Kaiser's BBQ Shack in Athens, Ohio

Review upcoming. This place was great.

Buffalo Sauce Review: The Anchor Bar Medium Buffalo Wing Sauce

Heaven is possibly the best term I could use to describe the Anchor Bar's Medium Buffalo Wing sauce. Taste bud nirvana is another. I am not at all surprised that the Anchor Bar makes possibly the best Buffalo Wing sauce I have ever tasted as they are the originator of the buffalo wing.

The sauce coats the chicken well and is the perfect combination of flavors that makes that buffalo taste that we all know and love.

5/5

Rocco's Little Italy - Huntington, WV

Rocco's is a tiny hole in the wall restaraunt that makes unbelievably good food. My wife and I stopped in last night for a bite and were very impressed with the quality of the food.

When we first walked in we were surprised at how small and aged the place looked. This apparently affected one couple that came in after us to the point that after being seated and looking around in disgust they left. Rocco's isn't dirty. In fact it is very clean. It's just old. So people shouldn't let that make them miss out on the excellent food and friendly service.

Rocco's has a nice variety of hogies and pastas. The hogies are humongous. I had the "Sleeps With the Fishes" and it was 9 inches long and probably 4 inches tall. The bun was warm and airy and crisp and very satisfying. The haddock was delicate and appropriately flaky and the batter was perfect. The tartar sauce was sweet but not too sweet and it was covered in fresh veggies. The french fries were very, very good and crispy. This was easily the best fish sandwich/hoagie I have ever had and I have ate at a few nationally known restaraunts that didn't make a sandwich as good.

My wife had the lasagna with meat sauce that comes with a garlic bread roll. The roll was airy and seasoned perfectly and ranked as one of the best peices of garlic bread I have had the pleasure of tasting. The lasagna was very good, if a little on the greasy side. It was sizzling hot fresh out of the oven and was seasoned well. The cheese was delicious and the meat sauces was also very good. They also serve Yeungling Premium Lager which is one of the better American beers. For our tasteless readers they serve Bud Light and Budweiser.

Rocco's was a great dining experience and I plan to eat there again in the near future. Please don't let the outward appearance fool you. Rocco's has a great atmosphere and is very clean and serves great food.

Rocco's Little Italy on Urbanspoon

Recipe Review: Rachel Ray's Buffalo Chicken Dip

Holy freaking cow this recipe is awesome and simple. If your a wing lover or dip lover then this recipe is for you. It makes the buffalo sauce so smooth. She recommends Texas Pete Buffalo Wing Sauce of which I am not a big fan so use your favorite. I don't care what Anthony Bourdain says about her cooking, she at least has this one right.

Rachel Ray's Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

* 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
* 2 cups cooked chicken (a store-bought rotisserie chicken works best), shredded
* 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce, recommended brand Texas Pete
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (eyeball it)
* 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (eyeball it)


Yields: 6-8 servings
Preparation

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Cover the bottom of an 8x8" dish or pie plate with cream cheese.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken, wing sauce and butter, and pour over the cream cheese-filled dish or pie plate.

Top with just enough blue cheese dressing and mozzarella cheese to cover (adding too much cheese will cause a thick skin to form that will make eating the dip difficult once the cheese cools).

Heat the dip in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with Scoops (Tortillas or Fritos) alongside for dipping.

5 out of 5

Buffalo Sauce Review: Hot Sauce Harry's Buffalo Wing Sauce - WVU Edition

Hot Sauce Harry provides college themed wing sauces that all share the same flavor. I grabbed a bottle of the WVU themed sauce and gave it a shot. This sauce is all about conflict. The first taste isn't very good. It's very tart and had a weird effect on my tongue. After a moment the flavor kicked in and I found myself very much liking the flavor then. In fact it was very good. My only knock besides that initial flavor is how runny the sauce is. I like my wings with a little more sauce than what I could keep on them with this, but I highly recommend it for a Buffalo Wing Sauce dip.

3.5 out of 5

Buffalo Wing Sauce Review: Frank's RedHot Wings Buffalo Sauce

Frank's RedHot Tabasco sauce was a vital component of the original wing sauce made at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. Their Buffalo sauce is perfect. It has just the right blend of tangy, salty and spicy that has made the Buffalo Wing an American trademark. The consistency is just right for tossing wings and keeping them covered also. Frank's RedHot Wings Buffalo sauce sets the bar for great Buffalo Wings.

5 out of 5

Buffalo Wing Sauce Review: Budweiser Wing Sauce - Mild and Tangy

What can I say? Wings go great with beer so maybe Budweiser brand buffalo wing sauce would be good. Well it's not bad, but its not great either. Its very tangy and has a slight taste of vinegar. The malt flavor is nice but the vinegar taste is kind of a turn off unless you're a vinegar lover. I would say that you should give it a try and see if you like it, but I wasn't overwhelmingly impressed with it.

