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.

Wet Your Whistle

This weekend I had the opportunity to try BranchWater, a bottled water tapped at  Minnehaha Springs in Pocahontas County, and I was really quite impressed.

At first, I have to admit,  I didn't quite get the hip flask design but when I saw my husband slip it into his back pocket while walking across the field to our son's soccer game, I had a big "aha" moment. It makes so much sense, and honestly, I was surprised one of the giant bottled water producers hadn't already thought of it. The bottle design alone is uncanny. It's sleek and compact and fits in a back or side pocket with ease. It seems great for a whole host of outdoor activities including hiking, biking, walking and even soccer games. Apparently I am not the only person who feels this way, the BranchWater folks just won a gold medal at the Berkley Springs International Water Competition for package design.

Package design is one thing, but how does it taste? Well, I don't hold a Ph.D. in water tasting (not even an undergrad) but I must say, as an everyday water drinking kind of gal, I thought it had a very crisp, refreshing and satisfying quality. Actually, I enjoyed it so much that I'm considering getting a water cooler for my kitchen so I can utilize their 5-gallon delivery service. I'm not suggesting you do the same, but if you are a bottled water drinker, you really must give BranchWater a try, you can order it online or find it at Hilton Garden Inn in Clarksburg, Adventures Edge in Morgantown, Tuscan Sun Spa in Snowshoe, and at the BranchWater location in Fairmont.

Got Ramps?

Today was an extremely exciting day for me. My husband and I had just gotten off of Exit 132 on I-79, otherwise known as the South Fairmont exit. We were traveling 250 North when suddenly, just before Muriale’s restaurant, a sign with the handwritten word RAMPS appeared. “Stop the car,” I shouted, like a woman possessed. He looked at me, confused. “Ramps,” I said. “They are selling ramps!!!”

Rewind a few months to a meeting with WV Living magazine editor and publisher, Nikki Bowman. We were discussing the editorial calendar for our Spring issue when she assigned me a story on ramps. “On what?” I had absolutely no idea what a ramp was, somewhere in my mind I was wondering how skateboarding had anything to do with West Virginia culture.

Check out my travel story on ramps in the heritage section of WV Living’s spring issue,  you’ll see that this appalachia newcomer became very well acquainted with the highly celebrated delicacy. Of course, since the story was written in the winter months, I had yet to have the opportunity to taste what these little stinkers were all about. So today, I brought home my treasure and got to work cleaning them.   Which by the way is no easy task. Once they were all nice and clean it was time to put my kitchen prowess to the test! I have to admit that I wasn't brave enough to eat the ramp as a main ingredient, so I decided to prepare them the way that had been most commonly suggested from the native West Virginian's I interviewed while writing the story; fried with a little bit of bacon and potatoes. Let me tell you, after my first bite, West Virginia owns a bigger piece of my heart.

Ramp Fried Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup ramps, coursley chopped
  
• 3 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
  
• 3 large boiled potatoes, chopped into bite sized chunks
  

Directions:

• over medium heat, cook bacon until the fat begins to render
  
• add ramps and cook over medium heat for approximately 2-3 minutes
  
• add potatoes and cook until golden brown
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
  Tell us your favorite ramp recipe by posting a comment to WV Food or by emailing me at joy@wvlivingmagazine.com.