, most other area Mexican restaurants pretty much fit the same mold. Sure, some of those are better than others - Mexican Shoney's (aka Los Agaves) and Las Trancas come to mind - but most of the rest are just also-rans.
I'd put Plaza Maya in that pack. (Interestingly enough, I hear it's owned by the same folks who run Las Trancas, but I've had far better food at the Southridge spot.)
Service in Kanawha City has been great and the owners have done a super job transforming the aging Chesterfield House interior into a clean, bright, vibrant Southwestern spot. But the food is merely OK. A few items have been better than others, but nothing worth breaking out the maracas.
No need to explain the menu; you know the drill. You can choose from an array of quesadillas, burritos, fajitas, enchiladas and house specialties like seafood chimichangas, pork carnitas, shrimp al chipotle, pollo asada, chile Colorado and more.
We started with chips, queso and guacamole that we really enjoyed, although it was more like a thin, creamy dip rather than chunky avocado love. The boys also found no fault with their cheese quesadilla, beef taco and taco salad.
My carnitas should've featured juicy, slow-simmered seasoned pork, but the meat was a tad on the dry side and the onions weren't quite cooked down enough. On another visit, the pork in my chile verde suffered a similar condition, although the green sauce smothering it was pretty good.
Everything else has been just so-so, and I would avoid the Enchiladas Plaza Maya at all cost. The beef part of that trio was fine, but the seafood version tasted of imitation crab and the potato enchilada was like a ginormous mashed potato dumpling. Just a little strange for my taste.
They do redeem themselves with desserts, however. The cinnamon and sugar-dusted churros are delightful dipped in ice cream and the sweet, moist, scrumptious "three milk" Tres Leches cake is Tres Delish.
I applaud the folks at Plaza Maya for giving this a go. Although it won't hold a regular spot on my restaurant dance card, I figure some people will like it just fine.
IF YOU GO: Plaza Maya, 3112-B Chesterfield Ave. in Kanawha City, is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Call 304-340-8033 for more details.
Steven Keith writes a weekly food column for the Daily Mail. He can be reached at 304-348-1721 or by email at dailymailfoodguy@aol.com. You can also follow him on Facebook and Pinterest as "DailyMail FoodGuy," on Twitter as "DMFoodGuy" or read his blog at http://blogs.charlestondailymail.com/foodguy.