2.5 out of 5

Grocery Store BBQ Sauce Review: Montgomery Inn Barbecue Sauce

First off this is a pretty good barbecue sauce. It's not the best but it is certainly flavorful and tastes great on a variety of foods. I like that you can taste the tomatoes and onions that are in it. It has a moderate flavor that I recommend mostly for barbecue ribs. I wasn't over enthusiastic about it on chicken, though it makes a great dipping sauce. You can't go wrong with this on ribs.

3.5 out of 5

The weather has finally broken...

...and I'm heading to Morgantown this weekend. The snow has been pretty bad lately but it looks like we might have a little bit of spring weather before the next snow.

Winter weather has me on lock down.

Another week goes by and I can't make it to Morgantown or Athens. I wonder when all of this bad weather is going to let up. I definitely don't want to drive through the mountains of WV in all of this snow.

Hillbilly Hotdogs

Hillbillly Hotdogs is one of those rare places than can take something absurd and blow it up into something that is not anything short of a badge of excellence for a state that has a poor and mostly undeserved reputation(emphasis on mostly). I know quite a few West Virginians who are offended by the image of the poor, redneck West Virginian that is portrayed in the books, movies and attitudes of ignorant Americans. Then you have Sonny and Sharie(actually a Californian). These two wonderful, friendly and outgoing people have fully embraced that image, lampooned it and put it on display for the world to see. There may be a lot of show, but the best performance at Hillbilly Hotdogs is not the presentation, but the execution of a great menu of delicious and satisfying food.

Hillbilly Hotdogs offers up a vareity of, well, hot dogs. The basic Hillbilly Hotdog, which happens to be my favorite is the simple and irresistible combination of a deep-fried hot dog, sauce, onions and mustard on a bun. The deep-fried dog is delicious and has just enough of the saltiness to appease the palate of salt lovers, but isn't overloaded with salt. The dog is sweet and juicy and bun sized. The secret recipe sauce is appropriately meaty and seasoned a little on the spicy side. It offers a nice balance of savory and spice, but is a little bit spicier than the sauce that most people are used to. The fresh onions and mustard top off the dog and make for a very satisfying treat.

For a side I have to recommend the Garlic Ranch Fries. The french fries are a simple crinkle cut fry, but the addition of the out of this world Garlic Ranch sauce turns them into a culinary juggernaut of awesome. The sauce is creamy and garlicy and zesty all at the same time and would be a wonderful addition to just about any food item you would find in a pub or sports bar. Their deep fried mushrooms are better than most places and have always satisfied my mushroom cravings(the culinary kind).

The signature dish at Hillbilly Hotdogs is the Homewrecker. It is a 15 inch behemoth eating challenge that can get you a free t-shirt if you finish it in less than 12 minutes. If you beat the record its free. I'll give it a shot in the future and post a review.

If you are ever in Huntington or Lesage(the original and craziest location), WV you have to stop by Hillbilly Hotdogs. They have an excellent endorsement by Guy Fieri of the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and appeared in the top 20 of the Travel Channel's "101 Places to Eat". So catch a Thundering Herd football game and then pig out at Hillbilly Hotdogs. Just be ready to stand in line.

Morgantown Trip on Hiatus...

...due to work and the recent bad weather. I'll try to get there this month.

Fat Patty's near Marshall University gave me a fatty

Fat Patty's has a very diverse menu. They cater to the meat eaters and the vegetarians. Though they have something for everyone let's get to the inspiration for the namesake. Fat Patty's serves one of those burgers that when you first bite into it you have a vision similar to the climax of "Ratatouille". It takes you back to the first great burger that you ever had. In this case my burger was a vampire slayer.

I tried the Vampire Killer. It was cooked to order and done so masterfully. It was perfectly seasoned and the garlic had a very solid presence. The patty upon first bite was a welcome combination of savory and juicy garlic goodness. The burger patty is large enough to satisfy most and not too large to leave the diner in a catatonic state of bliss though the flavor might be capable of doing so. The french fries were fresh and the beer batter was perfectly balanced and not overpowering. The deep fried mushrooms were some of the best I have ever had and will be a staple on future visits. Even better is if you eat there Tuesdays from 5-10 PM the burgers are buy 1 get 1 free.

The atmosphere is very nice and the service was excellent. Fat Patty's is obviously decorated with a variety of Marshall University memorabilia. The parking leaves something to be desired so you might want to avoid peak hours. Check back in for future visits as I try one of the other specialty burgers and the wings.

