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Loudoun County The Ashby Inn &
Restaurant If the name Paris brings culinary thoughts to mind, the Ashby Inn at the crossroads of this rural town obliges. Innkeepers John and Roma Sherman have created a restaurant of distinction with an unpretentious atmosphere and friendly, flawless service. About 80 diners are accommodated in four small rooms, ranging from a cozy tavern to a room with high booths and small engraved plaques bearing names of friends and regulars, of which the Ashby seems to have many. A thunderstorm had rendered the handsome, wisteria-covered side courtyard out of commission the night we dined, but the sun porch dressed in white (the Ashby’s favorite “color”) proved as radiant as a bride. Rotating artworks by a Leesburg artist who paints in Provence provide color throughout and sell briskly. The waitress fulfilled a complicated dinner order without taking notes, as did innkeeper John Sherman at breakfast the next day. Great starters on the menu that changes nightly were a chilled carrot puree soup, artistically decorated with citrus crème fraîche, and a caesar salad with grated parmigiano-reggiano and unusual polenta croutons. Chef Nicholas Forlano’s eight main dishes typically range from seared rockfish with garlic-paprika sauce to sautéed duck breast with foie gras sauce or seared filet mignon with thyme jus. We liked the Atlantic tuna sautéed with extra-virgin olive oil and white beans and the crab cakes (an Ashby Inn classic of 100 percent pure lump crabmeat with a bit of tarragon, moist and tasty as could be), accompanied by sides of potato ribbons and fresh spinach. Zesty grapefruit sorbet was a refreshing dessert from a choice that included crème brûlée, strawberry shortcake with biscuits and bittersweet chocolate torte with chocolate ganache and crème anglaise. John has lovingly prepared a select wine list, whose spirit and underlying philosophy as described in the introduction are to be applauded. Though there are plenty of choices for a splurge, we felt quite comfortable ordering one of his recommended specials, a Honig sauvignon blanc for $16.50. The Shermans are a major presence at Sunday brunch (a local institution), cooking omelets and carving ham at the buffet table set up in the sun porch. (540) 592-3900. Entrées, $21 to $30. Dinner,
Wednesday-Saturday 6 to 9. Sunday brunch, noon to 2:30.
This with-it establishment of recent vintage began as a progressive American bistro in the heart of old-town Leesburg, but you should see it now. Sisters Carrie Gustavson Whitmer and Ingrid Gustavson moved from their original café in 1998 into an incredibly ornate 1888 bank building designed by the architect for Washington’s Union Station. The two-story-high interior with arched windows, rich paneling and marble pillars holds about 200 seats for dining in a setting best described as stunningly elegant. It features a fireplace, a circular free-standing staircase that winds up to the piano bar mezzanine, colorful Moulin Rouge posters and a tavern-style bar built around the security vault. The place takes its name from Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a member of the Virginia family for which the town was named. There’s nothing “lightfoot” about the inspired cooking of Ingrid, the chef who trained at the Culinary Institute of America. She categorizes her dinner fare under starters, soups and salads, entrée plates and sides – a perfect setup for grazers. One of us made a satisfying meal out of light offerings. The Lightfoot plate yielded a standout herbed feta cheese dip plus hummus and a tuna and kalamata olive spread, served with herbed pita chips and toasted baguette slices. The salad of café greens was tossed with soybean sprouts and oven-roasted walnuts. A couple of mini shrimp and crab cakes were fired by a Thai red curry sauce. And the oysters rockefeller with applewood-smoked bacon, sambuca and parmesan cheese was nicely counterpointed with a cucumber-orange-ginger salad. Too bad we didn’t have room for the fried green tomatoes topped with jalapeño-cheddar cheese and sautéed shrimp with szechuan chile cream. Entrées range from seared swordfish finished with a pinot noir reduction over coarse mustard spaetzle and sautéed swiss chard to garlic-marinated lamb T-bones with curry-coconut sauce. The five-spiced seared duck breast with a star anise-port reduction arrives on chilled Asian noodle salad with sautéed baby bok choy and wood ear mushrooms. The pasta de la casa, also an innovative mélange, was hearty and tasty: chipotle fettuccine with shrimp, swiss chard, oyster mushrooms, tomatoes and prosciutto tossed with roasted garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and romano cheese. Desserts ranged from mixed berries in an almond tuile to frozen peanut butter mousse torte and mocha ya-ya bittersweet chocolate flourless torte. (703) 771-2233. www.lightfootrestaurant.com. Entrées,
$19 to $26. Lunch daily, 11:30 to 2:30. Dinner nightly, 5:30 to 11,
Sunday 11:30 to 10.
