So I had four lunches last Thursday afternoon. At four different places. All between the hours of noon and 3 p.m.
I didn't set out to be such a glutton. But, you know, things happen.
The day all started innocently enough. The St. Albans Rotary Club had invited me down to speak during a lunch meeting catered by The Café on Main Street, a bar and grill that's been known as Olde Main Café and The River's Edge Café, featuring some recipes dating back to the mega-popular River's Edge restaurant that closed more than a decade ago.
We enjoyed a feast of fantastic baked steak (bathed in a silky, thick, rich dark brown gravy) served with mashed potatoes, stewed green beans, cabbage soup, rolls and salad, including their famous "Sterling" salad dressing of bleu cheese crumbles drizzled in French dressing.
Then I regaled the group with stories of my culinary adventures, undercover restaurant reviews and food likes and dislikes before launching into a fun Q & A session. I had a blast and could've easily called it a day right there, but my host had other plans.
"You know," the super-nice Walter Hall told me, "since we're lucky enough to have you here, I thought we'd take you on a quick tour of some of our local restaurants before you head back."
Great idea, I said, until I found out that "quick tour" really meant "you'll be trying a bunch a food at all of them." That's right, we followed our catered lunch with three more meals over the next two hours.
I'm still not right but, man, was it fun! (Walt, I can't wait to come back for more.)
Our first stop was Angela's on the River, in the old Chilton House, where owner Angela Samples showed us around before serving a four (yes, four) course lunch. We dug into hot crab dip with homemade toasted baguette, then enjoyed a gorgeous "summer salad" of fresh greens tossed with blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, sugar-glazed pecans and sliced almonds with poppyseed dressing.
Next came a surf-and-turf featuring a beef filet and salmon topped with herbed goat cheese and asparagus over braised spinach. The beef was top-quality and the salmon was delicious. We ended meal two with scratch-made blackberry cobbler a la mode before waddling to our next stop.
Showing absolutely no mercy, The Café's daytime manager Kathy Smith and server Kelli Frame Blankenship kept the food coming. I'm talking crab-stuffed mushrooms, Thai chili and barbecue chicken wings, pepper jack cheese squares (way better than traditional cheese sticks) and a tasty stacked Reuben, plus housemade chips and dips.
The trip from lunch spot number three to restaurant four was only a couple blocks, but we still drove. Walking was difficult at this point, so we quickly found a seat at Shucker's for a smorgasbord of fresh seafood.
Co-owner Paula Lucas hails from the St. Simon & Tybee Island area along Georgia's coast, so the woman knows good seafood. Not sure where we found the room, but we devoured addictive Cajun tuna bites, more crab-stuffed mushrooms and fried shrimp and oysters (with a trio of homemade sauces) plus bread pudding in whiskey sauce.
Four meals in three hours. But ol' Walt was not done.
He then led me down the street to 4 Brothers Coffee & Tea House, where the smell of fresh-roasted beans mesmerized as soon as we walked through the door. And I do mean fresh. Owner Charley Ferrell roasts the beans right on site and even took time out of his day to show me how it's done.
We tasted the fruits of his labor, sampling his signature blend and my favorite, the Tanzanian Peaberry. Charley offered to feed us, too (they offer a variety of fresh hot and cold deli sandwiches) but our deer-in-the-headlights looks earned us much-needed mercy.
All in all, we visited four nice dining spots, all within just a few minutes of each other. Nice work, St. Albans!
Almost a week later, I'm still trying to recover. Of course, I did add insult to injury by following up that Lunch-a-Palooza Thursday with a weekend of food and wine excess at the West Virginia Culinary Classic at Stonewall Resort Friday through Sunday, followed by South Hills Market and Café's Big Timber beer pairing dinner Monday night.
Uncle!
Nonetheless, be sure to check out this coming Sunday's Gazette-Mail for a full rundown of the 2016 Culinary Classic. (Spoiler alert: the 13th annual event was one of its biggest and best yet.)
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I thought for sure I'd heard the last of this after last week's update, but West Virginians must REALLY like their hot dogs. The buzz continues.
