The Friendliest Little Restaurant on Earth

Hometown Restaurant Peterstown, WV

Sometimes you've just got to go back to the basics, to those warm and familiar places that bring you comfort, especially in times of need. Recently, I lost my youngest cousin, Evan. He passed away tragically and far too young. The emptiness that is left inside my heart still resonates with each heavy breath, so much so that I wish I could sigh the sadness right out of me, but I can't. Instead, like the rest of my family I'm filled with a constant dull ache and an insatiable yearning for him to return to us.

It's times like these that I eye my surroundings with a keener vision. Perhaps I'm just seeking that proverbial pat on the back from a stranger which will remind me that yes, there is still plenty right with this world (don't we all seek this to some extent?) or maybe I'm simply craving an earnest, "How ya'll doing today?" from a total stranger so I'll be reminded of home. These minute gestures magically seem to fill the void, or at least a little part of it and that's enough for now.

Hometown Restaurant, located in the quaint mountain town of Peterstown, West Virginia which sits right along the Virginia/West Virginia line, fills my void.

Serving up good old country cooking with a decidedly West Virginia mountain flair (think brown beans and cornbread and my personal food addiction, the West Virginia slaw dog), Hometown is a no-frills, come-on-in-and-grab-yourself-a-seat spot located on the main road in town. There's a nice, little salad bar with all the usuals, including a particularly good homemade potato salad, along with a hot bar of rotating lunch specials that are appropriately doused in some kind of gravy.

Hometown's real-deal slaw dog with homemade chili sauce on a buttered New England split bun

There's an a la carte menu available offering up an array of tasty, home cooked goodies, ranging from Texas toast hamburgers (another West Virginia tradition) and country ham dinners to vegetable plates and fried fish meals that are all VERY reasonably priced.

Nearly everything at this 26 year old restaurant is made from scratch and it's pure grandma's cooking, especially the homemade cakes, pies and rolls. We sampled a coconut cream pie that boasted the tallest, most perfect meringue I've ever seen. It was so good we devoured it before I could even get a snapshot, so I guess you'll have to get your own slice to really see what I mean.

While the food is undoubtedly good, it's the company that makes this place so special. We weren't at our table all of five minutes before an older gentleman on the other side of the room got up from his table, walked over to us, shook our hands and simply said "Welcome". He then returned to his table and quietly finished his meal. Who does this anymore? He wasn't an employee, and as far as I know not affiliated with the restaurant other than being a patron, yet he took the time to make us feel special in a place where everyone knows everyone, but no one knew us.

As we worked through our meal of slaw dogs, beans and cornbread and blackberry cobbler, nearly everyone who walked by our table took a moment to wave a kind hello along with a quick "how ya'll doing?" From local farmers still in their overalls to a large group of dust-covered men coming in from a nearby construction site to the restaurant's seasoned servers, many of whom have been working here for 20-plus years, it was as if the whole place had invited us into their private dining room.

I can think of no better way to welcome your guests than to create an atmosphere where food, fellowship and good old-fashioned mountain-style hospitality is all that matters.

And, if you feel like you might need an extra prayer or two said on your behalf, Hometown's got you covered. Just fill out this form with any prayer requests and drop it in the box on your way out. It sure beats just grabbing a mint.

What Hometown Restaurant offers its diners is not unique. No one's claiming to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the soul-satisfying, stick-to-your-guts, home-cooked food they serve each week. What makes Hometown so special in my book are the little things-- the way a stranger shakes your hand with purpose, how a waitress beams with pride as she lays down that piece of towering homemade coconut cream pie, and how a passer-by who you've never met takes the time to stop by your table just to offer a "glad you're here" as if somehow he magically knows your heart is heavy.

Hometown Restaurant
Route 219
Peterstown, West Virginia
No booze
No bad language

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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