Blue Ridge Leader “Picks” for Area Restaurants Open During the Holiday

Do you ever secretly wish for a break from the holiday cooking experience? While many of us look forward to the warm holiday tradition of family mealtimes and merriment, there are a few closet hosts and hostesses who would give their right eye for a chance to relax and leave the preparation (and clean up!) to someone else.

Well, put away your aprons and dust off your dress shoes! The Blue Ridge Leader has compiled a list of cozy restaurants that will put a smile on your face and create a holiday memory without the holiday headache.

A few restaurants in our area offer full holiday meals with all the trimmings to go, but are not open for dining in. We have not included those establishments on our list, however. … Continue Reading

Hunt Country Gourmet’s RESTAURANT REVIEW – Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm

By George E. Humphries

A major jewel in a most un-chain of 13 and counting area restaurants is Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm in Broadlands, VA, a short distance south of the Dulles Greenway’s Exit 5.

As a long-term off-and-on DC area resident (at the whim of the Navy Department), we have enjoyed the wide-spread hospitality of some of the elements of Clyde’s Restaurant Group for several decades they have grown and spread in the DC area. But it is not in any sense a cookie cutter chain. Clyde’s contains historic and varied venues such as the 1789 Restaurant, the Old Ebbitt Grill, the Tomato Palace, the Tombs, and the Tower Oaks Lodge. Willow Creek is solidly representative of the quality, variety, and reliability of all we have sampled. … Continue Reading

Pinkberry to open Leesburg store

Pinkberry, the California tart frozen yogurt brand that started the national craze, will open its first Loudoun County and fourth Washington DC metro location in Leesburg on August 26 at 1606 Village Market Blvd. at The Villages of Leesburg. On August 25 free Pinkberry will be offered from 6 until 10 p.m. “We are thrilled to open in Leesburg. The thriving Loudoun County is a perfect fit for us,” says Pinkberry CEO Ron Graves.

… Continue Reading

Hunt Country Gourmet’s RESTAURANT REVIEW – Mosby’s Grille

By George Humphries

Restaurants are like Douglas MacArthur’s old soldiers – they never die, they just change owners, chefs, menus, but on the other hand, they never fade away. They just begin new lives with new owners, new managers, new chefs, or new menus.

So it is with the well-located and appointed restaurant in Purcellville now called Mosby’s Grille. It’s an appropriate name because John Singleton Mosby himself had more than one chapter to his life. After the war in which he starred as a Confederate partisan, he went to work in President U.S. Grant’s administration, despite the fact that technically, the Mosby Rangers never formally surrendered when Robert E. Lee capitulated. Mosby just disbanded his command and its members dissolved individually into the population. … Continue Reading

Innovative Hunger Prevention Program Focuses on Cooking Skills

Washington, DC’s “Cooking Matters” Partners With Capital Area Food Bank

Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters™ is an innovative hunger prevention program that empowers families at risk of hunger with skills, knowledge and confidence to make healthy, delicious and affordable meals. The national Cooking Matters program (formerly Operation Frontline) began in 1993 and has programs in 27 cities across the U.S. The Capital Area Food Bank started offering the program also in 1993 and in FY 2011 are offering 43 six-week courses.

Record numbers of Americans are at risk of hunger, including more than 17 million children – nearly one in four. But, healthy and affordable meals are within reach for those who know how to cook and shop on a budget.

Eighty five percent of Cooking Matters participants graduate, taking with them improved nutrition practices, eating habits, and food budgeting skills. … Continue Reading

Hunt Country Gourmet’s RESTAURANT REVIEW – Not Your Average Joe’s

By George Humphries

“Not Your Average Joe’s” got its name from the owner’s attempt to set it apart at the earliest possible instant. The food philosophy, according to general manager Erik Larson, is “American food with a twist.” All the basics are represented – seafood, steaks, pastas, chicken, salads, burgers and sandwiches – each with something unique.

The first thing you will notice at Not Your Average Joe’s is the bread – warm, crusty, herbed, freshly-baked – bread as it should be. Served with a saucer of olive oil, cheese, and herbs for dipping, it’s hard to restrain yourself from just filling up and then asking for the check.

There is a lot more to enjoy at Not Your Average Joe’s. Joe’s is in the Lansdowne Town Center off Belmont Ridge Road between Route 7 and Riverside Parkway. It’s a restaurant with reasonable prices that embraces families while still offering a sophisticated enough menu and wine selection to attract singles and both younger and older couples.

atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, a place you can drop in on in casual clothes or you can make an occasion of it. Birthdays are celebrated here with benefits – check the website at www.nyaj.com.

A Massachusetts guy named Steve Silverstein decided that if he wanted a place in the suburbs to get good food at a reasonable price and something a little unique, he would have to create it himself. He planted the first NYAJ in the Boston area in 1994. Today there are 14 Massachusetts locations and one in Lansdowne/Leesburg.

The menu is extensive and creative. There are 13 appetizers, plus variations, and pizzas which can be ordered as appetizer or main dish. There are seven items under soup and side salads, and salads can be augmented with optional shrimp, salmon, or sirloin tips.

Joe’s Creations and Joe’s Favorites total up to 14 different dishes, including Haddock crusted with falafel, Vietnamese salmon, rosemary-skewered scallops, sirloin tips,

A pork tenderloin lived up to its descriptive name and was crusted with spices, glazed with a mango mojo sauce, and placed on a bed of sweet potato hash full of chopped mangoes and onions.

A dish of balsamic-glazed salmon was cooked to my wife’s order and served with a rice pilaf and asparagus that was grilled without being overdone or too au point.

