#24: Hamburg Döner at the Mighty Midget Kitchen

Date Visited: 30 August 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: Hamburg Döner is located inside Leesburg's historic Mighty Midget Kitchen. More specifically, the food is cooked in the old Mighty Midget, but orders are taken and drinks served in an adjacent end of the building shared with MacDowell Custom Kitchens. Hamburg Döner first opened in 2006 at Virginia Village Shopping Center in Leesburg operating out of a food truck, and finally moved into the Mighty Midget Kitchen in March 2008.

The German feel of the place becomes evident as soon as you arrive. Hamburg Döner's unique specialty is the Döner, a Turkish dish which in the 1970s was transformed into a flatbread sandwich, usually with chicken or beef, when Turkish immigrants arrived in Berlin. "It's the most popular food in Germany," co-owner Nicole Marschall says. "The first thing people miss when they move out of Germany is the Döner." "It's the food of our generation," says the other co-owner Timo Winkel. To help explain what a Döner is, I've copied a picture from their menu.

Besides the Döner, they also serve Felafel, Currywurst, Bratwurst, Schnitzel, and Pommes (french fries!), and salads. Check out the online menu to see pictures and more descriptions - and see if it doesn't leave your mouth watering! They also have a large selection of German beers, both on tap and by the bottle.

For this visit, Wendy and I both got the Döner, and we shared an order of Pommes (excellent spices!). It was all fresh, healthy, and delicious, just as advertised. Alicia was with us, but not feeling very adventurous, and only ate a few fries. I didn't have a beer this time, but will surely sample one in the future.

A Little History:

The Mighty Midget Kitchen has been in Leesburg since 1946, and was originally located at the "Y" intersection where Market Street splits into two: Loudoun Street to the left, and Market Street to the right. That's where it was when we moved here in 1987. In those days everything was done in the tiny metal building, and they had hamburgers, hot dogs, and chili. The building was actually made from an old World War II airplane. Unfortunately, they were not able to stay in business and closed a few years later. Long-time Leesburg residents seem to have a high degree of nostalgia for the place.

The Mighty Midget Kitchen was narrowly saved from being scrapped and bought by the Town of Leesburg. In 1996, Gordon MacDowell signed a 20-year lease with the town for $10 a year on the condition that he fully restore it and keep it operating on his property on Harrison Street, right across the street from Tuscarora Mill. He ran it for several years, but eventually could not balance running his regular business and it too. So in 2001, the Mighty Midget Kitchen got a new tenant, Brian DeVaux, who served BBQ. Apparently there was some trouble with the arrangement, and MacDowell asked DeVaux to vacate in December 2007. The town tried to help DeVaux relocate, but it didn't work out. The old web site (http://mightymidgetkitchen.com/) is still up, and refers you to their new location at the Paeonian Grocery & Gourmet.

Despite the recent controversy around the venerable Might Midget Kitchen, we are extremely happy with Hamburg Döner and will surely be visiting again soon.

Location: 202 A Harrison St. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web sites: http://hamburg-doener.com/ or http://doener-usa.com/

Total bill: $23.83 + $5.00 tip = $28.83

#23: Tenderjack's

Date Visited: 29 August 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Tenderjack's is one of the newest restaurants in Leesburg, and fills a unique niche. They specialize in a simple menu of fresh chicken tenders, salads, hamburgers, and fries. In fact, their published philosophy is “Keep It Simple, Keep It Fresh”.

Wendy and I were out on a Friday night and wanted something inexpensive and good, but not typical fast-food. I hadn't blogged about Tenderjack's yet, so that became the choice.

