Happy Mothers Day

Cantankerous is the adjective that best describes my general disposition for each and every one of my teenage years. Today, many years removed from those rebellious, self-involved, eye rolling, foot stomping, door slamming days, I feel humbled by the woman that I call “mom.” And although she has given her love freely, and without judgment for my entire life, it is my teenage years for which I owe her my biggest debt of gratitude.  Thanks mom! 

She was here in West Virginia last week to visit my family, and me. Knowing that we wouldn’t be together for Mothers Day, I decided to do something special for her while she was here. We went on a road trip to Grafton, home of the first Mother’s Day celebration.

Grafton is situated on the banks of the Tygart River and is a 30-minute drive from Morgantown. If you’ve never been, you should go check it out. It is a great day trip destination.

Besides visiting The International Mothers Day Shrine, we were able to check out the visually stunning B&O Railroad’s train station, and on our way back to Morgantown we stopped at Tygart Lake State Park to do some exploring.   But no self respecting day trip would be complete without food! 

Around lunchtime, and before we headed to the state park, we asked one of the local residents his favorite place to eat. “Well if you ladies are hungry,” he said, “you ought to head over to The Stagecoach on Route 50, that’s one place I’ve never left hungry!” We were hungry (we’re always hungry) so to The Stagecoach it was, and I’m here

 to tell you, this gentleman was not exaggerating. We were served so

 much food; we needed a doggy bag for our doggy bags.  

Spending much of her youth in Mobile, Alabama I’ve never known my mother to turn away from the words “cornbread” or “grits” on any “specials” board.  While at The Stagecoach, my mother was able to experience yet another West Virginia tradition.  Seeing pinto beans and cornbread listed as the daily special, that is of course what she ordered.  Never having had the “quintessential West Virginia cuisine” myself, I was curious what she would have to say. Her reaction came as no surprise; she really enjoyed it, especially the cornbread which she said was the “most plump and moist she has ever had.”

If you’re ever looking for an interesting way to spend the day with your mom, head out to Grafton, the drive is beautiful, and there are some interesting things to see and do.

The International Mothers Day Shrine

Tygart River Dam

B&O Train Station, Grafton

If nothing else, you’ll be in excellent company for you’ll be with the truest friend your heart has ever known.

Tomorrow for Mother's Day my husband, and children are taking me on a Sunday drive to Fayetteville (no doubt getting a head start on the alms for their impending teenage years) where we'll surely find a great place to grab a bite to eat.  Leave us a comment and let us know what great food adventure you had for Mother's Day.

Will Skip School For Food

Today, America’s school buses had a lot less passengers as children left their books at home and went out into the world to experience a different type of education. Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is a pseudo career day giving youth the opportunity to discover not only what their parents do for a living, but also the opportunities that exist as they start to make decisions about their own futures.

I was thrilled to find out that my children had decided to spend the day with me this year instead of my husband. Can you blame them? Their options were:

a) sit in an office and take conference calls all day; or
b) go out and explore West Virginia.

In the words of my bright young children, “Duh!”

Each of them started the day with a role; Carlee, my 12 year old, was the photographer and Kyle, my nine year old, was the journalist. As we explored,  their job was to document and tell a story, both in pictures and prose.  I only had one question for them as we left the house, “if you could tell people about some places in West Virginia that you think are super special, what would you tell them about?” Here is what they had to say:

The Poky Dot Diner in Fairmont (Note from Kyle: check out my mom's article about the Poky Dot Diner in the Spring 2009 issue of WV Living Magazine.)

A gigantic hot chocolate smothered in chocolate syrup was just the nutrition they needed to start their adventure off right.

French Toast, off of the kids menu, included a garnish of cherry shoe string licorice.

We drove around for a while to enjoy the beautiful scenery and sunshine and before you knew it, it was lunch time!  We were off to The Country Club Bakery in Fairmont (rumored to be the home of the first pepperoni roll) for a perfect mid afternoon snack.

A sign on the side of Country Club Road in Fairmont let's you know that tucked in the back, that nondescript building is, in fact, the bakery.

