#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