It's common knowledge in West Virginia that Hinton has the best Dairy Queen.

Is that a sad thing I just typed?

I don't know. But it's true.

I have made it clear, I hope, that I love supporting local businesses and eat local whenever possible. However, there are sometimes when I'm in a rush that I do get fast food. And I usually opt for Dairy Queen - my favorite fast food joint.

Since I started this blog, I've had so many people tell me to go to Hinton. Hinton? Really?

Yes, really.

There isn't much in Hinton, and I don't ever get down this way often, so I made a special detour while driving from Union to Charleston to go through Hinton just for this Dairy Queen.

From the outside, it looks pretty typical. I walked in and walked up to the counter to place my order for a hotdog. I then realized the seating area for this place is pretty massive - at least compared to the other DQs I've been to.

There's a section off to the left with some play areas for kids, and down the stairs to the second tier there is another seating space that overlooks the New River. And it's beautiful.

It's wide and not too deep in areas - so we saw fisherman and ducks. And it spans the entire viewing area from the large windows inside the DQ. One of the best serene views from a restaurant - and it's a DQ, of all places.

Oh, the hotdog.

It's housed in a grilled English bun (yum!) and was topped with onions, mustard, slaw and chili. Chili being on top. A little different than what I'm used to, but to be honest, I think I like it better. The roof of my mouth isn't met with cool slaw - it's instead met with the warm chili, which makes the slaw slightly less frigid, and I get a better taste of the chili - the ingredient I prefer. The slaw plays second fiddle to the chili, and I'm okay with that.

Since it is a chain, I will refrain from making this an official review by giving it a letter grade, but it's good - with an awesome view.