Every Restaurant in Leesburg

#122: Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar

2012-01-11T20:48:00.000-05:00

Date Visited: 7 January 2012

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, and Andy

Experience: Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar is the newest restaurant to open in the Fort Evans Plaza II shopping center, joining Jersey Mike's, Pho Royal, and CiCi's. It's a nationwide chain.

We started off with a Potato Wedges with Cheese appetizer ("Sour cream and chive flavored potato wedges.") Not real sour cream and chive? They were actually pretty good.

For my main course, I got a plate of 12 Traditional (bone-in) chicken wings with Spicy Garlic sauce (kinda medium spicy). It was just what I wanted, and good-tasting. Wendy got the Southwest Chicken Queso Wrap ("Seasoned, grilled chicken smothered in queso and southwestern ranch dressing with lettuce and pick de gallo.") She said it was very juicy, fresh lettuce, and mildly spicy. Andy got the Honey BBQ Bacon Burger; his evaluation: "basic." Drinks: I had a Guinness, Wendy and Andy both had the Berry lemonade.

Well, you don't go to a bar for gourmet cuisine, so I really can't complain too much about the quality of the food. Overall, it was just what we wanted and expected, so it was a good experience; even above average for a sports bar. Give 'me a try!

Location: 524 Fort Evans Rd., Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-779-4646

Web site: http://www.buffalowildwings.com/

Total bill: $52.09 + $10.00 tip = $62.09

#121: Giovanni's N.Y. Pizza

2012-01-01T17:47:00.000-05:00

Date Visited: 30 December 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Chris, and Kristina

Experience: Our friends Chris and Kristina suggested that we go out to dinner together on this New Year’s Eve Eve, and I hinted that we might pick a restaurant that hadn’t yet been reviewed on this blog. We ended up picking Giovanni’s N.Y. Pizza, a family-owned traditional New York-style Italian restaurant operating from the same Leesburg location since 1982. I’ve been to almost all the other restaurants in the Leesburg Plaza shopping center: Jimmy John’s, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Spanky’s Shenanigans, Kobe Japanese Steak & Seafood, Pei Wei Asian Diner, Wendy’s, Milwaukee Frozen Custard (recently closed, replaced by the new Subway), Tenderjack’s, California Tortilla, Roy Rogers, and Bunker Sports Cafe (not yet reviewed).

One interesting thing is the self-seating policy of the restaurant, which comes into play when it’s full. Although not marked as such, there is a line you wait in for a table to become available. That is, you have to keep scanning the seating area to detect a party about to leave, then swoop down on that table while it is being cleaned off by the staff. We didn’t know all this and were politely called back by another guest when we tried to go straight for a table that opened up.

We started off with salads: I got a Caesar, Wendy got a Greek, and Chris got a Greek (and shared some with Kristina). They were all good-sized portions, the lettuce particularly crisp, and the dressings (all served on the side) were ample and appropriate.

For the main course, I had a Steak and Cheese sub with Bacon. It came with a good balance of steak, cheese, lettuce, and tomato but I could hardly tell if there was any bacon on it. The bun was very soft (a good thing), and the cheese was nicely melted into the steak. Kristina also got a regular Steak and Cheese, but with French Fries, which were relatively thick cut. Wendy got the Artichoke Chicken with Capellini pasta. It came with lots of mushrooms too. She liked having her choice of pasta, and there were ample portions of the chicken, artichokes, and mushrooms. Chris got Giovanni’s signature Gourmet Pizza (“Extra thin pizza with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, garlic, basil, kalamata olives, and extra virgin olive oil”). I tried a slice and really liked it; not the kind of pizza I would normally order for myself, but I liked the combination of flavors, especially the basil and kalamata olives.

Giovanni’s is a family-oriented, reasonably priced Italian restaurant that’s ideal for meeting with friends for good food and conversation. We like supporting local restaurants and think you should give Giovanni’s a try!

Location: 520 E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-777-8440

Web site: http://giovannisnypizza.net/

Total bill: $70.52 + $15.00 tip = $85.52

#120: Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

2011-11-25T21:16:00.002-05:00

Date Visited: 19 November 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 6 - Me, Wendy, Bob, Joyce, Perry, Laurie

Experience: The rapid opening of restaurants in the Village at Leesburg continues! The newest one is Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, which opened on Wednesday, 16 November. It’s a chain with twenty locations, mostly in the eastern U.S. From their website, here’s what Firebirds is supposed to be all about: “Firebirds Wood Fired Grill introduced a taste of Colorado to the Carolinas when it first opened its doors in Charlotte, North Carolina in December of 2000. The restaurant is the creative concept of owner and restaurateur, Dennis Thompson, who regularly travels out west. He fell in love with the feel of the area as well as the food. Drawing from those experiences, he developed Firebirds.”

At the risk of being repetitive (as reported in #119), there are ten restaurants now open in the Village at Leesburg: Flame Kabob, Faang Thai, Noodles & Company, Travinia Italian Kitchen, Eggspectation, King Pinz (yes, they have a restaurant too), Wegmans (yeah, it's technically a restaurant), Finnegan’s, Pinkberry (just opened), and the subject of this review, Firebirds!

On this Saturday evening, we were joined by our best friends Bob, Joyce, Perry, and Laurie, and there was quite a wait (not unexpected). After we were seated, drink orders were taken; two of us decided to have a glass of Casa Lapostolle (a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile). Our server came back to tell us they were all out of that. Then the three of us guys decided to order a bottle of Firebird Red (Napa Valley) to share. Our server came back again to tell us they were all out of that. Finally, we just decided it was every man for himself, and I ended up with a glass of Red Guitar Tempranillo (Spain); I don’t remember what Bob & Perry got, but this was not a good start. The wine was actually pretty good, a little fruity but not overpowering.

We chose a two appetizers; first was the Ranch Rings (“Buttermilk-battered onion rings with panko bread crumbs. Served with roasted garlic ranch dressing.”) The panko made these deliciously different than normal onion rings. We also got the Lobster Spinach Queso (“A spicy blend of lobster, baby spinach, tomatoes and pepper jack cheese with tri-colored tortilla chips.”) Big pieces of lobster and fresh-made chips. Everyone liked both very much; nothing was left!

Several of us had the Firebirds BLT Salad (“Chopped lettuce, tomatoes, applewood-smoked bacon, roasted garlic ranch dressing.”) The dressing was the same garlicky goodness as that which came with the Ranch Rings, but there was a bit too much of it; the bacon was a little strange - good taste but seemed to be in small chewy nuggets rather than thin pieces.

I ordered the Bleu Cheese Filet (“Bacon-wrapped wood grilled filet topped with bleu cheese sauce and port mushrooms”) with a loaded baked potato. No vegetables come with the dish, maybe because they assume you’ve already had a salad? The steak was quite good, and the clean wood fire taste was noticeable. The bleu cheese sauce and mushrooms (large) complimented the steak well. The baked potato wasn’t all that “loaded” - not enough fixins to spread over the whole potato. However, they do rub salt on the outside of the skin, which makes the skin so much tastier.

Wendy got the Filet & Shrimp (“Bacon-wrapped wood grilled filet served with shrimp basted in a Key lime butter”) with a loaded baked potato. The steak was the same as mine, minus the bleu cheese sauce and mushrooms. The shrimp were also wood fired, and had the grill marks to prove it. I’ve never had Key lime butter before, but it really made the shrimp excellent. She had a Lemonade that came with a sugar-encrusted rim, a nice touch.

I didn’t take detailed notes on everyone else’s dinners. Laure had a chicken salad (don’t remember which one) but the chicken was ice cold rather than warm as expected. She didn’t have a good experience.

There were a few hiccups in our experience: wine problems, cold chicken in the salad, drink refills were slow to come, and we weren’t even asked if we wanted dessert (after being briefly shown the dessert menu!) But this was only the fourth night they’ve been open for business; I think Firebirds will work out these kinks and prove to be one of the better Leesburg restaurants. I encourage you to give them a try (maybe in a couple of weeks!)

Location: 1607 Village Market Blvd. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-840-0443

Web site: http://www.firebirdsrestaurants.com/

Total bill: $92.23 + $20.00 tip = $112.23

#119: Finnegan's Sports Bar & Grill

2011-11-06T23:11:00.000-05:00

Date Visited: 23 October 2011

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience: Finnegan’s is one of the newest restaurants to open in the rapidly expanding Village at Leesburg. As reported in #117, there are ten restaurants: Flame Kabob, Faang Thai, Noodles & Company, Travinia Italian Kitchen, Eggspectation, King Pinz (yes, they have a restaurant too), Wegmans (yeah, it's technically a restaurant), Pinkberry (just opened), Firebirds Wood Fired Grill (opening soon), and the subject of this review, Finnegan’s!

Regular readers of this blog know that I rarely even come close to writing a negative review, but this time is different. When we arrived, we were taken to the main seating area and presented with menus that were all wet. Then we discovered our appetizer plates were dirty; when we pointed this out to our server, she made a face and got us clean ones but no apology or even “sorry!” At Finnegan’s each table has it’s own TV and I was struggling to find the Redskins game, so I asked our server for some help. All she could manage was “I have no idea” with no offer to get help from someone else (I did finally figure it out myself). It was also very cold inside, which was probably comfortable for the staff, but not us customers.

I had the beef Pub Sliders (3), which seemed to be more bun than meat and come just with cheese. The only condiment offered was ketchup. This dish also came with Cole slaw, which was surprisingly good - wet and tangy. I also had a Guinness to wash it all down. Wendy had a side salad with apple-bacon vinaigrette, which was also surprisingly different, in a good way. She also had the Macaroni & Cheese with beer cheese and bread crumbs. It was a nice take on an old favorite, providing good taste and a little crunch. Andy had the Bacon Blue cheeseburger. He said it was good, not a typical pre-cooked thing, but he ordered it medium and it came out pretty much well done.

To top it all off, it took forever to get our check; we finally had to ask another server to get it for us. Finnegan’s is probably alright if what you want is a basic sports bar, but you wouldn’t want to go there for the food. Reviews on Yelp pretty much confirm my opinion.

Location: 1608 Village Market Blvd. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-771-2333

Web site: http://www.finnegansirishbar.com/leesburg/

Total bill: $45.03 + $10.00 tip = $55.03

#118: Jimmy John's

2011-10-16T18:05:00.000-04:00

Date Visited: 3 October 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience: The new Jimmy John’s Leesburg location has been open for a few weeks now (the former site of Blockbuster, years ago). It is a franchise operation with stores all over the country. The menu features only cold sub sandwiches; they seem to make it a point of pride that they don’t serve soups, salads, or hot sandwiches. Jimmy John’s uniqueness in the sub market focuses on fresh ingredients and fast delivery (including catering). They also seem to hava a “Mama” theme, as in “Your Mom wants you to eat at Jimmy John’s”, and this disclaimer on the menu:

“OK, so my subs really aren’t gourmet and we’re not French either. My subs just taste a little better, that’s all! I wanted to call it Jimmy John’s Tasty Sandwiches, but my Mom told me to stick with gourmet. She thinks whatever I do is gourmet, but I don’t think either of us knows what it means. So let’s stick with Tasty!” -- Jimmy John

I had the #11 Country Club: “Fresh sliced turkey breast, applewood smoked ham, provolone, and tons of lettuce, tomato, and mayo! (A very traditional, yet always exceptional classic!)” Wendy had the #12 Beach Club: “Fresh baked turkey breast, provolone cheese, avocado spread, sliced cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, and mayo! (It’s the real deal, and it ain’t even California.)” Andy had the #17 Ultimate Porker: “Real applewood smoked ham and bacon with lettuce, tomato & mayo, what could be better!”

We all upgraded to a combo, which includes a fountain drink (they have Mello Yello!) and a bag of chips (Jimmy John’s own brand).

Our overall evaluation is that the food is good, fresh, and reasonably priced, but not compelling. Andy’s comment: “Totally generic.” They did deliver of the promise of fast delivery; our sandwiches were ready within a few minutes of ordering. Try it, you might like it!

Location: 11 Catoctin Cir. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-779-2111

Web site: http://www.jimmyjohns.com/

Total bill: $27.47

#117: Eggspectation

2011-09-13T21:50:00.000-04:00

Date Visited: 28 August 2011

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience: The Village at Leesburg currently hosts ten restaurants: Flame Kabob, Faang Thai, Noodles & Company, Travinia Italian Kitchen, Wegmans (yeah, it's technically a restaurant), King Pinz (yes, they have a restaurant too), Finnegan’s (just opened), Pinkberry (opening soon), Firebirds Wood Fired Grill (opening soon), and the subject of this review, Eggspectation!

Eggspectation is a franchise operation with U.S. locations in Ellicot City (MD), Silver Spring (MD), Chantilly (VA), Gainesville (VA), and now, Leesburg! They also have 11 restaurants in Canada and 3 in India - interesting! Eggspectation’s niche is indicated by their name - they specialize in lots of unique egg dishes.

We started out with an appetizer of Deviled Eggs (with sugar-cured bacon & candied pecans). The savory bacon and sweetness of the pecans formed a good combination, not overpowering. I ordered the Southwestern Benedict, which is one of their many varieties of eggs benedict. It featured two poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, plus some Tex-Mex additions such as a little jalapeño, and served in a half tortilla shell. Wendy got the EggFrittata (“Three egg frittata with tomatoes, bacon, and cheddar cheese, grilled potatoes and chef’s fruit garnish”); her comment: “Very cheesy!” Andy ordered The Sugar Shack (“2 scrambled eggs, two crêpes bretonnes, ham and baked beans. Served with grilled potatoes.”) and a Vanilla Yogurt (served in a fancy glass with warm honey). He liked the crepes.

Eggspectation is fun and kinda quirky because of all the egg puns and creative dishes. It is a bit on the expensive side in my opinion. Still, it’s worth a visit if just for the experience.

Location: 1609 Village Market, Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-777-4127

Web site: http://eggspectations.com/

Total bill: $59.90 + $12.00 tip = $71.90

#116: Los Tios Grill

2011-09-02T00:16:00.000-04:00

Date Visited: 21 August 2011

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: We attended a friend’s birthday party a couple weeks ago and were impressed by the quality of the catered food (fajitas & such). When we asked where it came from, the answer was “Los Tios”, to which we replied, “Los Tios?” It turns out that Los Tios Grill is the new establishment that moved into the location formerly occupied by Nido Ristorante Italiano (reviewed in May 2010, just before they closed) in Leesburg’s Market Station.

Los Tios Grill specializes in fresh Tex-Mex and Salvadorean food. We visited late on a Sunday afternoon after the lunch rush. We were immediately seated and treated to their delicious homemade salsa (and chips, of course!)

Wendy had the Cheese enchilada & chicken enchilada combo, which came with chili con queso and more chips - yum! Her main comment: “Lots of chicken!”

I had the Beef fajitas. Almost every restaurant that serves fajitas does it by bringing a sizzling iron skillet to the table. At Los Tios Grill, I have never seen such mega-steaming - it was a cloud of steam at the table! Their tortillas are a bit larger than usual, which I really appreciated. The meat was perfectly seasoned, and came with a very hot habanero sauce on the side. Excellent.

All out food was very fresh, hot, and delicious. The staff was very attentive and courteous throughout the meal. Our server (Carlos) came back to explain some menu recommendations in detail, especially the Salvadorean dishes (which we’ll have to try next time). The excellent service also featured the table being wiped off after clearing the plates - a nice touch.

Their website is printed on the receipt, but doesn’t appear to be quite set up yet. There is apparently another location in Alexandria that does have a functioning website (with the same menu).

Location: 201-A Harrison St. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Website: http://lostiosgrilllsb.vpweb.com/

Total bill: $42.04 + $10.00 tip = $52.04

#115: Burger King (Outlet Mall)

2011-08-14T20:35:00.001-04:00

Date Visited: 14 August 2011

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: I had to get out of the house because Wendy was hosting a meeting of the Waterford Quilters Guild right after church. I took the opportunity to have a quick lunch out by myself and get some uninterrupted time to read my Bible (via Logos Bible Software on my iPad) and catch up reading the London by Edward Rutherfurd.

I went to Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets (aka The Outlet Mall) and got my lunch at Burger King. I arrived just after the lunch rush, so there were no long lines and plenty of tables. I got a combo meal consisting of the BK Double Stack (double cheeseburger with lots of bacon), large fries ( a little stale) and a large diet Pepsi. No, I did not see the King.

Burger King is not one of my favorite fast-food restaurants, but I needed to visit this one just to cross it off the list in my overall quest. So now I've done both of Leesburg's Burger Kings (the other one was reviewed on 1 November 2008). Burger King = done!

Location: 241 Fort Evans Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://bk.com/

Total bill: $8.67

#114: Sal's NY Bar & Grille

2011-08-14T19:32:00.000-04:00

Date Visited: 13 August 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: I'd been looking forward to reviewing Sal's, as they're still relatively new to Leesburg, located in the spot formerly occupied by J&W Asian Bistro. They are also affiliated with Sal’s NY Pizza in Ashburn (Broadlands).

On this Saturday night, the restaurant was not too busy, and we were enthusiastically greeted by our server, Nicole. When she brought our menus, I opened mine up to find that it was blank! When I pointed this out to her, she joked that it was the "low Carb menu" - good recovery!

We were started off with the free house appetizer called Garlic Knots, which are egg-sized knots of pizza dough with real garlic, and sprinkles of Parmesan, parsley, and salt. They are served with small bowl of homemade Marinara sauce for dipping. Nicole said to be careful, because they are addicting, and she was right!

For our beverages, I tried the limited availability Dominion Double D IPA, and Wendy had an iced tea. I asked Nicole if she had any recommendations, but she replied that it was all good, and that she "had never had a bad meal" there. (Maybe it's just me, but I expect servers to provide more useful answers than that.) I ended up ordering the New York Strip steak, which came with a choice of pasta (I picked angel hair with Marinara sauce), and a side salad (I picked Caesar). Wendy sampled mine and said the pasta was done just right, and the sauce was not overspiced but slight sweet - not too acidic - and mild. Wendy got a small White Cheese pizza (fresh garlic, ricotta, mozzarella, & Parmesan) and a garden salad.

The food at Sal’s was indeed all good, and we’d go back again. Try ‘em out yourself!

Location: 707 E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-777-7707

Website: http://salsnybarandgrille.com/

Total bill: $45.80 + $10.00 tip = $55.80

#113: Palio Ristorante Italiano

2011-06-20T20:11:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 19 June 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Palio is a very nice upscale Italian restaurant, self-described as "Old World tradition with contemporary flare" on their excellent web site. Located in the heart of historic downtown Leesburg, it was previously home to the GG Cafe and La Bella restaurants. We chose Palio to celebrate Father's Day with a good Italian dinner, and we were not disappointed.

To start off, we chose an appetizer (antipasto) of Prosciutto di San Danielle e Annas (prosciutto, grilled pineapple slices, grilled local Virginia peaches, and a dill sauce). The combination of the sweet fruit and the salty prosciutto was a perfect starter. I also had the Insalata di Rucola ("Baby arugula salad, Forelle pears, Balsamic vinaigrette, shaved Parmesan cheese") and a glass of Sangiovese red wine. Again, a perfect combination of flavors.

