#162: Trinity House Cafe

Date Visited: 15 August 2015

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: Me & Wendy

Experience: Looking for an alternative to your tired old corporate chain coffee shop? Check out Trinity House Cafe! From their Mission statement: “Trinity House Café, on the corner of Church and Market Streets in the heart of historic Leesburg, VA, is an outreach of the John Paul II Fellowship, a Christian non-profit dedicated to renewing community and culture.”

On this visit, I ordered the Notre Dame breakfast (“warm croissant with butter & jam, seasonal fruits & yogurt”) and a regular coffee. The croissant (baked there) was as one should be, light and flaky. The fruit was a cup of grapes, and the yogurt was vanilla. A nicely balanced array of flavors. Wendy ordered the Breakfast Sandwich (“mini omelet with cheddar cheese in a toasted bagel”) and added a slice of ham. She also tried the C.S. Lewis Latte (“Earl Grey tea, steamed milk, cardamom, almond syrup”). Unique!

Trinity House Cafe is about more than just food. It’s about hospitality, and they host “a variety of community and culture-renewing events such as art classes, talks, concerts, theatrical performances, movie nights, craft circles, and children’s programs.” The cafe occupies the George Head House, a building from Revolutionary times, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Leesburg Historic District. Trinity House Cafe is a warm, cozy, relaxing, inviting place to spend time with good food, good friends, and/or good books! Come on in and support a local business!

Location: 101 E. Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-727-3721

Website: http://trinityhousecafe.com/

Total bill: $20.26

#161: Yummy Pig

Date Visited: 14 August 2015

Meal: Dinner

Diners: Me & Wendy

Experience: Leesburg has another new Barbeque restaurant: Yummy Pig! It occupies the empty space that was The Q Company, so now Leesburg has three barbeque specialty restaurants: Yummy Pig, Smokehouse Live, and Red Hot & Blue (barely qualifies). Yummy Pig had their soft opening on 20 May, and is now fully open for business.

On this visit, we both decided on the “Pig Heaven Platter” (2 meats, 2 sides, and cornbread or chips). I chose Beef Brisket, Bratwurst, Yummy Slaw, Bacon-Blue Cheese Potato Salad, and the Cornbread. Wendy chose Beef Brisket, Pulled Pork, Scalloped Potatoes with Bacon, Cucumber-Onion Salad, and the Cornbread (see menu for details).

The meats come with no sauces applied, so you can do it yourself. Yummy Pig provides four house-made specialty sauces: Sweet Bourbon, Chipotle BBQ, Tequila Mustard, and 4-Pepper Vinegar; they also have a variety of commercial hot sauces. Unlike some barbeque places, the meats are served cut up into bite-size pieces. The brisket was cut into thin strips, the brat was cut into bite-size slices, and the pulled pork was of course already falling apart (as it should be). I think we both liked the Beef Brisket best - cooked till almost falling apart with a smoky, almost-crispy, flavorful crust. It seemed best with the Sweet Bourbon sauce. I thought the Bratwurst was also cooked exceptionally well - smoky, crispy crust, and tender inside. It seemed best with the Tequila Mustard. I didn’t get to try Wendy’s Pulled Pork because she ate it all before I was ready for a taste; I guess it was good! We also liked the brisket dipped in the 4-Pepper Vinegar, which added a nice “pop” and wasn’t too spicy. The sides were interesting too; the Yummy Slaw is a somewhat delicate creation using finely shaved Savoy Cabbage, and the Bacon-Blue Cheese Potato Salad was uniquely creamy delicious!

Yummy Pig also offers Ribs, Street Tacos, Chili, Barbeque Salad, and a bunch of other sides that we’re looking forward to trying next time. Since it wasn’t too busy and it was getting near closing time, owner and chef Jim Thompson came over to talk with us. Very friendly and appreciative of our visit (he didn’t know I was reviewing the place), he talked about the origins of the restaurant, his catering business (largely supported by weddings!), how the food is made (large smoker inside inherited from The Q Company, small smoker out front to draw people in), and plans for new menu items (more appetizers, bratwurst sandwiches, chili sliders, crab cakes - yum!) Nothing at Yummy Pig is ordinary; every item seems to have a slightly unique, flavorful twist. I’m sure it has something to do with everything being made in-house. Come on in, enjoy the food, and support a local business!

