The Putnam Scoop

Last night my family and coworkers met up for a birthday celebration at Blackhawk Grille in Barboursville. This was the first time my family had ever been there, and honestly my kids weren’t excited about it. They didn’t want to go to a “fancy” restaurant and worried there might be a multitude of plates and forks. I finally got them out the door ready to give it a try.

We were welcomed at the entrance by Ian Patrick, owner and chef, who was also tending bar. With his friendly smile, the girls immediately began to relax. I knew we’d be OK.

The Blackhawk Grille is in a beautiful, nearly 100 year old building full of details such as painted tin ceilings, ornate moldings and stained glass. If you know me, you wouldn’t be surprised that I asked if could take pictures. I was invited to wander as I liked and take pictures of whatever I wanted. (Yay!) Really, they made us feel right at home.

We ate in a private dining room from white china on crisp white table cloths, which allowed the food to be the star. The appetizers were all wonderful, but you must try the crab cakes. They are worth fighting your loved ones for, I swear.

There wasn’t a children’s menu but they were happy accommodate a request from one of my daughters. I got the impression that the menu evolves and that the preparation is a joy for the chef. We were told about new dishes that had been served for the first time the night before and therefore weren’t yet in the menu. My meal was a chicken breast/tricolor cheese tortellini dish with a fabulous parmesan Romano cream sauce. ($22 and worth every penny.)

My Little One tasted her food, nearly swooned and told me her plan was to get 150% full. I believe she did.

A sample of desserts was brought out to the table for the birthday boy, who kindly shared with the rest of us. We were stuffed full but how do you say no to such heavenly goodies? Simple: You don’t.

This morning I was happy to hear my girls asking when we were going to go back and fighting over who got what leftovers for lunch.

If you’d like to try Ian’s Blackhawk Grille for yourself (and you know you want to!) it’s located in Barboursville on 646 Central Avenue. Call (304) 736-9494 for details or reservations, which aren’t required – but aren’t a bad idea either. They’re open from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday.

Beautiful surroundings, attentive staff and incredibly delicious food – if I had a ranking system set up on this blog, Blackhawk Grille would have top honors.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 7:31 pm and is filed under Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.