My Culinary Odyssey: Huntington Mall, Part Two

    It back to the Mall again as I finish off the Huntington Mall part of this series with a bonus Saturday post. If you thought some of the stories were a little weird in part one, wait until you see these.  Some of them are even weirder. In fact, I could probably write an entire post about some of the weird things that have occurred in my history with the Mall. Like how a branch bank at the Mall closed a few years ago, only to be replaced by a vape shop, and that's just for starters. Check out the introduction by clicking the link and see how I'm organizing the series.  Now, really, back to the Mall again.

• [Unknown ice cream parlor, TO:  I try to notice every store at a mall, even if I don't plan on going in. In the 90s, I noticed that the parlor had a soda machine that had Fanta root beer. Now, when I was a kid, Fanta root beer was the only other soft drink I would ask for by the carton, other than Dr Pepper. By the 90s, most stores had stopped carrying in though, so I was thrilled to see it again somewhere, or at least claiming it was Fanta. Since we usually ate lunch after shopping half the Mall in those days, I was ready for a drink on the way out of the Mall and on my way home. I got a cup a few times, but then the parlor closed to be replaced by another restaurant. No more Fanta. A new place, Superhero Creamery, recently opened at the Mall. It is a combination ice cream parlor and comic book/collectable store.  While I just bought seventeen of my missing comic books on my most recent trip, I didn't check out the ice cream part of the store. {Note:  my favorite root beers in order are Fanta, A &W, Mug, many others I have never tried or tasted, Barq's}]
• Au Bon Pain, inside Stone and Thomas, DI: This is weird. We went into Stone and Thomas, the smallest of the original anchors at the Mall and the only one without a second floor, once in the late 80s or early 90s and saw a small restaurant tucked into the cookware section, Au Bon Pain. It was a French bistro/pastry shop. We tried something there.  I don't remember what, but I don't think they had a full-sized working oven, so I don't know how they cooked everything. I may have had a pastry as well.  We never ate there again, even though it felt strange seeing the attendant watch us shopping  sometimes. Although the restaurant closed before the store got rebranded as Elder Beerman, the special tiles on the floor stayed until the store went out of business. You could still see them, even though they tried to hit the fact with carefully placed fixtures. [Elder Beerman got divided into many stores after it closed. The west section became a Rue 21 for a year, before closing. This section is now part of a Dave and Busters that wraps around to the food court. The rest is divided into a TJ Maxx (south) and Home Goods (north), although they share a rear corridor and a front register bay, as well as  possibly extended doorways for each.]
• Arby's, west food court location, DI:  It took over a year, but Arby's finally came back into the space where the ice cream parlor was, I think. For a few years, I would have my typical chicken sandwich here, as I did for much of the 90s. It was never as full as it was at its original spot. It closed by the early 2000s. I think the Philly cheesesteak restaurant that was beside it took over its spot, or it was something else.  I am not sure which of the two spots it once had. Again, there might be an Arby's on the west end of Barboursville. Never seen it.
• [Starbucks, TO:  The coffee shop opened in the 2010s or so.  My mom stopped in a few times, mostly when they had a white chocolate drink. It wasn't often, as she thought the coffee was too strong and too expensive. Starbucks would close a few years ago, only to be ultimately replace by another coffee shop, Grindstone Brewery. There are currently Starbucks at the Merritt Farm shopping center, where Target is (It's the one that made news last year when the mountainside behind it gave away, causing part of it to fall off.), and a kiosk inside the Barboursville Kroger. (Biggest one I have ever been in, and the best frozen food section of any supermarket I've seen.)
• Burger King, east food court location, DI:  This was the first BK I ever went to, sometime in the early 90s. My mom suggested it as change from some of the other places we ate. The place was pure 90s with its bold colors and curvy booths. We would eat here a few times, along with the other spots. BK had taken over the old Arby's spot, and was using the now empty spot beside it for overflow seating. Alas, BK would close in the late 2000s/early 2010s, only to be replaced by Talbots, a women's clothing store.  In the food court. My theory was the outside door.  The only other Talbots I've seen had an outside door, reminiscent of its logo. (That one has since blocked off its mall entrance.) Now, if Talbots wanted a second door, most of the other units in the Mall wouldn't have the room for it and still have ample show space and storage. However, BK already had an outside door, making it easier to adapt it and still have storage. Just weird to have a dress shop by restaurants.  As to BK, well ....
• Burger King, east Mall campus location, DI, ⭐️⭐️:  They build a standalone structure between IHOP and a tire store, just down the road from McDonald's and Wendy's. This has been my go-to restaurant since it opened, save for one time when the lobby was closed and we had to eat at the BK in Paintsville instead. I order my usual Whopper, rings, and Pepper. My mom goes a little crazy, ever since she stopped having sesame seeds. She usually picks them off a sandwich if she forgets to orders one of the other options. [Restaurant hack: you can ask for a seedless brioche bun or for two bottom buns.] She has also gotten nuggets, mozzarella sticks, and even a small fries once which she sent back because they were too salty. (The one I tried was okay, but she sent them back anyway and got an unsalted batch in return. Very embarrassing.) Speaking of sticks, this is also the place where I first tried my hack to create a Stromboli burger. I took my regular Whopper (no cheese or pickles, although I should have taken off ketchup as well). I placed some mozzarella sticks on top of the patty and covered them with some of the marinara dipping sauce. Nowhere near the same, but I am hoping to improve on the recipe later. (I haven't tried the newer mozzarella fries yet. They might offer something different.) In fact, earlier this year after a very trying service, [understaffed, broken ice machine, regular standing by the counter and asking for ice to fill their thermos, and a family bringing in a pizza from Little Caesar's] I finally took the crown that was lying on the table.  First time ever from any BK.  Hey, I deserved it that day. 

    And that ends the tour through the Huntington Mall.  Come back Wednesday for my regular blogcast post as I start my next tour through Lexington. See you soon.