Restaurant Road Trip: Dark & Dusty Rec. Riders Tap House

WHITE HALL, W.Va. (WBOY) — Dark and Dusty Rec. Riders Tap House is a new restaurant in the White Hall area that offers an immense bourbon selection paired with some killer food options like wings, pizza and a special house beer made by High Ground Brewing.

Dark & Dusty opened in the back of the Middletown Commons in November 2023, and takes its name from the second verse of “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

A few unique and noteworthy items on this restaurant’s menu include:

• Cowboy Ranch wings $8-14: A pile of wings covered in a mild buffalo-ranch sauce served with a side of ranch or bleu cheese.
• Bang Bang Shrimp $12: Beer-battered shrimp tossed in a sweet and slightly spicey “Bang-Bang” sauce. (12 News Staff pick)
• Oh My! $13 — A cauliflower flatbread that is almost indiscernible from an ordinary flatbread made with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, red onions and a standout balsamic glaze. (Reporter’s favorite)
• Adventurous pizza – This one is going to sound weird, but trust us—a garlic parmesan pizza topped with grilled peaches, seasoned steak and bleu cheese crumbles with mozzarella and a sauce. The dryness of the bleu cheese is balanced by the sweetness of the peaches and makes for a truly unique pizza that lives up to its name. (Worth trying!)

Fittingly-named head chef Bill Beverage has been cooking since he was 11 years old, and said his cooking is heavily influenced by his mother, who hails from the city of Hanau, Germany, and actually works alongside him at Dark & Dusty. Beverage said he’s always looking to push the bounds of his food while staying true to the tastes of his regular customers.

“I like to try and push people towards things that they don’t find everywhere else,” Beverage said. “And if they’re willing to step outside the box a little bit, they’re going to have a great dining experience.”

In addition to having unique food options, Dark & Dusty Tap House also has plenty of taps to go around. The restaurant serves almost exclusively craft beer made in West Virginia from breweries like Big Timber , Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company, Short Story Brewing, Parkersburg Brewing Company, Abolitionist Ale Works, Chestnut Brew Works and many more. Dark & Dusty also has its own house beer, a red ale made by High Ground Brewing in Terra Alta.

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“There was [a little bit] of pushback on domestic versus craft, and we’ve actually got a lot of people to sample some of the craft beers, and they’ve really switched over [from] some of the domestics because you can get a little more flavor and you’re still having the same kind of taste that you would with some of the domestics,” Beverage said. “So it’s been nice to be able to give a little more culture to people that don’t necessarily look for it.”

More impressively, the bar currently offers 97 varieties of bourbon, including several bottles made from West Virginia distillers like Devil’s Due and Swilled Dog. If you’re a fan of fine spirits, Dark & Dusty Rec. Riders Tap House is a must-visit.

Click here to find Dark & Dusty’s website and Facebook page ; the restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday at the following times:

• Tuesday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
• Sunday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

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