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Tue, Jan. 8th, 2008, 05:39 pm
Leesburg Restaurants


In the past, I've complained rather bitterly about the lack of good places to eat in Leesburg. Recently, we've found a few rather good places to eat. Also, [info]xydexx has frequently commented that I should do restaurant reviews. While I'm not quite up for that, I did want to categorize the places to eat around here via my personal tastes, with a little commentary. YMMV

Best places to eat:
Anita's (mexican), Blue Ridge Grill (American), Bob Evans, California Tortilla, Giovanni's (italian), Kobe Japanese Steakhouse, La Chozita Grill (latino rotisserie), RJ's Deli, Thai Royal


* Anita's: Surprisingly good mexican-ish fare, and really good prices. Tons of food! Regional chain, doing pretty well for itself.

* Blue Ridge Grill: Best prime rib I've yet had. Very popular locally. Kinda pricey.

* Bob Evans: Surprised? While not particularly the healthiest eatery, their menu is extensive and filled with down-to-earth homestyle fare for cheap. Very yummy!

* California Tortilla: New-ish regional chain. I hated burritos, and then I went here. New favorite local restaurant. Barely exceeds fast-food environment, but so very tasty and affordable. Wall of hot sauces!

* Giovanni's: Dirt-cheap italian. Easy, basic, somewhat oily, but you can get lunch portions anytime.

* Kobe Japanese Steakhouse: A decent teppanyaki place with good but not the best food of its type, and not the most skilled or interested chefs. But it's the best teppanyaki place in town, so...

* La Chozita Grill: Best rotisserie chicken ever. If you don't know where it is, you won't find it. Tiny place, but they have Fanta Strawberry soda! SO MUCH FOOD.

* RJ's Deli: Been in the area for 20 years. Very nice people, big selection, great prices, pretty tasty. Best sandwich shop in town.

* Thai Pan: Second best Thai ever. Very salty, but also very flavorful. Multiple levels of flavor! It's in a gas station, so you'll never find it unless you know where it is.


OK places to eat:
Bacchus Cafe (italian), China King, Jasmine (chinese), JW Bistro (asian), Mamma Lucci's, Mandarin Express, Moe's Southwest Grill (tex-mex), Nido's Italian Restaurant, Panera, PeiWei (asian), Red Hot & Blue, Xuan Saigon (vietnamese), Zefirelli's (italian)

Places to avoid:
Del Rio (mexican), Fireworks (pizza), Georgetown Cafe, G G Cafe, Golden China, Hamburg Doener, IHOP, La Villa Roma, Lightfoot Restaurant (upscale American), Red Apple Buffet (chinese-ish), Ruby Tuesdays, Shenanigans, Shooter's (bar), Sports Bar (was Champions, american), Taipei Cafe (chinese), Tenderjacks (chicken & burgers), TGI Friday's


* Del Rio: Honestly, I haven't been. But it's very poorly rated by everyone I know who's been there, as well as on TripAdvisor.com.

* Fireworks: Truthfully, if you like exotic pizza, it's probably fine. There was very little I would eat and what I had wasn't great.

* Georgetown Cafe: Uncomfortable seating, small menu. We went, ordered drinks, and left because there was nothing we wanted to order.

* G G Cafe: Truly sub-par italian in an upscale restaurant.

* Golden China: Listless, lackluster food. Microscopic buffet. Half-assed mongolian grill. Yech.

* Hamburg Doener: This used to be the Mighty Midget Kitchen and was probably pretty good. This new place serves food that tastes like paint.

* IHOP: They gave us napkins with blood on them. Twice. Enough said.

* La Villa Roma: Another sub-par italian place, but at least this was more of a family restaurant.

* Lightfoot Restaurant: Completely uninspirational and unexciting fare in one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Totally not worth it.

* Red Apple Buffet: Disgusting buffet, ew! Looks like it was set up with a shovel. Dirty. Repeatedly made us ill. Replaced a Ponderosa that I dearly want back.

* Ruby Tuesdays: Uninteresting food, poor service repeatedly.

* Shenanigan's: The most non-Irish Irish restaurant I've ever been to. Uninspiring food, service, and atmosphere. It is what it is: a bar that happens to have some tables.

* Sports Bar: The first time we went, it was delicious! We played weekly poker there and everything. Ever since, it went downhill. Eventually, I got a steak that was blue and a DJ blared to an empty dancefloor after they changed ownership. No fun anymore.

* TaiPei Cafe: Hole in the wall takeout. Food smells like a petting zoo. Ugh.

* Tenderjacks: New restaurant trying to start up a chain. Worst chicken ever. Worst dipping sauces ever. Tiny menu. Overpriced. Greasy. Stay away.

* TGI Friday's: With so many other options, why would you go here?