For my main course, I chose one of the daily specials, the Garganelli pasta. This pasta is something like penne, and had generouse bits of crab meat mixed in. Wendy also got one of the specials, the Veal Chop; it was huge and delicious. Alicia got the Gnocchi Sorentina, which came in a tasty orange-red tomato sauce.

Surprisingly, we still had room for dessert, so we went for broke and all got something. I had the Cannoli Siciliani, Wendy got the Crema Bruciata (Creme Brulee), and Alicia got the Torta della Nonna (basically cheesecake). I also had an espresso, which came in one of those cool tiny cups with a tiny spoon - a perfectly fun finish.

For a reliably good Italian meal and dining experience, we can heartily recommend Palio.

Location: 2 W. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-779-0060

Web site: http://palioofleesburg.com/

Total bill: $117.50 + $30.00 tip = $157.25

#112: Aashiana Authentic Indo-Pak Cuisine

2011-06-19T17:25:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 2 June 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Well, here's an interesting story. One day I'm driving home and saw a sign for our Angeethi restaurant in front of the Holiday Inn Leesburg at Carrodoc Hall (1500 E. Market St.) What? I thought maybe they just relocated. Then I drove down Catoctin Circle and saw what appeared to be a new restaurant at the old Angeethi location (17 Catoctin Cir.), with a sign that said "Aashiana Authentic Indo-Pak Cuisine." I thought "Great, another new restaurant to visit!" Here's what I found out: Aashiana is only sorta new; it's the same staff, same chef, same menu, same food, same decor as when it was Angeethi, except that the original owner left and restarted Angeethi over at the Holiday Inn. Other than this shared history, the two restaurants are unrelated.

Since it had been some time since we last ate at this location, this was a nice opportunity to re-aquaint ourselves with their wonderful cuisine. We started out with the Paneer Pakora appetizer ("Homemade cheese stuffed with delicious spiced mixture cooked in chickpea butter.") They look a little like Chicken McNuggets (sorry), but are in fact delicious, as advertised. For main courses, I had the Lamb Rogan Josh ("Chunks of leg of lamb simmered to perfectionin a creamy yogurt curry sauce with a hint of basil.") I ordered it medium spicy and it was great. Later, I realized this was the same dish I got when I first reviewed Angeethi on 26 September 2009 - I think it's still the best thing on the menu! Wendy got the Tandoori Chicken Tikka ("Boneless chunks of chicken marinated in yogurt, lemon juice, and spices, then barbequed over charcoal.") She liked it. We also shared a Garlic Naan; hot, buttery, garlicy, yum!

We continue to be impressed with the quality of the food, as well as the excellent service at Aashiana. They also have a lunch buffet seven days a week. Give them a try!

Location: 17 Catoctin Cir., Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-777-7751

Web site: http://aashianacuisine.com/

Total bill: $45.51 + $10.00 tip = $55.51

#111: Travinia Italian Kitchen

2011-05-19T22:58:00.001-04:00

Date Visited: 9 April 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Bob, & Joyce

Experience: Travinia Italian Kitchen is another new restaurant in the Village at Leesburg. We heard good things about it and decided to give 'em a try. Travinia is actually a chain of restaurants and they currently have eight locations (2 in VA, 5 in SC, and 1 in NC). On this Saturday night visit the place was packed, and we were joined by our good friends Bob and Joyce. It seemed a very family-friendly place. Oddly, Travinia doesn't take reservations except for parties of six or more.

We began with a mini loaf of focaccia bread and olive oil; pretty typical for an Italian restaurant, but nontheless delicious. We decided to share an appetizer called Italian Nachos ("Lightly fried chips layered with Italian sausage, mozzarella, black olives, tomatoes, scallions, banana peppers and an asiago cream sauce"); it was unusual but good.

As for the main courses... Bob got the Chicken Marsala, and commented that it was "the second best i've ever had(!)" Joyce got a house salad with balsamic vinegar dressing and the Pine Nut Encrusted Salmon, and after finishing it said, "It was very good; I ate it all!" Wendy got a bowl of Tomato Basil soup ("chunky!") and the Scampi Travinia ("Jumbo shrimp sautéed in garlic butter, herbs, diced roma tomatoes and lemon white wine sauce with capellini"). Her comments: "sweet shrimp with a light and delicious cream sauce." I got a glass of La Terre Cabernet Sauvignon and the Sinatra Chicken ("Pan seared chicken tenderloins topped with smoked pancetta, mozzarella cheese and a light semi-sweet Grand Marnier cream sauce with pasta."), which I enjoyed very much.

We had a good time and a good meal at Travinia, give 'em a try yourself.

Location: 1605 Village Market Blvd. SE #104, Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-777-6511

Web site: http://www.traviniaitaliankitchen.com/

Total bill: $60.22 + $12.00 tip = $72.22

#110: Hunan Cafe

2011-04-10T18:22:00.005-04:00

Date Visited: 4 April 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Hunan Cafe is the latest Chinese take-out restaurant to open in Leesburg. They have been open for about two months and are located in the new Sycolin Corner shopping center (corner of Sycolin Rd. and Battlefield Pkwy.), next to the new Walgreens. According to their web site, there are five other Hunan Cafe locations in Reston, Herndon, South Riding, Sterling, and Ashburn. Hunan Cafe advertises that they serve Chinese and Thai Cuisine. There are also lots of lunch specials (combos), quite a few kinds of noodle soups, and many Chef's Specialties on the menu.

On this our first visit, I had three mouths to feed and wanted to try a variety of our favorite dishes (we didn't try any of the Thai dishes on the menu this time). We started off with the Crab Rangoon appetizer; the pastry was a bit heavy, shaped in a triangle, and did not come with any special kind of sauce, but they were good. Wendy and I tried the soups; she had the Wonton ("delicious") and I had the Hot & Sour (a bit bland). For main courses, I had the Kung Pao Chicken (good, but a little dry and not very spicy). Wendy had the Chicken with Cashew Nuts (also a bit bland). Alicia tried the General Tso's Chicken (adventurous for her!), but it too was rather tame.

The service was courteous and quick. Overall, the food was OK, and I'm sure will improve as they get the business going; we'll certainly try them again.

For Chinese take-out, my favorite is still Tai Pei Cafe. For Chinese sit-down, I recommend Jasmine or newly-reopened-after-the-fire China King.

Here's a summary of all the Chinese restaurants I've reviewed so far:
- Hunan Cafe (visited 4 April 2011)
- Wei's Garden (visited 8 January 2010)
- James Cafe (visited 25 November 2009)
- Golden China (visited 5 April 2009)
- China King (visited 3 April 2009)
- Jasmine (visited 25 April 2008)
- Tai Pei Cafe (visited 18 April 2008)

Asian-style restaurants that offer at least some Chinese dishes:
- Pho Royal (visited 11 February 2010)
- Aiyara Thai (visited 16 October 2009)
- Pei Wei (visited 18 April 2009)
- Red Apple Buffet (visited 19 October 2008 - out of business, replaced by Buffalo Wings & Beer)
- Thai Pan (visited 24 August 2008)
- J&W Asian Bistro (visited 22 June 2008 - out of business, replaced by Sal's NY Bar & Grill)
- Xuan Saigon (visited 25 May 2008)

Location: 414 Sycolin Rd. SE, Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-443-9281

Web site: http://hunancafeva.com/

Total bill: $39.50 + $8.00 tip = $47.50

#109: Starbucks (Outlet Mall)

2011-03-07T23:18:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 5 March 2011

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: Starbucks. It's where I go for coffee. Now I've visited the last one in Leesburg. I had a grande Pike Place, black. Because I've given up cream & sugar so I can taste the coffee.

My research: The Starbucks web site's store locator reveals that there are currently four locations within the Leesburg town limits:
Starbucks #1 is on Market Street in the Bellewood Commons shopping center.
Starbucks #2 is on Edwards Ferry Road in the Battlefield Shopping Center.
Starbucks #3 is on Edwards Ferry Road inside SuperTarget.
Starbucks #4 is on Fort Evans Road in the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets (this one).

There you go. I've visited them all. So you don't have to. But I'm still gonna go there for my coffee.

Location: 241 Fort Evans Rd NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://starbucks.com/

Total bill: $2.12

#108: Pollo Loco & Bakery

2011-02-13T20:58:00.005-05:00

Date Visited: 13 February 2011

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Pollo Loco & Bakery (not to be confused with the El Pollo Loco chain) is one of our newest locally-owned restaurants in Leesburg, serving up delicious Peruvian-style chicken dishes, along with a a full bakery operation. Pollo Loco is located in the Bellewood Commons shopping center (along with Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Quiznos, Josefina Market, and Red Kabob). There used to be a bakery named Panaderia in the same location, but it closed before I could review it, and it's not affiliated with the current owners of Pollo Loco. Among all the Mexican/South American restaurants in Leesburg, Pollo Loco is most similar to La Chocita and Wishbone Rotisserie. Full-service Mexican restaurants include Del Rio, Anita's, and Casa Gonzales (closed), and our fast(er) food options are Moe's, California Tortilla, and Taco Bell.

Pollo Loco has a full menu of grilled items, burritos, rotisserie chicken, sandwiches, soups, salads, various side dishes, desserts (slice of cake from the bakery!), and beverages. On this visit I got the Pollo Saltado ("Tender chicken sauteed in olive oil with onion and tomatoes served over french fries and rice"). The chicken was indeed tender and juicy, and being served over french fries (large home fries) and rice (with some corn kernels mixed in) was a unique combination for me. Wendy got the Burrito Bowl with chicken ("Served with lettuce, cheese, rice, beans, pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole"). Her chicken seemed to have a char-broiled taste, and she said it was moist and flavorful, a perfect combination of ingredients.

While we were waiting for our lunch to be prepared, we were mesmerized by the vast array of bakery items on display, so we bought a sampling of some giant almond cookies, a churro, and a concha (round, sweet bread); all yummy.

Give Pollo Loco & Bakery a try!

Location: 525-E E. Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-669-2896

Web site: none

Total bill: $19.42 + $5.00 = $24.42

#107: Flame Kabob

2011-02-05T18:35:00.002-05:00

Date Visited: 4 February 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: One of the first restaurants to open in the Village at Leesburg, Flame Kabob had it's official ribbon-cutting ceremony with Leesburg town officials on 31 July 2010. Flame Kabob is a family-owned restaurant serving delicious Afghan food. They also have locations in Springfield and Fairfax. The new Leesburg location was recently reviewed very favorably in the Loudoun Times-Mirror. We were fortunate enough to be served by the owner, Marai Naimi, who was quite friendly and made us feel very welcome.

On this visit, I got the Flame Combo #1 ("A combination of boneless chicken breast and chunks of tender beef cooked to its perfection, served with rice, salad, a side your choice and fresh homemade bread with spicy yogurt sauce on the side"). I chose the chickpeas for my side. Wendy got the Tikka (Steak) Kabob ("Chunks of tender beef marinated in spices and herbs, charbroiled to its perfection, served with rice, salad, a side of your choice and a fresh homemade bread and spicy yogurt sauce on the side"). Wendy chose black beans for her side. We were delighted to be served the homemade bread and spicy yogurt sauce as an appetizer, before the rest of the meal - a nice touch. I especially liked the spicy yogurt sauce; it was just spicy enough to give a kick that complemented the homemade pita bread. We were also surprised to be served small bowls of vegetable soup along with the appetizer - an unexpected treat on the cold night we visited. The kabobs were excellent; each meat was marinated in its own unique blend of herbs, the rice was great, the salad had a tasty cool yogurt dressing, and the sides tasted home-cooked too. We finished dinner by sharing a Firnee (a sweet custard with a bit of rosewater added) - Yum!

We can highly recommend Flame Kabob and will be sure to visit again. This brings the total of Leesburg's kabob restaurants to six: Flame Kabob (Afghan), Kabob & Falafel (Lebanese), Zara Kebab (Turkish), Red Kabob (Jordanian), Hamburg Doner (German), and Mama Lucci's (Italian/Greek/Middle Eastern). This review also marks the third of six restaurants at the Village of Leesburg: Flame Kabob, Faang Thai, and Noodles & Company. Still to go are Wegmans (yeah, it's technically a restaurant), Travinia Italian Kitchen (open now), and Eggspectations (scheduled to open sometime in February).

Location: 1601 Village Market Blvd., Suite 108, Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-779-7799

Web site: http://flamekabob.us/

Total bill: $27.83 + $5.00 tip = $32.83

#106: Noodles & Company

2011-01-15T22:33:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 15 January 2011

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: The Village at Leesburg is beginning to fill up with restaurants, and that's a good thing for us, dear readers. Having been open now for a few months, we decided to give Noodles & Company a try. It was a cold night, and noodles sounded like the right thing. Noodles & Company is a chain with company and franchise locations across much of the U.S. The menu is fairly compact, but offers a surprising variety. They specialize in noodle dishes (duh!), soups, salads, and sandwiches with Asian, Mediterranean, and American flavors. They also offer a few other appetizers/sides, beer & wine, and simple desserts. The noodle dishes are the most unique, distinguishing offerings. Basically, you pick a regular (recommended) or small bowl, pick the kind of noodles you want, then (optionally) add in a protein choice (chicken, beef, shrimp, meatballs, or tofu). This was all explained to us by our server, Thomas, who did a great job detailing the choices and providing recommendations, all with good humor.

On this visit, I ordered the Indonesian Peanut Saute ("Spicy peanut sauce and rice noodle stir-fry, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, Asian sprouts, cilantro, crushed peanuts and lime"). I added the recommended chicken breast too. I was pleasantly surprised at the presentation - the dish was very nicely arranged, came out steaming, and smelled great. This dish is the spiciest one on the menu, and was just right for me. The regular size bowl was plenty and will leave you quite full. Wendy got the Wisconsin Mac & Cheese ("A blend of cheddar and jack cheeses, cream, elbow macaroni - our number one seller"). She said the pasta was firm, and it was good. She also got the Cucumber Tomato Side Salad, which was very fresh and had a "zippy" vinaigrette dressing.

We liked that everything seemed fresh, made-to-order, tasted good, and reasonably priced; a great alternative to typical fast food. It was good enough that we'll be back. We also saw our Pastor, who was also there for the first time. Maybe he'll comment too, but you should give Noodles & Company a try yourself!

Location: 1607 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-443-1284

Web site: http://noodles.com/

Total bill: $20.45

#105: Windy City Red Hots

2010-12-29T18:51:00.002-05:00

Date Visited: 29 December 2010

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: First of all, dear readers, I'd like to apologize for the long delay since my last review; lots of stuff going on. But today I'm back, and I'm hungry!

Windy City Red Hots is a relatively new addition to Leesburg's restaurant scene, in the King St. location formerly occupied by Leshers (and before that, the short-iived Smoothies & Salads, which I never got a chance to visit). As the name implies, they specialize in Chicago style eats (street food). Their hours are very accommodating: 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday and 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM on Sunday. There is also another location in Ashburn, although they're not open so late every day.

On this visit, I was by myself and only had time for a quick taste, so I ordered the namesake Windy City Red Hot hot dog ("100% pure beef hot dog topped with mustard, relish, onions, tomato, pickle, sport peppers and celery salt on a poppy seed bun.") Wow, every bit was an explosion of flavor! I had never heard of sport peppers before, so I asked the chef what they were. He said you can only get them in Chicago; they taste kinda like mini-Jalapenos, but you'll have to decide for yourself. There are plenty of other Chicago classics on the menu, which you can check out on their hip web site; especially check out the "We speak Chicago" side bar on the menu. They also feature a great selection of craft beers and other beverages. The decor is very Chicago-themed, including some great blues music playing in the house. The service was friendly and courteous, and I'll definitely be back!

Just today, I read that Windy City Red Hots was voted #1 in the Loudoun Times-Mirror's "Top 5 New Restaurants of 2010"! Way to go! Read the article, then go check them out, and I hope to see you there! You can also get it delivered via Door to Door Dining.

Location: 28 South King St., Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-669-8606

Web site: http://windycityredhots.com/

Total bill: $4.27

#104: Faang Thai Restaurant

2010-11-10T00:05:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 17 October 2010

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Faang is the third Thai restaurant in Leesburg proper, the other two being Thai Pan and Aiyara Thai. Faang is located in the Village of Leesburg shopping center (Wegmans), and has a second location in Warrenton. The Leesburg store opened in July of this year and has been favorably reviewed in the Loudoun Times-Mirror. For this visit, we decided to stick with the standards, so we could easily compare them to other Thai restaurants.

We started off with an appetizer of Crab Wontons, one of our favorites. We judged Faang's version to be nearly perfect! The wontons were lightly crispy, with a generous amount of (real) crab and cream cheese filling. Just right, and so good.

For the main meal, Wendy and I both ordered from the lunch specials. Both came with soup and salad. The Lemon Grass soup was just spicy enough, with fresh mushrooms, scallions, and chicken; not too thin, and somewhat hearty. The house salad was cold and crunchy (the way it should be); the dressing was unusually tasty, and a bit sweet. We asked our server what was in it, and he answered "lots of stuff." Hmm... an offer to ask the chef might have been a better answer.

I got the Panang Curry, which had just the right amount of spiciness, a sprig of Thai basil, thinly sliced beef, and a dollop of thick coconut milk on top. Quite tasty and authentic, I thought. Wendy got the Pad Thai, and was impressed with the crispiness of the sprouts.

Overall, we had a very good experience; service was OK, presentation was excellent. Faang's prices are slightly on the high side, as they are aiming for a higher quality experience. Thai Pan is your lower end experience, and Aiyara Thai is right in the middle with a more personal touch. Give Faang a try!

Location: 1605 Village Market Blvd., Suite100, Leesburg, VA 20176, 571-918-0646

Web site: http://www.faangrestaurant.com/

Total bill: $34.72 + $10.00 Tip = $44.72

#103: Moley Brothers Q-Pit

2010-09-25T23:31:00.004-04:00

Date Visited: 19 September 2010

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Moley Brothers Q-Pit opened about four weeks ago, in the former location of Bacchus Cafe on Catoctin Circle, next door to Andy's. Their official ribbon-cutting was apparently on 10 September, but we've waited to visit, giving them some time to get settled in. I think this was a good idea, as some of the first reviews online were a bit mixed. We visited on a Sunday afternoon, our standard after-church lunch schedule. On Sundays, they don't open until 1:00 PM, so we were first customers that day.

We both ordered the #4 Two Meat Plate. I got the 1/4 slab and beef brisket with the "Moley Brothers Fire Kickin Carolina Sauce" (spicy), with sides of corn bread, baked beans and cole slaw. Wendy got the 1/4 slab and beef ribs with the "Moley Brothers Original Sauce" (sweet & tangy), with sides of corn bread, baked beans and potato salad. For drinks, I got a Diet Pepsi and Wendy got the Sweet Tea - and whoo-hoo, that is SWEET tea, southern style! All of the sides were OK, but Moley Brothers clearly concentrates on the meat. The ribs and brisket tasted like barbeque should - the ribs were tender, not-quite-falling-off-the-bone, and the spicy sauce had a good balance of sweet and kick. Wendy's beef ribs were the real surprise - our server referred to them as "Fred Flintstone Dinosaur Ribs" - they were HUGE! Just like the pork ribs, the beef ribs were quite tender and juicy, as well as being HUGE. She couldn't finish, so we took some home for a future lunch.

