#83: James Cafe

Date Visited: 25 November 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Out of nowhere, sometime in the last month, the James Cafe popped up next door to Moe's in the Marketplace at Potomac Station shopping center. Leesburg already has lots of choices for Chinese food: Jasmine, China King, Golden China, Tai Pei Cafe, and Mandarin Express (not reviewed yet). Additionally, we have many Asian-style restaurants that offer some Chinese dishes: Pei Wei, J&W Asian Bistro, Thai Pan, Aiyara Thai, Xuan Saigon, and Red Apple Buffet. So how will James Cafe fit in?

The James Cafe menu is full and has all the expected Chinese favorites; they also offer some items that are not common, such as Mei Fun and Ho Fun. For this visit, we both ordered from the "Chef Special" section of the menu, for takeout. I got the "Kung Pao Triple Delight", which consisted of chicken, beef, and shrimp. It had a mild spiciness that was enjoyable. Wendy got the "Orange Chicken" but didn't notice the little "spicy" icon next to the name on the menu. It was very good but a little too spicy for her; I loved it! It was maybe the best Orange Chicken I've ever had! One thing I noticed is that they used jalapeno peppers instead of the usual red chili peppers. We also got a couple of egg rolls and a complimentary Hot and Sour soup. All good!

James Cafe also has an interesting web site, in that it consists of one page with four JPG images of the printed menu, and that's all. I'm sure they'll add some more interesting content soon.

Next time you're in the Potomac Station area, stop in and try the James Cafe, a local business!

Location: 671 Potomac Station Dr. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://linjamescafe.com/

Total bill: $26.80 + $5.00 tip = $31.80

#82: Galletta's Pasta & Italian Specialties

Date Visited: 23 October 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience: According to their web site, Galletta's has been in Leesburg since 2005, but somehow I never noticed them. Recently, my friend Micah enthusiastically recommended Galletta's after reading this blog, so I had to check them out.

Micah highly recommended the di Parma sandwich, so I went to Galletta's on this Saturday afternoon and got one. The di Parma is described on the menu as "Thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma, roasted red peppers, basil pesto, fresh mozzarella di bufala, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil." It's served on ciabatta from South Street Under. Wow - it was great! The combination of flavors was superb, with the prosciutto and basil pesto dominating. Yum!

Galletta's is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch, but only Friday and Saturday for dinner. The dinners are Trattoria-style, and the menu changes every week. Since I'd had such a good experience for lunch, I went home and brought Wendy and Andy back for dinner!

When you show up for dinner on a Friday or Saturday night, you are immediately greeted with "choose your wine." The wines are mostly all Italian and all are on display in the first-floor shop. They don't serve any wine by the glass, so you have to buy a whole bottle, but there are plenty at very reasonable prices (some under $10), and you get to take the bottle home, so it's no big deal. I selected a 2006 Aia Vecchia Lagone (about $20). As for my teetotalling companions, Wendy got a San Benedetto Peach Ice Tea, and Andy got a San Benedetto bottled water. Once you've selected your beverages, you head upstairs to the small dining room. With our beverages came some bread (also from South Street Under) with olive oil, which was a perfect starter.

For appetizers, Wendy got the Antipasto plate ("a selection of cheeses, cured meats, marinated vegetables, etc."); ours came with prosciutto, salami, 4 kinds of olives, Romano Peccorino cheese, artichokes, and roasted red peppers. We all shared - Andy said "It's good", and Wendy said "Delicious" and liked the artichokes the best. Andy and I got the Spring Mix Salad, which was an unusual mix of arugula, radiccio, carrots, celery, mozzarella, tomato, house vinagrette. It was good.

We all got different entrees so we could share. I got Galletta's Homemade Pasta with Vodka Cream Sauce, which turned out to be everyone's favorite. Wendy got the Penne All' Amatriciana ("a tomato based sauce with pancetta, crushed red pepper, and Peccorino Romano cheese"), and Andy got the Cotto Pizza ("Marinara sauce, Italian Fontina cheese, & thin slices of Italian Prosciutto Cotto"). He didn't like it very much, not being used to fancy, real Italian pizzas.

Overall, we enjoyed everything and can heartily recommend Galletta's for lunch or dinner - and they have a great and informative web site! Support this Leesburg treasure!

Location: 211 Loudoun St. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://gallettas.com/

Total bill: $88.40 + $16.00 tip = $93.74

#81: Aiyara Thai Restaurant

Date Visited: 16 October 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Aiyara Thai is Leesburg's newest restaurant, open for about a week as of our visit. It's great to have another Thai restaurant in Leesburg, especially since Tup Tim Thai closed a couple of years ago. We also have Thai Pan, but this story is about Aiyara Thai...

We went on a Friday night at about 7:30 PM, and the place was packed - a good sign!

We began with the Thai Sampler appetizer plate ("Combination of Satay, Crispy Rolls, Fried Tofu, Steamed Dumplings, and Fried Calamari.") The rolls were very delicate and crispy, the calamari good, and the satay had a great grilled taste. I also got a Thai Ice Tea and Wendy got a pot of the premium Jasmine tea, which came in the coolest elephant teapot!



For our entrees, we ordered from the Chef's Special section of the menu (we'll have to come back again to try the standards, like Pad Thai). I got the Four Buddies ("A combination of shrimp, chicken, beef and pork sauteed with carrot, baby corn, mushroom, snow pea tomato and cashew nuts in chef's special sauce.") The veggies were nice and crisp, and the meats were perfectly seasoned with the tangy sauce. Wendy got the Crispy Duck ("Roasted crispy duck (boneless) served with crispy noodles and Thai sweet soy sauce.") This dish consisted of a HUGE portion of duck that was very tender and made unique with the crispy coating and wonderful, slightly spicy sauce. Happy tummies ensued!

A refreshing part of the experience was the very pleasant, courteous, and friendly service we received from our server, Goy, and the rest of the wait staff. She really made our visit a memorable one.

Support our newest Leesburg restaurant and enjoy Aiyara Thai soon!

History lesson: Aiyara Thai is located in the building that formerly hosted Peppermill Grill (lasted about a year); before that it was Zeffirelli's (lasted a couple years), and before that it was Waffle King's Virginia Kitchen (lasted many years).

Location: 5 Catoctin Cir. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://aiyarathairestaurant.com/

Total bill: $64.89 + $15.00 tip = $79.89

UPDATE, 11 December 2009:
We visited again on a Friday night and tried some other selections. We first tried a couple of soups - Wendy had the Coconut soup with chicken, and I got the Lemongrass soup with shrimp (spicy heat just right). For entrees, Wendy had the "Valcano Chicken" (nicely flavored through, with sticky rice and extra spicy sauce). I had the Panang Curry with pork (very generous portion). For dessert, we were offered the Mango Sticky Rice - nice treat! Everything was delicious, and the service superb. We can highly recommend you visit Aiyara Thai!