Meal: Dinner
Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, and Andy
Dear Readers: Sorry; lately I’ve been averaging less than one restaurant review per month. I’ll try to get out and eat more, or is it just eat out more? Anyway...
Experience: Tuscarora Mill is one of the most enduring and best-loved restaurants in Leesburg. It’s arguably our top-end restaurant with consistently high quality, service, and atmosphere. It’s high class, while managing not to be too stuffy. In their own words, “Tuscarora Mill is an independent, locally owned restaurant, casual cafe, bar, and bakery in Leesburg Virginia. In addition to our fine food and spirits, we offer unique, individually styled banquets, catering, wedding receptions, and special events.” Tuskie’s (as it’s known to locals) owns three other establishments: Fire Works Pizza (Leesburg - reviewed 25 May 2008, and another location in Arlington, VA), South Street Under (Leesburg - reviewed 3 July 2009), and Magnolia’s at the Mill (Purcellville, VA). Tuskie’s is also well-known for hosting regular special dinners (wine pairings, beer pairings, game night, etc.), so we avoided those for this review. We arrived on a “normal” Sunday evening (although it was my birthday!) and they weren’t very busy.
At Tuskie’s you usually get some kind of special appetizer from the Chef; this night it was tiny cups of broccoli soup with bacon. Dee-lish.
We started out by sharing a regular appetizer: Truffled White Bean Hummus. It comes with thin Parmesean twist bread sticks that were very light and flaky. The hummus itself was very smooth with a little kick.
I started out with a glass of Bluemont Vineyard Merlot 2009 and a salad called “The Other Wedge Salad” - it was bacon-y. Wendy had the House Salad, which she said was cold and crisp (the way it should be). Andy (Mr. hard-to-please) had a Caesar Salad, which he evaluated as “average.”
For my main dish, I selected the Game Plate, which changes content often. This night it featured Texas antelope medallions and grilled quail. This was not your average beef or chicken taste, clearly different, and delicious. It also came with puréed sweet potato and brussels sprouts sautéed with mushrooms, along with a cherry sauce reduction. If you thought there was no way to make brussels sprouts taste good, this dish could convince you otherwise.
Wendy got another of the specials: Corvina White fish. It had a very nice crust, not breaded. It came with an artichoke & olive polenta, which tasted cheddar-cheesy, and green beans in vinaigrette. She commented “it even smells wonderful!”
Andy, carnivore that he is, ordered the New York Strip steak. I’m sure he really liked it, because it was gone in about two minutes.
Being my birthday and all, we kind of went crazy with the desserts. I got the key lime tart and a coffee, Wendy got the “All Things Chocolate”, Andy got the warm brownie sundae, and as if that wasn’t enough, we shared an order of light and fluffy cheesecake-filled beignets. Wow!
Tuskie’s is consistently excellent and we can highly recommend it. I think you’ll get the most enjoyment and value if you go there to celebrate a special occasion, and be sure to try something adventurous!
Location: 203 Harrison St., Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-771-9300
Web site: http://tuskies.com/
Total bill: $187.71 + $40.00 tip = $227.71
