#93: Lightfoot Cafe

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

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

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