The Food Guy Awards: Best Eats of 2025
- Steven Keith
- Dec 31, 2025
- 7 min read
You’ve heard of the Oscars, Grammys and Tonys. Now get ready for The Food Guy Awards, offering a 2025 “year in review” of the local food scene. Think of it as our own little James Beard Awards, just with much less paparazzi and glam.
Best Overall Dining Experience: Alma Bea
You heard how over the moon I was about this amazing and unassuming place in Shepherdstown when I reviewed Alma Bea back in April. That magical evening has stayed with me ever since and remains the most memorable dining experience I had this past year.
After a notable career as an award-winning chef in Europe and Chicago for years, Mary Ellen Diaz decided to move to West Virginia, where she could open a restaurant to help celebrate and preserve the culinary heritage of her mother who lived there.
Her menu not only offers elevated Appalachian farm-to-table cuisine in an elegantly rustic setting (inside an old farm supply store!) but dishes also demonstrate the ingenuity and creativity of traditional Appalachian cooking techniques. Smoked ingredients (not just meats) play a starring role, along with other dishes that take hours or even days to make.
The space is cozy, the service is attentive and the food is comforting, well executed and incredibly delicious.
I’m telling you, friends, get thee to Alma Bea!
Alma Bea at 202 E. Washington St. in Shepherdstown is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Call 304-870-2153 or visit the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Best New Restaurant: Paulie’s Fine Italian
I mean, was it really even a contest?
Charleston’s James Beard-winner Chef Paul Smith did it again with the summer opening of Paulie’s Fine Italian in the former location of Bridge Road Bistro in South Hills.
Six months later, the place is still packed every night thanks to its buzzy ambience, top-notch service, neighborhood feel and a menu of elevated homestyle Italian dishes.
Handcrafted pizzas and apps like anchovy-stuffed fried olives and wood-fired oysters join comforting pastas like carbonara, veal Milanese and his signature Sunday Ribbons, plus a variety of excellent steak and seafood options like salmon over beans and greens and a unique, piquant flounder puttanesca. It’s so good. All of it.
Paulie’s at 910 Bridge Rd. in South Hills is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Call 681-205-2210 or visit www.pauliesitalian.com.
Best Restaurant Redo: Fazio’s Italian Restaurant
After the longtime owners of Fazio’s Italian Restaurant announced their 75-year-old business was for sale, many feared it may be the end of an era for one of Charleston’s most iconic dining spots.
They needn’t have worried. The late Doug Skaff and local restaurateur Vicente Cruz led a group of nearly a dozen investors who bought the place and not only preserved its history and charm, but also found ways to make it even better.
The family’s famous recipes you love are still on the menu, the kitchen and service staffs have been ramped up and they even transformed one of the restaurant’s dining rooms into a swanky new bar that I absolutely can’t wait to check out. Breathing new life into an old favorite doesn’t always have a happy ending, but this is a flex that totally worked.
Fazio’s Italian Restaurant at 1008 Bullitt St. in Charleston is open from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Call 304-344-3071 or visit www.fazioswv.com.
Most Surprising Find: The Wine Down
This award stands as a testament to the importance of second chances.
When The Wine Down first opened on the West Side back in April, I wrote about it being a lovely place, but also predicted I probably wouldn’t go there much. Although the space is cooly decorated and incredibly cozy – and I love its private “hideaway” feel – I initially felt the small wine bar’s very small wine list (only a few reds and whites offered at a time) probably wouldn’t be enough to keep me coming back.
I was wrong.
Turns out you don’t always need a massive wine list with lots of options to have a good time. I’ve been back several times since that first visit to just sit a spell and enjoy a glass of nice wine and a small plate of charcuterie – sometimes with friends, sometimes in solitude. I love both experiences, and now there’s a new outdoor back patio to enjoy.
We don't have nearly enough places like this here, so I’m doing my part to help shine a spotlight on this small business that has created something really nice for the area.