Location: 17 Catoctin Cir. SE, Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-629-8669

Website: http://yummypig.com/

Total bill: $39.42

#160: Smokehouse Live

Date Visited: 19 June 2015

Meal: Dinner

Diners: Me, Wendy, Bob, Joyce, Perry, and Laurie

Experience: Leesburg has a new Barbeque restaurant: Smokehouse Live! It’s a big deal, a big restaurant, and more than just food. Smokehouse Live opened up at the beginning of June in the Village at Leesburg, and according to the Washington Post, it is the largest in the D.C. metro area, and among the largest nationwide. How big? It’s Texas-big, occupying 16,000 square feet and able to seat about 600 guests at once. On this visit, we were joined by a quartet of good friends/good food lovers, so we got a good sampling of what Smokehouse Live has to offer.

At Smokehouse Live, you order your food by the piece in a buffet-type line called the Marketplace. You get a “Grub Stub” card upon which your choices are recorded by various servers as you go through the line. Smokehouse Live is all about the barbeque, offering multiple types of Beef, Pork, Poultry, and Sausage, served “from Pit to Counter,” all sold by the pound. Most of the meat is done with dry rubs, and they offer several serve-yourself house-made sauces that you can add to taste. When you order your barbeque, you just tell them how much you want, then they weigh it out in front of you, ask you what kind of bread you want, wrap it up in paper, and hand it to you in a basket. Then there are lots and lots of sides (also ordered individually, in 4/8/16 ounce sizes) like cornbread, onions, pickles, slaw, potato salad, pasta salad, deviled eggs, mac ‘n cheese, green beans, cheese grits, baked beans, and chili. If you’re not too stuffed after all that, there are puddings, pies, tarts, cake, cookies, and ice cream for dessert.

For this visit, I tried the Beef Texas Short Ribs, Beef Brisket, and Shiner Bock Brat Sausage, as well as the Kitchen Sink Baked Beans and Southern Slaw sides. I also got to sample the Cheese Grits, Cornbread with Roasted Peach Butter, and a few bites of a yummy-gooey-chocolatey dessert of some kind.

Overall, I liked the taste of the barbeque very much and thought it was first class, but not all of our friends thought so. I think part of the reason was that the Texas Short Ribs (beef) were a bit fatty for our taste, and at $24/pound, a little hard to swallow (pun intended). And therein lies an unexpected downside of all these choices. The prices (per pound or ounce) really add up fast, and you can end up spending quite a bit without realizing it until you see the total. Again, i think the barbeque was exceptional, but I recommend being conservative in the amounts you order. My eyes were much bigger than my stomach, and I did spend quite a bit on my meal. On the other hand, I had plenty of leftovers for some great lunches over the next few days!

The “Live” part of Smokehouse Live refers to the fact that they’ve got a proper music stage and lots of country, folk, bluegrass, blues, and rock bands lined up several days per week. On this visit, the band was just getting set up as we were leaving, so we didn’t get that experience.

I also had an earlier visit on 14 June, which was a Sunday afternoon. This happened to be the day Smokehouse Live introduced their Sunday Brunch. The Brunch menu is also served buffet-style, and offers a Scrambled Station, Smokehouse Live (Eggs) Benedict, Thanksgiving Casserole, Biscuit French Toast, Meats (Applewood Smoked Bacon, Country Ham, Pulled Pork, Buttermilk Fried Chicken), Smoked Sausage Gravy, Creamy Local Stone-Milled Grits, Red Skin Home Fries, Granola, and Sweets (Seasonal Cast Iron Cobbler, Seasonal Fritter, Bacon Sticky Buns, Cookies, Whoopie Pies, Cupcakes, and Mini Pick-Ups). Whew! I sampled almost everything, and nearly every dish has a distinctive smoky/barbecue taste - Yum! The Sunday Brunch buffet is a fixed price of $19.95 for adults. On this visit, we were lucky enough to have a live band, Bob Perilla’s Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, which was fun and appropriate.

Lots of choices and lots of taste - but try a little at a time! Support a locally-owned business and try Smokehouse Live yourself!

Location: 1602 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg, VA 20175, 571-447-5483

Web site: http://smokehouse-live.com/

Total bill: $95.06 + $20.00 tip = $115.06

#159: Panda Cafe

Date Visited: 14 May 2015

Meal: Dinner

Diners: Me & Wendy

Experience: I have a new favorite Chinese restaurant! Panda Cafe opened a few weeks ago in Leesburg’s AutoZone Center (formerly Prosperity Center). It’s a small place, but I’m currently pretty excited about it. The restaurants still at AutoZone Center include Del Rio, RJ’s Deli, and Little Caesars (J&W Asian Bistro, Sal’s NY Bar & Grille, and Dolce Coffee House all closed).