Reader Sherry Clark's request to track down information on the "French Frank" hot dog she used to enjoy at Bob's Drive-In back in the 1960s drew a response from the owner's daughter.
"I am Bob Phillips' daughter and the bun was baked for us by Pure Food Bakery," Shirley Davis told me, explaining the bun was buttered and grilled on a press and then opened up for the hot dog and chili to be placed inside. (She now lives in Dallas, but has found a bakery to make similar buns for her there.) "My dad had given Trivillian's Pharmacy permission to make the French Frank and our Long Bob after we closed."
Another reader confirmed the Long Bob is on the Trivillian's menu so, Sherry, you might want to check it out.
Scott Depot reader Leslie White wonders if the Mandts family we originally thought had West Side A&W connections might have instead have ties to Farley's Hot Dogs in Hurricane.
"Farley's used to be called Stewart's, but the name changed for some reason - maybe as to not confuse with the national Stewart's hot dog chain," she said. "I've truly enjoyed this discussion on hot dog chili. It would be a miracle if we somehow were able to track down the guy that used to own that A&W."
I haven't given up, Leslie!
Other readers continue to share their favorite hot dog memories, too. Mike Maddox called to tell me about the old Canary Cottage in Marmet.
"I'm 70 years old now, but still remember they had the best mustard slaw," he said. "It was absolutely delicious."
Good news, Mike. A little research led me to the West Virginia Hot Dog Blog, where a post back in 2010 claims to share that original yellow slaw recipe from the owners themselves. I've included it this week.
Ronald Creighton now lives in Houston, a place he says is seriously lacking hot dog cred, so he can't wait to sink his teeth into the real thing when he comes back home.
"We still have family spread all over the Kanawha Valley," he said. "We come home every year and I love my slaw dogs. In Texas, they put cheese and kraut on them - just nasty. As soon as I cross the border, I head for Frostop in Huntington for a mug of root beer and a couple of slaw dogs."
Funny you mention that, Ronald, because I was going to suggest Frostop as one of the few truly old-fashioned drive-ins remaining where you can soak up such nostalgia from yesteryear. (There's even still a giant rotating mug of root beer on top of the building.)
"The Nitro Dairy Queen has wonderful English dogs" he added. "Growing up in Nitro, never went to the West Side A&W, but sure went to the St. Albans A&W. And we really love Bowincal's. Great memories. Great stories."
Reader Jimmy Hanna has been following along, too. He doesn't have a lead on the missing recipe we seek, but he does offer one of his own.
"I really enjoyed your article and it prompted me to send you my own hot dog chili recipe," he wrote. "It started with my mom's recipe and I've been tweaking it until I decided to finally write it down."
Jimmy's recipe caught my eye, so I decided to share it with you this week. While I tend to favor recipes with fewer ingredients, some of the best tomato-based sauces are so good thanks to the large number of ingredients that go into building them - and a long cooking time that really allows those flavors to mingle.
This one has a lot going on so thanks for sharing, Jimmy!
Steven Keith writes a weekly food column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and an occasional food blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/foodguy/. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or by e-mail at wvfoodguy@aol.com. You can also follow him on Facebook as "WV Food Guy" and on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as "WVFoodGuy".
3 lb. head of cabbage, shredded fine and drained
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup honey
½ cup, plus 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
¼ cup, plus 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. white pepper
Combine all ingredients and blend well.
Leave overnight in refrigerator before serving.
3 lbs. ground beef
2 14-oz. cans of beef broth
¼ cup Heinz 57
1 ¼ cup ketchup
2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
3 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. regular sugar
1 ½ tsp. garlic powder
1 ½ tsp. onion powder
1 ½ tsp. black pepper
1 ½ tsp. paprika
1 ½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. celery salt
½ tsp. oregano
Brown ground beef and drain.
Add 1 ½ cans of broth to the beef, plus all dry spices, and mix until spices are blended and broth is absorbed.
Mix in Heinz 57, ketchup and tomato sauce, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, adding more broth if necessary to keep moist and desired consistency.
Taste, adjust seasoning to your liking, then serve. (Remainder can be frozen.)