Wendy got the Five Golden Tenders plate, which consists of buttermilk-battered chicken breast pieces. This seems to be more or less their signature item, and like most of their offerings, comes with a choice of two dipping sauces (out of 10). I got the Combo Platter, which is basically a Tenderjack's sampler. It comes with two Crispy Chicken Tenders, two Mini Cheeseburgers, one Southwest Eggroll, two Coyote Wings, and two dipping sauces. The Coyote Wings are spicy mesquite-smoked chicken wings. The Mini Cheesburgers were quite good (I had a less-than-satisfying experience with the full-size version on a previous visit, but that was when Tenderjack's had just opened, and they were still working on things - all better now). The Southwest Eggrolls are particularly good, described in the menu as "stuffed with shredded chicken, red pepper, black beans, corn, cilantro and cheddar cheese, then hand-rolled, fried golden-brown and served on a bed of mango salsa with creamy cilantro sauce and avocado butter for dipping." You don't get those dipping sauces when you get them with the platter, but they're still great. We also got a side of the Fresh-Cut Fries with Tenderjack's special seasoning blend. They were pretty good, if a little droopy.

The Tenderjack's web site is also very good. There is currently only one Tenderjack's location (Leesburg), but the site has a "Locations" tab, hinting that there may be more in the future. I hope so; Tenderjack's is a welcome substitute for the normal fast-food chains. We'll be back.

Location: 506B E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://tenderjacks.com/

Total bill: $22.30

#22: Thai Royal

Date Visited: 24 August 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience: Leesburg has had it's ups and downs in regard to Thai food. In the beginning, you could find a few Thai dishes at places like Orient Kitchen (now J&W Asian Bistro). Then in 2007 we got Tup Tim Thai, and it was good, but only lasted about a year (they had two locations - Leesburg and Sterling - and both closed). But now Leesburg has a real Thai restaurant, run by a real Thai person, serving real Thai food - Thai Royal!

Thai Royal is one of Leesburg's hidden gems, and I mean hidden in the literal sense. By their own description, it is "conveniently located at Liberty Gas Station" on Harrison Street, between Market and Loudoun Streets. It's actually part of the Liberty gas station; in fact, there's just one door between the restaurant and the gas station's mini-mart. Thai Royal also houses a Blimpie sub shop, but they don't make it very obvious when you're inside the restaurant, which is a good thing; we're here for Thai food, not generic sub sandwiches.



This blog post is my "official" write-up on Thai Royal, but I've already been there several times. Despite the odd location, Thai Royal is just about my favorite restaurant in all of Leesburg - really, it's the greatest! We always get friendly, helpful service, and the food is outstanding.

On this visit, Andy and I got the Chicken Lava, a Thai Royal signature dish, described in the menu as "Exotic dish! Sizzling battered crispy chicken with sweet chili sauce served with cabbage on a hot sizzling plate." I've had it a couple of times before, and it never fails to please me - a perfect mixture of sweet, savory, and crunchy. It comes with either a soup or a spring roll appetizer; Andy got the spring roll, and I got the Tom Yum soup, and well, it was yum! Wendy got the Chicken Tamarind, described as "Sizzling crispy chicken with sweet and sour tamarind sauce served with mixed vegetables on a hot Sizzling plate." She also got the spring roll appetizer.

On previous visits, I've also had the Taro Spring Rolls and the Panang Curry, which is rich and just spicy enough for me. This is what I usually get when I'm out on my own for dinner.

Thai Royal seems to be doing well business-wise, as they are now issuing several kinds of coupons, and have a Frequent Customer Card (one free entree after seven orders). Now all they need is a web site.

Support Thai food in Leesburg and visit Thai Royal!

Location: 2 Harrison St. SE, Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: none

Total bill: $25.87 + $7.00 tip = $32.87

UPDATE, 19 April 2009:
Apparently, Thai Royal has very recently changed their name to Thai Pan Leesburg Restaurant, and they have a new web site: http://www.thaipanleesburg.com/ - we'll have to check it out!

UPDATE, 2 May 2009:
Andy and I visited Thai Pan to get some takeout, and happened to talk to one of the employees about the recent changes. He said everything is the same (like the cook) except the name. He went on to explain that they had to change the name because there is a local laundromat of the same name! They also couldn't register the thairoyal.com domain because it's taken (by a restaurant in Germany), and there are lots of other businesses with the same name. So they just decided to change the name.

#21: Moe's Southwest Grill

Date Visited: 17 August 2008

Meal: Dinner

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

Experience: As mentioned on a previous post, on the spectrum of Mexican fast-food in Leesburg, I'd list Taco Bell, California Tortilla, and Moe's, in order of increasing goodness. Yes, Moe's is a nationwide chain too, but it's pretty good. Upon entering the restaurant, you're always greeted with a hearty "Welcome to Moe's!" from the crew.

