Black Bear is a Morgantown local favorite. It has strong ties to both the Morgantown community and WVU (opened by WVU alums), so it's a hot spot nearly every day of the week. I planned a small gathering at Black Bear Tuesday night for my adviser who is leaving the journalism school. I also brought one of my best friends, Kayla. Double bonus.
Black Bear is located on Pleasant Street, right downtown across from 123 Pleasant Street. A parking garage is located next door, but during the school year, it can be a hassle to find parking here. If you can, just walk up. They have an old-school sign out from and a chalk clapboard with the day's specials. If they are having a band playing that night (typical on the weekends), sometimes they'll list them there, too.
Black Bear has a very open feeling. As soon as you walk in, there are a couple dozen tables, including small, large and bar areas, and a small table that has a few menus on it. I grabbed a menu and picked a seat while Kayla decided on what she wanted. I already narrowed it down: the Bear Trap. Maybe because I had been debating on what I was going to order all day at work ...
The Bear Trap is a a honey wheat tortilla with lettuce, roma tomatos, Swiss cheese, cold cut honey smoked turkey, crispy bacon and sweet honey mayo. It's kind of like heaven. My other favorites include: Mr. Teri Yaki, Thai One On, Good Calypso and Gouda Riddance. These aren't typical burritos - they're super creative, with fun, fresh ingredients and fuse modern with traditional. Black Bear offers a ton of vegetarian and vegan options quite easily - most burritos include the easy alternative, such as tofu and fakin' instead of chicken and bacon. There are "build your own" burritos, quesadillas, nachos, salads and salad wraps so you can customize it any way you want. 
Kayla thought my choice was so good, she opted for the same thing. The counter is all the way toward the back of the restaurant, but because the faces are so friendly and welcoming, it's not a daunting trip. We ordered at the register, got cups for our drinks and retrieved our toy car to put on the table. Oh yeah, that's the other thing, instead of boring slips or calling out numbers, patrons get a fun, colorful toy to put on the edge of their table so the servers know where to bring the food out. We grabbed our silverware, filled our cups and had a seat at a huge table. The wait wasn't long for our food, but the local art around the restaurant makes the time go past when you're gazing at the beauty.
My burrito was delicious - I knew it would be. Everything here is fresh, most of it is local, so it's helping support local business. The art on the walls helps support local artists. And the food, well that helps support hungry customers. The honey mayo on this burrito is really what sets it off. It's a slightly tangy, sweet spread that just fits perfect with the wrap and yummy veggies, cheese and turkey. The burrito also comes with their homemade slaw - not too mayonnaisey and a little spicy, as well as their baked chips. Perfect sides for this dish. My sandwich, slaw, chips and drink totaled less than $10. That's not bad for the quality of the ingredients and the deliciousness that resides within.
My friend Heather and I also split an ice cream sundae. Vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry made this one a classic. For $4, you can't go too wrong here. And it was enough to please the both of us. They also have beer on tap, but I haven't been able to check that out yet.This hip, local restaurant helps give back to the community and delivers awesome, creative food that keeps me coming back for more. Check out their Facebook for specials and giveaways!
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Grade: A
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