Date Visited: 23 October 2009Meal: 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
2 comments:
Jim,
Would love to talk to you about your local dining quest.
Warren Rojas
Northern Virginia Magazine
703-288-0204 Office
the Galletta's italian sandwich is UNBELIEVABLE!!!! it's the best sandwich shop in leesburg. the owners are great people. the location is across the street from Mom's Apple Pie on Loudoun St.
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