Moe's is mainly about burritos, but they also have tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, nachos, and salads. All of the menu items have unique names: I had the Homewrecker burrito ("Choice of grilled meat, beans, rice, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole"), Wendy and Alicia had the John Coctostan quesadilla ("Choice of grilled meat, beans and shredded cheese with a side of pico de gallo and sour cream"), and Andy had the Triple Lindy burrito ("Choice of grilled meat, beans, rice, shredded cheese, pico de gallo and guacamole or sour cream"). In each case, the grilled meat choices are fajita steak, chicken, ground beef or tofu - TOFU?!? Nobody I know would call tofu a "meat choice". Everything about Moe's seems to be big - the burritos are enormous, and they make it right in front of you so you can ask for extras or leave things off, just the way you like it.

Anyway, we like Moe's a lot, and go there when we want to get full!

Location: 667 Potomac Station Dr., Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://moes.com/

Total bill: $38.97 + $6.00 tip * = $44.97

* Normally I don't leave a tip at fast-food restaurants, even though they cleverly have a place to add it on the credit card slip. However, Wendy apparently wasn't aware of my policy when she went to pick up our order.

#20: Roy Rogers (King St.)

Date Visited: 16 August 2008

Meal: Breakfast

Diners: 1 - Me

Experience: This is the "other" Roy Rogers restaurant in Leesburg, on King Street. I've already reviewed the first one, which is on Market Street. But I have to make this entry so that I can truly experience and document every restaurant in Leesburg.

There's not much different from the other Roy Rogers; I went there for the same breakfast I always order: the Sourdough Ham, Egg, and Cheese breakfast, upgraded to a large coffee. But this time they surprised me - it turns out you can get large size home fries with the meal, so I got that upgrade too! The people at the other store never make me that offer - hmm...

Here's another weird thing - they gave me the !0% senior discount! What, do I look like an old man?!?

I can't put my finger on it, but there is something different about these two restaurants, even though they belong to the same chain, and probably use all the same ingredients. To me, the food always seems better at the Market Street location; don't ask me why.

The other night we were at a Loudoun County High School Band event, and they served everyone fried chicken from Roy Rogers. It was not very good; Popeyes is still the best in my opinion. However, my recommendation for breakfast at Roy Rogers still stands.

Location: 451 S. King St., Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web site: http://royrogersrestaurants.com/

Total bill: $4.67

#19: California Tortilla

Date Visited: 3 August 2008

Meal: Lunch

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Alicia

Experience: California Tortilla is one of the newest additions to Leesburg. It's a fast-food, Mexican-type chain restaurant. I'd rank them somewhere between Taco Bell and Moe's. For being a fast-food chain, California Tortilla is pretty good.

The specialty burritos are the most distinctive items on the menu, and that's we we go there. On this visit, I had the Thai burrito ("Grilled mesquite chicken, Mexican rice, our spicy Thai peanut sauce, fresh salsa and lettuce"), Wendy had the Blackened Chicken Caesar burrito ("Our Best Seller! Blackened chicken, black beans, Mexican rice, Monterey jack cheese, Caesar dressing, fresh salsa and romaine"), and Alicia had the Classic Chicken burrito ("Choice of chicken, beef or steak (50 cents extra), Mexican rice, black beans, Monterey jack cheese, sour cream, fresh salsa and lettuce"). We all got the combo that includes chips & queso and a drink.

There are a few things that make California Tortilla more fun than your average restaurant. One is that they have the "Burrito Elito Loyalty Program". You accrue one point for each dollar spent, and when you reach 50 points, you get five "Burrito Bucks" to use on your next visit. Another fun aspect is the "Wall of Flame" - they stock over 75 different hot sauces that you can use in the restaurant, or buy a bottle to take home. One final thing is that they play classic rock music, not the sterotypical Mexican tunes.

When the urge for Mexican fast-food hits, California Tortilla is usually our first choice. It's close, cheap, and good.

