#18: Vintage 50

Date Visited: 18 July 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: We hadn't been to a "nice" restaurant for a while, but Leesburg does have a few, and one of the really nice ones is Vintage 50. This location used to be called Thoroughbreds (yes, with a Loudoun County horsey-theme and a brewery), but it closed in June 2006. We were sorry to see it go because we had been there a couple of times and it was very good. Thankfully, some months later it reopened as Vintage 50, and now it's better than ever!

One look at the menu told us this was going to be a great experience. Everything sounded so good we were afraid to get filled up too much before the really good stuff, so we didn't get an appetizer. At these kinds of restaurants, our rule is to always order different things between us, so that we have more to try by sharing.

For salads, I got the Grilled Watermelon and Crispy Goat Cheese salad, and Wendy got the Vintage Greens salad. Both were good, but there was something about the grilled watermelon in mine that made it especially good. The goat cheese comes in a compact little shape that resembles a small biscuit; it was a warm, yummy contrast to the cool watermelon and greens.

For entrees, I got the "West Texas Wild Boar Sausage and Potato Gnocchi" with "local asparagus, wild mushrooms,black truffles." I'm not sure what wild boar is supposed to taste like, but it was clearly no ordinary sausage. It was served in a soupy sauce that brought everything together very well. The truffles were just barely detectable, not overwhelming. Wendy got the "Asiago Stuffed Baby Tortellini" with "trio of stuffed pastas with roasted peppers and squashes tossed in a Chardonnay-Parmesan cream sauce."

Vintage 50 (and Thoroughbreds before it) has a brewery on the premises, operated by Brew Master Bill Madden. I'm no beer aficionado, but I tried one that was brewed there. I forgot to take notes, so I don't remember which one I tried, but it was excellent. I'm sure there's some kind of psychological factor at work here that makes the beer taste better because you know it was made here, but that's OK, it was still very good and went perfectly with my meal. I also found that there are several sites that post beer ratings, and Vintage 50 seems to do quite well.

For desset, we ordered a sampler of chocolate treats. There were four bite-sized pieces, a perfect end to the meal. I also had a coffee, that comes served in a French press, for the extra special touch.

The only real disappointment was that the menu offered a cooking class with Executive Chef Aaron McCloud, but it had been held three days before! So now I've signed up with their email notification service, to find out about these things earlier.

I heartily recommend Vintage 50. It's a little more pricey than most of the restaurants in Leesburg, but it's worth it and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Location: 50 Catoctin Cir. NE, # 100, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://www.vintage50.com/

Total bill: $81.48 + $16.00 tip = $97.48