The Wine Down at 114 W. Washington St. in Charleston is open from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 4 to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Call 681-557-9176 or visit the wine bar’s Facebook page.
Most Addictive Dish of the Year: Kita Modern Japanese
There are so many items I adore at Kita Modern Japanese at Southridge. Works of sushi art that are as beautiful as they are delicious. Expertly grilled meats, seafood and more hot off the robata. A variety of izakaya-inspired apps and entrees.
But I have a difficult time ordering any of those amazing creations because I’m hopelessly devoted to Kita’s incredibly addictive red curry. It’s not just fiery like a green curry, rich like a massaman or aromatic like a panang. It’s a little bit of all of those things that come together in a creamy, flavorful sauce that I’d gladly drink with a straw for a meal in itself.
I used to always order Kita’s rendang, a wonderful plate of slow-braised beef short ribs cooked in a thick coconut curry paste and topped with crispy onions and cilantro.
But it’s the red curry I can’t quit now – and I don’t even want to try.
Kita Modern Japanese at 2815 Mountaineer Blvd. in Charleston is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, noon to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. Call 304-205-5200 or visit www.kitamodern.com.
Outstanding Supporting Role by a Condiment: Pies & Pints
I have praised their pizzas, salivated over their salads and been wowed by their wings.
But it’s the creamy gorgonzola dressing that has my heart at Pies & Pints in Charleston, Fayetteville and Morgantown. Served as a dipping sauce for wings or a dressing on salads, this relatively thin and silky elixir packs a punch of tangy flavor.
I could seriously eat it on anything. Or as I did this past weekend – and I’m not even kidding – just plain by the spoonful.
Pies & Pints at 222 Capitol St. in Charleston is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Call 304-342-7437 or visit www.piesandpints.net.
Saddest Restaurant Closing: Graziano’s Pizza
Although it also wasn’t a surprise by the time it finally happened (the restaurant’s longtime owner had tried to close in 2024 before a public outcry convinced him to reconsider) the loss of Graziano’s Pizza in downtown Charleston this summer still hurt something fierce.
Known for its New York-style pies, Italian subs and salads, this beloved Capitol Street pizza joint finally shut its doors on June 30.
That space is now being taken over and remodeled by the folks who own next door's Cozumel Express, which is expanding its footprint in downtown Charleston.
Most Shocking Closings: DT Prime, Ichiban, Bar 101, The Lookout
Although the closures of DT Prime, Ichiban, Bar 101 and The Lookout came as little surprise to those in the know on the local restaurant scene, the fall of those former hot spots on Capitol Street and at Eagle View in Charleston still sent shockwaves through the community.
Bar 101 and Ichiban had been local staples for nearly two decades, while DT Prime opened to great fanfare back in early 2022.
The news of their demise grew even more tragic when the restaurant group’s co-owner, David Andrew, sadly passed away a few months later.
I have known Dave and his wife, Colleen, for more than 20 years and my heart aches for their family still.
Most Anticipated New Restaurant: Prime 101 Steakhouse & Bar
I’m admittedly intrigued by the reopening of Bar 101 and Ichiban as the upscale Prime 101 steakhouse and bar that promises to set a new standard of excellence on the downtown dining scene.
Owned and operated by regional banker Dennis Harmison and his wife Shea, the new bar hosts its grand opening tonight as part of a big New Year’s Eve block party on Capitol Street, with the restaurant opening sometime in the new year.
Although I don’t believe the Harmisons have previous experience running a restaurant, Dennis tells me they do know good food and are well-versed in what it takes to offer a top-notch steakhouse experience here similar to ones they’ve enjoyed elsewhere.
I am so here for it.
I’ve actually been invited to the bar’s VIP pre-grand opening tonight, so I’ll be sure to share all the details I can next week!
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 culinary publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as “WV Food Guy.” He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or at wvfoodguy@aol.com.