#113: Palio Ristorante Italiano

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

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