Moley Brothers Q-Pit is a welcome addition to Leesburg's locally-owned and operated restaurants, and is far superior to any chain restaurant for good barbeque (well, except for Famous Dave's, but Leesburg doesn't have one). Give 'em a try!

Location: 9E Catoctin Circle SW, Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-777-8632

Web site: http://www.moleybrothers.com/

Total bill: $26.65 + $7.00 Tip = $33.65

#102: King Street Coffee

2010-09-18T13:58:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 18 September 2010

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: It was sad when the Coffee Bean closed, because it had been such a long-time fixture of downtown Leesburg. Now we are happy again because it has reopened, still serving good coffee, but with new owners and a new name: King Street Coffee! The inside of the place looks mostly the same, but it's been significantly spruced up and welcomes you with a fresh yet cozy atmosphere. It's very convenient to downtown Leesburg and the W&OD trail.

On this visit I got the coffee of the day, a large Panama and it was very good. There are plenty more selections to try, and they offer whole beans, teas, drinks made to offer, and various snacks. And they have one thing the old Coffee Bean never had - a web site!

Stop in and support a local business - give King Street Coffee a try!

Location: 110 S. King St., Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-443-0110

Web site: http://kingstreetcoffee.com/

Total bill: $2.07

#101: Jersey Mike's Subs

2010-09-11T23:55:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 9 September 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Jersey Mike's is the latest new restaurant to open up in the Fort Evans Plaza II shopping center, along with Cici's and Pho Royal. It's is a franchise restaurant chain specializing in sub sandwiches. They have an interesting history, having started by a guy named Mike in a simple storefront in the "sea-side town of Point Pleasant, New Jersey." We came to Jersey Mike's because they were having a fundraiser for the LCHS Marching Band.

I got the #2 Jersey Shore's Favorite (provolone, ham and cappacuolo), and Wendy got the #9 Club Supreme (roast beef, turkey, swiss, bacon, and mayo). All of Jersey Mike's cold subs come Mike's Way (onions, lettuce, tomatoes, red wine vinegar, olive oil blend and spices) unless you tell them not to; we got 'em both Mike's Way of course. We also ordered both in the "regular" size, which was plenty big (the "giant" size is truly enormous). Alicia, not feeling the sub vibe, got the Chicken Caesar salad (fresh greens, tomatoes, green bell peppers, and cucumbers, with grilled sliced chicken breast). All the food seemed to be made with fresh, high-quality ingredients, along with friendly service, and we enjoyed it.

When you're in the mood for a sub sandwich, Jersey Mike's is a good choice. However, there's plenty of great non-franchise, locally-owned competition from Deli South, Andy's, Puccio's, and Galletta's. Try 'em all!

Location: 522 Fort Evans Rd., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-777-3880

Web site: http://jerseymikes.com/

Total bill: $26.71

#100: Kabob & Falafel

2010-09-05T00:05:00.006-04:00

Date Visited: 14 August 2010

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Leesburg is going kabob-crazy! At least that's how it seems. Now we have another choice: the new Kabob & Falafel is on South King St. in the location formerly occupied by the Fractured Prune. Kabab & Falafel joins the growing list of Leesburg restaurants serving kabobs/gyros/falafel, which includes Zara Kebab (Turkish), Red Kabob (Jordanian), Doner Bistro (German), and Mama Lucci's (Italian/Greek/Middle Eastern).

Kabob & Falafel is served by Chef Rida (Lebanese), who was the chef of the Fettouch Restaurant in Washington, D.C. from 1980-1989. I remember going there (it was on M St. in Georgetown) back in 1984 or so, and it was great! When I saw Chef Rida's name on the Kabob & Falafel menu, I knew this was going to be good.

We started off with the Falafel appetizer, and the dish was beautifully presented. I was surprised to find the inside of the falafel was green; Chef Rida explained that this was due to the parsley. It was nice and hot, slightly crispy outside, soft on the inside. Yum!

I ordered the Gyro Sandwich ("Mixture of lamb and beef with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber yogurt sauce"), which was a little unusual in that it had longish strips of meat in the pita. It was deliciously different, but retained the traditional gyro taste. Wendy got the Shish Kabob ("Marinated beef tenderloin with tomatoes, onions and green peppers"), and she was a little surprised to be asked how she wanted it cooked; "Medium" was the answer; and we were clued in that this was not just fast food, it was all cooked to order. The meat was perfectly tender and juicy, obviously high-quality beef. Both dishes came with small containers of the cucumber yogurt sauce and a vinegar-based, spicier sauce with parsley. The quality of the food, the taste, and the presentation were all top-notch, and quite a contrast to the spartan decor of the place. Everything is plain and simple except the food!

Chef Rida's friendly manner and service made us feel right at home. We found everything at Kabob & Falafel to be fresh, cooked to order, and delicious. Give them a try and support a great local Leesburg restaurant!

Location: 828 S. King St., Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-777-6985

Web site: none (yet)

Total bill: $19.90

#99: Shoes Cup & Cork Club

2010-09-03T00:01:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 12 August 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Andy

Experience: Shoes is one of my new local favorites. Boasting the "Best Coffee in Leesburg" and a cool downtown location, Shoes offers much more than coffee, although they feature many different kinds of hot and cold coffee drinks, teas, and fruit smoothies. The name comes from the fact that this was for many years the location of Arthur's Shoe Repair (see the History section of their web site for more information).

Andy and I were here for dinner on this visit. As I mentioned, Shoes offers more than coffee, and I think they offer a pretty amazing menu of good food. To start off, I had an iced coffee and Andy had a hot Chai tea; both very good. For my dinner, I ordered Ed's Famous Award Winning Chili Verde ("Savory Pork, Green Chili Peppers, Fresh Tomato, Slow Cooked to Perfection. Topped with Shredded Cheese and Served with Warmed Tortilla Chips"). "Ed" is Ed Shihadeh, one of the owners. The Chili Verde was just right, even award-winning, I'd say. Andy ordered the Italian Hoagie ("Ham, Capicola, Salami, Provolone Cheese, Italian Spices, Olive Oil, Vinegar Lettuce, Tomato and Onion"). Andy, who is a tough food critic, described it as "generic, but fresh stuff" - a pretty good recommendation, actually.

There is plenty more on the menu to be sampled, and we will surely be back many times to support this local business. Check out their web site for the entire menu, schedule of live music, and other news.

Location: 17 N. King St., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-779-7997

Web site: http://shoescupandcorkclub.com/

Total bill: $24.59 + $5.00 tip = $29.59

#98: Dolce Coffee House

2010-08-10T18:21:00.004-04:00

Date Visited: 9 August 2010

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: Sometimes I'm a little slow. I realized I had never officially reviewed Greenberry's (our local Starbucks-wannabe franchise), so I decided to stop in for a coffee on the way to work. When I pulled into the parking lot, something didn't seem right - part of the outside sign was gone (see photo below). I went in and discovered that Greenberry's was gone, having been replaced by Dolce Coffee House, as a sign inside explained. I asked the guy behind the counter if Dolce was a chain too, and he said he didn't think so (I kinda expected a more definitive answer). Dolce Coffee House is located in Prosperity Center, along with Del Rio, RJ's Deli, and Saly NY Bar & Grill (not yet reviewed; replaced J&W Asian Bistro).

I ordered a large Java (bold brew of the day) and a butter croissant. The coffee was indeed very bold, but good. The croissant was pretty good too, but I'm pretty sure they don't make them there. The receipt still says Greenberry's on it! They continue to have WiFi and it's a nice alternative when you've had enough of Starbucks for a while.

Location: 703-J East Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: none (yet)

Total bill: $4.21

#97: Zara Kebab

2010-08-08T18:06:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 8 August 2010

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Another new restaurant in Leesburg has risen from the ashes of an old one. Zara Kebab features Turkish Cuisine and is located in the Marketplace at Potomac Station, in the spot where Zpizza used to be. They join the growing number of restaurants there, which currently includes the Greene Turtle, Subway, Manhattan Pizza, James Cafe, Arby's, and Moe's. Zara Kebab joins the family of restaurants in Leesburg serving kebabs, along with Red Kabob (Jordanian) and Doner Bistro (German-style). In the U.S., people are fairly familiar with the term Gyro (Greek), but not so much with Doner (which is the original Turkish version). They are very similar, differing a bit in the specific spices and proportions used. Gokhan said that their Doner was about 80% beef and 20% lamb, made fresh daily - never frozen, and cooked on a vertical spit. You can read up on the Doner Kebab phenomena on Wikipedia; amazingly, Leesburg is mentioned in the article as one of the few places in the U.S. where Doner Kebabs are known and served!

Zara Kebab co-owner Gokhan graciously helped us through the menu, making suggestions giving us background on many of the dishes. On this visit, we started off with an appetizer called Cigar Borek ("Feta cheese with parsley wrapped homemade dough and deep fried"). The feta was very mild, and they were perfectly fried, hot, and fresh tasting. Gokhan explained that this dish is very common in Turkish homes.

For my entree, I got the Shish Kofte ("Ground beef gently spiced and grilled served with rice, lettuce, pita bread & cacik sauce"). The "shish" means it's grilled on a skewer, and the "kofte" is the ground beef, which is served on top of the pita, and looks somewhat like a large sausage. Gokhan said that the secret is that the meat has been marinated for at least 24 hours, and I could tell - it was juicy and delicious! Most of the dishes at Zara Kebab come with their homemade Cacik sauce ("Plain homemade yogurt with chopped cucumbers, fresh mints, dill and garlic"), which was good and refreshing. Most of the dishes also come with two kinds of rice: white rice with orzo pasta toasted in butter, and whole grain rice (kind of yellow-orange). Gokhan said the whole grain was the healthy one!

Wendy got the Doner (Gyro) Kebab ("Thin sliced marinated beef, cooked with an open flame on a vertical spit, shaved-off in tender thin slice, served with rice, lettuce, pita bread & cacik sauce"). Like my Kofte, it was very juicy and wonderfully marinated.

There are plenty of other dishes to try at Zara Kebab, and we'll be back to try 'em. Gokhan and the rest of the staff were very friendly, making our visit a pleasure. We can enthusiastically recommend that you give Zara Kebab a visit, and support a local Leesburg business!

Location: 659 Potomac Station Dr., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-777-3515

Web site: none (yet)

Total bill: $30.75 + $6.00 tip = $36.75

#96: The Greene Turtle

2010-07-26T22:00:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 22 July 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: One of Leesburg's newest restaurants, The Greene Turtle is located in the Marketplace at Potomac Station shopping center, along with other previously reviewed eateries Subway, Manhattan Pizza, James Cafe, Arby's, Zpizza (now closed), and Moe's Southwest Grill. The Greene Turtle is epitome of what a sports bar should be; there are TVs everywhere (including one per table!) with all manner of sports, loud music, and loud customers (in a good way). The Greene Turtle is a franchise, with many locations in Maryland, four in Virginia, two in Delaware, and one in Washington, D.C. The menu is what you'd expect - bar food, but we found it to include good variety, good taste, and good value. There were several families there when we visited, and despite the background noise level, would be considered family-friendly.

For this inagural visit, I started off with a Sam Adams Summer Ale and Wendy got a Pink Lemonade. We shared a "Sweet 'Tater Fries" appetizer which came with a caramel pecan dipping sauce which was quite good. For my dinner I got the "Triple Basket" Combo which included Rockfish Fillets, Chicken Tenders, and Battered Shrimp, along with three dipping sauces to go with them. It also came with french fries and cole slaw. Wendy got the Apple Turkey Ciabatta sandwich (turkey, apples, bacon, melted cheddar, and sweet Vidalia onion dressing).

It was all good and fun. Our server "Squeej" was a character and added to the enjoyment! Our overall experience was good and the menu contains a few more things that we'd like to try, so we'll be back!

Location: 603 Potomac Station Dr., Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-777-5511

Web site: http://thegreeneturtle.com/

Total bill: $42.27 + $10.00 tip = $52.27

#95: RJ's Deli

2010-06-12T17:25:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 12 June 2010

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: It's embarrassing that RJ's Deli has been in Leesburg since 1998, and we never visited until now. Years ago they were located on Loudoun Street, but are currently in the Prosperity Shopping Center (same location as Del Rio, the very first restaurant I reviewed!) I'm sorry it took so long, but RJ's is a great place! It's a combination Italian delicatessen, catering, and specialty food store.

I ordered a large "BBQ, Cheese and Slaw" (BBQ Beef, Provolone, and Cole Slaw) - excellent. Wendy got a large special "Ultimate Italian" (Prosciutto, Capiola, Salami, Provolone), which she liked very much. Alicia got a Caesar Salad; the dressing appeared to be homemade, and they made her some Garlic Bread to go with it! RJ's also stocks a number of specialy drinks; Alicia got a Calypso Natural Lemonade, Wendy got a San Benedetto The - Peach Ice Tea, and I got an Arizone Asian Plum Green Tea.

RJ's is another great, locally-owned Leesburg gem - give them a try!

Location: 707-I E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 703-771-2058

Web site: http://rjsdeli.com/

Total bill: $37.94

#94: Nido Ristorante Italiano

2010-05-25T14:03:00.004-04:00

Date Visited: 15 May 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: In all of our years in Leesburg, we hadn't visited Nido until now. We were just in time, as we learned from an article in Leesburg Today that they are planning to close at the end of May 2010. The reason? "James Nido Capaldi, owner of Market Station's Nido Italiano Ristorante, said business revenue had been on the decline for the past two years."

So for our one and only visit to Nido, I started out with Nido's Salad (their green house salad), and Wendy got the Antipasto plate to share (Artichoke hearts, Salami, Bologna, cheeses); it wasn't too bad. Some unexciting white Italian bread was also served. For our entrees, Wendy and I both got the Nido's Pasta con Prosciutto, Andy got a pizza with Salami, Prosciutto, and Italian Sausage. Alicia didn't order anything, having already eaten(!), but she did pose for a nice photo. It was all pretty average; not bad, but nothing to make me want to go back. Reviews on Yelp generally rate the place as average too.

Sadly, another locally-owned and operated restaurant is now going away. I wish their food quality was more of a reason to keep them in business.

Location: 201 Harrison St. SE, Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-777-7786

Web site: none

Total bill: $74.50 + $15.00 tip = $89.50

#93: Lightfoot Cafe

2010-03-21T23:17:00.006-04:00

Date Visited: 12 March 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: Lightfoot Cafe is one of our top restaurants, located in the heart of downtown Leesburg. Everything on the menu is mouth-watering and top notch; you really can't go wrong no matter what you order. Reservations are recommended, and can be easily done via their web site's convenient link to OpenTable. On this visit, we were celebrating birthdays and had four of us present, so we could try lots of things.

For starters, we ordered the Wallace Cheese Plate ("Cambozola Blue, Goat, San Joaquin, and Farm House Gouda set with Fig Jam, Dijon, French Bread, Crackers, and Ginger Snaps.") There were two hard and two soft cheeses. I also had a glass of Lightfoot Merlot. Fresh bread and corn muffins were brought out; Alicia's comment: "the butter is very good." A great start.

For the next course, I got the Blue Ridge Spinach Salad ("Fresh California Spinach tossed with Smithfield Ham, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Sun Dried Cherries, Pecans & Sherry Vinaigrette"); a wonderful collection of tastes. Wendy got a cup of the Lightfoot Spicy Creamy Tomato Soup ("Roasted Garlic & Sweet Basil topped with Parmesan Cheese & Pumpernickel Croutons"), and Andy got a big bowl of the same. Definitely creamy and spicy. We all liked it a lot. Alicia got the Traditional Caesar Salad ("Romaine tossed with Traditional Caesar Dressing, Garlic Croutons, Parmesan Cheese & topped with an Anchovy Fillet.") I had to quickly remove the anchovies for her, and then she was able to thoroughly enjoy the salad.

For entrees, I got one of the night's specials, the Harris Ranch Ribeye Steak. It was topped with Black Trumpet Mushrooms and other things I can't remember, with Garlic Onion Rings and Spicy Baked Beans on the side. Kind of a delicious barbeque experience. Wendy got the Artichoke Gratin Crusted Salmon ("topped with Jumbo Lump Crab and set over Sauteed Baby California Spinach, Orange Scented Cous Cous with Dried Fruits and finished with Citrus Beurre Blanc.") Sweet sauce! She also got a side of Sweet Potato Garlic Fries to share - yum! Andy got the Grilled 8 oz. Filet Mignon ("topped with Horseradish-Chive Butter & Crispy Onions, set on a bed of Chive Mashed Potatoes with Grilled Asparagus and Bearnaise Sauce.") He said it was one of the best steaks he'd ever had, and that's quite a compliment! Alicia ordered from the Casual Entrees section, getting the All Natural 8 oz. Hamburger ("on a roll with Cambozola Blue Cheese or Vermont White Cheddar, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Shredded Lettuce, Grilled Onions, and Chef's Special Sauce served with Cole Slaw and French Fries.") She took all the toppings off, and had about two bites; I had the rest for lunch the next day. Lightfoot is just not how she rolls, culinary-wise.

For dessert, I was already pretty full, so I just got an espresso. It comes in a very cool tiny cup, with tiny saucer and tiny spoon. It was also just about the strongest espresso I've had in a long time, but very good! Wendy got the Frozen Key Lime Torte ("Graham Cracker Crust served with a dollop of Whipped Cream, Toasted Coconut, and a Coconut Macaroon"). By that time she was pretty full too, so I ended up eating about half of it - not that anybody had to twist my arm! Andy and Alicia shared a Traditional Sundae ("Vanilla Bean Ice Cream topped with Whipped Cream, Chocolate Sauce, Chopped Roasted Peanuts, and a Cherry"); Andy's comments: "much chocolate ensued," and "more chocolate than the average sundae." This means he liked it a lot.

Lightfoot Cafe is an experience I encourage all my readers to try; have a great meal and support a local Leesburg business!

Location: 11 N. King St., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-771-2233

Web site: http://lightfootrestaurant.com/

Total bill: $182.55 + $40.00 tip = $222.55

#92: Rocco's NY Pizza & Subs

2010-03-06T21:54:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 6 March 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy & Alicia

Experience: Rocco's is Leesburg's newest pizza restaurant, at the old Joe's Pizza & Subs location on Plaza Street. I was told by one of the employees that Rocco's bought out Joe's several months ago, and although the location and genre are the same, the recipes are all new. He also told me that Rocco's was owned by the same people that now own Spanky's Shenanigans.

We decided to order a few different things to sample the menu. We got a large Pepperoni & Bacon pizza, a Calzone, a Steak sub, and some Breadsticks. I'd say the pizza was above average, the Calzone was OK, the Steak sub was very good, and the Breadsticks were rated by Alicia as "cheesy - they had cheese on them." Overall, it was all plenty good for more visits, and I like to support our locally-owned businesses. They have a lengthy menu; give Rocco's a try!

Unfortunately, the old Joe's web site is still up, giving one the impression that they are still in operation at that location. The Rocco's employee told me that they couldn't do anything about that, but would have their own web site up soon.

