ChickiePoo's

ChickiePoo's opened in 2010 amid swirling small-town rumors. The hours were spotty. Sometimes, the restaurant wasn't open when it was supposed to be. And the owners had a son with autism -- maybe.Not so much. Actually, ChickiePoo's opened to fulfill a wish of the owners' then 4-year-old daughter, who has cancer and wants to be a chef like her dad. Her parents, unsure of the future, decided to grant that wish and open a storefront in a historic building along Main Street. The chef/restaurant manager pair serves lunches and dinners on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The resulting community support has turned ChickiePoo's into destination dining along the Ohio River Scenic Byway, with more than 600 Facebook fans checking for regular updates on daughter Isa's health and which fresh ingredients have arrived to inspire the weekend's menus. "Weather schmether, we are open," one winter post reads. "Thursday night menu: cardamon pumpkin bisque, oysters Rockefeller, lamb shanks with creamy yellow grits, buffalo strip loin, chicken with wild mushrooms." We tried the slow-roasted barbecued pork butt soaked in peach barbecue sauce and the handmade pasta bathed in a rich creamy walnut-ricotta sauce. The meat was a little tougher than we expected, but the sauce was a sunny balance between sweet and savory. The pasta, though -- if it's possible to be so rich and yet texturally feel so light, then we weren't dreaming when we ate that entire portion. Each entree was $10, and ChickiePoo's is cash only and does not have a liquor license. So check their website or Facebook page for the menu, bring some friends and support a family living its culinary dream.