Getting Fresh in West Virginia

I have been meaning to write about this restaurant for about a year. And since I'm getting back in touch with my blog, I thought this would be the perfect time.

The Dish Café is a unique dining establishment for our area. I'm sure when most people think of food in West Virginia, you think about country cooking and maybe barbeque. I'm not sure what I thought -- or if I did think about it -- before moving here. But one of the nice surprises about moving to this area has been the abundance of delicious food options. And it's not all meat and three. But The Dish was the first (and only so far) of its kind.

The restaurant's décor is welcoming and relaxed. You will likely see at least a couple of the six owners (Rosy Corley, Beverly Hall, Mark and Michelle Rotellini, Devin and Tammy Billeter) on any given visit. They're greeting guests, in the kitchen cooking, tending bar, even serving. The atmosphere is down-to-earth. And I love the quality of their food. I also love to sit in the lounge because the bar is so pretty.

Every Tuesday night is Taco Tuesday and specials are displayed on Facebook. There are different lunch and dinner specials every day in addition to their regular menu items.

My favorite lunch special is the Turkey Asparagus Melt, grilled on their freshly baked bread.

The Dish opened after we moved to WV and the concept sounded so unlike anything we had tried here. It reminded us of the kind of restaurant you would find in a much larger, metropolitan area or a sophisticated city (not suggesting Daniels is unsophisticated). They serve whole, fresh food. Many of their menu items are also organic. They bake their own bread. They use family recipes. They even make some of their drinks with organic spirits. I love their fresh muddled cucumber fresca and cucumber martini. Both are made with organic vodka. Recently I also tried my first Moscow Mule at The Dish and it's now on my list of favorites.

One of my favorite lunch items is the Black Bean Veggie Burger with fresh avocado, salsa queso and chipotle aioli. It's served on a fresh, warm pita with a side item. I love being able to order something so delicious and yet equally healthy.

John loves the quality and flavor of their Honey BBQ chicken wings. I love them too. They also have spicy BBQ, parmesan garlic, sesame ginger, Cajun, Dante's Fire, and sriracha orange wings. I have yet to try them all but I have plans for the future.




We love the fried pickles with homemade ranch dressing. And I have been completely impressed with their fresh baked pretzels and pimento cheese. I have never really liked pimento cheese. But this pimento cheese is unlike any I have ever tasted. It's a family recipe and made in house. I crave it stuffed into a baked potato every now and then.
















When I mention only certain appetizers, I feel like I'm leaving out the others because they're all good. We've enjoyed the lettuce wraps and the crab stuffed portabella mushroom (above) is, yes, simply "the best I've ever tasted." (You may remember that phrase from my last review.)

Their salads are made with fresh, locally grown field greens. They make their own homemade salad dressings. Their soups are homemade and delicious. They serve wild-caught fresh salmon. And their flatbread pizzas are wonderful. My favorite is the Roquefort Society Bread with melted Roquefort cheese, fresh rosemary, sliced red grapes and a drizzle of local honey. It's a perfect sweet and savory combination on a made from scratch, organic flour and agave nectar flatbread crust.

I eat lunch at The Dish often with friends. But they offer many great dinner specials. Pictured here are the steak and lobster, and the grilled Mahi Mahi with mango salsa.

One of my favorites on the menu all the time is the Cajun shrimp over creamy polenta with a spicy cream sauce. I could eat the spicy cream sauce all by itself with a spoon.




But you're going to have to save room for dessert. Whether it's the Avocado Brownie (trust me) or the Peanut Butter Pie or (our favorite) the Gluten Free Blondie with ice cream and homemade butterscotch sauce, you can't go wrong.






Here's a picture of our good friend, Mike Geiser, devouring the blondie. We ordered it to share because Mike can't eat gluten. We then ordered one of our own. And if we have dessert, it's the only dessert we ever order. It's amazing.

We enjoy The Dish for the fresh ingredients, the locally grown options, and the delicious creations that they put so much thought into serving. We also love the people, from the owners to the servers.




Tammy and Devin

There's something so inviting about a locally owned restaurant. I eat at chain restaurants too. But when I go to The Dish, my food is prepared by people who have come to know us and who make it obvious they appreciate our business. We have sure come to appreciate all of our friends at The Dish and always look forward to catching up, as well as eating great food!

It's been about a year since I had the privilege of appearing in one of their television commercials (simply because I happened to be having lunch there that day). I love this commercial because my reaction to my food was genuine. I don't get to make an appearance in commercials other than John Howerton Honda, so this was a special opportunity.

We love our friends at The Dish as much as we love their food!

If you live locally and haven't tried it, you need to!
And if you don't live locally, it's worth the drive!