Location: 62 Plaza St. NE, Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-443-8500

Web site: none

Total bill: $31.44

UPDATE: 23 August 2011
Rocco's has their own website now: http://roccosny.com/

#91: City Deli

2010-03-06T18:34:00.002-05:00

Date Visited: 5 March 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: I'm trying to finish off visiting all the places in the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets (aka, "Outlet Mall") as quickly as possible. We just needed a couple of sandwiches for dinner last night, so I thought of City Deli. It's located in the main food court, in the contiguous Nathan's-Kenny Rogers-Arthur Treacher's-Tropi-Kool-Hershey's-Boardwalk Fries-City Deli-Cinnabon complex.

I had the Turkey Bacon Club Sub ("Turkey, Swiss cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayonnaise"), and Wendy got the Chicken Caesar Wrap ("Chicken strips with Romain Lettuce, Parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing in a tortilla wrap"). Both were fine, but nothing better than you would make at home for yourself. The guy making them at the counter had to keep looking up at the menu board to remind himself of what to put on them!

I'm pretty sure City Deli is some kind of franchise, but apparently my Google skills are not up to the challenge of finding anything about it.

Location: 241 Fort Evans Road NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: none

Total bill: $13.76

#90: Mandarin Express

2010-02-28T19:26:00.005-05:00

Date Visited: 28 February 2010

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, and Alicia

Experience: Today we were having our standard where-to-go-for-lunch-after-church discussion, and it occurred to me that I only had one more Chinese restaurant to visit in Leesburg, and I would have visited them all! So today we visited the final Chinese restaurant in Leesburg, which also happens to be the oldest. Mandarin Express has been in the same Plaza St. location in Leesburg since we moved here (1987). It's gone through many changes over the years, but is still going strong.

Mandarin Express offers a simple buffet for lunch, including Chicken & Broccoli, Beef & Broccoli, Pork in barbeque-style sauce, Shrimp, Chicken wings, Green Beans with Shrimp, fried Rice, Spring Rolls, Egg Drop soup, Hot & Sour soup, and assorted fruits and desserts. It was all good but not outstanding. The service was prompt and friendly enough, and the atmosphere/decor was, well, unpretentious and family/kid-friendly. No web site.

For Chinese fast food, my favorite is still Tai Pei Cafe. For Chinese sit-down, I recommend Jasmine or newly-reopened-after-the-fire China King.

Here's a summary of all the Chinese restaurants I've reviewed so far:

Wei's Garden (visited 8 January 2010)

James Cafe (visited 25 November 2009)

Golden China (visited 5 April 2009)

China King (visited 3 April 2009)

Jasmine (visited 25 April 2008)

Tai Pei Cafe (visited 18 April 2008)

Asian-style restaurants that offer at least some Chinese dishes:

Pho Royal (visited 11 February 2010)

Aiyara Thai (visited 16 October 2009)

Pei Wei (visited 18 April 2009)

Red Apple Buffet (visited 19 October 2008)

Thai Pan (visited 24 August 2008)

J&W Asian Bistro (visited 22 June 2008)

Xuan Saigon (visited 25 May 2008)

Location: 24-A Plaza St. NE, Leesburg VA 20176, 703-777-9898

Web site: none

Total bill: $22.50 + $5.00 tip = $27.50

#89: Subway (Potomac Station)

2010-02-15T20:50:00.002-05:00

Date Visited: 14 February 2010

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, and Andy

Experience: To review one of the key purposes of this blog, the goal here is to visit EVERY restaurant in Leesburg, including ALL locations of mundane fast-food chain operations. With that cheery introduction out of the way, I'll begin today's review...

We needed a quick lunch after church and decided to visit the second Leesburg Subway location (the other one on Catoctin Circle was reviewed on 8 November 2008). This one is located in the Marketplace at Potomac Station shopping center, along with other previously reviewed eateries: Manhattan Pizza, James Cafe, Arby's, Zpizza (now closed), and Moe's Southwest Grill.

On this visit, we just got sandwiches to go, and we all took advantage of the current "$5 foot-long" deal. I got the Sweet Onion Teriyaki, Wendy got the Italian B.M.T., and Andy got the Subway Melt. Everyone was happy with what they got - Subway is good and predictable.

Back when I did my original Subway review in 2008, I said that I tended to like Subway over Quiznos (I've already reviewed both locations). Many subs later, I've now changed my mind and I tend to choose Quiznos when I want a sub; I really have come to like their Baja Chicken sandwich.

Location: 653 Potomac Station Dr., Leesburg VA 20176, 703-737-6973

Web site: http://subway.com/

Total bill: $16.28

#88: Pho Royal

2010-02-11T21:10:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 11 February 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Pho Royal has been open for about three months in Leesburg, but I only learned of it this week when I saw an ad for it in the Feb-Mar 2010 issue of Clipper Magazine. With all the snow and cold weather, a nice hot spicy bowl of Pho was sounding real good. Pho Royal is located in the relatively new Fort Evans Plaza II shopping center (along with CiCi's, reviewed 28 December 2008). There are two Pho Royal locations, the new one here in Leesburg, and the original one in Sterling. Pho Royal now competes with Xuan Saigon (reviewed 25 May 2008), as our second Pho restaurant in Leesburg. It's great to have these choices!

On this visit, (early Thursday afternoon, after our blizzard the day before, with mounds of snow all over the parking lot) we were surprised to find a regular stream of customers. It appears that Pho Royal has already established a loyal following at this new location. For our appetizer, we got the #A1 Cha Gio (Crispy Spring Rolls), which were indeed crispy, not greasy, and very good. For entrees, I got the #1 Pho Tai ("Pho with thinly sliced eye round steak"), which was recommended for "beginners or health conscious individuals"). Wendy got the #6 Pho Tai Nam ("Pho with thinly sliced eye round steak and flank"), which was recommended for those who want to try something new "with beef cuts that have slight fat covering that makes them tastier." Well, both were excellent, with delicious broth, and the usual accompaniments of Thai basil, bean sprouts, Jalapeno peppers, and lime. There was also an assortment of sauces at the table, including Soy, Fish, Plum, and Sriracha chili sauce (my favorite!) I spiced up mine with the Jalapenos and some Sriracha to the point of perfect heat, just short of pain. We both got the small size bowls and were left very full and satisfied. For drinks, Wendy had the #50 Tra Nong (Hot Tea), which was a mysterious passion-fruit-like variety. I had a #34 Cafe Sua Da ("Ice French Expresso with condensed milk") which was an excellent companion to my Pho.

The service was excellent; there were three different people who showed up at our table at various times to deliver the food, keep our water glasses filled, and clear away used dishes. All were very pleasant and courteous. The brightly lit yet warm atmosphere enhanced our experience significantly. There are several good reviews on Yelp that confirm our good experience. Curiously, the Pho Royal web site URL printed on the menu does not seem to be in operation yet, but I'm including it below in hopes that it will be set up soon.

Overall, our experience at Pho Royal was great, and we encourage you to visit too. At this point, I'd still give a slight edge to Xuan Saigon, as being a little more comfortable and Vietnamese home-style.

Location: 542 Fort Evans Rd. NE, Leesburg VA 20176, 703-779-1774

Web site: http://phoroyalrestaurants.com/

Total bill: $19.74 (after 15% discount coupon) + $6.00 tip = $25.74

#87: Manhattan Pizza

2010-02-05T18:33:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 22 January 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience: Leesburg's newest pizza restaurant opened up a few weeks ago, and we decided to give Manhattan Pizza a try. It's a chain restaurant, with two other locations nearby in Ashburn and South Riding. Manhattan Pizza is located in the Marketplace at Potomac Station shopping center, in the space formerly occupied by Caribou Coffee. Andy had been itching to go, since he works next door at Giant, and was eagerly watching for the grand opening. However, as Manhattan Pizza opened, the Zpizza store (reviewed here on 7 November 2008) closed. Apparently the owners of Manhattan Pizza are buying up some Zpizza locations.

We ordered a large pizza with pepperoni and bacon (our family standard), a Manhattan Supreme ("Mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, onions, sausage, pepperoni and green peppers"), and a Steak & Cheese sub ("With grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise"). The pepperoni and bacon was pretty good, but there was a lot of grease in the bottom of the box. The Supreme was not very good, seeming to be a bit underdone, and much grease on the bottom. The sub was just OK.

There is a bit of Greek influence evident in the menu, which includes a Classic Gyro and Shish Taouk. The guy who took our order also gave us a free Baklava! The service experience was very good, with much courtesy and concern shown.

Overall, then, our experience was somewhat below average, which maybe we can chalk up to the newness of this establishment. We'll give 'em another couple of tries soon; stay tuned for an update. Curiously, the web site printed on the menu is wrong; http://manhattanpizzacompany.com does not appear to have any Manhattan Pizza content. The correct site is http://manhattanpizzeria.net (also see below).

Location: 647 Potomac Station Dr., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-669-4020

Web site: http://manhattanpizzeria.net/

Total bill: $43.24 + $8.00 tip = $51.24

#86: Wei's Garden

2010-01-16T23:33:00.002-05:00

Date Visited: 8 January 2010

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: It's Friday night, daddy's hungry, and feelin' like Chinese! We decided to try Wei's Garden, having seen it's brightly lit sign from the Route 15 bypass many times before this our first visit. We were informed by our order-taker that Wei's has already been open for about a year.

We decided to try out some of our favorites, to see how Wei's Garden stacked up. For an appetizer, we tried the Crab Rangoon, which comes in triangular pieces, rather than the traditional pinched-together four-cornered style. It was nontheless delicious. We tried a couple of soups; Wendy got the Wonton Soup and I got the Chicken with Hot & Sour Soup. Wendy said the Wonton was very flavorful, as opposed to the bland kind you often get elsewhere. The Hot & Sour was nice and thick, tangy, and not too hot. For her entree, Wendy got the "Triple Delight (Mandarin Combination): Combination of shrimp, beef, and chicken sauteed with vegetables in our special sauce." She thought it was very good; I had the leftovers for lunch the next day and it was still very good! For my entree, I got the Kung Pao Chicken. It was unlike other Kung Paos I've ever had; it wasn't very "saucy" - each piece was was fully coated with the sauce, along with the peanuts and vegetabies, but it appeared kind of dry on the outside. Fortunately, it was very tender and juicy on the inside, and delicious. It also had just the right amount of spiciness for me (most people would probably call this "medium").

As for the service, it took a while for our food to be ready (we ordered there, for takeout). Apparently they felt sorry for us having to wait so long, so they brought us an extra couple of Crab Rangoon pieces while we waited.

We went back again a week later to see if our experience would be any different. I ordered the same Hot & Sour Soup and Kung Pao Chicken. It was exactly as before, which is to say, very good! Wendy got the Wonton Soup (again very good), but decided to try one of the Chef's Specialties: "Crispy Jumbo Shrimp with Walnut". The shrimp were jumbo all right, but not very crispy. I think this was a result of it being for takeout; it got a bit soggy in the container by the time we got home with it - not really their fault. Again, the service was very slow, and a couple of customers who were there before us had to wait a long time too. By the time our food was ready, a different lady brought it out from the kitchen, and told us she included something extra because we had to wait. It was some kind of dessert (not on the menu); kind of a custard with orange flavoring.

If you'd like to try some Chinese food that's a little different, give Wei's Garden a try!

Location: 161 Fort Evans Road NE, Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-771-9188

Web site: none

Total bill: $30.22 + $6.00 tip = $36.22

#85: Boardwalk Fries

2010-01-04T00:38:00.002-05:00

Date Visited: 5 December 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: We visited Boardwalk Fries on the same visit as the Kenny Rogers Roasters review below. This is the fourth in the set of reviews of "restaurants" at the Outlet Mall.

Boardwalk Fries is a national chain serving up, well, fries. They're really good: hot, thick, salty, and yummy! We shared a combo large order of fries and a drink (to go with our Kenny Rogers Roasters sandwiches). Boardwalk fries - highly recommended!

Location: 241 Fort Evans Road NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://boardwalkfries.com/

Total bill: $3.22 (includes 10% "Mall Discount")

#84: Kenny Rogers Roasters

2010-01-04T00:22:00.002-05:00

Date Visited: 5 December 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: As I commented when reviewing Arthur Treacher's (4 Januarty 2009) and Nathan's Famous (10 Januarty 2009), it's kind of debatable as to whether these places in the food court of the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets should be considered as separate restaurants or not. Well, I decided that they will be reviewed separately, so that's the end of the debate.

Wendy and I were doing some shopping at the Outlet Mall and needed a quick bite to eat. We decided to try out a couple of the Kenny Rogers Roasters' Original Crispy Chicken Sandwiches. They weren't too bad, and at least lived up to the "crispy" part of the name. You can check out the history of Kenny Rogers Roasters on Wikipedia. Not much more to say; not exactly highly recommended.

Location: 241 Fort Evans Road NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://kennyrogers.cc/

Total bill: $7.00 (includes 10% "Mall Discount")

We're Famous!

2009-12-24T15:51:00.002-05:00

Local restaurant critic Warren Rojas, who writes for Northern Virginia Magazine, interviewed me about my blog on 4 December 2009, in an online article entitled, "No Stove Left Unturned". Warren writes a variety of online content under the "Food & Wine" section (including "Gut Check" where my interview is), hosts a weekly live food chat called "Grill Warren", posts to Twitter, and also writes for the print version of the magazine. Warren did a great job of capturing the spirit of this blog, and left me with a challenge to do something similar when I've finally eaten at Every Restaurant in Leesburg!

#83: James Cafe

2009-11-29T21:28:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-01T23:01:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-01T22:13:00.004-05:00

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!

#80: The Coffee Bean

2009-10-19T23:26:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-06T23:45:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-06T22:55:00.003-04:00

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

#77: Cold Stone Creamery

2009-08-21T23:18:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 13 August 2009

Meal: Dessert

Diners: 5 - Me, Wendy, Andy, Eric, & Alicia

Experience: As I've written before, I not much of an ice cream man, but it seems everybody I know loves the stuff. Wendy had a $15.00 gift card for Cold Stone Creamery, and the whole family was home, so off we went in search of ice cream adventure. Besides Cold Stone Creamery, the other primary ice cream places in Leesburg are Milwaukee Frozen Custard (reviewed 21 February 2009), Razzle Dairy Bar (reviewed 13 June 2009), and Baskin-Robbins (colocated with Dunkin' Donuts - not yet reviewed). Cold Stone Creamery is situated in between Starbucks and Quiznos in a building in the middle of Battlefield Shopping Center, and aims for the high end of the ice cream spectrum.

I got a "small" (i.e., big) scoop of Coffee Lovers Only ("Coffee Ice Cream, Roasted Almonds, Heath Bar, Caramel") in a cup. This flavor is part of their Signature Creations, which are hand-mixed to order; from the web site: "By mixing nuts, fruits and candy into our smooth and creamy ice cream on a frozen granite stone (around here, we call it “the stone”) we're actually more like ice cream artists." Well, it was extremely good!

Wendy got a medium-size Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip ("Mint Ice Cream, Chocolate Chips, Brownie, and Fudge"). In her words, it was "delish", but so sad, it was more than she could finish - boo hoo!

Alicia got a scoop of Strawberry Banana Rendezvous ("Strawberry Ice Cream, Graham Cracker Pie Crust, White Chocolate Chips, Strawberries, and Banana") in a waffle cone. In her words, it was "utterly amazing". Now that's high praise, coming from a very discerning ice cream palate.

I don't remember what the boys got, but they were equally amazing selections.

Our experience seems to prove that Cold Stone Creamery is in fact "the place to indulge your ice cream dreams."

Location: 1013 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/

Total bill: $32.46 - $15.00 gift card = $17.46

#76: Pizza Hut

2009-08-16T20:30:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 26 July 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Finally we come to Pizza Hut's "mother ship". I've already written about Pizza Hut Express (reviewed 9 November 2008) and Pizza Hut WingStreet (reviewed 26 June 2009), so now I'll finish with the original Pizza Hut in Leesburg. There's not that much to say; it's a national chain restaurant, and the quality is pretty consistent wherever you go. But I have to visit EVERY restaurant in Leesburg, so here we go...

I got an order of 10 Medium Buffalo Wings, bone-in style. They're not bad at all, in fact, I'm starting to really like them when I'm in the mood for wings. Wendy got a Medium Super Supreme, which is sort of our favorite kind of pizza anyway. It was all good.

The only thing that bugged me was that they were offering a $14.99 + $2.00 delivery online special for the combination that we ordered, but I really wanted to go pick it up instead of have it delivered (too often there are problems). I was frustrated to find that there was no way to choose pickup instead of delivery when ordering online. So I abandoned the online order and just called it in. I was surprised to find it was so much more without the special; I could have paid $9.00 less by going ahead with delivery and giving the same amount of tip. Oh well.

Pizza Hut - for when you want, um, pizza.

Location: 505A E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://pizzahut.com/

Total bill: $26.01 + $5.00 tip = $31.01

#75: Tropical Smoothie Cafe

2009-08-16T20:25:00.005-04:00

Date Visited: 26 July 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: I was on my own for lunch on this Sunday afternoon, and tired from getting up early to play bass with our church's worship team. I was pretty hungry too. I had been meaning to give the Tropical Smoothie Cafe a try, so I went for it. It's one of the newer restaurants in Leesburg and shares a building with Tenderjacks (reviewed on 29 August 2008). It turns out that Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a national chain, and according to their web site (very Flash-y), they currently have 275 restaurants open and 80 more in development in 34 states.

On this visit i got a Buffalo Chicken Wrap ("Chicken Breast Strips, Romaine Lettuce, Diced Tomatoes, Low-Fat Mozzarella Cheese, Hot Buffalo Sauce & Light Ranch Dressing. Wrapped in a White Tortilla.") It was good but not great. Of course I had to try a smoothie, so I got a Blimey Limey ("Strawberries, Pineapples, Orange, & Lime"). It was very good; I could really appreciate and taste all the fresh fruit, freshly prepared. All this came as a combo, which included some chips (Nachos Doritos).

Tropical Smoothie Cafe's food is OK, but if you've got a hankerin' for a big fruity smoothie, give they're the place to go.

Location: 505A E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://tropicalsmoothiecafe.com/

Total bill: $10.84

UPDATED 29 August 2010: Corrected the comment about sharing a building with Pei Wei; Tropical Smoothies actually shares the building with Tenderjack's.

#74: Puccio's New York Deli

2009-07-25T19:16:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 25 July 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: Puccio's opened in 2003, and its popularity has grown mainly by word of mouth rather than massive advertising. Because of this, I think Puccio's is another one of the hidden gems in Leesburg's collection of restaurants. Their web site says that their motto is "Big city taste without the traffic," and their mission is to "Serve Quality Food for Great Prices." My experience confirms that they are hitting the mark on both counts. Puccio's is located on south Loudoun Street, across from another recently reviewed gem, The Cajun Experience.

All of the Puccio's Special sandwiches have interesting names in line with the New York/Italian deli theme. On this visit I ordered the Hambino ("Maple Honey Ham, Bacon & American cheese, topped with lettuce, tomatoes & Ranch dressing, served hot on a sub roll.") The ham and bacon combination was very tasty, and overall the sandwich was great. I also ordered a side of Homemade Cole Slaw, which was fresh, crispy, and just right.

Puccio's also has a great web site, chock-full of delicious menu items and other information. Stop by and support this great local restaurant!

