North-Central West Virginia is not wanting for wonderful Italian restaurants. So, when someone told me that Mama Di Roma in Fairmont is the best of them all, I got in my car and made a trip straight to the friendly city.



Outside, there are red, white and green stripes on the windows. Photos of the food. Lists of menu items. There's no mistaking what you're walking into. Inside, there are red vinyl tablecloths, placemats with a map of Italy, and some hanging baskets. Its decor is firmly rooted in an old-school Italian-American style, with no shortage of patriotic flair.



The menu at Mama Di Roma leans into classic Italian-American comfort, with rich red sauces, baked pastas, and plenty of pizza options. Think chicken parmesan, stuffed shells, hand-tossed pizzas, calzones, and classic starters like garlic knots and wedding soup.



The complimentary bread comes out in the form of those soft, buttery garlic rolls—warm, lightly golden, and packed with enough garlic to make them just as tempting as anything on the menu.



The wedding soup is warm and comforting, with a savory broth, tender bites throughout, and a slight richness.



I ordered the Shrimp & Crabmeat entree - Sautéed Shrimp and Crabmeat in a Creamy Garlic Sauce over Rigatoni. Plump, juicy shrimp and sweet crabmeat are coated in a creamy garlic sauce that clings to every rigatoni tube. The sauce is rich without being heavy, coating the pasta nicely and letting the seafood shine. Every bite hits that comforting, garlicky flavor you want from a dish like this.



Grade: A

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, let's talk about Hagy's Irish Pie Pub -- a restaurant and bar focused on Irish-inspired food and drinks. The interior of the pub features a traditional layout with a prominent bar, wood accents, and tin ceiling that all reflect the Irish theme. The menu features shepherd’s pie, handheld pasties with unique options like steak & mushroom and spinach & leek, and elevated pub starters like beer cheese soup, pierogies, and fondant potatoes with smoked salmon. Pasties are especially interesting to me because they're similar to pepperoni rolls. Pasties are handheld meat pies that originated in Cornwall, traditionally filled with beef, potatoes, and onions and made for miners as an easy, portable meal. The thick, crimped crust acted as a handle so miners could hold and eat them without contaminating the filling, and it was often discarded afterward. My friend Angelica and I started off with the Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms - oven roasted mushrooms stuffed with onion, garlic, blue cheese, & topped with buttery panko. Next up: A Flight Of Deviled Eggs - Three Deviled Eggs with different flavor profiles: 1 Jalapeno, 1 Smoked Salmon, & 1 Mustard Dill. Both of these appetizers are right up my alley - creamy, tangy, umami. I ordered the Spinach & Leek pasty - spinach, leek, Boursin cheese, parmesan cheese, potato with Celtic mushroom gravy. It's like an Irish calzone, and it's delish. Sticky Maple Carrots - Oven roasted carrots covered with a maple glaze. These were like candy. Broccoli au gratin - Baked broccoli with Fairy Glen White Gravy topped with sharp cheddar & a buttery panko. I would pass on this next time. Grade: B

The Wine Down is Charleston's first true wine bar that specializes in a curated wine list, relaxed atmosphere and small bites. The space is designed to feel more like a living room than a bar, with sofas, accent chairs, and eclectic décor. Deep-colored walls, vintage mirrors, and small seating areas create a chill vibe. The wine list is "thoughtfully selected to be approachable, affordable, and simply enjoyable. Explore crisp, refreshing whites or rich, smooth reds," reads the website. White wines include: PINOT GRIGIO, SAUVIGNON BLANC, CHARDONNAY, MOSCATO and REISLING. Red wines include: PINOT NOIR, RED BLEND, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, and CAYMUS. They also offer prosecco and rose, in addition to mead, beer, non-alcoholic beer and sparkling water. I enjoyed a moscato and the "HOLDOVER," which is a personal charcuterie featuring an assortment of cured meats, cheeses, olives, dried fruit & chocolate. It’s essentially a place to decompress —whether that means a casual date night, catching up with friends, or just enjoying a quiet glass of wine at the end of the day. Grade: A

The outdoor pavilion at Capitol Market was filled with the aroma of simmering peppers and spices on March 14 as the annual Green Chili Shootout brought together chili lovers, professional cooks and backyard chefs for an afternoon of friendly competition. The event featured 24 total competitors — 19 professional chili cooks and 5 amateur teams — all vying for top honors while serving up samples to a steady crowd of hungry tasters. The cookoff was sanctioned by the International Chili Society, meaning the professional division winner Gail Kyle earned a $1,000 prize and a coveted spot at the ICS World Championships. Second place Lynn Berkebile took home $500 and third place Austin Lynch received $250. Guests purchased tasting tickets that granted them unlimited samples from both divisions, allowing visitors to stroll through the pavilion tasting a wide range of styles — from traditional green chili recipes to creative interpretations with bold spices and hearty textures. Each attendee also received a coin to cast a vote for their favorite chili, determining the People’s Choice winner, Mike Hill, who earned a $250 prize. The Best Booth award, judged on presentation and creativity, earned its winner Diane Lentz a $100 Capitol Market gift card. Amateur cooks included:

- Kanawha Valley Trail Alliance, which had amazing pickled radishes and other fresh ingredients to put on top
- Mountaineer Food Bank, which supplied a jalapeno cornbread muffin and a sour cream sauce
- Kanawha County Democratic Women, who brought three types: regular, vegan and white chicken
- Edgewood Summit, which brought their head chef down
- Pioneer Appalachian Federal Credit Union, which added cheese, sour cream and a tortilla chip Competition began early in the morning as cooks arrived at 10 a.m. to set up their stations and begin prepping their chili. Sampling opened to the public at noon, with official judging starting shortly after at 12:30 p.m. By 4 p.m., tasting wrapped up and votes were counted before winners were announced to the crowd. But the day didn’t stop with chili. Immediately following the awards ceremony, the pavilion transformed into a wrestling ring for Market Mayhem presented by Regatta Pro Wrestling. From 4 to 6 p.m., fans gathered around the ring for an energetic lineup of matches that added a fun and unexpected twist to the food-focused event. Plus, there were Girl Scout cookies, the WV Pickle Guy, Sarah's Bakery and Gritt's Farm.

A's Crunchy Sweets specializes in candied fruits.

It's popular online and called Tanghulu -- Chinese street food featuring fresh fruits coated in a hard, glassy sugar shell that shatters satisfyingly when you bite into it.

It's a simple but delightful treat made by dipping dried fruit on skewers into a hot, boiled sugar syrup until it reaches the "hard crack" stage and hardens into a crisp coating.

We tried bananas & grapes in fruit punch, grape and blue raspberry flavors. It's a fun sugar rush unlike any other!