* Wish-Bone Rotisserie: A pale shadow of La Chozita Grill. Chicken was bloody and my salad had a rock in it. Styrofoam plates and plasticware. Eech.


Uncategorized Fast Food & Pizza Delivery (isn't worth categorizing):
Arby's, Blimpie (gas station), Burger King, Domino's Pizza, Ledo Pizza, McDonald's, Papa John's Pizza, Pizza Hut, Popeye's, Quiznos, Roy Rogers, Subway, Taco Bell, Vocelli Pizza, Wendy's

Not in Leesburg, but worth leaving to get to:
Burapa Thai (Ashburn/Lansdowne, VA), Not Your Average Joe's (american - Lansdowne, VA), Otani (teppanyaki - Ashburn, VA), Parkway Deli & Restaurant (jewish - Silver Spring, MD), Sweetwater Tavern (american - Sterling, VA)


* Burapa Thai: The best Thai I've ever had. Incredibly savory food, lots of stuff I'll eat. Great unsweetened lemonade! And they introduced me to coconut-lime starlight mints, mmm! Lansdowne/Leesburg location has a truncated menu from their better Ashburn spot, missing some of the better items.

* Not Your Average Joe's: A surprise hit! Really tasty american food in a very pleasant upscale restaurant that doesn't break the wallet. Concise, non-greasy food with good presentation. Cherry lime rickey sodas, yum!

* Otani: While I know there are better teppanyaki places in the United States, this is the best one we know. It's pretty good.

* Parkway Deli & Restaurant: Best Jewish restaurant ever. Enormous menu. Dirt cheap. Enormous bowl of motzo ball soup with everything in it! Pickle bar! If it wasn't in Silver Spring, I'd eat there every week. Alas, we only get to eat there once a year if we're lucky.

* Sweetwater Tavern: Great food! Somewhat pricey, but the drunken ribeye is the best steak I've ever had. Love the salad, love the bread, love the sides, love the root beer, etc. Cheesecake tastes like frosting.


Haven't tried yet:
Andy's Pizza & Subs, Bella Luna, Deli Express, Deli South, Downtown Saloon, Eiffel Tower Cafe, Green Tree Restaurant, King's Court/Balls Bluff Tavern, Leesburg Restaurant, Mansion House, Puccio's NY Deli, South Street Under, Tuck In Cafe, Tuscarora Mill, Vintage 50, Zpizza
Current Mood: hungry hungry
 Leave a comment | 15 comments

Tue, Jan. 8th, 2008 10:54 pm (UTC)
[info]blueingenue

There's a little Mediterranean place in a strip mall on Ashburn Rd. just north of where W&OD crosses it. Only had the gyros but they were pretty good.
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Tue, Jan. 8th, 2008 11:01 pm (UTC)
[info]rigelkitty

I'm not a big fan of Mediterranean. We had a McDonald's-style fast food Greek place in Leesburg until recently called Knossos. It was ok, but it's kinda hard to screw up meat wrapped in bread with salad greens. I usually just stick to a kabob and rice. Knossos closed and is now Leesburg's 4,528th bank.

We did recently try Moby Dick's at Junction Plaza in Ashburn. It's palatable, but not a place I'd go out of my way to get to every other weekend.

Edited at 2008-01-08 11:01 pm (UTC)
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 01:17 am (UTC)
[info]mikosquirrel

I do recommend seeking out good full-on mediterranean. I prefer a pita kebab to a burger for fast food, but a proper sit-down Greek or Turkish meal is definitely worth hunting down. :9
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 02:14 pm (UTC)
[info]murakozi

There used to be a small but very good kebab place down in Chantilly, a couple doors down from the pizza/Italian place I mentioned below. A coworker and I went there a couple times a month for a long time. They changed owners and the food went downhill. It turned into something else, and then turned into the chicken place it is now. I've heard that the original owners opened a new kebab place somewhere in the area, but I don't know where.

I miss that place. Good kebabs and the bread was wonderful, plus it was next to a gaming store with friendly folk, which gave me an excuse to spend even more money during lunch.
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 12:35 am (UTC)
[info]kmusser

Some we've been to not on you're list:

Leesburg Restaurant - this has become our default choice whenever we end up in downtown Leesburg, not much on atmosphere, but has decent food for cheap.

Tuscarora Mill - very good, but also very expensive, while we enjoyed our meal there it probably wasn't worth what they charged. Still might be good if you have out of town guests that you want to impress.

King's Court Tavern - bar in downtown that had surprisingly good food.

Mom's Apple Pie - ok, it's not a restaurant, but deserves special mention, this tiny bakery has amazing stuff.

There also was a hole-in-the-wall Greek place we liked that I can't find the name of, it may have closed - was in the same strip with Knossos, but the other side of the road.