Location: 15 Loudoun St. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://puccios-deli.com/

Total bill: $9.22

#73: South Street Under

2009-07-25T19:10:00.004-04:00

Date Visited: 3 July 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: South Street Under was born about ten years ago, originally intended as just a place to bake great breads and make specialty desserts, an extension of the kitchen for the Tuscarora Mill ("Tuskie's") restaurant. On the Tuskie's web site, South Street Under is simply referred to as the "Bakery". South Street Under gets its name from the fact that they are physically located under Tuskie's, in Leesburg's Market Station shopping center. On Sout Street Under's own web site, it is self-described as a "Perfect Blend of Bakery, Deli, Custom Cakes Design, Coffee House, and Take Out." Taking advantage of the Independence Day holiday (July 3 this year), we decided to go out to lunch on this beautiful Summer afternoon; the weather was perfect, making the experience all the more enjoyable in the outdoor seating.

I ordered a New England Clam Chowder appetizer, which was nice and chunky. Wendy got a bowl of Chilled Tomato Gazpacho, which was crisp, chunky in its own way, and in her words, "wonderful!" We both got the Special sandwich of the day, which was Grilled Chicken, bacon, avocado, lettuce, and tomato on ciabatta bread. The sandwich was quite delicious, the bacon being good and salty, the avocado perfect, and the chicken just right. We didn't know it at the time, but the web site says that South Street Under is "famous for our great Italian flat bread 'Ciabatta'" - and it was great. Everything we had was fresh and delicious.

Go out and support this great local restaurant!

Location: 203 Harrison St. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://southstreetunder.com/

Total bill: $27.02 + $5.00 tip = $32.02

#72: Pizza Hut - WingStreet

2009-06-27T14:06:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 26 June 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Ubiquitous Pizza Hut has three locations in Leesburg: the original one on Market Street (not reviewed here yet), Pizza Hut Express (inside Target), and the newest one, Pizza Hut - WingStreet. This location is a small, take-out only operation, but offers pretty much the full Pizza Hut menu, featuring the new chicken wing offerings. Pizza Hut stores that serve the wings now have the "WingStreet" logo/sign outside. Pizza Hut is owned by Yum! Brands, Inc., that also operates or licenses Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver's and A&W restaurants.

On this visit, we only needed a light dinner, so I got a ten piece order of medium-hot Buffalo wings (crispy, bone-in), Wendy got a ten piece order of Garlic Parmesan wings (crispy, bone-in), and Alicia got a personal-size "PANormous" pizza with cheese and chicken. We took it home and ate it all while watching "Raising Arizona" (highly recommended). It was all good.

So, for all your pizza and wing needs... whatever.

Location: 300 Fort Evans Rd. NE, Suite 101, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://pizzahut.com/

Total bill: $20.59 + $5.00 tip = $25.59

#71: Red Kabob

2009-06-20T00:34:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 19 June 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: I just discovered yet another new restaurant in Leesburg as I was leaving Starbucks last night. Tucked away in a corner of Bellewood Commons, Red Kabob had their Grand Opening on May 30th, and was attended by the mayor! Somehow I missed it. Red Kabob specializes in Mediterranean food, and is a family-run business. Husband and wife team Jon and Rana Younes, who are from Jordan, run the place and provide the most friendly service and welcoming atmosphere that you will find in this town!

We ordered the #4 Lamb Kabob ("Fresh tender chunks of lean Lamb Fillet which have been marinated in our own special sauces") and the #5 Ground Beef and Chicken Kabobs combo ("We grind our own beef then mix it with onion, salt, pepper, turmeric, and koobiden seasoning then marinate in our own special sauces; Fresh chunks of Chicken which have been marinated in our own special sauces").

We were "mmm"-ing and "ahh"-ing throughout the meal, just savoring the delicious and unique flavors of the three meats that we tried. It was pure pleasure. Both dishes came with a couple a dipping sauces; a spicy green one with mint, and a white yogurt-based one. They also come with a large pita bread (fresh from a local bakery), perfect Basmati rice (with a bit of nutmeg sprinkled on top), and a generous side salad.

For dessert we had a yummy kind-of-like-baklava-but-not-as-sweet pastry thing with a nice flaky crust and a pistachio filling. Hard to describe, but easy to enjoy.

To top off the experience, they have free WiFi, and a great web site with a friendly video greeting/introduction.

Red Kabob is another great locally owned and operated restaurant that we hope you'll visit. We hope to see you there sometime!

Location: 521A E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://redkabob.com/

Total bill: $33.37 + $5.00 tip (cash) = $38.37

#70: La Lou Bistro Restaurant & Lounge

2009-06-15T22:19:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 14 June 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: La Lou is another new Leesburg restaurant, open for about a month now, and occupying the former location of Market Street Coffee (next door to the Tally Ho Theater). La Lou is self-described as offering "a wide variety of modern American and Mediterranean cuisine such as: pizzas, pasta, seafood, lamb, steaks, burgers, paninis and much more…" I'll say right here at the start that our experience was so good, I hardly know where to start - we were quite impressed! From the minute we walked in, we were warmly greeted and welcomed by owner and head chef Driss Lahlou. The weather was perfect on this Sunday afternoon, so we took the offer of outside seating, which overlooks the Leesburg Town Hall Green, where they hold the Acoustic on the Green concerts.

We started off with some refreshing iced tea to drink. Driss then brought out some bread - not just any kind of bread - this was a pizza-style fried flat bread with a light topping of herbed cheese, along with an absolutely delicious olive tapenade. We suspected that the tapenade was homemade too, and this was confirmed when Lahlou's business partner Mohamed Touzani came out to our table for a visit. An incredibly delicious way to begin our meal!

The La Lou lunch menu included not only the regular lunch items, but also a special Saturday and Sunday brunch menu. I ordered from the brunch menu and got the Steak & Egg ("Strip steak with two eggs any style & home fries"). The steak was surprisingly tender, and a very generous portion. Wendy was more adventurous and ordered one of the specials of the day, called the Bistro Trio - and what a special it was! It featured chicken stuffed with sausage on a bed of pasta with a slightly spicy tomato sauce, a filet mignon on a bed of home fries, a small kebab with shrimp and grape tomatoes, and a side of green beans. Every bit of it was amazingly tasty! The stuffed chicken was a real treat, expertly prepared. Every detail seemed perfect, even the green beans - cooked just right.

Overall, we had a completely satisfying and pleasant dining experience in every dimension - the food was great, the service superb, the weather wonderful, and the company lovely (my honey!) Driss invited us to come back anytime! If you want to have this unique dining experience for yourself, visit La Lou as soon as possible. Support this truly great local Leesburg restaurant!

Plus, they have a great web site, unusual for many new restaurants.

Location: 19 W. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://laloubistro.com/

Total bill: $43.29 + $12.00 tip = $55.29

#69: Razzle Dairy Bar

2009-06-15T20:58:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 13 June 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Alicia

Experience: Razzle is a great little local business, located in the Virginia Village shopping center since about 2006. Although it's primarily about ice cream, we checked out their lunch menu on this visit. The name Razzle supposedly comes from the Razzle machine, like the McDonald's McFlurry.

I had a Chili Cheese Dog, which was filled to overflowing with chili and cheese so you have to eat it with a knife and fork, just the way it should be. Alicia had the Chicken and Fries, which turned out to be chicken chunks. We got a couple of classic sodas in glass bottles: I had a Stewarts Classic Cream Soda, and Alicia had an 8 oz. Classic Coke. Yum!

We've been to Razzle plenty of times before for ice cream, and they have pretty much anything you want. Razzle is a very popular place for soccer and little league baseball after-game treats, as evidenced by the hoardes of little kids we saw running around the place.

Support another local Leesburg restaurant, and give Razzle a try!

Location: 13 Fairfax St. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: none

Total bill: $13.04

#68: Leshers

2009-06-15T20:51:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 30 May 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Andy & Alicia

Experience: Leshers Coney Island Style Dogs & Burgers has been open in the heart of downtown Leesburg for about a month. According to the Washington Post, "Owner and Brambleton resident Dennis Martz said he mirrored Leshers after a similar hot dog eatery in his hometown of Reading, Penn. In fact, even the Berks hot dogs and many of the sodas he serves are manufactured in Reading, he said." Their hours are somewhat limited at this time (11:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Monday - Saturday), but perhaps they'll be open later for special events this summer.

Leshers is all about simplicity; there are only four food items on the menu (see photo):
#1: Mustard, chili sauce, & onions, $2.20
#2: Mustard & sauerkraut, $2.20
#3: Plain, $2.00
#4: Hamburger with mustard, chili sauce, & onions, $2.80

Leshers also offers several kinds of canned sodas, plus the specialty bottled Reading Soda in various flavors.

I had a #1, Andy had a #2, and Alicia had two #3s (unusually big appetite that day!) We forgot to try the Reading Soda, but will certainly do so on our next visit. And yes, there will certainly be a next visit.

The best thing about Leshers is that the food is good and cheap! Visit today and support this locally-owned and operated restaurant!

Location: 28 S. King St., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: none (yet)

Total bill: $10.95

#67: Fractured Prune

2009-06-11T22:14:00.005-04:00

Date Visited: 30 May 2009

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 2 - Me & Alicia

Experience: Another new addition to Leesburg's restaurant lineup, the Fractured Prune is a unique type of donut shop. Their main uniqueness is that donuts are made to order while you wait, so they're always fresh and warm - no donuts sitting on shelves. The donuts are hand-made and dipped in various toppings. There are many standard combinations with crazy names like "Creamsicle", "Morning Buzz", "Ms. Prunella", and "Myrna Medley". You can also create your own custom combinations. The Fractured Prune also serves a small variety of sandwiches and hot dogs.

Alicia had one of the specialty donuts called the "OC Sand". They were also handing out small samples of this one the day we visited. It was pretty good.

Not being a hard core donut man, I ordered the Breakfast Club (ham, egg, cheese, and bacon on a bagel), and a coffee. The sandwich was also hot and made fresh, but kind of bland. I asked for salt and pepper and they seemed kind of surprised, and an employee went off in search of some, eventually finding a couple of small packets. The bagel tasted like it was bought next door at Bloom.

I guess I'll have to come back again with some donut-loving people and give the Fractured Prune another chance. Visit their web site and discover where their unusual name comes from! I also learned from their site that Fractured Prune is a chain, with restaurants in several eastern states.

Location: 828 S. King St., Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://fracturedprune.com/

Total bill: $9.65

#66: The Cajun Experience

2009-06-08T23:22:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 29 May 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: It's always fun to check out a brand-new restaurant, so we were really looking forward to visiting one of Leesburg's newest, The Cajun Experience. Especially after fellow blogger Tara commented on her experience there (pardon the pun), we were eager to try it ourselves. The Cajun Experience bills itself as a "taste of South Louisiana". The interior is simple, unadorned, and unpretentious, yet there is just a hint of Louisiana atmosphere inside.

We began with an appetizer of Boudin Balls (two), which are deep-fried crunchy round balls of ground pork and onion, served with a dipping sauce - delicious!

For the main course, I had the Seafood Gumbo ("Mixture of crab, shrimp and crawfish, cooked in a dark roux with a mixture of the “trinity” (bell pepper, onion, celery) with hints of garlic"). Nice and hot, with perfectly balanced flavors. Wendy had the Shrimp Maque Choux ("A flavorful, spicy shrimp dish with corn, tomatoes, and peppers; presented over a bed of rice that's signature of the Lafayette Parish Bayous"). I didn't really get to try much of it, as she liked it a lot and there were no leftovers! It wasn't too spicy either.

For dessert, we ordered the highly-recommended Beignets ("Fritter-like doughnuts paired with bold coffee with chicory that's reminiscently familiar to mornings in the French Quarter") and cafe au lait. The Beignets were marvelously warm and yummy!

The experience (pun again, sorry) was completed by the excellent attention of our server, Schuyler. We also got a visit from the Chef as he made the rounds, greeting the diners; we found out he is actually from Louisiana, which accounts for the authentic, flavorful dishes we tried. Unlike many smaller, family-run restaurants, The Cajun Experience has a good web site too, with the current lunch and dinner menus to salivate over!

Support local restaurants and experience (sorry) The Cajun Experience today!

Location: 14 Loudoun St. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://cajunexperience.biz/

Total bill: $43.86 + $ 10.00 tip = $53.86

#65: Dunkin' Donuts

2009-05-06T18:29:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 6 May 2009

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: Dunkin' Donuts is, of course, everywhere, so Leesburg has one too. The current slogan is "America runs on Dunkin'". Ours is colocated with a Baskin-Robbins; Dunkin' Brands is the parent company for both.

On this visit I got a combo with an everything bagel, cream cheese, and a coffee (I don't need the extra sugar of a donut right now). It was a nice breakfast snack on the drive to work. I've also had their iced coffee (which I learned to love while in Japan), and it's pretty good on a hot day.

For donuts, bagels, and great coffee, Dunkin' is the place!

Location: 521 J E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://dunkindonuts.com/

Total bill: $4.00

#64: McDonalds (Edwards Ferry Rd.)

2009-05-05T21:09:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 5 May 2009

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: For completeness' sake, I have to visit every restaurant in Leesburg, and that includes McDonalds. I last visited our other McDonalds (Market St.) back on 24 April 2008. This time I got the same thing: the McSkillet Burrito with Steak, and an upgrade to a large coffee.

For purposes of my quest, McDonalds is all done!

Location: 965 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://mcdonalds.com/

Total bill: $4.86

#63: Spanky's Shenanigans

2009-05-03T16:48:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 3 May 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: Spanky's Shenanigan's is another Leesburg establishment that's been here as long as we've lived here. On their web site, Spanky's claims to be "Leesburg's Oldest Pub". Spanky's has undergone a significant makeover in recent times, recasting itself as a more family-friendly restaurant rather than just a neighborhood bar. Their current slogan is "Good Food - Good Music - Good Times", and their new Mission Statement(!) is "Get Relaxed, Get Your Belly Full, Have Fun, Try our Variety of Beverages & Let Spanky's Take Care of Business." Not normally frequenting this kind of place, with much fear and trepidation I took my family here for lunch on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the first thing to greet us upon entering the place was the strong smell of cigarette smoke, even though the dining area is advertised as smoke-free from 11 AM to 9 PM. However, we braved this first obstacle and decided to give them a try. Spanky's menu has a relatively good selection of appetizers, sandwiches, soups, salads, pasta, and seafood specials.

We got "Spanky's Onion Ring Thang" for an appetizer (although I couldn't bring myself to say "thang" to our server, and substituted "thing"). It's basically a plate of oversized onion rings (about eight), and it was all the greasy goodness you'd expect. For my lunch, I got the "Spanky's Steak & Cheese Sub"; good, but kind of average. Wendy got a bowl of Irish Potato Chowder, with big chunks of potato and toppings of bacon, cheddar cheese, and scallions. Her comment: "I like all the stuff"; I had a small taste and it was good. She also got the "General Jubilee" (ham, turkey, and bacon sandwich). Her comment: "nice fat sandwich!" Andy got the "Pub Burger" (8 oz. burger with bacon and cheddar cheese extras), which he judged as "average". Alicia got adventurous and ordered a Caesar salad (dressing a bit bland), and a bowl of Spanky's Chili ("flavorful").

Overall, a few of the food items were pretty good, but most were average. As non-smokers, the atmosphere was a bit hard to take, but hey, it's a bar! In warmer weather, there is seating out in the back, and there are other seafood specials from time to time. If any of this sounds interesting, check it out for yourself!

Location: 538 E. Market St., Leesburg, 20176

Web site: http://spankyspub.net/

Total bill: $49.91 + $10.00 tip = $59.91

#62: Kobe Japanese Steak & Seafood

2009-04-28T20:22:00.004-04:00

Date Visited: 25 April 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy (plus a number of other friends)

Experience: We were invited to go to Kobe to celebrate our good friend Perry's birthday, so I took the opportunity to do a review. Kobe is a Japanese steakhouse that serves teppanyaki-style cuisine and sushi.

Teppanyaki is always fun, and our chef, "Bubba", was skillful, entertaining, and most importantly, a good chef who delivered excellent food. We started off with Miso soup, which was very clear and fine. Then we all had a small salad with a wonderful ginger-soy dressing.

Next, the teppanyaki performance really began. Bubba started by cutting up some zucchini, carrots, broccoli, mushroom, and onion on the grill. As these were cooking, he began the fried rice, adding rice, peas, egg, and sesame seeds on the grill. A batch of noodles was also cooked up. Once the fried rice was ready, we all got served our portions, and then some of the vegetables and noodles. Throughout the performance, we were thrilled by his utensil juggling, egg spinning, and of course, an onion ring volcano. Delicious!

Bubba then began to prepare the individual entrees. I ordered the Filet Mignon, Shrimp, and Scallops. Wendy got the Steak and Shrimp. We were all given two small bowls of dipping sauces; "Yum Yum Sauce" (white and creamy) for the seafood, and a brown ginger sauce for the vegetables. The shrimp were done first, and we got them while our rice, vegetables, and noodles were still hot. The shrimp was very good, with a delightful slight crispiness from the grill, plus the seasonings added (soy sauce plus ?). My scallops were ready next, and they were some of the best I've had. Well done, perfectly chewy but not rubbery, seasoned with soy sauce and another brown sauce I couldn't quite identify. Finally, our steaks were grilled. Bubba first filleted mine into the shape of a lobster while it cooked! Before serving, all the steaks were cut into small pieces for easy eating with chopsticks.

Kobe is a great place to go for traditional teppanyaki cooking and fun for a group of friends. Try it!

Location: 514 E. Market St., Leesburg, 20176

Web site: http://kobejs.com/

Total bill: $62.42 + $12.00 tip = $74.42

#61: Pei Wei Asian Diner

2009-04-25T15:50:00.007-04:00

Date Visited: 18 April 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Pei Wei is one of the newer Leesburg restaurants, self-described as "a limited service quick-casual restaurant. The menu features classic Asian favorites cooked to order using contemporary recipes." And from the parent company's web site: "P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc. owns and operates two restaurant concepts in the Asian niche. P.F. Chang's China Bistro is our full service upscale casual dining concept and Pei Wei Asian Diner is our quick casual concept." I'd describe Pei Wei more as upscale Asian fast food. One of the unusual things is that your order and pay up front (with no way include a tip), but your food is delivered to your table by a waiter; very similar in that way to Tenderjacks, which is in the building next door. Pei Wei shares the building with California Tortilla (reviewed on 3 August 2008).

On this visit, we started with the Crab Wontons appetizer ("You can taste the freshness and quality of our crab wontons in every bite. We fill our crisp golden wontons with a mix of delicately seasoned rock crab and and cream cheese and serve it with a side of sweet chili sauce. The perfect balance of flavors and textures!"). They were indeed nice and crispy, with a great slightly-spicy sauce (which we used to dip rice in later).

I had the Thai Dynamite with chicken ("Sriracha chile [sic] sauce gives this dish its kick! Fresh lime, soy sauce, scallions, red bell peppers, carrots and Thai basil balance out this delicious stir fry dish"). It had an overpowering lemongrass taste. It also came with brown rice done just right. It wasn't really very spicy, given the Sriracha chili sauce.

