#80: The Coffee Bean

Date Visited: 3 October 2009

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: The Coffee Bean is one of those original Leesburg landmarks. It is the original coffee shop in Leesburg, located in Historic Downtown Leesburg, and a must-see tourist attraction if you're visiting. The Coffee Bean is small inside, but is instantly warm, cozy, and inviting.

The Coffee Bean used to have it's own old time roaster (named "Plutonius") running inside the place, but it's gone now. I can't find any trace of it online except for this comment on fairtradecoffee.org: "The Coffee Bean Of Leesburg is famous for its rich dark brew, Using Plutonius, one of the first dual drum roasters designed in the 1800's, the slow roasting over a gas fire extracts the fullest."

I usually go to the Coffee Bean on Saturday mornings and get the flavored coffee of the day. On this visit, I got Chocolate Macadamia Nut - yum!

Support our local businesses and get yourself a great cup of coffee at The Coffee Bean!

Location: 110 S. King St., Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: none

Total bill: $1.79

#79: Angeethi

Date Visited: 26 September 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, & friends Jim & Teresa

Experience: Leesburg now has two Indian restaurants: Angeethi, and the Indian Restaurant and Grocery (reviewed on 8 February 2009). Angeethi actually has three locations, the new one here in Leesburg, one in Herndon, and one in Bethesda. We've visited Leesburg's Angeethi just a few times since they opened, and for this official blog visit invited our friends Jim and Teresa. We all agreed to order different items so we could share and try them all.

Wendy, not wanting anything too spicy, got the Sheesh Kabob Tandoori ("Succulent rolls of minced lamb blended with herbs and spices then shaped on a skewer and barbecued.") She said it was "tasty."

Teresa, also not wanting anything too spicy, got the Murg Makhini ("Barbecued chunks of boneless chicken breast cooked in a fresh tomato-based curry sauce with a touch of butter.") Commonly known as "Butter Chicken", it had a creamy orange/red sauce. She liked it a lot. This was also Wendy's personal favorite!

Jim got the Lamb Chop Masala ("Tender rack of Imported Australian Lamb half done in Tandoori then sautéed with onions, ginger, and garlic in creamy curry sauce.") The meat was perfectly falling off the bones. It had a little spiciness to it, and the sauce was great.

I got the Rogan Josh ("Chunks of leg of lamb simmered to perfection in a creamy yogurt curry sauce with a hint of basil.") This dish was the spiciest of the ones we ordered (only mild, really), and therefore was my favorite!

We also sampled two kinds of Naan: Garlic ("Leavened bread stuffed with garlic flat bread"), and Cheese ("Leavened white flour flat bread stuffed with cheese and spices.") They were both good additions to the meal, but the Garlic was my favorite.

Everyone did try everything, and it was all wonderful! We enjoyed outstanding service; our server very patiently answered all of our questions, made recommendations when we couldn't make up our minds, and did so with such style (and great humor). Angeethi provided us with a very enjoyable experience, and we will certainly be visiting again soon - try it yourself!

Location: 17 Catoctin Cir., Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://angeethiva.com/

Total bill: $72.80 + $20.00 tip = $92.80

#78: La Villa Roma Restaurant & Pizzeria

Date Visited: 26 August 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience:

La Villa Roma has been in Leesburg for as long as we have lived here (about 21 years now), the only restaurant in the Tollhouse Shopping Center. It's your basic casual family-style restaurant and pizza place, offering both dine-in and takeout. It's a very popular place for after-Soccer game celebrations and such, and it's normally a busy, noisy place! We've eaten there many times over the years, and now it's time for the official blog report.

On this visit, we decided to get a variety of items to sample and discuss. Here's what we got:

* Large pizza with pepperoni, bacon, and green bell pepper. Andy (our pizza maker) said it was OK.
* Steak Philly Cheese sub, with onion rings. I ate most of this myself; it was good, and the onion rings were not bad either.
* Order of 10 wings with Garlic sauce. Good.
* Free Garlic Bread with melted Mozzarella. Via a coupon. It was OK too; we couldn't finish much of it before our entrees arrived.

Overall, La Villa Roma is a fine place to go for a relaxing time, a good (but not outstanding) meal, at a good value.

Location: 305G E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://lavillaroma.net/

Total bill: $43.93 + $8.00 tip = $51.93