The 1790 Wright House, the second oldest residence in Middleburg, has been the home of many a restaurant. New owners Bryan and Annie Kimmett seem to have found a winning and lasting formula. Bryan, a well-traveled chef, and his wife met when both were at Washington’s L’Enfant Plaza Hotel. Keen gardeners, they moved to the country and when this space became available, he said, “it was a dream come true.” They moved in upstairs and started dramatically refurbishing three downstairs dining areas – even closing for five months at mid-year 2002 for a $1 million renovation. Bryan turned the old bar into a dining area, where an antique pastry case displays the wines. The walls of the former main dining room have been softened in beige and hung with local art. The garden room has been enlarged, enclosed, painted white with gray trim and turned into the main dining room with a bank of windows onto the herb garden. Antiques and family heirlooms are evident here and there amid the new tailored look, which begins at the new dome-shaped entry that looks like a cupola. Outside are a pleasant terrace and Bryan’s gardens, “mostly organic and heirloom stuff.” It turns up in most of his food, which he likes to describe as “comfort food with a twist.” Some twist. It’s some of the most innovative and beguiling of our travels. Consider spring appetizers of pan-fried shad roe with crayfish spoonbread, mozzarella cakes with spring greens and thyme-tomato pesto or – the original comfort food for some – grilled calves’ liver with welsh rarebit and applewood-smoked bacon. We were most impressed with the red grape gazpacho with sour cream and chives and the risotto with a sauté of crab, morels and asparagus. These followed an amusé of tiny grilled vegetables with chive sauce and exceptional molasses and sourdough breads. Main courses ranged from sautéed soft-shell crabs with spicy crayfish beignets and tomato-corn tartar sauce to pan-seared Texas antelope with a corn-cumin-tomato relish. The grilled Alaskan halibut with a fabulous saffron broth and the grilled catfish with okra, leeks, cloves and roasted fennel both excelled. Desserts included chocolate pot au feu, a riesling fruit terrine and raspberry sorbet with mango coulis. Similar innovation pervades the lunch menu, from a smoked salmon BLT on black olive bread to a hot steak salad with coriander, vegetables, chickpeas and cilantro vinaigrette. The lamb steak turns up in a grilled tortilla wrap with cucumber dipping sauce. The burger is grilled antelope on a kaiser bun with sweet potato gaufrettes and savory onion jam. Even your basic hot pastrami and Swiss comes with lovage slaw and hot mustard on grilled rye. As for the name, it refers to a blues song from the 1920s in which people drowned their sorrows in black coffee. “It fit the atmosphere we were trying to create,” Bryan said – an upbeat gathering spot with a sense of community. (540) 687-3632. www.blackcoffeebistro.com. Entrées,
$16 to $26. Lunch, Tuesday-Saturday 11:30 to 2:30. Dinner,
Tuesday-Sunday 6 to 9 or 9:30. Sunday brunch, 11:30 to 2:30.