We started out with hot tea and two appetizers. The Shrimp Spring Rolls were crispy and flavorful, and the the Cheese Wonton Crab Rangoon was light, crispy, and hot.

I ordered Kung Pao Chicken for my entree (it’s my standard test for a Chinese restaurant). It came with peanuts on top, not mixed in, which kept them crunchy. The spiciness was just right for me, relatively hot. The sauce was nearly perfect, not too thick, nor too runny. I got the combo, so it came with Fried Rice and an extra Spring Roll. All delicious.

Wendy ordered one of the Chef’s Specials, the Dragon & Phoenix (“Crispy chicken and shrimp with vegetables.”) The chicken stayed crispy, the vegetables were light and crunchy, and nothing was overcooked. Clever use of Orange slices for separating the two parts of the dish. This one came with White Rice.

We were pleasantly surprised to be served a plate of artfully cyt Orange slices for dessert, on the house. On top of everything else, Panda Cafe really understands presentation. Even though it appears to be a rather modest little Chinese restaurant, every dish is very cleanly presented, and each one has some sort of unique little flourish.

Since our first visit was so positive, we had the opportunity to visit again a few days later on 17 May. That time I got the Crispy Chicken entree. It was excellent too! This sealed the deal as my new favorite Chinese restaurant! I encourage you to give them a try and support a local business!

BTW, here's a summary of all the Chinese restaurants I've reviewed so far (that are still in business):

• Panda Cafe (visited 14 & 17 May 2015 - this review)
• Chen’s Garden (visited 28 February 2013)
• Hunan Cafe (visited 4 April 2011)
• Mandarin Express (visited 28 February 2010)
• Wei's Garden (visited 8 January 2010)
• James Cafe (visited 25 November 2009)
• Jasmine (visited 25 April 2008, again on 12 November 2012 for the Sushi bar)
• Golden China (visited 5 April 2009)
• China King (visited 3 April 2009)
• Taipei Cafe (visited 18 April 2008)

Location: 707-F E. Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-777-5660

Web site: http://pandacafeleesburg.com/

Total bill: $29.73 + $10.00 tip = $39.73

#158: Pittsburgh Rick's

Date Visited: 1 May 2015

Meal: Dinner

Diners: Me, Wendy, Chris, Jennifer, Dwight, & Lisa

Experience: It was Leesburg First Friday, and some friends from church wanted to get together for dinner somewhere downtown. I mentioned that I hadn’t been to Pittsburgh Rick’s yet, and that settled it. I also heard that Pittsburgh Rick’s was truly authentic from some friends at work who are from Pittsburgh.

Although Pittsburgh Rick’s seems like a rather small, modest sandwich shop, the owner, Rick Allison, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA!), and has worked at some high-class restaurants. He started his first restaurant, The Dock at Lansdowne (since closed), and now Pittsburgh Rick’s, specializing in local Pittsburgh favorites.

The menu features a number of “Pittsburgh Style Sandwiches,” and for this visit, I ordered the “Pastrami & Cheese,” which is listed as the #1 best seller. Wendy got the “Pitts-Burgher & Cheese,” listed as the #2 best seller. The unique thing about these sandwiches is they all come topped with french fries, cole slaw, and tomatoes - yes, all IN the sandwich! It’s a unique experience all right, and you’ll just have to try one to understand. For dessert, we ordered an “Almost Famous Bread Pudding Cupcake” topped with Maple Applewood Bacon and salted Maple glaze (after finding out they didn’t have the Burnt Almond Torte anymore).

The complete menu includes starters (chili, soup of the day, wings), salads, sides (cole slaw, chips, fries), other desserts, a kid’s menu, and breakfast items. Pittsburgh Rick’s also does catering and has a Food Truck (I’ve spotted them in Reston) - check out their Facebook page for news.

We found Pittsburgh Rick’s to be fun and understated, with a uniquely tasty menu. We encourage you to support a local business and give them a try!

