Wheeling Island may feature both positive and negative aspects to its reputation, but you can’t deny there are quality options for dining located within its shores.
Some of the top dining options in Wheeling can be found within, including Abbey’s, the Golden Chopsticks, and today’s long delayed but much enjoyed food review for Eden Family Restaurant.
Yes, yours truly is once again awaiting payday before he ventures back out into the public to partake in more of the Upper Ohio Valley’s incredible food establishments.
So today, I’ll recall a few trips we’ve made to Eden’s, located at 135 Virginia Street on the South Side of Wheeling Island.
If I could tell you nothing else about Eden’s, it’d be this—this restaurant serves the BEST mozzarella sticks, hands down, bar none, etc., etc. Yes, they are that good. We order them off the appetizer menu every time we eat at Eden’s.
They are four hand-breaded cheese sticks, fried and served with marinara dipping sauce. I’ve tried cheese sticks at numerous places across the Ohio Valley, and none come close. There’s Eden’s cheese sticks, a steep drop-off, and then everyone else’s.
But Eden’s does feature a fairly extensive menu, covering breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. I’ve yet to partake in the breakfast menu, but it’s definitely on the to-do list. It is served all day, so if breakfast for dinner is your M.O., then swing on by.
There are wings, sandwiches, entrees, and even a kid’s menu. While it features a full-service, and a separate room for video lottery available for the 21-and-over crowd, make no mistake—Eden’s is a family restaurant first.
The Food
I don’t need to delve into the cheese sticks a second time. I think we covered that enough above.
Each time I’ve eaten at Eden’s, I’ve always gotten some semblance of the same type of meal—wings and fries.
The wing flavors change as I like a variety and I’ll touch more on that in a moment. But let us discuss the fries and why they’re such a major fixture at Eden’s.
One, they are delicious. Yes, it is possible to screw up French fries, but that’s not an issue here. The second, and perhaps more important of the two reasons, is the variety of fries offered at Eden’s. It’s called Fry Heaven on the menu for a reason.
Why you ask? Eden’s features six different types of fries, enough to meet the demand of every type of fry aficionado. I take that back, slightly. There’s no beer-battered fry option. Perhaps a seventh style, to make it Seven Fry Heaven? I digress.
My personal preference is the waffle fries, which is the type I always order without fail. Eden’s also serves the traditional hand-cut fries, along with crinkle fries (they did look really good), smileys, the seasoned waffle fries that I always order, tater tots, or onion rings. You can add a side of gravy or cheese sauce for a wee bit extra. The gravy with the waffle fries? Well worth the added miniscule cost.
I’ve tried a number of the wing sauces, from dry Cajun and spicy BBQ to sweet chili, and Dean’s sweet garlic BBQ. But my hands down favorite is Dean’s Holy Chipolty. There’s just the right amount of heat and kick and, once I’m done with my wings, it serves as a tasty secondary dipping option for my waffle fries should I run out of gravy.
My daughter, per usual, gets the chicken tenders and regular hand-cut fries, usually with cheese dipping sauce. The biggest compliment she can give? Her plate is clean upon exiting. Rarely do we exit a restaurant without a to-go box. But that’s never the case here.
Eden’s definitely elevates an already fertile restaurant garden on Wheeling Island with a tasty menu, affordable prices, and a family-friendly atmosphere. It’s worth a stop the next time you’re cruising across the Island.