Fat Patty's
1935 3rd Ave
Huntington, WV 25703
(304) 781-2555

Scouting Huntington, WV and Marshall University

I have researched quite a few sources and I am pleasantly surprised that there are a ton of options near Marshall University. I really thought that other than three or four places there wouldn't be a whole lot before I was inundated with suggestions.

Fat Patty's
Chilli Willi's
Rocco's
Hillbilly Hot Dogs
Sam's Hot Dog Stand
The Big Loafer
GD Ritzy
Cam's Ham
Andy's Pizza
Jim's Steak & Spaghetti House
Jewel City Seafood
Midway

I'll probably review all of these eventually as I only live about an hour from the campus. Stay tuned.

I'm shooting down the Vintage Room

The Vintage room doesn't allow sports wear. In the spirit of my blog this is unforgivable. I may eat there some day, but I can't include it on this blog. Other recommended places that I am considering are the Rusted Musket, Crockett's Lodge and the Mediterranean Market.

Stop 1 cont'd: Black Bear Burritos, The Vintage Room and Kegler's

Black Bear Burritos

This place was recommended by a few WVU fans. I plan to hit this place early next week. Owing to our own cultural bias, it was humorously described to me as serving "Hippie type wraps". Hippies had to get something right? Right?

The Vintage Room

It seems somewhat expensive but has an attractive looking menu and a good recommendation for its pizza. I'll try that and more as that money in my wallet is getting hot.

Kegler's

Their website seems to be undergoing an overhaul but any WVU fan worth his salt has apparently ate here and lived to brag about it. Kegler's is known for having huge televisions, a great atmosphere and amazing wings. We shall see. Oh yes, we shall see.

Stop 1: West Virginia University - Morgantown, WV

Morgantown, WV is the home of the West Virginia University Mountaineers. The Mountaineers have a rich history as a football program and have the most wins of any football team without a national championship. WVU was established in 1867. The first football team was created by a group of students in 1891 and were known as the Snakes.

Over the years the Mountaineers have compiled a 682–449–45 record(13-15 bowl record) and have won 13 conference championships(5 in the Big East) and have appeared in 1 national championship game(a 34-21 defeat in the Fiesta Bowl to Notre Dame). WVU managed two undefeated season in 1988 and 1993(both ending with national championship aspirations and defeats). In the BCS era of NCAA football the Mountaineers have appeared in and won the 2006 Sugar Bowl over SEC champion Georgia and the 2008 Fiesta Bowl over Big-12 champion Oklahoma.

Notable WVU athletes are Sam Huff, Jerry West(WVU basketball only), Ira Rodgers, Pat White, Steve Slaton, Owen Schmitt, Chris Henry, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Reggie Rembert, Anthony Becht, Grant Wiley, Brian King, Avon Coubourne, Quincy Wilson, "Hot Rod" Hundley(WVU basketball only), Greg Jones(WVU wrestling only), Jeff Hostetler, Marc Bulger, Dan Mozez, Jerry Porter, John Thornton,Todd Sauerbrun, Mike Vanderjagt, Amos Zereoue, Noel Devine, Chuck Howley, Georgann Wells(women's basketball) and the always popular Major Harris.

Other fun facts:

Jeff Hostetler won the 1991 Super Bowl in the NFL and was voted to the Pro Bowl once. He played for the New York Giants, Oakland Raiders and the Washington Redskins.

Georgann Wells was the first female basketball player to perform a slam dunk in a collegiate basketball game.

Pat White(currently with the Miami Dolphins) is the only quarterback in the history of NCAA football to start in and win four bowl games.

So here we are....

...at my new food blog. I wanted to make a food blog that seeks out the more famous campus hot spots to eat at various colleges in the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast. The catch is that I'm not a food critic or an expert on food matters. I want to chronicle the reaction of a small town guy who lacks the refined palate of famous chefs and food critics and grab his initial reaction to the mix of flavors and smells of the restaurants that satisfy the high calorie, high flavor requirements of rowdy college football fans.

I'm not poor, but I can't travel all over the United States so I'm limiting my experiences to areas that are within driving distance of my home state of West Virginia. In my selection of schools I will hit a variety of small and large colleges. My target schools and dates for 2010 are the following:

February 2010

West Virginia University
Marshall University

March 2010

Ohio State University
Ohio University
April 2010

Penn State University
Pittsburgh University

June 2010

Florida State University

August 2010

Virginia Tech
University of Cincinnati

September 2010

Rutgers University

October 2010

Michigan University

I'll post the restaurants that I plan to attend after some research and will give a preview before leaving for each one.