Wendy had the Pad Thai ("This satisfying Thai noodle stir fry brings together the balance of salty, sour, and sweet with 5 spice tofu, bean sprouts, scallions, egg, crushed peanuts, fresh lime, cilantro and rice noodles"). The mushrooms were big, firm & fresh, beansprouts too. The chicken was very tender, and the overall impression of the dish was that it was authentic.

Later I realized that we both ordered Thai dishes, so we'll have to come back and try some of the other styles. All of our food was delivered with a nice presentation. The only complaint would be that our entrees were served a little too fast; we had hardly started on our appetizer when they arrived - but hey, this is basically a fast food restaurant. The cold Chai Tea was surprisingly good, a nice change from run-of-the-mill iced tea.

Overall, Pei Wei was good but not great. If I want great Thai food, I'll go to Thai Pan (formerly Thai Royal); if I want great Chinese food, I'll go to either China King or Jasmine. If I want great Vietnamese food, I'll to to Xuan Saigon.

Location: 528A E. Market St., Leesburg, 20176

Web site: http://peiwei.com/

Total bill: $26.63

UPDATED 29 August 2010: Added the comment about Pei Wei sharing a building with California Tortilla. One building over, Tropical Smoothies shares the building with Tenderjack's. Also, the comment about there being no way to add a tip at Tenderjack's is no longer true. I havn't been to Pei Wei in a while, so I don't know if they've made that change too.

#60: Golden China

2009-04-25T14:31:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 5 April 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Golden China is another long-time Leesburg restaurant that's been here since we moved here in 1987. For most of that time, Golden China has remained the same, serving up a good variety of favorite Chinese items. Originally, they featured Mongolian Barbeque too, but that ended a few years ago with the loss of the main chef. Just recently, they added a new sushi bar and sushi chef, and is the focus of their current advertising campaign.

Our best experience with Golden China has always been to take advantage of the lunch buffet on Sunday after church, with the whole family or with friends. On this particular visit, it was just me and Wendy.

The lunch buffet is a fixed price deal, $7.95 for the regular buffet, and $12.95 if you want sushi too. Wendy got the regular, and I took the sushi option. The range of dishes available at the buffet are of good variety, hot, and good combinations of tastes. You almost can't go wrong with any of the choices. All the Chinese favorites were there, such as General Tso's chicken, beef & broccoli, sweet & sour chicken, etc. There are some American-style items (mostly for kids, I think), like french fries, donuts, jello, and cakes. The new sushi bar was very enjoyable, with a good variety of maki and nigiri sushi, and the sushi chef hovering around, ready to make more.

Overall, Golden China gives a good variety of dishes at very reasonable prices, and we will continue to patronize them, especially when the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet urge strikes!

Location: 1039 Edwards Ferry Rd. NE, Leesburg, 20176

Web site: http://goldenchinaleesburg.com/

Total bill: $22.70 + $5.00 tip = $27.70

#59: China King's Restaurant

2009-04-22T23:55:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 3 April 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: China King is another long-established Leesburg fixture (just a couple doors down from The Leesburg Restaurant). The official, full name of the place is actually "China King's Restaurant" (that's what is on the menu), but the outside sign just says "China King", as the photo shows. The inside is rather small and not fancy. An initial glance at the menu reveals all the usual Chinese restaurant staples, with a few Chef's specials too. But this is where the surprise is - the menu may appear ordinary, but the food is fantastic!

We started off with soups - I had the Hot & Sour, and Wendy had Wonton. The Hot & Sour was good and hot, and had a strong beef taste to it, very nice. Next, we had the Shrimp Tempura appetizer. It was not exactly Japanese-style tempura; the batter was very thick, but it was delicious!

For my entree, I had the "Kung Pau Two Kind", which is described as "Chicken and Shrimp with peanuts, onion, and red peppers." This dish was so good, I can hardly say enough good things about it! The shrimp in particular was very melt-in-your-mouth tender and yummy. The overall dish had just the right amount of spiciness, fresh vegetables, and good balance. Wendy had the "Crispy Prawn with Walnuts", described as "Slightly spicy hot! Lightly battered shrimp flavored with a tangy sauce and walnut topping." Not being a big fan of things even slightly spicy, she ordered it "mild". The sauce was sweet, but not too sweet, and the prawns were nice and thick in a crispy batter.

Overall, we were very impressed with the quality and taste of all the food we tried here. Despite the humble look of the place, China King is a top Leesburg restaurant that we will continue to support.

Apparently China King is a pretty common name for Chinese restaurants; for example, there is a China King Restaurant in Herndon. But there is a note on the menu that says "China King's is not affiliated with other establishments of similar name."

Currently, there is a contest going on called "The Sixth Annual Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in USA". There is a poster up in the window of China King that publicizes it and encourages you to vote for them. I honestly think they belong on that list! Register and vote now!

Location: 5 South King St., Leesburg, 20175

Web site: http://chinakingtogo.com/

Total bill: $41.88 + $10.00 tip = $51.88

#58: The Leesburg Restaurant

2009-04-19T21:13:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 15 March 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: The Leesburg Restaurant has been a long-time fixture in the heart of downtown Leesburg. It has an old-fashioned feel, the inside looking like it hasn't changed much in many years. It has a nice "used" and comfortable feel to it. The counter and wooden booths add to this impression.

On the advice of the head chef, I tried the Peanut soup as an appetizer. He said it was very popular with the customers, but that he himself didn't like it! I liked it pretty well; it was very thick and creamy, with small bits of peanuts throughout. For my entree, I had the Philly Steak & Cheese, with onion rings on the side. It was OK. Wendy had the Chicken wrap, with sweet potato fries on the side. Her comment: "Fresh, lots of meat; the green tortilla an orange sweet potato fries made a pleasing contrast." Andy had the Triple Decker Club. His comment: "Good, B+"; pretty high praise from this discerning gourmet. Alicia had the Caesar salad. Her comment: "Too much dressing; chicken good."

As I googled for the restaurant's web site, and finding none, I did peruse the comments by diners who had posted comments on other restaurant review sites. One comment seemed to kind of sum things up: "Typical diner like restaurant, very slow service, decent diner food." That was pretty much our experience; the food was good, but not outstanding, the service tolerable, and the ambience enjoyable.

They really need a good web site of their own. Oddly, the URL http://www.leesburgrestaurant.com/ actually belongs to Tuscarora Mill. That's got to be annoying.

Location: 9 South King St., Leesburg, 20176

Web site: none

Total bill: $46.06 + $10.00 tip = $56.06

#57: Ledo Pizza

2009-03-15T16:33:00.003-04:00

Date Visited: 8 March 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: Ledo's has been a fixture in Leesburg since we moved here. We only visited once so before, around 1990 or so! On that visit, the thing we all remember is that we ordered a pepperoni and bacon pizza with extra bacon, and that we nearly died from bacon overdose. It was literally piled on. So we figured that it had been long enough, and we would give Ledo's another try. Ledo's is a nationwide pizza franchise.

I was impressed by the clean, bright decor, and Italian countryside themes painted on the walls. It looked a lot nicer than it did almost twenty years ago. The place was fairly busy on the Sunday afternoon we visited.

For this visit, I ordered the featured Calamari appetizer ("enjoy our new, tender, breaded Calamari served with seasoned waffle fries and your choice of LEDO sauce or spicy LEDO tartar sauce for dipping"). It was pretty good, the calamari was indeed tender, and the spicy tartar sauce was a nice touch. No one else in our family would try it, due to the assumed "ick" factor. For my entree, I got the Buffalo Chicken Salad ("crisp, white meat, chicken served on a cool mix of lettuces with grape tomatoes, Blue cheese crumbles, bacon and red onions. LEDO buffalo sauce and Blue cheese dressing served on the side"). It was also pretty good - the chicken had a nice crunch, and the mix of Buffalo and Blue cheese flavors was a good combination.

Wendy got the Traditional Cheese Tortellini ("jumbo cheese tortellini tossed in your choice of LEDO marinara or creamy Alfredo sauce. $7.99 add mushroom or green peppers $0.60 each, add Italian sausage $1.00, Grilled chicken"). She selected the Alfredo sauce option, and added the grilled chicken, which she said was good, but the tortellini itself was a little overdone.

Andy got the Turkey Bacon Ranch sub ("sliced turkey, bacon, tomato, provolone cheese, oven toasted, served with ranch dressing and lettuce"). He ate it all (a good sign), but said it was a bit sub-par.

Alicia got the Chicken Calzone ("LEDO sauce grilled chicken with onions & mushrooms"). She ate about a quarter of it (generally a good sign), but wasn't overly impressed either. I think she didn't realize how many mushrooms were involved. I ended up with the leftovers for lunch the next day.

I also ordered a small Meatlover's Pizza ("pepperoni, sausage and meatballs"). It was unanimously judged not very good. I got the leftover slices for lunch the next day, in addition to the leftover calzone, but I'm not picky about lunch at work.

We tried to order a variety of menu items to sample what Ledo's had to offer so we could make a fair evaluation. Unfortunately, our overall impression is that we were not very impressed with the food. The service was good. We'll give 'em another try some time in the future.

Location: 1037 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, 20175

Web site: http://ledopizza.com/

Total bill: $55.07 + $10.00 tip = $65.07

#56: Wendy's

2009-03-15T16:28:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 25 February 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: We needed a quick dinner after church on Wednesday night, and Wendy's was on the list. Wendy's is a nationwide hamburger chain that distinguishes itself by having some menu choices not available in most other fast food restaurants.

Wanting to sample some of the more unique offerings, I had a double cheeseburger, small cup of chili and a baked potato with sour cream and chives. Wendy got a Chicken Club combo with a side salad, Alicia got a Spicy Chicken combo with a large Frosty. Andy mistakenly ordered a Homestyle Chicken Fillet combo instead of a hamburger; he tried one bite and determined that he would not be able to eat it, so he went back and got a Baconator (double cheeseburger with loads of bacon). I ended up with his chicken sandwich for lunch the next day!

The food was OK, about average for a fast food restaurant, except for their french fries, which are below average. To me, their unique items (like chili and baked potatoes) are about the only reason to go there.

Location: 404 E. Market St., Leesburg, 20176

Web site: http://wendys.com/

Total bill: $31.36

#55: Mama Lucci's

2009-02-22T20:07:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 22 February 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: Though Leesburg is a "small town", it does have some very excellent locally-owned and operated restaurants. Mama Lucci's is one of our best, specializing in American, Pizza, Italian, Greek, and Middle Eastern cuisine. I can't remember the name of the restaurant that was in this location before Mama Lucci's, but as their web site explains: "Carolina Lucci and her husband, Mostafa Hessein, began their business in July of 1995 in Leesburg across from the Rescue Squad and the Skate Park. The restaurant is named after Carolina's mother, whom everyone affectionately calls Mama Lucci."

We've been to Mama Lucci's a few times before and always had good experiences. Andy has lately been fixated on finding the perfect Gyro, so we decided to try Mama Lucci's for lunch after church.

For appetizers, I got a cup of Cream of Crab soup, which was wonderfully thick, and didn't skimp on the crab. It was a welcome warm up from the cold outside. Wendy got a cup of the Italian Wedding soup, a very savory vegetable soup with tiny meatballs! A great start to the meal.

Wendy, Andy, and I got the Gyro Platter ("mixed lamb and beef with Greek spices, lettuce, tomato, and onions; topped with our homemade Tzatziki sauce; served on a toasted pita with french fries"). We all agreed that these are the best Gyros in Leesburg; the meat was cut into thick bite-size pieces, very tender and flavorful. The Tzatziki sauce perfectly complemented the flavor of the meat. The platters also come with a Greek dinner salad ("fresh leafy greens with onions, Feta cheese, Pepperoni peppers, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, and our house dressing") - yum!

Alicia went Italian and got the Lasagne ("layers of pasta with Ricotta, seasoned Italian cheeses, and topped with Marinara sauce and Mozzarella"). I didn't get to try any, but she completely cleaned her plate, and that's high praise from a picky eater!

Andy and Alicia also shared a Super Grande size Pepperoni pizza. With all the pizza places in Leesburg, it's tough to stand out, but this one was very good. Andy is an experienced pizza connoisseur and cook; he rated this one "above average", an "8 out of 10". I got one slice and agreed that it was unusually good. Again, high praise!

Our server (Veronica) was very friendly and attentive, adding to the already positive experience. They have an awesome web site, but you'd never know about it because it's not printed on the menu, the receipt, or anywhere else I looked.

Go to Mama Lucci's and try something different!

Location: 302 I&H Industrial Ct. SE, Leesburg, 20175

Web site: http://www.mamaluccis.com/

Total bill: $61.52 + $10.00 tip = $71.52

#54: Andy's Pizza & Subs

2009-02-21T16:50:00.005-05:00

Date Visited: 18 February 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: Andy's has been a landmark Leesburg restaurant as long as we've lived here (since 1987). They have a banner up in front that says it's the "20th Anniversary Celebration", but I'm pretty sure it's been there longer than that. They used to operate the Bacchus Cafe (which closed, but the web site is still up), and have another Andy's location in Lovettsville. On this "official blog visit", we had most of the family represented and decided to order a variety of items that we could all share. We were there late, on a slow Wednesday night.

I got a 12" Steak & Cheese sandwich (steak, fried onions, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise); it was good. Wendy got the Original Stromboli (pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese); she reported "good marinara sauce". Andy and Alicia shared a large Pepperoni Pizza; they said it was better than average. We got a Lamb Gyro (lettuce, tomato, onion, and cucumber-yogurt sauce) to all share; everyone got a piece. Andy's comment: "a little dry"; I thought it was good.

Overall, a great little family eatery; food all good, reasonably priced, and friendly service. They need a web site.

Location: 9F Catoctin Cir. SW, Leesburg, 20175

Web site: none

Total bill: $40.81 + $8.00 tip = $48.81

#53: Milwaukee Frozen Custard

2009-02-21T16:20:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 9 February 2009

Meal: Dessert

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: We were out at PetSmart after dinner, helping Alicia buy a Purple Betta for a friend's birthday (it's a long story), and Wendy "just happened to notice" the Milwaukee Frozen Custard store next door. So of course we had to go.

I'm not much of an ice cream person, so I just got a Child size Vanilla. Wendy got a Small size Vanilla (small is a very relative term). This is frozen custard, not ice cream or yogurt. It's very smooth, dense, creamy, and tastes good too.

If you like ice cream, you'll like Milwaukee Frozen Custard better!

Location: 510 E Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://milwaukeefrozencustard.com/

Total bill: $5.65

#52: Indian Restaurant & Grocery

2009-02-08T21:51:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 8 February 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: One of the newest restaurants in Leesburg, the Indian Restaurant & Grocery is located in the Bellewood Commons shopping center on Market Street. Just like the name says, it is both a restaurant and grocery store. They seem to have quite a variety of Indian items, including hard-to-find imported groceries, home made desserts, Indian movie rentals, and even help with flight reservations (to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Nepal). They also offer local delivery, take-out, and catering.

The restaurant features a $6.99 lunch buffet from 11:30 to 3:30 daily. When we visited, the buffet included:
* Basmati Rice
* Dal Maihani (slow cooked lentils with freshly ground spices)
* Channa Masala (chickpeas in a special sauce with fresh herbs and spices)
* Shahi Paneer (home made paneer cheese simmered in a honey-laced tomato sauce)
* Chicken Curry
* Tandoori Naan (bread)

We tried it all and liked it all! Wendy's favorite was the Chicken Curry, and mine was the Shahi Paneer. The Dal Maihani was very good too, and had a delicious (hot) spiciness to it. The Naan was fresh and hot out of the oven, and was one of the best parts of the meal. For dining in, there are only four tables, walled off at the rear of the store, making it very "cozy". And of course, there were Bollywood videos playing the whole time!

The Indian Restaurant & Grocery buffet is a great bargain, with great food and friendly, courteous service. Go there today!

Location: 525 E. Market St., Leesburg, VA 20175

Web site: http://irgva.com/

Total bill: $14.68 + $3.00 tip = $17.68

#51: Starbucks (SuperTarget)

2009-02-08T21:46:00.006-05:00

Date Visited: 7 February 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Since starting this blog and visiting Starbucks, I was surprised to learn how many there were in Leesburg. At first, I had only discovered six, but then a friend alerted me to a seventh. Here's the list as it stands now:

1. Market Street in the Bellewood Commons shopping center
2. Edwards Ferry Road in the Battlefield Shopping Center
3. Edwards Ferry Road inside SuperTarget (this one)
4. Promenade Drive in the Lansdowne Town Center
5. Fort Evans Road in the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets
6. Winmeade Drive inside Harris Teeter at the Lansdowne Town Center
7. Xerox Document Training Center - Lobby Alcove (this one I'll have to research further to confirm it)

I've already visited the Starbucks at Bellewood Commons and Battlefield Shopping Center, and this visit was to the one located inside our local SuperTarget. I ordered my usual Grande Latte, and Wendy had a Chai Tea Frappuchino.

What else can one say about Starbucks? For purposes of this blog, that's three down and four to go. At least that's the count for now; there may be more by the time I get to all of these!

Location: 1200 Edwards Ferry Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://starbucks.com/

Total bill: $7.22

#50: Nathan's Famous

2009-02-08T17:08:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 10 January 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: This was my second visit to the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets Food Court. Nathan's Famous is, well, famous as far as hot dogs go. As the wikipedia article explains, it was established in 1916 and "the original Nathan's restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn." They now have locations all over the U.S. and in about seventeen foreign countries. The other thing they're famous for is the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, held every year on the 4th of July at their original location. As noted in my previous article on Arthur Treacher's, Nathan's owns Arthur Treacher's and Kenny Rogers Roasters, which adjoin Nathan's at the Food Court.

On this visit, I got a Chili Cheese Dog, Medium Cheese Fries, and a fountain drink. It was all good and cheesy, but it didn't seem much different than any other hot dog. On the other hand, it's one of the few places in Leesburg you can get a decent chili cheese dog!

Location: 241 Fort Evans Road NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://nathansfamous.com/

Total bill: $7.36

#49: Eiffel Tower Cafe

2009-01-24T17:09:00.010-05:00

Date Visited: 9 January 2009

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: For our 27th wedding anniversary, I wanted to take Wendy someplace nice. It was almost a no-brainer; the restaurant that immediately came to mind was the Eiffel Tower Cafe. We've been there a few times before and always been extremely happy with the total experience; this visit was no exception.

For appetizers, I got an endive salad (with walnuts, crumbled bleu cheese, and thinly sliced apples), and Wendy got a salad with goat cheese in puff pastry. We shared, and each bite was bliss. I also had a glass of the house Cabernet Sauvignon.

For entrees, we both selected specials of the day (BTW, not on the online dinner menu). I had a seafood dish of scallops, shrimp, and salmon on a bed of risotto, with a white wine sauce. It also came with a side of green beans and carrots. Wendy got Steak au Poivre, with a side of snow peas and carrots, and a potato cake-like delight with grated cheese. Every bite was savored and enjoyed slowly.

For dessert, we also shared a slice of chocolate praline cake. Heavenly! I also had a coffee to finish off the meal.

It's difficult to come up with words that adequately capture the experience of the Eiffel Tower Cafe. Everything about the place (decor, food, and service) is wonderful and delicious. We heartily recommend it to everyone who wants to try French cooking!

