#47: CiCi's

Date Visited: 28 December 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy & Eric

Experience: CiCi's is a nationwide chain with over 600 locations, scattered around the southeastern part of the US. Not your average pizza place, their uniqueness is that it's a fixed-price buffet, serving pizza, pasta, salads, and desserts. Their web site advertises the price as "all-you-can-eat for under $5*", with the asterisk explaining that "prices may vary by location". At the Leesburg CiCi's, it's $5.99 for the buffet, and another $1.69 for a drink with unlimited refills.

CiCi's is also one of Leesburg's newest restaurants. It's located in the new Fort Evans shopping center, on Fort Evans Road. Most of the stores there are still empty, and CiCi's is the only restaurant so far.



We went to CiCi's on the recommendation of my son Eric, who has frequented the CiCi's in Blacksburg, being a cost-conscious Virginia Tech student. We found the new Leesburg location to be very casual and fun, featuring good pizza and lots of it! We'll certainly be back.

Nostalgic Note: CiCi's buffet style reminds me of another pizza chain called Shakey's, that I went to while growing up in California. They too served pizza buffet style, but also featured live banjo and piano music, plus sing-a-long time!

Location: 500 Fort Evans Rd., Unit 1A, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://cicis.com/

Total bill: $33.33

#46: T.G.I.Friday's

Date Visited: 16 December 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: T.G.I.Friday's is a nationwide chain restaurant, roughly in the same league as Ruby Tuesday and Applebee's; Blue Ridge Grill is a little more upscale. We went there on a slow Tuesday night.

I had a combo BBQ Bacon-wrapped Shrimp ("Two skewers of bacon-wrapped shrimp, grilled and basted with Jack Championship BBQ sauce.") and half-rack of ribs. I also had a house salad to start, with Ranch dressing - but it only made me long for the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday.

Wendy had the Sizzling Chicken & Shrimp ("Sautéed garlic-marinated chicken breast and plump shrimp tossed with bruschetta marinara. Served with onions, peppers and creamy mashed potatoes on a sizzling platter of melted Mexican and American cheeses"). She also had a house salad with Vinegarette dressing.

Andy had the Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger ("Topped with two kinds of cheese–mild American and gooey, golden–fried Provolone. We add crisp bacon, stack 'em all on a toasted bun"). He also had a house salad, with Italian dressing.

Alicia had the Cheesburger Sliders ("Juicy, all–beef patties with American cheese and carmelized onions on a tender bun. What most people picture when they hear "sliders". Then they cannot rest until they get their hands on some"). She also got a side order of onion rings, but somehow forgot to share any of them with me(!)

Everyone enjoyed their meal, but nothing was extraordinary. Next time, we'll probably pick a local restaurant, or our favorite in this category, Ruby Tuesday.

Location: 235 Fort Evans Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

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

Total bill: $65.32 + $13.00 tip = $78.32

#45: Blue Ridge Grill

Date Visited: 12 December 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Wendy and I were sans children on a Friday night, so that meant time to go to a fancy restaurant! The Blue Ridge Grill was one on the list of unvisited restaurants, so we decided to go there. Regular readers of this blog will know that we've lived in Leesburg since 1987, so we remember when this location used to be an Applebee's; we were not unhappy to see it go.

The Blue Ridge Grill has now been here in Leesburg a number of years and has a reputation for being one of our nicer restaurants. We've eaten there just a few times, so I was anxious to go back and write up our experience for the blog. I was also eager to visit because a few friends had commented that it was nice, but overpriced, so I needed to check it out for myself.

I'm happy to say our experience was very positive!

We started off by sharing an appetizer called Steak & Cheese Eggrolls ("Seasoned Steak grilled w/ Peppers & Onions, mixed w/ Monterey Jack & Cheddar Cheese, rolled in a Jalapeno Cheddar Tortilla, flash fried & served w/ a Queso Dipping Sauce"). They were nice and hot, both temperature and spice-wise, as well as delicious. They were similar to the Tex Mex Eggrolls we get at the Sweetwater Tavern in Sterling, VA. Wendy also got a house salad as a starter.