Location: Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://californiatortilla.com/

Total bill: $26.95

#18: Vintage 50

Date Visited: 18 July 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: We hadn't been to a "nice" restaurant for a while, but Leesburg does have a few, and one of the really nice ones is Vintage 50. This location used to be called Thoroughbreds (yes, with a Loudoun County horsey-theme and a brewery), but it closed in June 2006. We were sorry to see it go because we had been there a couple of times and it was very good. Thankfully, some months later it reopened as Vintage 50, and now it's better than ever!

One look at the menu told us this was going to be a great experience. Everything sounded so good we were afraid to get filled up too much before the really good stuff, so we didn't get an appetizer. At these kinds of restaurants, our rule is to always order different things between us, so that we have more to try by sharing.

For salads, I got the Grilled Watermelon and Crispy Goat Cheese salad, and Wendy got the Vintage Greens salad. Both were good, but there was something about the grilled watermelon in mine that made it especially good. The goat cheese comes in a compact little shape that resembles a small biscuit; it was a warm, yummy contrast to the cool watermelon and greens.

For entrees, I got the "West Texas Wild Boar Sausage and Potato Gnocchi" with "local asparagus, wild mushrooms,black truffles." I'm not sure what wild boar is supposed to taste like, but it was clearly no ordinary sausage. It was served in a soupy sauce that brought everything together very well. The truffles were just barely detectable, not overwhelming. Wendy got the "Asiago Stuffed Baby Tortellini" with "trio of stuffed pastas with roasted peppers and squashes tossed in a Chardonnay-Parmesan cream sauce."

Vintage 50 (and Thoroughbreds before it) has a brewery on the premises, operated by Brew Master Bill Madden. I'm no beer aficionado, but I tried one that was brewed there. I forgot to take notes, so I don't remember which one I tried, but it was excellent. I'm sure there's some kind of psychological factor at work here that makes the beer taste better because you know it was made here, but that's OK, it was still very good and went perfectly with my meal. I also found that there are several sites that post beer ratings, and Vintage 50 seems to do quite well.

For desset, we ordered a sampler of chocolate treats. There were four bite-sized pieces, a perfect end to the meal. I also had a coffee, that comes served in a French press, for the extra special touch.

The only real disappointment was that the menu offered a cooking class with Executive Chef Aaron McCloud, but it had been held three days before! So now I've signed up with their email notification service, to find out about these things earlier.

I heartily recommend Vintage 50. It's a little more pricey than most of the restaurants in Leesburg, but it's worth it and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Location: 50 Catoctin Cir. NE, # 100, Leesburg, VA, 20176

Web site: http://www.vintage50.com/

Total bill: $81.48 + $16.00 tip = $97.48

#17: Popeyes

Date Visited: 13 July 2008

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy

Experience: Sometimes you just want fried chicken. The primary cheap, fast-food fried chicken place in Leesburg is Popeyes. We went there on a Sunday night, and business was very slow.

We got one of the family meal deals that included twelve pieces of chicken (we got half mild and half spicy - for me!), two large sides (we got mashed pototoes and red beans & rice), and six biscuits. When we go to Popeyes, we always get a large side of onion rings too - they're pretty good. When you want good, cheap, fast fried chicken, Popeyes is not so bad.

As has happened before, sometimes the restaurant's web site is more interesting than their food. It turns out that the full name of the restaurant chain is actually Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits. It was started by Al Copeland in 1972 in Arabi, Louisiana. Popeyes is named not after the cartoon sailor, but for the character Popeye Doyle in the movie “The French Connection.” According to the Popeyes wikipedia article, "Copeland would claim facetiously that he was "too poor" to afford an apostrophe."

I found two "official" Popeyes web sites: one appears to be the main corporate one, and the other is just for the Virginia/Maryland/DC locations. You can download desktop images and screen savers that show a variety of Popeyes food, and even download some of their jingles (although I can't imagine why you would want to).

Location: 515 E. Market St., Leesburg, VA, 20175

Web sites: http://www.popeyes.com/ and http://www.popeyeschicken.com/

Total bill: $31.11