Location: 116 E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-737-3700

Web site: http://pittsburghricks.com/

Total bill: $31.90

#157: Sakura Japanese Steak, Seafood House, & Sushi Bar

Date Visited: 15 March 2015

Meal: Lunch

Diners: Me, Wendy, Andy, & Britney

Experience: Having celebrated two birthdays in the middle of the previous week, we didn’t need much of an excuse to have a nice lunch out after church. I’d seen the announcement for Sakura’s opening in Leesburg Today a few weeks ago, so we decided to give them a try. The full name of the restaurant is “Sakura Japanese Steak, Seafood House @ Sushi Bar” and this is their 22nd location. Most of the other locations are in Maryland and Virginia, with a couple in New Jersey and one in California. In Leesburg, Sakura is located in the new Fort Evans Plaza II shopping center, in the location of the short-lived Japanese Kitchen. In terms of similar cuisine in Leesburg, Sakura competes with Kobe Japanese Steak & Seafood.

Sakura’s signature offering is Teppanyaki-style dining, so that’s what we went with. All entrees come with a choice of appetizer: Chicken Liver, Sauteed Mushrooms, or Teppanyaki Shrimp Flambe; we all picked the shrimp. All entrees also include Shoyu Onion Soup (different! very tasty), Sakura salad (typical ginger dressing), assorted vegetables (grilled), and steamed rice or fried rice. I chose the Teppanyaki Steak & Shrimp, Wendy chose the Shrimp & Scallops, Andy chose the New York Steak, and Britney chose the Salmon Steak. Our chef for the Teppanyaki “show” was Tamio, and he did a great job demonstrating all the standard tricks such as the flaming onion ring volcano, etc. It might not look like there is much skill involved in the actual cooking, but I thought he did very well, especially getting the Scallops just right. The meal also included Sakura’s homemade sauces, one of which Tamio called “Japanese Ranch”. They were both a little different than the standard ones you might expect.

Overall, we were very pleased with our meal, and will probably be back to try the Sushi. As mentioned above, our chef Tamio was great, and we were well taken care of by our server Crystal. We were also warmly thanked by manager Aaron on the way out. Give Sakura a try yourself! (and when you do, check out the coupons on their website)

Location: 516 Fort Evans Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-771-6395

Web site: http://sakurasteakhouse.com/

Total bill: $107.09 + $20.00 tip = $127.09

#156: Bello Pranzo

Date Visited: 9 February 2015

Meal: Dinner

Diners: Me & Wendy

Experience: Wait, ANOTHER pizza restaurant in Leesburg? Yes, it’s true! Bello Pranzo had its grand opening on 31 January, located next to the Cobb Theatre in the Village at Leesburg. As reported in my 22 January review of Pizzarella’s, it’s a crowded market and Bello Pranzo must now compete with at least eighteen other pizza restaurants!

When we entered the restaurant on this cold, rainy Monday at about 7:00 PM, we were the only customers inside. We were very warmly greeted by our server Anita, who immediately took our drink orders and then suggested we sit down and take our time reviewing the menu. While we looked over the choices, she explained that this restaurant is one of a group of family-owned restaurants in New York, and this is the first one to be located outside New York.

Once we had reviewed the extensive menu, we settled on a few representative items. Wendy started out with a Small Garden Salad, which featured cherry tomatoes, cucumber, sliced black olives, red onion, and shaved Parmesan (nice touch!) with the house Italian dressing. It was crisp and cold. I got an order of the Beer-Battered Onion Rings to share. They were pretty much perfect - just the right size, crisp, and hot.

We next tried the Bello Stromboli (“Pepperoni, Ham, Sausage, Meatball & Mozzarella”). The crust was light & crispy, and every bite was a little different thanks to the four meats. While we were eating, the chef came by and asked how we liked everything. We complimented him on everything, and then I hesitatingly mentioned that I thought it could have used a little more cheese. He graciously explained that that’s the way he was taught to make it; if you add too much cheese, it just leaks out during cooking, and it makes the crust too soggy. I didn’t expect to get a lesson in Stromboli making from the chef!

Our main dish was the Bello Gourmet Pizza Specialty (“Sausage, Pepperoni, Onions, Mushrooms, Peppers, Meatballs and Topped With Extra Cheese”). This is New York-style pizza, which is a thinner crust than I’m used to. You pretty much have to eat it with a knife and fork (at least the center part). The crust was soft & chewy all the way to the edges. We especially liked the fresh ingredients, which stayed crispy and were not overcooked. About halfway through, we were both quite full and took the rest home in a box. A good test of a pizza is whether it’s any good as leftovers the next day; I had most of the rest for lunch the next day and I can say that this one was still excellent!

