Paulie’s celebrates one-year anniversary with new menu items and live music
- Steven Keith
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
Suzi's offers BBQ food truck, new popcorn shop opens
Paulie’s Fine Italian at 915 Bridge Rd. in South Hills introduced a few new dishes on Tuesday, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the restaurant’s soft opening, which they are officially celebrating on Wednesday evening with live music by local jazz pianist Bob Thompson.
James Beard-winning Chef Paul Smith told me the Paulie’s menu now features Calabrian shrimp with arrobbiota sauce over ziti pasta; a pepper stuffed with Angelo’s sausage, marinara and provolone; a wedge salad with red onion, bacon, tomato, Calabrian ranch and bleu cheese; a new cheese pizza and a tweaked Flounder Puttanesca dish with herb ricotta, spinach, olives and raisins.
The restaurant is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Suzi’s partners with new BBQ food truck
In case you missed it, Suzi’s Hamburgers announced in late May that the popular local burger joint has expanded its offerings with the addition of a new Smokin’ Sisters BBQ food truck serving a variety of smoked meats, including ribs, brisket and pulled pork, plus other specialty items.
In a post announcing the new truck, Suzi’s also teased that some of those BBQ items may eventually make it to the restaurant’s menu at its physical location at 239 MacCorkle Ave. SW in South Charleston, across from the mound.
In addition to appearing at local festivals and events, the truck will be set up in the restaurant’s lot some Sundays throughout the year.
For the truck’s updated whereabouts and schedule, visit the Smokin’ Sisters Facebook page.
Reader replicates Ray’s Deli sandwich
I was pleasantly surprised this weekend to receive a text from reader J.D. Holbrook from Summersville, who shared a photo I was happy to see. The stuffed toasted sandwich and chips in that shot were accompanied by the message, “Ray’s Deli, Almost Heaven!”
Regular readers will know we’ve been talking about the Almost Heaven sandwich quite a bit recently, with several of you asking for help tracking down that beloved recipe from the old Kanawha City restaurant.
That’s when reader Donna Chambers saved the day by sharing an actual copy of the restaurant’s menu she’s saved through the years.
On it was a description of the Almost Heaven, listing a tempting combination of turkey, spicy salami, tomatoes, onions and special sauce topped with mild banana peppers and Swiss on grilled Italian bread. J.D. told me he replicated the sandwich while tailgating at home for the big WVU baseball game on Saturday.
“Thanks for your article,” he wrote. “Brings back memories!”
Cathedral Cafe rockin’ holy specials
You’ve heard of doom-scrolling, right? Just spending hours swiping through endless social media feeds with no specific purpose other than passing time. Well, Cathedral Cafe in Fayetteville has put a delicious new twist on this practice – and I think I’ll call it drool-scrolling.
This charming coffee shop and restaurant inside an old church at 134 S. Court St. has been churning out some righteous plates of late, including gems like a steakhouse breakfast quesadilla with hatch chiles and pepperjack cheese, lemon curd-stuffed croissant French toast and a teriyaki chicken salad with fresh greens, colorful fruit and crunchy cashews.
But it was this recent post that stopped my in my tracks:
“Have you heard of a Creuben?” it started. OK, I’m listening. “It’s what happens when a Reuben and a Cuban meet in the middle and, honestly, we’re not mad about it. Savory, tangy, melty and absolutely worth trying while it’s here.”
They went on to show and tell about that weekend’s special, which was a gorgeous sandwich stacked with pastrami, mojo pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and 1000 Island dressing on marble rye and pumpernickel.
It was such a huge hit that Cathedral answered customers’ prayers by bringing that sandwich back as a special once again two weeks later. I haven’t gotten to try it yet, so here’s hoping it finds a home on the permanent menu soon.
In other local restaurant news …
The new gourmet popcorn shop I told you was coming to Elk City has officially opened its doors, offering 60 (60!) different flavors of salty, sweet, savory, cheesy and nutty specialty popcorns.
Elk City Popcorn Company at 609 Tennessee Ave. (next to recently opened Goldenrod Kitchen) is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The owners of La Banca Italian Restaurant in Milton announced its sudden closure on May 15, after just a year and a half in business. The Prohibition-themed eatery inside the old Bank of Milton building opened to great fanfare in late 2024, but suffered from mixed food and service reviews in the months that followed.
Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, X, Instagram and Pinterest as “WV Food Guy.” He can be reached at wvfoodguy@aol.com.
I saw Paulie’s is turning one already, that’s actually pretty cool how they’ve kept the place growing with new dishes and live music. While reading about it, sweeps coins casino came to mind since I sometimes check a few social casino games on breaks, just a light way to unwind. Seems like the kind of spot where people just gather, eat well, and enjoy the vibe without overthinking it.
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