As a special surprise ending for our anniversary celebration, I secretly booked a room across the street at the Norris House Inn. We stayed in the Garden Room, and, like the Eiffel Tower Cafe, everything was wonderful. The place is done up in old British-American style, and a great "breakfast Monte Cristo" was served the next morning by Roger the innkeeper. We can also heartily recommend the Norris House Inn as a great in-town getaway!

Location: 107 Loudoun St. SW, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://eiffeltowercafe.com/

Total bill: $119.62 + $25.00 tip = $136.92

#48: Arthur Treacher's

2009-01-24T16:11:00.005-05:00

Date Visited: 4 January 2009

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: Depending on how you count, there are about twelve restaurants at Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets (colloquially known as "The Outlet Mall"). Now, the problem for this blog is that these restaurants are in various degrees of colocatedness. For example, Arthur Treacher's, Kenny Rogers Roasters Express, and Nathan's Famous are all located in the same stall, and you are served by the same people. Likewise, Tropi-Kool, Boardwalk Fries, City Deli, and Cinnabon are also located together in one stall. The others are separate. On the other hand, there is a directory sign that only lists six of these places - so confusing! So, for purposes of this blog, and to give myself and my readers a greater sampling of the offerings, I'm treating them all as separate restaurants. All but the Daily Grind are in the centrally-located Food Court. Here's the full list:
* Starbucks
* Nathan's Famous
* Kenny Rogers Roasters Express
* Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips
* Tropi-Kool Smoothies
* Boardwalk Fries
* City Deli
* Cinnabon
* Burger King
* Sbarro
* Hershey's Ice Cream
* Daily Grind

Now, the problem for this blog is that these restaurants are in various degrees of colocatedness. For example, Arthur Treacher's, Kenny Rogers Roasters Express, and Nathan's Famous are all located in the same stall, and you are served by the same people. Likewise, Tropi-Kool, Boardwalk Fries, City Deli, and Cinnabon are also located together in one stall. The others are separate. On the other hand, there is a directory sign that only lists six of these places - so confusing! So, for purposes of this blog, and to give myself and my readers a greater sampling of the offerings, I'm treating them all as separate restaurants.

My first visit to an Outlet Mall eatery was to Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips. I ordered the Fish & Chips combo. It was typical fried fish fast food, which included two pieces of batter-dipped fish (type not specified), two hush puppies, and chips (fries). It was OK. Arthur Treacher's is the only exclusively fish & chips restaurant in Leesburg, although there are other places that serve them too, such as the King's Court Tavern. Long John Silver's is probably the most common here on the east coast.

It turns out there is another connection between Arthur Treacher's, Kenny Rogers Roasters Express, and Nathan's Famous, that explains why they are colocated at the Outlet Mall. According to the Wikipedia article on Arthur Treacher's, "The company was acquired by PAT Franchise Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of TruFoods Systems, Inc., in 2002. Nathan's Famous bought the exclusive rights to market the Arthur Treacher's trademark and sell their products co-branded with Nathan's own concepts Kenny Rogers Roasters and Miami Subs in 2006; however, PAT Franchise Systems has a license agreement with NF Treachers to sell Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips franchises in eight states."

That's one down for the Outlet Mall, and many more fast food meals to go.

Location: 241 Fort Evans Road NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://www.arthurtreachers.com/

Total bill: $9.21

#47: CiCi's

2008-12-28T20:05:00.006-05:00

Date Visited: 28 December 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy & Eric

Experience: CiCi's is a nationwide chain with over 600 locations, scattered around the southeastern part of the US. Not your average pizza place, their uniqueness is that it's a fixed-price buffet, serving pizza, pasta, salads, and desserts. Their web site advertises the price as "all-you-can-eat for under $5*", with the asterisk explaining that "prices may vary by location". At the Leesburg CiCi's, it's $5.99 for the buffet, and another $1.69 for a drink with unlimited refills.

CiCi's is also one of Leesburg's newest restaurants. It's located in the new Fort Evans shopping center, on Fort Evans Road. Most of the stores there are still empty, and CiCi's is the only restaurant so far.

We went to CiCi's on the recommendation of my son Eric, who has frequented the CiCi's in Blacksburg, being a cost-conscious Virginia Tech student. We found the new Leesburg location to be very casual and fun, featuring good pizza and lots of it! We'll certainly be back.

Nostalgic Note: CiCi's buffet style reminds me of another pizza chain called Shakey's, that I went to while growing up in California. They too served pizza buffet style, but also featured live banjo and piano music, plus sing-a-long time!

Location: 500 Fort Evans Rd., Unit 1A, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://cicis.com/

Total bill: $33.33

#46: T.G.I.Friday's

2008-12-28T19:34:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 16 December 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 4 - Me, Wendy, Andy, & Alicia

Experience: T.G.I.Friday's is a nationwide chain restaurant, roughly in the same league as Ruby Tuesday and Applebee's; Blue Ridge Grill is a little more upscale. We went there on a slow Tuesday night.

I had a combo BBQ Bacon-wrapped Shrimp ("Two skewers of bacon-wrapped shrimp, grilled and basted with Jack Championship BBQ sauce.") and half-rack of ribs. I also had a house salad to start, with Ranch dressing - but it only made me long for the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday.

Wendy had the Sizzling Chicken & Shrimp ("Sautéed garlic-marinated chicken breast and plump shrimp tossed with bruschetta marinara. Served with onions, peppers and creamy mashed potatoes on a sizzling platter of melted Mexican and American cheeses"). She also had a house salad with Vinegarette dressing.

Andy had the Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger ("Topped with two kinds of cheese–mild American and gooey, golden–fried Provolone. We add crisp bacon, stack 'em all on a toasted bun"). He also had a house salad, with Italian dressing.

Alicia had the Cheesburger Sliders ("Juicy, all–beef patties with American cheese and carmelized onions on a tender bun. What most people picture when they hear "sliders". Then they cannot rest until they get their hands on some"). She also got a side order of onion rings, but somehow forgot to share any of them with me(!)

Everyone enjoyed their meal, but nothing was extraordinary. Next time, we'll probably pick a local restaurant, or our favorite in this category, Ruby Tuesday.

Location: 235 Fort Evans Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://www.tgifridays.com/

Total bill: $65.32 + $13.00 tip = $78.32

#45: Blue Ridge Grill

2008-12-28T18:36:00.005-05:00

Date Visited: 12 December 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Wendy and I were sans children on a Friday night, so that meant time to go to a fancy restaurant! The Blue Ridge Grill was one on the list of unvisited restaurants, so we decided to go there. Regular readers of this blog will know that we've lived in Leesburg since 1987, so we remember when this location used to be an Applebee's; we were not unhappy to see it go.

The Blue Ridge Grill has now been here in Leesburg a number of years and has a reputation for being one of our nicer restaurants. We've eaten there just a few times, so I was anxious to go back and write up our experience for the blog. I was also eager to visit because a few friends had commented that it was nice, but overpriced, so I needed to check it out for myself.

I'm happy to say our experience was very positive!

We started off by sharing an appetizer called Steak & Cheese Eggrolls ("Seasoned Steak grilled w/ Peppers & Onions, mixed w/ Monterey Jack & Cheddar Cheese, rolled in a Jalapeno Cheddar Tortilla, flash fried & served w/ a Queso Dipping Sauce"). They were nice and hot, both temperature and spice-wise, as well as delicious. They were similar to the Tex Mex Eggrolls we get at the Sweetwater Tavern in Sterling, VA. Wendy also got a house salad as a starter.

For the entree, I ordered the Surf & Turf (daily special, not on the menu), which consisted of Filet Mignon and Fresh Lump Crab Cakes. The steak was super-tender, with deep grill marks - excellent! For my side, I ordered a baked potatoe, not expecting it to be anything special, but I was surprised! It came will all the fixins (sour cream, chives, bacon, and cheddar cheese), and the outside skin was covered in yummy coarse salt - mmm... every bite was full of salty goodness.

Wendy got the Pork Chops ("Two French cut, 8 oz., marinated Pork Chops grilled and served over Mashed Potatoes and Gravy"). Her evaluation: "delicious".

Overall, we were impressed and liked Blue Ridge Grill very much. We found the food quality to be on par with the prices. We would definitely eat there again. They also have another location in Brambleton, so it's not quite a local, Leesburg-only business.

Location: 955 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://www.brgrill.com/

Total bill: $69.44 - $50.00 gift card + $15.00 tip = $34.44

#44: Joe's Pizza & Subs

2008-12-06T16:38:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 5 December 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Joe's is a semi-local establishment with locations in Leesburg, Manassas (3), and Sterling. Their web site says the owners of Joe's have been making pizza for over 20 years. I'm not sure how long they've been in the current location, but they were there when we moved here in 1987. Joe's is located on Plaza Street, just a couple blocks from the intersection with East Market Street.

In order to sample the variety of Joe's menu, we ordered three items for carry out: a medium Old Fashioned White Pizza ("Fresh homemade pizza w/chopped garlic, basil, oregano, olive oil, mozzarella"), a 7" Steak & Cheese sub ("served on an Italian roll with lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, onions, hot peppers, and Italian dressing"), and a Calzone ("Half-moon shaped fresh dough stuffed with ricotta cheese, buffet ham & mozzarella cheese").

It was all very good and equal or better than any of the national chain pizza restaurants here. We also felt good about supporting a local establishment, and will certainly return. Oh, and their web site is great!

Location: 62 Plaza St. NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Web site: http://joespizzaandsubs.com/

Total bill: $31.71

#43: Starbucks (Market St.)

2008-12-06T15:37:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 4 December 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & my friend Gary

Experience: As mentioned in a recent post, I meet with my friend Gary about every other Thursday evening. We usually meet at a local coffee house, like Starbucks. There are six Starbucks to choose from here, and this time we met at Leesburg's first Starbucks, the one in the Bellewood Commons shopping center on Market Street.

I ordered my usual Grande Latte, and since this is a food blog, I also got a Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffin to share. It was pretty good, unlike my previous Starbucks experience. Like last time, we were there until closing, and we had to be asked to leave.

What else can I say about Starbucks? For purposes of this blog, that's two down and four to go.

Location: 531 East Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20175

Web site: http://starbucks.com/

Total bill: $5.42

#42: 803 Deli

2008-12-06T14:25:00.006-05:00

Date Visited: 3 December 2008

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: This is one of the "hidden" restaurants of Leesburg, and I'll bet most residents have never even heard of it. I only noticed it by chance when driving by on the way to church. The 803 Deli gets its name from the address of the building in which it is located. It's mainly intended to serve the needs of the tenants of 801 & 803 Sycolin Road, which include the Loudoun County Electoral Board, the Girl Scouts, the Loudoun County Department of General Services, the Dulles Area Association of Realtors, and Farm Bureau Insurance. However, it's open to the public and fully qualifies as a restaurant by my definition (see sidebar).

The 803 Deli has a full breakfast and lunch menu, consisting of breakfast sandwiches, breakfast platters, breakfast sides, sub, club, and combination sub sandwiches, hot specialties, vegetarian dishes, salads, various sides, and desserts.

On this visit I got an Egg & Bacon breakfast sandwich, an Everything bagel with cream cheese, and a large coffee, all to go. I was pleasantly surprised to watch the very neat and meticulous preparation of these items by the cook, as well as the careful attention paid to wrapping and presentation. Nothing really special about the food itself, but it was a great experience, and I feel like I discovered a hidden treasure! Now, if they just had a cool web site...

Location: 803 Sycolin Rd. SE, Leesburg, VA 20175

Web site: none

Total bill: $6.60

#41: Peppermill Grill

2008-11-29T13:41:00.005-05:00

Date Visited: 23 November 2008

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Peppermill Grill is Leesburg's newest restaurant, as far as I know. We went there after church on Sunday after seeing a sign for brunch that lasted until 3:00.

The brunch menu had a wide variety of interesting choices. Everything on the menu sounded great, and I was having trouble making a choice. I asked our waiter (Tim) what he recommended. He answered that he had not actually had a chance to try many of them yet, but he had tasted the Hollandaise sauce, and recommened that. So I ordered the Eggs Benedict ("Poached eggs, Canadian bacon, fresh Hollandaise and scallions over croissant"). It was an excellent dish, and the Hollandaise sauce was very smooth and creamy.

Wendy had the Omlette du Jour ("Served with breakfast potatoes"). Today's omlette was Ham & Swiss. She liked it very much.

Alicia had the French Toast ("Served with choice of topping; Apple Cinnamon or Strawberry"). She chose the strawberry, and it looked pretty good to me. Her comment was that it was "eggy" (I think that's good).

All of our dishes included an assortment of fresh fruit, including huge globe grapes (mmm...), cantaloupe, and honeydew melon. The plates themselves were all of different design, which produced a nice effect.

Other brunch menu options that we'll have to try sometime are: Breakfast Burrito, Peppermill Steak & Eggs, Hash & Eggs, Home Made Crepes, Shrimp & Grits, Grilled Mahi Mahi, Wild Mushroom Pasta, and Chicken Picatta. I looked over the regular lunch and dinner menus, and they include a good variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and beef/chicken/seafood entrees. I guess that's the "American Bistro" part of this place.

We also met some old friends while we were there. Dr Sampson (of Leesburg Chiropractic) and his family were there for their first visit too.

History: This is a Leesburg location that has seen a lot of change over the years. Before Peppermill Grill, it used to be Zeffirelli Ristorante, and from their web site, you'd think they were still there! It was a fairly high-end dining experience; we only went there once. There are still etched "Z"s on the interior windows. Before Zeffirelli's, it was Waffle King's Virginia Kitchen (not sure I'm remembering the name exactly). It was a simple family-friendly restaurant, and we ate there a few times.

The verdict on Peppermill Grill: love it, we'll be back! They do need to get a decent web site too.

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

Web site: none

Total bill: $38.52 + $8.00 tip = $46.52

UPDATE, 5 April 2009: I've been informed that Peppermill Grill now has a web site; it's http://peppermillgrillva.com/

UPDATE, 10 May 2009: We went to Peppermill Grill for a Mother's Day dinner. This restaurant continues to impress! I had the Pork Spare Ribs (extra-large, meat falling off the bone, excellent teryaki sauce), Wendy had the Pork Scalloppini, Andy had the New York Strip Steak, and Alicia had a Caesar Salad (even the salads are outstanding here). For desserts, we got a couple Creme Brulees and a Chocolate Mousse cake. See the online menu for more details. Go to the Peppermill Grill today!

#40: Domino's

2008-11-29T01:25:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 22 November 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: When in the mood for pizza, our preference is usually Vocelli's, because of their excellent pizza and sandwich combinations. When Domino's started advertising sandwiches too, it was time to check them out.

When at Domino's, our favorite is a large Deluxe Feast ("A mouth-watering combination of pepperoni, savory Italian sausage, fresh green peppers, fresh mushrooms, fresh onions and cheese"). We've had this one many times and it's always good - except this time! For some reason, it was a bit undercooked and chewy. Oh well, I won't hold it against them, but it's ironic that it happened the one time I'm going to write about it on this blog.

On to the new item: "Domino's Hot Baked Sandwiches". We tried the Philly Cheese Steak ("Tender slices of Steak, Premium American & Provolone cheeses, and Onions, Green Peppers & Mushrooms all layered on an Artisan Italian Bread and baked to a perfect golden brown"). It was underwhelming and again, it seemed a bit undercooked. The "artisan" bread was pretty tough and did not make for a pleasant eating experience.

For fast pizza, we'l probably stick to Vocelli's for now.

Location: 944 Edwards Ferry Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://dominos.com/

Total bill: $21.68

#39: Bob Evans

2008-11-29T00:36:00.005-05:00

Date Visited: 15 November 2008

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: It's a sleepy, rainy, unusually warm winter Saturday morning, and I'm starving! So off we go in search of a new breakfast experience. Bob Evans is the choice today.

I grew up on the west coast, and there were a lot of IHOPs, but no Bob Evans. On their web site it says Bob Evans "provides homestyle food and friendly service to our customers primarily in the East North Central, mid-Atlantic and Southern United States." Well that explains it.

I had the Farmer's Choice ("Your choice of one fruit crepe, two hotcakes or two slices of French toast served with two eggs, Bob Evans Sausage or bacon and home fries") and selected the hotcakes and bacon. Wendy had the Western Omelette ("Diced smoked ham, onion, green and red peppers cooked
into the eggs, then stuffed and topped with shredded cheddar cheese").

The food was fine but unremarkable; I think I still prefer IHOP.

Location: 225 Fort Evans Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://bobevans.com/

Total bill: $18.95 + $3.00 tip = $21.95

#38: Starbucks (Edwards Ferry Rd.)

2008-11-23T00:00:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 13 November 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & my friend Gary

Experience: I meet with my friend Gary every other week to discuss theology, parenting, music, and software development (some combination, eh?). We used to meet at Market Street Coffee until they closed this summer. So on this Thursday night we went to Starbucks.

My research on their web site's store locator reveals that there are six(!) Starbucks in Leesburg:
1. Market Street in the Bellewood Commons shopping center
2. Edwards Ferry Road in the Battlefield Shopping Center (this one)
3. Edwards Ferry Road inside SuperTarget
4. Promenade Drive in the Lansdowne Town Center
5. Fort Evans Road in the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets
6. Xerox Document Training Center - Lobby Alcove (this one I'll have to research further)

Since this is a restaurant blog, I thought I should make sure to order a food item in addition to my standard Grande Latte. I checked out the pastry case and selected an Apple Cinnamon Stella; it was kind of dry and not very tasty to me. Oh well. I really do like the coffee.

Gary and I were there talking until closing, at which time we got asked to leave. Well, that's one Starbucks down, and five to go!

Location: 1011 Edwards Ferry Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://starbucks.com/

Total bill: $5.53

#37: Ruby Tuesday

2008-11-22T23:56:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 11 November 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: On this Tuesday night, Veteran's Day, we went out to one of our most favorite comfort-food restaurants, Ruby Tuesday. The one here in Leesburg has been consistently serving fresh and delicious meals ever since we moved here.

One of the big draws for us is the Fresh Garden Bar. It's got everything I love: all kinds of veggies, broccoli salad, cottage cheese, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, peas, edamame, red onion, pumpernickel croutons, real bacon (not "bits"), and much more. The only minor irritation is that it's located right next to the bar area's smoking section, and you can smell smoke while loading up your dish. We all added the Fresh Garden Bar to our meals.

For entrees, I had the Bacon Cheddar Minis ("Mini masterpieces made even more magnificent with crisp bacon, melted cheddar, garnished with mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and a crisp pickle. Served with a side of crisp, piping-hot fries"). Alicia got the Ruby Minis ("Fresh, USDA Choice mini masterpieces topped with American cheese and crisp onion straws, garnished with mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and a crisp pickle. Served with a side of crisp, piping-hot fries"). Wendy got the Chicken Fresco ("A fresh, grilled chicken breast topped with seasonal vine-ripened tomatoes, lemon-butter sauce, and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette. Served with fresh, steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes").

It was all good, fresh, and filling; we left very satisfied.