For the entree, I ordered the Surf & Turf (daily special, not on the menu), which consisted of Filet Mignon and Fresh Lump Crab Cakes. The steak was super-tender, with deep grill marks - excellent! For my side, I ordered a baked potatoe, not expecting it to be anything special, but I was surprised! It came will all the fixins (sour cream, chives, bacon, and cheddar cheese), and the outside skin was covered in yummy coarse salt - mmm... every bite was full of salty goodness.

Wendy got the Pork Chops ("Two French cut, 8 oz., marinated Pork Chops grilled and served over Mashed Potatoes and Gravy"). Her evaluation: "delicious".

Overall, we were impressed and liked Blue Ridge Grill very much. We found the food quality to be on par with the prices. We would definitely eat there again. They also have another location in Brambleton, so it's not quite a local, Leesburg-only business.

Location: 955 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA 20176

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

Total bill: $69.44 - $50.00 gift card + $15.00 tip = $34.44

#44: Joe's Pizza & Subs

Date Visited: 5 December 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Joe's is a semi-local establishment with locations in Leesburg, Manassas (3), and Sterling. Their web site says the owners of Joe's have been making pizza for over 20 years. I'm not sure how long they've been in the current location, but they were there when we moved here in 1987. Joe's is located on Plaza Street, just a couple blocks from the intersection with East Market Street.

In order to sample the variety of Joe's menu, we ordered three items for carry out: a medium Old Fashioned White Pizza ("Fresh homemade pizza w/chopped garlic, basil, oregano, olive oil, mozzarella"), a 7" Steak & Cheese sub ("served on an Italian roll with lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, onions, hot peppers, and Italian dressing"), and a Calzone ("Half-moon shaped fresh dough stuffed with ricotta cheese, buffet ham & mozzarella cheese").

It was all very good and equal or better than any of the national chain pizza restaurants here. We also felt good about supporting a local establishment, and will certainly return. Oh, and their web site is great!

Location: 62 Plaza St. NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://joespizzaandsubs.com/

Total bill: $31.71

#43: Starbucks (Market St.)

Date Visited: 4 December 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & my friend Gary

Experience: As mentioned in a recent post, I meet with my friend Gary about every other Thursday evening. We usually meet at a local coffee house, like Starbucks. There are six Starbucks to choose from here, and this time we met at Leesburg's first Starbucks, the one in the Bellewood Commons shopping center on Market Street.

I ordered my usual Grande Latte, and since this is a food blog, I also got a Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffin to share. It was pretty good, unlike my previous Starbucks experience. Like last time, we were there until closing, and we had to be asked to leave.

What else can I say about Starbucks? For purposes of this blog, that's two down and four to go.

Location: 531 East Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20175

Web site: http://starbucks.com/

Total bill: $5.42

#42: 803 Deli

Date Visited: 3 December 2008

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: This is one of the "hidden" restaurants of Leesburg, and I'll bet most residents have never even heard of it. I only noticed it by chance when driving by on the way to church. The 803 Deli gets its name from the address of the building in which it is located. It's mainly intended to serve the needs of the tenants of 801 & 803 Sycolin Road, which include the Loudoun County Electoral Board, the Girl Scouts, the Loudoun County Department of General Services, the Dulles Area Association of Realtors, and Farm Bureau Insurance. However, it's open to the public and fully qualifies as a restaurant by my definition (see sidebar).

The 803 Deli has a full breakfast and lunch menu, consisting of breakfast sandwiches, breakfast platters, breakfast sides, sub, club, and combination sub sandwiches, hot specialties, vegetarian dishes, salads, various sides, and desserts.

On this visit I got an Egg & Bacon breakfast sandwich, an Everything bagel with cream cheese, and a large coffee, all to go. I was pleasantly surprised to watch the very neat and meticulous preparation of these items by the cook, as well as the careful attention paid to wrapping and presentation. Nothing really special about the food itself, but it was a great experience, and I feel like I discovered a hidden treasure! Now, if they just had a cool web site...

Location: 803 Sycolin Rd. SE, Leesburg, VA 20175

Web site: none

Total bill: $6.60