Because of their New York roots, Bello Pranzo also features some great desserts. They proudly feature “Junior’s Most Fabulous Cheesecake”, which apparently is quite a big deal in New York. We bought a slice of the cheesecake with strawberries to take home and have the next day; it was very smooth, creamy and refreshing, not too sweet or too wet or too crumbly.

Overall, we found the food at Bello Pranzo to be uniformly fresh, crisp, not greasy, and delicious. I urge you to give them a try!

Location: 1600 Village Market Blvd. SE, #132, Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-777-7715

Website: http://bellopranzova.com/

Total bill: $48.73 + $10.00 tip = $58.73

#155: Pizzarella's

Date Visited: 15 January 2015

Meal: Dinner

Diners: Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Another pizza restaurant in Leesburg? Yes, it’s true! Pizzarella’s is in the Exeter Shopping Center on Battlefield Parkway, strategically located in the northeast part of town, away from most other restaurants. Owner Robert Amireh opened the restaurant last October, and also operates another Pizzarella’s location in Fairfax, as well as Coney Island Diner in Ashburn and Purcellville, and Mezze Grill in Ashburn.

The Leesburg pizza market is crowded, and Pizzarella’s must compete with New Yorker Pizza (was Juliano’s), Sbarro, Little Caesar’s, Giovanni’s, Rocco’s (was Joe’s), Manhattan Pizza, La Villa Roma, Pizza Hut, Pizza Hut Express, Pizza Hut WingStreet, Ledo Pizza, Andy’s, CiCi’s, Domino’s, Vocelli, Fire Works, and Papa John’s.

For this first visit we tried to sample some of Pizzarella’s signature items as well as our family favorites. One unusual item was the Bang Boo Shrimp appetizer, which consists of crispy fried shrimp in a slightly spicy sauce (similar to Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp). We liked it a lot! Alicia was craving Onion Rings, so we got a large order of them: good-sized and crispy. We got two pizzas, our traditional Pepperoni & Bacon, and a Hawaiian. Both were above average (if a little soggy on the bottom).

Overall, we liked Pizzarella’s very much. They have quite a wide variety of menu items to try, and we had good service. Check out Pizzarella’s yourself, and support a local business!

Location: 700 Fieldstone Dr. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176, 571-510-0909

Web site: http://pizzarellas.com/

Total bill: $42.15 + $10.00 tip = $52.15

#154: Leesburg Diner

Date Visited: 11 January 2015

Meal: Lunch

Diners: Me and Wendy

Experience: Leesburg Diner is the reinvention of the former Leesburg Restaurant; same location, same cozy-retro-downtown vibe, new management. The new owner is Michael O’Conner, who also owns Palio Ristorante Italiano. The official grand opening was 13 December 2014, and they’ve kept the original slogan, “The place to eat & meet since 1865”, reflecting the long history of the place. Since we hadn’t had a real breakfast, we went straight from church to Leesburg Diner for a late brunch.

I started out with a coffee and Wendy got a hot chocolate; nothing special, but it was a great way to get warmed up from the freezing weather outside. Now, what is special about Leesburg Diner is their Peanut Soup! This is what the former Leesburg Restaurant made into a legendary local favorite. It is described as “Virginia style”, based on a chicken stock, with pureed peanuts (including some chunks for texture), a little hot sauce, and green onion garnish. Yum! This is one of the things you MUST try when you visit.

For the main course, I got the Fried Chicken & Waffles (“Hand battered fried chicken and a Belgian waffle served with hot syrup”). This dish is one of those strange combinations that you just have to try for yourself to appreciate. Here, the battered chicken is nice and crunchy and the waffle was perfectly done. I ended up putting the syrup on everything, which compensated for the slight dryness of the chicken. Wow, I liked it! Wendy got the Greek Omelet (“Feta cheese, spinach, diced tomatoes, red bell peppers and Kalamata olives”). This omelet was large and stuffed! She chose the home fries as her side, and they were nice and crispy. Overall, the dishes were simply prepared, cleanly presented, and had fairly large portions.

We chatted for a few minutes with Chris, the manager on duty, who seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the place. He said they had been open about five weeks and that business was good. We experienced great, attentive service the entire time. I encourage you to check out Leesburg Diner yourself, and support a local business!

Location: 2 West Market St. NW, Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-728-5134

Web site: https://www.facebook.com/TheLeesburgDiner

Total bill: $38.16 + $8.00 tip = $46.16