For places to drive out to I'd recommend checking out Frederick, it would be about the same distance from you as Sterling and we've consistently been impressed by restaurants there, especially in downtown - first on the list should be Isabella's.
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 01:14 am (UTC)
[info]rigelkitty

We've been trying to go to the Leesburg Restaurant for years, but they hold variable and short hours, so they're closed every time we try.

Tuscarora Mill is someplace we keep saying we should try, but never have. We'll get there eventually.

We've been afraid to go to King's Court Tavern and Downtown Saloon because they seemed to be kinda scary bars. We'll have to screw up our courage one of these days.

Yep, we've gotten pie from Mom's on more than one occasion. :) I don't recall any greek places in town aside from Knossos, which closed a few months ago, replaced by yet another bank.

Tell me more about what's good in Frederick! What kind of place is Isabella's?
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 03:13 pm (UTC)
[info]kmusser

The Tavern I would go when there's not likely to be a bar crowd, we went for lunch which was great, there was hardly anyone there.

For Frederick:
Downtown on Market St.:
Isabella's is a Spanish/tapas place, a bit too pricey to eat there regularly, but the food is amazing - mmmmm, fried goat cheese fritters.

Brewer's Alley is a brew pub and restaurant with very good pizza on the same strip, while the food is good, service there can be uneven

Bombay Grill is a good and relatively cheap Indian place.

Acacia is an excellent, though pricey "Asian fusion" restaurant, menu is kind of similar to that of Pacific Cafe.

Cacique is a decent Mexican place (more expensive without really being any better than Anita's though)

Firestone's and the Tasting Room are also in that same strip and have gotten very good reviews though we haven't tried them yet.

Jennifer's, just west of downtown, on Patrick St., looks like a bar but is a full restaurant - good and cheap, eclectic menu, not the bar grub you'd expect - owned by the former mayor of Frederick - eating there will help her campaign to rid us of Roscoe Bartlett :-)

El Paso is good and cheap Mexican place on route 85 between I-70 and 270.

Barley & Hops, a brewpub on 355, probably our only real disappointment, go to Brewer's Alley instead.

Monocacy Crossing, a hidden treasure, a ways south of town on 355, in the middle of nowhere, this place is amazing, probably our 2nd favorite after Isabella's. Eclectic, ever changing menu. A little pricey, but totally worth it (and in comparison not as expensive as Tuscarora Mill and I thought much better food).
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 04:46 pm (UTC)
[info]rigelkitty

Great, thanks for the tips!
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Fri, Jan. 11th, 2008 08:14 pm (UTC)
[info]romamink

El Paso is good and cheap Mexican place on route 85 between I-70 and 270.

El Paso is a town in west texas along the I-10! I should know. ;) I'm going to have to try out this mexican place and talk to those people. I'd like to see what authentic traditional dishes they have. I might become a regular customer if it turns out to be awesome. :D
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 01:47 am (UTC)
[info]applejinx

Oh my God. I didn't know they had to slaughter pancakes.

:D
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 02:09 pm (UTC)
[info]murakozi

A couple other non-Leesburg places you might want to try sometime if you're down in Fairfax County:

Merone's Buon Appetito: Their biggest draw is some truly good carry-out pizza, though their other Italian food is danged good too. Their main location is down in the collection of strip malls at 50 and Centerville Road, but they have another in an out of the way spot over in Dulles. The latter is primarily pizza and I've noticed it kinda varies a bit from that one.

Chutzpah: Over in Fairfax, not far from the mall. More a Jewish deli than a true Kosher one. They make one heck of a good Reuben. A former coworker and his wife like to go there for breakfast on Saturdays. I've only had lunch there, myself. I've yet to try their matzoh ball soup, but I have pretty high standards for that. (I miss the old Hoffberg's in Rockville)
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 04:42 pm (UTC)
[info]rigelkitty

My new job will be in the area of Buon Appetito, so I may end up there in the not-too-distant future.

[info]xydexx and I have been making occasional excuses to go to Chutzpah, but have not yet gotten around to it.
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 06:45 pm (UTC)
[info]murakozi

I'm guessing you'll be close to the Chantilly Buon Appetito, which is the better of the two. Be warned, on weekdays it tends to get crowded on around noon.



Edited at 2008-01-09 07:49 pm (UTC)
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Wed, Jan. 9th, 2008 07:02 pm (UTC)
[info]xydexx

I've been to Mighty Midget and South Street Under while biking.

Mighty Midget is decent BBQ stuff (ribs, sausages, etc.)—only outdoor tables; they may be turning into German cuisine soon, which is fine by me.

South Street Under is a decent deli with sammiches and typical deli fare, located in Market Station.
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Fri, Jul. 17th, 2009 01:08 pm (UTC)
(Anonymous): Love Del Rio Encaladas

I nothing else Del Rio's Encaladas de La Casa is worth the trip!
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