Location: 1003 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://rubytuesday.com/

Total bill: $37.54 + $8.00 tip = $48.73

#36: Pizza Hut Express

2008-11-09T21:15:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 9 November 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: Pizza Hut Express is located inside Leesburg's SuperTarget at the Battlefield Shopping Center. It turns out that Pizza Hut and Pizza Hut Express are two very different entities. From the Wikipedia article on Pizza Hut, it is explained that "Pizza Hut Express locations are fast food restaurants licensed by Pizza Hut and operated independently. They offer a completely different menu with many products not found at traditional Pizza Huts, and are often found on college campuses, food courts, theme parks, and in stores such as Target." Other than this mention on Wikipedia, I couldn't find any reference to Pizza Hut Express on Pizza Hut's main web site.

Leesburg's Pizza Hut Express offers personal size pizzas and breadsticks, as well as some very un-Pizza Hut items like salads, deli sandwiches, soups, and even hot dogs.

On this visit, I got a combo meal with an Italian Sausage pizza, breadsticks, and a drink. It was OK; they did have Cherry Coke on tap, which was a nice surprise. The pizzas are made ahead of time, so you just pick the one you want from the rack and hope it hasn't been sitting there too long. The menu is obviously oriented towards providing quick snacks to shoppers on the go.

Location: 1200 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://pizzahut.com/

Total bill: $6.28

#35: Arby's

2008-11-09T20:31:00.006-05:00

Date Visited: 8 November 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: Arby's is the place to go when you have a fast food craving, but are tired of average burgers and fries. Arby's is mainly about roast beef sandwiches and curly fries.

On this visit, I got the Bacon Beef 'n Cheddar Sandwich ("Thinly sliced, oven-roasted beef and thick-cut pepper bacon with cheddar cheese and Red Ranch sauces served on an onion roll"). The meal combo also included Curly Fries ("Curly-cut French fries with a crispy seasoned coating") and a drink. It was a nice change from normal burgers, well-prepared, and tasty.

In addition to roast beef, Arby's offers chicken, deli-type sandwiches, wraps, salads, toasted subs, shakes, and desserts. They have some other unique items on the menu such as Mozzarella Sticks, Potato Bites, and Onion Petals. Check 'em out!

Some background info from About Arby's on their web site:

"From day one, Arby’s Roast Beef Restaurants offered an innovative menu, offering guests something other than hamburgers in the newly inspired quick service segment. When foodservice veterans Leroy and Forrest Raffel opened the first Arby’s in Boardman, Ohio on July 23, 1964, customers enjoyed roast beef sandwiches, potato chips, and Texas-sized iced teas. To name their new venture, the brothers decided on Arby’s, which stands for R.B., the initials of the Raffel Brothers - although many suspect the R.B. stands for roast beef."

"On September 29, 2008, Triarc Companies Inc. merged with Wendy's International, Inc. to form Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. is the third largest quick-service restaurant company in the United States."

Location: 605 Potomac Station Dr., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://arbys.com/

Total bill: $7.26

#34: Deli South

2008-11-09T20:08:00.005-05:00

Date Visited: 8 November 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: I found myself on my own for the day, and ended up having a wonderfully enjoyable and relaxing Saturday.

I started off the morning by attending the Men's Steak 'N Study breakfast at Cornerstone Chapel (my home church). Steak, eggs, fried potatoes, fresh fruit, donuts, and coffee - not to mention fellowship with friends and good teaching. An excellent start to the day.

Next, I stopped at Leesburg's Saturday farmer's market at Virginia Village. I picked up some Golden Crisp apples from C. Hess Orchard & Produce, Martinsburg, WV. I also discovered a new Leesburg winery called Zephaniah Farm Vineyard, and I bought a bottle of their Cabernet Franc - my favorite!

On the way home, I dropped in at The Coffee Bean (110 South King St.) and had a cup of the flavored coffee of the day. Mmm...

And now for the real purpose of this post - lunch at Deli South.

Deli South has been in Leesburg since 1993, located in the Virginia Village shopping center. It's not a chain or franchise, just a good local deli! They offer an interesting selection of sandwiches with names that somewhat reflect our region's heritage, like The King, Rhett Butler, Robert E. Lee, New York Special, Grilled Turkey Special, Scarlet O'Hara, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Stonewall Jackson, George Mason, Michelle's TNT Club Wrap, Bill Clinton, Patsy Cline, Fried Fish Delight, and John Mosby. They also have name-your-own-sandwich (you pick everything), homemade deli salads (like potato salad, macaroni salad, cole slaw, etc.), garden salads, and a full breakfast menu.

I ordered the John Mosby ("Pork BBQ on a toasted Kaiser roll with our homemade cole slaw. A guaranteed treat for all BBQ lovers"). Well that's me, a BBQ lover, so I had to try it. It was pretty good.

On a previous visit (way before this blog existed), I tried one of their breakfast sandwiches, which had egg, cheese, and lots of bacon - it was very good. I recall that their coffee was pretty good too. Now they also have an espresso bar.

After all this eating, I had to go outside and rake some leaves to work it off!

I urge you to help support local restaurants like this in Leesburg; go our and eat at Deli South!

Location: 38-D Catoctin Cir., Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://delisouth.com/

Total bill: $7.69

#33: Zpizza

2008-11-09T20:02:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 7 November 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: According to their web site, "we opened in Laguna Beach, California in 1986 to create a pizza that was lighter, healthier, delicious & creative." Zpizza has locations in sixteen states, most of which are in California, and many more all along the east coast.

Zpizza lives up to their claim of "creative" pizzas; they offer such creations as the Napoli, Greek, Thai, ZBQ, Mexican, California, Moroccan, Mediterranean, American, Santa Fe, Berkely Soy Cheese Veggie, Casablanca, Tuscan Mushroom, Provence, and Italian. They also offer "normal" pizzas as well as salads, pastas, sandwiches, and desserts.

For this visit, I ordered the Provence ("Organic tomato sauce, homemade roasted garlic sauce, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, capers, tomatoes, basil"). It was very good! The artichokes, garlic, and capers give it a very strong, different taste, compared to average pizza. On a previous visit (about a year ago), we tried the ZBQ, which was very different, but made well. In line with their "lighter" claim, Zpizza crusts are somewhat thinner than average, and the whole thing is fire-baked, for a yummy result.

Leesburg's Zpizza is located in a sort-of back corner of the Potomac Station shopping center (or, more properly, "Marketplace at Potomac Station"), which also includes Moe's and Subway. It seems to me an unfortunate location, as it can't easily be seen from the roads surrounding the shopping center. But now you know it's there!

If you want to try an alternative to "normal" pizza, check out Zpizza.

Location: 659 Potomac Station Dr., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://zpizza.com/

Total bill: $17.85

#32: Subway (Catoctin Circle)

2008-11-08T18:26:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 4 November 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: According to Wikipedia's Subway page, it "has over 30,016 franchised units in 88 countries as of October 2008 and is the fastest growing franchise in the world. Currently, Subway is the third largest fast food operator globally after Yum! Brands (35,000 locations) and McDonald's (31,000 locations)." Also, "Many restaurant analysts attribute Subway's fast growth to the growing concern on health by restaurant customers, a trend that Subway has taken advantage of in its marketing."

Subway has two locations in Leesburg; one on Catoctin Circle (this visit), and another in the Potomac Station shopping center (to be visited soon). As I've mentioned before in reviews #29 and #33, I tend to like Subway over other sub sandwich restaurants such as Quiznos.

On this visit, I ordered what I almost always get at Subway: the 12-inch Big Philly Cheese Steak! I usually ask for exta onions, banana peppers, and their southwest sauce to spice things up a bit. It was very good and filling, as usual. You can't go wrong with Subway.

Location: 47-D Catoctin Cir., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://subway.com/

Total bill: $8.45

#31: Quiznos (Market St.)

2008-11-02T23:52:00.004-05:00

Date Visited: 2 November 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: This was my obligatory visit to the second Quiznos in Leesburg, located on Market St. in the Bellewood Commons shopping center. I visited the other Quiznos (on Edwards Ferry Rd.) back on 27 September - hmm... not that long ago.

On this visit I got the Mesquite Chicken with Bacon sandwich ("Mesquite Chicken, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion, Ranch Dressing"). I ordered it as a combo lunch and got a side salad with Caesar dressing, and a drink. I really like that they offer the salad as an alternative to the normal chip selection.

That's it for Quiznos; I still think Subway is generally better.

Location: 525J Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://quiznos.com/

Total bill: $9.53

#30: Burger King

2008-11-02T23:49:00.003-05:00

Date Visited: 1 November 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: Burger King is just another fast-food burger chain, but it holds a special place in my heart because I went there often while growing up in California.

On this visit I got the Steakhouse Burger ("...packed with Angus beef, melted cheese, crispy onions, lettuce and tomatoes, all smothered in A.1. Thick & Hearty Steak Sauce"), with a king size side of onion rings (substituted for french fries) and a drink. It was good, but I woke up later that night with a stomach ache - too much grease?

This particular Burger King has a somewhat shabby feel to it, and is not particularly inviting. Nothing much more to say about Burger King, except that now it's checked off my list.

Location: 940 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://bk.com/

Total bill: $8.45

My California Culinary Adventure

2008-11-02T23:40:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted for about a week because I've been in Orange County, California (yes, the real O.C.) from 23-28 October 2008 taking care of some family business. Since I'm a native Californian, it was great to visit old favorite restaurants. I was hosted by Larry (my wonderful brother) & Stephanie (my wonderful sister-in-law).

I wanted to write up a few culinary highlights of my trip, but of course these don't officially count for this blog, since the restaurants aren't in Leesburg. I'm also including these notes here because some of the places we ate at are California classics, and have no equivalent here in Virginia. I may be stretching the term "Culinary Adventure", since most of these places were fast-food, chain restaurants, but it was an adventure nontheless.

A couple of times we ate at L&L Hawaiian BBQ. It's a kind of fast-food chain store, but very unique. The first store was in Hawaii, and now they have many locations, most in California. The menu is full of apparently authentic Hawaiian favorites, served in the classic Hawaiian "Plate Lunch" style. The main offerings are BBQ beef, BBQ chicken, BBQ pork short ribs, Mahi Mahi, and shrimp; all served with rice and macaroni salad(!) If you can't visit in person, at least check out their web site to get an idea of what it's all about (the intro video is interesting).

Keeping with the island theme, we had lunch once at a place called Islands. They have old surfer videos playing continuously on the monitors placed throughout the restaurant, for "atmosphere", I guess. It's basically a hamburger joint, and all the burgers have Surfer/Hawaiian names; I had the Kilauea ("jalapeno & black pepper-crusted burger with pepper jack cheese, chipotle aioli & seasoned red onion strings") and Larry had the Bleunami ("bleu cheese dressing, lettuce, tomato, red onion & crumbled bleu cheese"). Interestingly, when you go to their web site, you get redirected to a secure (SSL) URL - I guess this is really sensitive data!

One morning we drove into San Juan Capistrano and had breakfast at Sarducci's Capistrano Depot. The weather was perfect and we were able to eat outside in their beautiful brick courtyard; it was very relaxing. Their homestyle potatoes, served with most of the egg dishes, were unique and delicious.

Carl's Jr. is a classic California burger chain that's been around since the 1950's. The menu is typical burger joint but better than average quality and taste. One of their newer items is "The Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger"; it's made with a charbroiled Black Angus beef patty, guacamole, bacon, and more. The joke is that although it's called the six dollar burger, it really costs about four dollars - it's just big. Larry and I had breakfast there a couple of times; the breakfast burritos are pretty good.

We had two dinners at the Claim Jumper, a slightly upscale chain restaurant, with locations mostly in California. It's basically a steak house; on one visit I had Barbeque Ribs, and the next time the Ribeye, and it was all good.

We had breakfast at Denny's twice. Not that Denny's is anything special, but it was fun because we don't have any very near Leesburg. I have to confess that I really liked the "Lumberjack Slam" breakfast, plus it just sounds cool.

Finally, we had lunch a couple of times at that most iconic of all California burger joints, In-N-Out Burger! Their menu only has burgers, fries, and drinks - that's it. The only burgers on the official menu are singles and doubles. However, they also have a "secret menu" (no so secret anymore, since it's on their own web site), that you can order from if you're in the know. I had a Double-Double Animal Style, and there are other interesting choices. And of course they have a store (online & in the restaurants) where you can buy t-shirts, hats, etc. to show you're a true devotee. Yes, I bought a t-shirt.

Thus concludes my California fast-food chain restaurant adventure.

#29: Red Apple Buffet

2008-10-19T18:28:00.002-04:00

Date Visited: 19 October 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Red Apple is a very unique restaurant in Leesburg. It's a buffet, open only for lunch and dinner, and there's no other menu. If you go to Red Apple, you're having the buffet!

The buffet itself is an eclectic mix of offerings. About half of it is composed of Asian items; mostly Chinese. The rest is a variety of traditional American items. Between the three of us, I think we tried most of what was there.

Here's what I can remember of the buffet content:

Asian items: Sushi (various kinds), Yakitori, Sczechwan green beans, Crab Rangoon, egg rolls, dumplings, hot & sour soup, wonton soup, egg drop soup, Kung Pao chicken, Sesame chicken, sweet & sour pork, fried shrimp, parchment shrimp, Kimchi, seaweed salad, and Mongolian barbeque, made to order.

American items: Pizza, crab salad, french fries, onion rings, macaroni & cheese, Bourbon chicken, roast beef, meat loaf, meat balls, corn, mashed potatoes, salad bar, and a dessert bar.

All this for $12.25 per person on Sunday! The quality and taste of the food ranges from OK to pretty good. If you want all-you-can-eat variety at a reasonable price, Red Apple is a good choice.

History: When we first moved here in 1987, there was a Sizzler at this location. The nearest Sizzler in now in New Jersey! When they closed, a Ponderosa Steakhouse was there for a while. It appears that Ponderosa has gone bankrupt; see the Wikipedia article. Then came Red Apple, and we hope they stay.

Location: 962 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: none

Total bill: $36.75 + $7.00 tip = $43.75

#28: Wish-Bone Rotisserie

2008-10-19T18:23:00.005-04:00

Date Visited: 18 October 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Wish-Bone Rotisserie is a relatively new addition to Leesburg. It's located on the southwest corner of the intersection of King Street and Catoctin Circle, around the corner from 7-Eleven. It's also a location that has seen a lot of restaurant turnover throughout the years we've lived here. Wishbone is a small establishment featuring chicken and other items with a Peruvian twist. It was obvious as soon as we entered that this is a place that local latin americans love, which to me meant it must be good and authentic!

I got a 20-piece order of wings, medium hot, which was fairly hot for me, but good. I also got a side of onion rings, which were done just right. Wendy got a quarter rotisserie chicken with salad and corn-on-the-cob sides. She liked it, but I was too stuffed to try any of it.

Wish-Bone doesn't have their own web site, but I found this description on dc.metromix.com:

"Savor the smoky flavor of flame-broiled charcoal chicken and other Peruvian specialties at the Wishbone Rotisserie, a humble fast-food style eatery located in Leesburg. Have your chicken and ceviche with a side of plantains, corn on the cob or crispy yucca. Surprisingly, there are also some not-so-Peruvian items on the menu, like the falafel wrap and bacon cheeseburger – perfect for the non-adventurous or ruefully picky."

That pretty much sums it up. The staff is very friendly, the prices are low, and the food is great.

When you visit, be sure to check out this painting that hangs inside the entry.

Location: 9D Catoctin Cir. SW, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: none

Total bill: $22.77 + $5.00 tip = 27.77

#27: Quiznos (Edwards Ferry Rd.)

2008-10-19T18:14:00.008-04:00

Date Visited: 27 September 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Leesburg has two Quiznos locations, this one is on Edwards Ferry Rd. in the Battlefield Shopping Center. The other one is on Market St. in Bellewood Commons. And strangely, no, there is no apostrophe between the "o" and the "s". I'm not sure what the name means, and there's nothing about it on the web site. According to all-knowing Wikipedia, "Quiznos is a fast-food restaurant franchise. As of 2005, it was the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, after Subway." Quiznos' claim-to-fame is that they toast all their sandwiches, which does somewhat set them apart from other sub sandwich restaurants.

After yet another long day back from an LCHS marching band competition, we were ready for a quick dinner. On this visit, I got a 9-inch Baja Chicken sandwich ("chicken, bacon, cheddar, red onion, mild Chipolte Mayo, sweet and smoky Baja sauce, fresh cilantro.") and a side Caesar salad. The Baja sauce was unique and made this sandwich very good. I very much appreciate the fact that Quiznos offers combo meals with salad in addition to the standard chip option. Wendy got a 6-inch Turkey Ranch and Swiss sandwich ("turkey, swiss, lettuce, tomato, red onion, Ranch Dressing"). All Alicia got was a big cookie(!)

Quiznos is good, but to me not really much different than Subway. I'll be visiting the other Leesburg location sometime soon.

Location: 1015 Edwards Ferry Rd. NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://quiznos.com/

Total bill: $16.68

#26: IHOP

2008-10-18T18:19:00.004-04:00

Date Visited: 20 September 2008

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: IHOP is an American icon, and like many people of my generation, I grew up going to IHOP for breakfast on Saturdays with my family. Of course, back then it was more commonly known by it's full name, the International House of Pancakes. I still experience that nostalgia when I take my own family there now.

On this visit, Wendy and I enjoyed a late breakfast by ourselves. I ordered what I always order, which is the Breakfast Sampler ("two eggs, two bacon strips, two pork sausage links, two ham strips, hash browns and two fluffy buttermilk pancakes"), plus copious amounts of coffee. One funny thing I found is that a search for the word "coffee" on their online menu yields no hits! Wendy had the Bacon Temptation Omelette special; all I remember from the tastes shared with me was that it indeed contained a lot of bacon.

There's no better iconic breakfast than at IHOP, and of course there are locations everywhere.

Location: 980 Edwards Ferry Road NE, Leesburg, VA, 20176-3317

Web site: http://ihop.com/

Total bill: $22.74 + $5.00 tip = $27.74

#25: Vocelli Pizza

2008-10-18T17:27:00.005-04:00

Date Visited: 19 September 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: On the one hand, Vocelli's is just another pizza franchise, but on the other hand, it's one of the good ones in Leesburg. After yet another all-day LCHS marching band competition, we were ready for a simple pizza dinner.

On this particular visit, we got our favorite "Deluxe" Gourmet Pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, red onions, black olives, and spicy Italian sausage). Wendy also got the Steak Panini (seasoned steak, mozzarella cheese, red onions, green peppers, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and Italian dressing), which for some unknown reason was not shared with me this time. Alicia got the Vocelli Chicken Caesar salad (fresh mixed greens, tender chicken breast, imported Pecorino cheese, and traditional Caesar salad dressing), but without the chicken!

It was all good, and I'm sure we'll be back. However, now that Domino's has sub sandwiches in addition to the basic pizza menu, Vocelli's will be getting some competition.

History: The location where Vocelli's is today used to be a Little Caesar's when we moved to Leesburg in 1987. Some years later they closed most of their locations in Northern Virginia; the closest one is now in Martinsburg, West Virginia! The store was empty for quite a while, then another non-descript pizza place opened up there, called Pizza Time, or something like that. They lasted only a year or so, then Vocelli's took over and has been doing fine.

UPDATED, 8 December 2008: A comment by Anonymous confirmed that the old name was Pizza Outlet, and that it is in fact the same company as Vocelli's.

Location: 34 Catoctin Cir SE, Suite E , Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://www.vocellipizza.com/leesburg_va/

Total bill: $34.69