They both thought it was "pretty cool," that Country Club Bakery was featured in the January 2007 issue of Gourmet Magazine.

Finally, something sweet to top off their tanks; their favorite detour in all of Morgantown, Tutto-Gelato on High Street where Kyle had a few questions for owner Sarah Straface.  

Kyle: How did Tutto Gelato get started?
Sarah: When we were in Italy we fell in love with Gelato and wanted to bring it home with us.

Kyle: What is your most popular flavor?
Sarah: Stracciatella, which is like a chocolate chip.

Kyle: Do you make or sell any other products?
Sarah: Yes, we sell coffee drinks, pastries, and other specialty beverages. We even have Mutt Licks (doggie ice cream).

Kyle: What is Gelato made of?
Sarah: That’s a good question! The fruit gelato is water based, so it’s like a sorbet with fruit. The others are milk based and include sugar and flavoring. And the best part is it’s all made right here in our store.

Kyle: Who started the company?
Sarah: My cousin Jenna Straface and myself.

Kyle: When did the company start? Sarah: We opened in June of 2007.

Tasty Tidbits: 

• Kyle’s favorite Tutto-gelato flavors are blood orange and lemon
  
• Carlee’s favorite Tutto-gelato flavors are blood orange and lemon
  
• Tutto-Gelato is on Facebook

Our day ended with a trip to WV Living Magazine's home office to tell publisher and editor Nikki Bowman about our kid friendly favorites.  And of course use it as a photo opportunity/shameless plug for our upcoming wedding issue, hitting stores in May!

Happy Earth Day

Although you may not currently receive a CSA from Fish Hawk Acres, you can find many of the same ingredients listed in Chef Hawkins recipes at local farmers markets.  I’ve been anxiously awaiting the return of ours, which is just about ready to open for the season.  

Since it’s Earth Day, I thought I’d use the opportunity to provide information on the many wonderful farmers markets around our state.  It’s a great opportunity to help the environment, and by patronizing your local market you’re putting money back into the hands of the farmer, the local baker, and the small shop owner. 

If that doesn’t encourage you to check out your farmers market, let me appeal to your taste buds.  Have I mentioned how delicious fresh, local produce tastes?  Let me mention it.  Local produce is delicious, and far superior to the produce that has to be picked early so that it can be ripe by the time it makes its way to the grocery store. 

Of course it is not always possible to shop locally, especially in the winter months, but spring has sprung in West Virginia, go taste it!

Here is a great listing of West Virginia Farmers Markets.  If you know of one that is not listed on the link, feel free to leave a comment on this post or send an email to joy@wvlivingmagazine.com

 

4th Street-Downtown Clarksburg

Today I headed to  Clarksburg to get my car serviced.  I decided to stick around and wait for it and by the time the technicians were done it was noon and I was hungry.    I had a coupon for 10% off of the service and when the gentleman at the dealership showed me my savings I immediately thought that I should reward my  frugality with lunch! Yes, sad but true, this is how my mind is programmed.  

I headed downtown to see what looked good and ran across a place aptly named "4th Street" on the corner of 4th Street and Traders Avenue.  I scoped out an empty parking spot and grabbed it.

The decor inside, although housed in an old brick building, was decidedly modern, utilizing contemporary light fixtures and art. Interestingly, there was still a warmth and sense of history maintained by the terra cotta walls, old tin ceiling, and crown moulding.

All the tables were full and the jazz music was muffled by the buzz of the lunch crowd which was a mixture of  ladies at lunch and business people.  I was actually pleased that the only table left was by the window, allowing me to watch the people walking by outside.

The lunch menu included appetizers, salads and sandwiches, all ranging in price from $8 to $13.

I opted for their "signature sandwich" called 4th Street (I thought I'd stick with the theme).  Their menu describes it as "thinly sliced Italian meats and provolone cheese baked on a crusty peasant roll, and topped with lettuce, tomato and onion tossed in our house vinaigrette,".  It was served in a basket and came with a side of potato salad, homemade potato chips and a pickle, all for $9.    The portion of the sandwich was large enough for me to pack up half of it to enjoy later.  For more information about 4th Street, check out their website at www.at4thstreet.com.