I love hearing from readers reaching out to share a great dining-out experience they've had, asking about my favorite restaurants, requesting my help finding a particular recipe and more.
But I did receive a query this week that left me a bit stumped.
"I am a regular reader of your column and use your recommendations often," it began. "Recently I had a cardiac situation and it was recommended that I eat more greens and other vegetables, so I am looking for salad bars.
"Have you ever done a column on the best [or at least recommended] salad bars in the area?" David asked. "I would be interested in finding out which ones you recommend."
Well, hmm.
Once much more common, old-school salad bars are actually pretty hard to find these days outside of national family-style chains like Shoney's or Golden Corral, which I can't in good conscience recommend.
I'm sorry, I just believe our nation's collective lack of self-control - paired with all-you-can-eat troughs - are just as guilty as junk food and soda in contributing to America's expanding obesity epidemic.
So where does that leave us?
For decades, The Fifth Quarter in Charleston had the best salad bar around, bar none, but it closed last year. I really can't think of any others in the area. There are no Ponderosas, Bonanzas or Western Sizzlins left in the Kanawha Valley - although one or more still exist in outposts like Huntington, Ripley and Parkersburg.
I was once fairly impressed with the expansive (and decent quality) salad bar at Ruby Tuesday at the Huntington Mall, but it's another chain.
In the absence of many options, my advice to David is this:
Don't focus on salad bars but instead seek out nicer, fresher salads at any restaurant you happen to try. Most have gotten a lot better about offering healthier dining options in recent years.
Salad bars aside, there are some pretty incredible salad offerings in the Kanawha Valley. I'd put those at Pies & Pints, The Block, Paterno's at the Park and Tidewater on the list - along with Noah's Eclectic Bistro, South Hills Market, Bridge Road Bistro and Bricks & Barrels.
But what else am I missing here? Are there any other good salad bars throughout the region, or other unexpected places to enjoy a nice salad? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Here's a word of caution, though, for David or any others looking for a "healthy" salad.
Many restaurant salads are anything but, and you can really pile on calories at an all-you-can-eat bar loaded with heavy dressings, cheeses, mayonnaise-laden sides and more.
According to a recent analysis by the mobile weight-loss app Noom, even prepared salads at places like Panera can pack more undesirables than a burger at the fast food joint next door.
For example, Panera's Fuji Apple Salad (570 calories) has 30 more calories than a McDonald's Big Mac (540); Wendy's Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad (720) has almost 100 more calories than a Burger King Whopper (630); and Taco Bell's Fiesta Taco Salad with Beef (745) has a whopping 215 calories more than a McDonald's Quarter Pounder (530).
So if you're counting calories, my friends, please choose wisely.
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I was glad to see Gazette-Mail lifestyle reporter Carlee Lammers' story Saturday that The Barge Restaurant will soon be adding upstairs fine dining to its downstairs and outside bar-and-grill menu.
In case you missed it, the one-time popular floating restaurant reopened this past weekend after a lengthy hiatus. Folks are all abuzz about its return, and having more upscale offerings means there may be even more to love.
To this day, my mother-in-law still says the wiener schnitzel she enjoyed upstairs at The Barge years ago was the best she's ever had in the United States.
And she was born and raised in Austria, so she ought to know!
Steven Keith writes a weekly food column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and an occasional food blog at blogs.wvgazettemail.com/foodguy. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or by email at wvfoodguy@aol.com. You can also follow him on Facebook as "WV Food Guy" and on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as "WVFoodGuy."