WV Gourmet

Yum. That Aloha burger looks like a real winner.

Since our first visit we have been three more times and have enjoyed it every time. The food is great. The service is great. The beer selection (which didn’t include many brands during our first visit) has been expanded to include more quality beers. My favorite is Blue Moon.

http://shoutsandhollers.com/2008/11/food-vandalia-grille/

The Vandalia Lounge is here.

Everything I have to say about cooking turkey has already been said by Alton Brown. His recipe for roast turkey involves soaking it overnight in a lightly flavored brine, adding some aromatics, and throwing it in the oven and forgetting about it.

No basting, no fooling about, and no foolhardy attempts to turn a 16lb, 350-degree bird? Perfect. Not only is it easy, it makes the moistest turkey you’ll ever have.

Nawab is one of my favorite places to eat in Huntington. And that’s not just because the fragrant cuisine reminds me of Britain. It’s also because the service is excellent, the surroundings are well-appointed and the atmosphere is top-notch. Most of all, though, it’s because you can roll in there on a Friday night, after driving past seething throngs queuing, inexplicably, outside Red Lobster or Applebee’s, and have both your choice of table and an attentive waiter. Nawab is nowhere near as popular as it deserves to be, and I’m quite happy with that.

Nawab is also one of the few local places that serves lamb, preparing it in a variety of delicious sauces. Lamb curries deliciously, in my opinion, and is so hard to find around here for reasonable money that I inevitably make sure at least one of our dishes contains this sadly overlooked meat.

Plus they’ve always been delighted to cater to our 3-year-old, even bringing him out fried potato pancakes when he was struggling a little with our spicier dishes. He loves the excellent naan and tandoori dishes, though.

Yes, the evening prices are a little steep, but it’s worth it. The lunch buffet is always outstanding and much more moderately priced, though — check it out for its range of creative and unusual salads if for no other reason.