Popularly dubbed Tuskie’s but far more sophisticated than that sounds, this was a working grain mill until 1985. Then it was moved a couple of blocks to form part of the restored Market Station shopping and business complex, which also includes a freight depot and station master’s house, an 18th-century mill from Pennsylvania and a log cabin from West Virginia. The second-floor restaurant still holds many mill artifacts and equipment. Built into the floor is an old-fashioned scale that used to weigh bags of grain and now is occasionally tested by curious diners. Quilted wall hangings are spotlit on the soaring barnwood walls, and purple lacquered chairs and colorful patterned tablecloths provide plenty of color in the main bar and restaurant. Hanging plants and Victorian street lamp standards make the adjacent garden room, with walls of windows bridging the shopping complex below, a pleasant setting. The menu covers are as artistic as the presentation of the fare described inside. At lunch, we were impressed by the gazpacho filled with crisp vegetables and topped with a bit of salmon and crabmeat, and a Thai chicken salad. Not so impressive was the wonderful sounding asparagus and crab salad marinated in tequila, lime and cilantro – great tasting but a niggardly portion for $9.95. Only a second helping of crispy rolls with herb butter and an order of frozen lemon mousse with strawberries and golden raspberries separated one of us from starvation. The dinner menu incorporates many of the lunchtime appetizers and entrées, some of which are available as small plates. Start with chicken and shrimp spring rolls, baked oysters with spinach and pernod cream or the house pâté sampler yielding country terrine, foie gras roulade and duck rilette. Expect entrées like sesame-roasted Atlantic salmon with hot chile oil and sweet ginger relish, pan-roasted Maine halibut with asparagus sauce and warm lobster rémoulade, grilled Iowa pork loin with bourbon-molasses glaze, and dijon-crusted rack of lamb with garlic-rosemary sauce. Tuskie’s wine selections earned the Wine Spectator award of excellence. Interesting imported beers are on tap, available by the pint or glass. (703) 771-9300. www.tuskies.com. Entrées, $19 to
$29. Lunch and dinner daily, 11:30 to 9:30 or 10, Sunday 11:30 to 9.
A bit of France in Loudoun County is the billing for this distinctive newcomer. Thirty years after they left Paris, Madeleine and Pierre Sonitsky settled here in 1998 following long restaurant runs in the Washington area at Sans Souci and at Pierre and Madeleine’s in suburban Vienna, Va. Leesburg reminded them of the South of France, so they renovated and expanded a 200-year-old building and opened an old-world, Parisian-style restaurant. They seat up to 180 people in two main-floor dining rooms, two upstairs rooms, a romantic trellised side terrace and an upstairs deck. The main dining room is modern and elegant in mellow pink, with sleek black pink-cushioned chairs, subdued lighting and French plates on shelves in a recessed ceiling. Some of the artworks were painted by Madeleine’s father, a French artist. Although both the owners are chefs, they assigned kitchen duties here to chef Gaetan Biesuz from Lyon, France. Their long-time service staff is European as well. The understated menu is classic French, from the opening duck foie gras and escargots provençal to desserts like crème brûlée with fresh vanilla and financier au chocolat. Typical of main courses are roasted salmon fillet with fava beans, fillet of sea bass with white beans and bacon, oven-roasted duck magret with orange sauce, filet mignon with mushroom and truffle cream sauce and rack of lamb with flageolets. The short menu is supplemented by daily specials. (703) 777-5142. www.eiffeltowercafe.com. Entrées,
$19.75 to $28.50. Lunch, Tuesday-Saturday 11:30 to 2:30. Dinner,
Tuesday-Sunday 6 to 9 or 10. Sunday brunch, 11:30 to 2:30. Back Street Cafe Some locals rate this small Italian-American restaurant and catering establishment of more than a dozen years’ vintage their favorite place to eat in town. Certainly its front patio is one of the more jaunty settings, and its salad bar is one of the better we’ve seen. It’s so good, in fact, that one of us decided to go with the consensus and made a fine lunch of the all-you-can-eat salad bar for $4.95. He got two hefty platefuls of mesclun, spinach and radicchio with a variety of accompaniments, plus such extras as tuna, curried chicken, three-bean and pasta salads. The other was satisfied with a cup of chilled cucumber soup and a toasted BLT with cheese. Proprietress Tutti Perricone touts creative "pastas" on the dinner menu, ranging from chèvre capellini and spinach pie to seafood cioppino over linguini and roasted pork chops topped with fontina cheese and served over polenta. The night’s specials could be chicken al forno, grilled swordfish with a salsa of sweet bell pepper, avocado, tomato and mango, and strip steak with wild mushroom sauce. Steamed mussels, pizzas and crostini with crab and artichoke are among appetizers and light fare. Desserts range from chocolate mud cake to crème brûlée. All this is served in a simple setting of close-together tables covered with green cloths or print mats, bentwood chairs and lots of ivy painted on the walls. (540) 687-3122. Entrées, $12.95 to $17.95.
Lunch, Monday-Saturday noon to 3. Dinner, 5 to 9 or 10. Closed Sunday. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places / Mid-Atlantic, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2003. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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