Madeleine's Restaurant

Madeleine's is one of those restaurants in Morgantown that you wouldn't expect to be here. Located at the end of High Street, Madeleine's is not the typical High Street dining. This restaurant tries to serve local food, as to contribute to the local economy. The chef experiments with flavors and textures to create exciting dishes. Parking is iffy, and you'll most likely have to find a meter and feed it for the duration of your meal, but it's probably not going to matter after you've had this dining experience.

When we walked in, the lights were dimmed, and the hostess asked if we'd like to be seated in the window. We said sure - so we had a nice view for our dinner. The hostess lit the candle that was on our table and handed us menus. Our waiter came over soon after and took our drink orders. The waiter was very personable and eager to help. He spouted off the specials then parted to give us time to decide. I looked over the menu, but I wasn't feeling a heavy dinner. There were a few meat dishes and a pasta dish. All of the appetizers looked amazing to me, and I saw the crabcake appetizer also comes as an entree.

I asked the waiter the difference between the crabcake appetizer and the crabcake entree. He said the potato salad it comes with is larger and there's an additional crabcake. I put my order in. My friend was set on a butternut squash appetizer, but when she ordered it, the waiter apologized that he hadn't mentioned they were out. He apologized profusely, so she took another quick glance and ordered the cheese plate, as well as a cup of their special soup - tomato bisque.

We were brought out a small basket of bread with some whipped butter. It seemed fresh, but my appetite wasn't strong, so I waited for my entree.

Her bisque came out first, and she said it was tasty. Next came her cheese plate, with a few types of cheeses, berries, apple slices and some melba toast. She doesn't like strawberries or raspberries, so those went to me. Ripe and sweet.

Finally, my entree came out. It was a little awkward because Kaitlynn's were out way before mine. Granted, they were under the "appetizers" section, but that was her main meal. My dish came out with three crabcakes on top of a warm fingerling potato salad with two asparagus spears. The potato salad was slices of warm potatoes with vinegar, some chunks of bacon, onion, parsley, chives, and some other spices and whatnot. I had never tasted potato salad before, so it was different. It was kind of refreshing and light, though. It wasn't a creamy potato salad - it was a tart, warm potato. But that balanced well with the crabcakes on top.

I only had one crabcake at the restaurant, but it was lovely. It was lump crabmeat, and the breading was slightly crispy. It was quality. But later on when I tried the second crabcake for dinner at home, I had three hard pieces, maybe shell, in the crabcake. That didn't deter me because they were scrumptious. It was very flavorful, the crab tasted fresh, and it was cooked to perfection.

For around $20, I had a pretty tasty dinner, and I know I'll go back. It's a great quality place with some fresh ingredients and creative dishes. It's one of the finer places in town, and it's a great local option.

Grade: A