There are 10 entrée salads as well as nine burgers and sandwiches. The almond crusted goat cheese salad had a generous serving of warmed goat cheese served over organic greens dotted with raspberries, caramelized pecans, and raspberry vinaigrette. The tomato basil soup was seasoned and salted to an appropriate level without being overpowering.

There are at least six chicken dishes, including cranberry-teriyaki, farfalle with fresh mozzarella, piccata with fettuccine, mustard-crusted, Mediterranean, and even a chicken enchilada. They also recommend the grilled black Angus sirloin meatloaf – not your average meatloaf, with chipotle peppers, mozzarella, corn and red peppers.

The Kid’s menu has nine choices, including the always favorite burger, chicken tenders, or mac and cheese, but some also venturing further into more adult cuisine. Five desserts, including special inventions of the chef, round out the meal along with multiple drink choices from the ordinary to “mocktails,” smoothies, and “frozen comforts,” as well as wine at very reasonable prices.

Joe’s is a chain but doesn’t act like it. Attention by the staff is really good, not only do waiters frequently check to see if all is well, but the manager visits each table.

We’ve enjoyed several really good meals at Not Your Average Joe’s. The ambience is nice, the service good, the menu extensive and innovative, and the food excellent.

The Blue Ridge Grill at Brambleton is half of the Blue Ridge Grill family, the other located in Leesburg in the southwest corner of Route 15 and Edwards Ferry Road and tucked in behind the McDonalds, Sheetz, and The Tire Center. The Brambleton restaurant, opened two years ago, also is planted deep in a busy retail center – but it’s worth the effort of finding it.

The Brambleton Plaza, in case you are not a near neighbor of the massive development, is located off Northstar Boulevard where it intersects with Ryan Road. The restaurant sign is located high on the building to the right of the Regal Fox Cinema. While there is limited on-street parking, there is a large parking garage that is easily accessed behind the shops and cinema.

The restaurant faces the fountain in front of the theater and has outdoor seating that will be very inviting in good weather. Inside the spacious restaurant are comfortable booths and tables as well as a bar the length of the high-ceilinged dining room. It is a pleasant and well-arranged space, and features brilliant large photographs of steeplechase racing, kayaking, and other scenes of Loudoun County country life.

And the food is the best part of this attractive and inviting place.

The lunch menu consists of a surprisingly long list of tempting offerings in groups labeled Appetizers (8 different offerings $4.50 to $9.50); Entrée Salads (6 at $8.50 to $14.50, three of which were available in smaller portions with an entrée); Seafood and Pasta (5 from $12 to $17); Chicken (3, $10 and $11); Sandwiches (8 $7.25 to $13.75); Burgers (3 all at $8.25); and Steaks and Ribs (5, $15 to $18). In addition, there are eight sides ($3 and $4) and three dessert choices ($6 and $7). The dinner menu is slightly expanded with entrée prices just a little higher.

We started a recent lunch with the soup of the day – a deliciously-flavored Chicken Mushroom Soup that turned out to be almost a stew – hearty and satisfying enough to be a main course. In addition to the soup of the day, the Grill offers a “Homemade” Lobster Bisque, both at only $4.50.

The sliced Prime Rib sandwich ($13.75) was plentiful and tender and served on a French baguette with au jus for dipping. It also had a layer of Monterey jack cheese, and was served with some of the best French fries we’ve had anywhere – thinly cut and subtly seasoned with BRG’s special blend.

My wife chose to combine an appetizer and a small salad for a meal, which turned out to be a good choice. The Asian Chili Shrimp consisted of some 8-10 fried shrimp ringing a mound of Asian peanut slaw topped with tempura-style fried green beans and chopped peanuts.

The Mixed Greens Salad was adorned with chopped tomatoes and mangoes and tossed in a classic vinaigrette. Excellent. The Grill offers a small version of this at $4.50, as well as small versions of its Caesar Salad and its Blue Ridge House Salad (romaine, tomato, corn, cucumber, and croutons tossed in a ranch dressing).

At another lunch, we chose the Barbecue Ribs ($17.75), which turned out to be an entire rack that almost hung over the already large serving plate. They were juicy and the sauce was tasty without being too sweet. They were served with fries and a side of Blazin’ Saddle Beans, a BRG recipe. We highly recommend the dish.

The Prime Rib dinner was all it should be, tender and flavorfully rubbed with some BRG special blend of seasoning. Prime Ribs go for $15 at lunch, and are available at larger sizes at dinner for $19 and $24. The Grill also offers several steaks and chicken dishes.

The wait staff is well trained and refreshingly, they pitch in to help one another. When a glass of ice tea starts to reach bottom, another magically appears handed by a different waiter even when our waitress was not immediately available.

Blue Ridge Grill Manager Kevin Weitz tells us that the restaurant blends all its seasonings and sauces onsite with its own recipes. He also is particularly proud of a dessert that he created –Dulce de Leche Chocolate Cake – a thick dark chocolate cake baked with a dulce de leche center and served with vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream, then drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauces (like it needed it!) Other desserts are a Catoctin Mountain Apple Walnut Cobbler and Banana Pudding.

The Grill serves wine, beer, and a full range of alcoholic drinks.

George Humphries is a retired Navy aviator who began cooking at the age of 10 and has managed several large restaurants. He has lived in Loudoun Country since 1984.

Hunt Country Gourmet’s Restaurant Review

Julien’s, Middleburg
By George Humphries

Julien’s is a storefront restaurant in the first block of West Washington Street in the center of Middleburg, VA. It is gastronomically worthy of its prominence in the epicenter of Loudoun’s most sophisticated town.

Although neither its façade nor décor hints that it is a “French” restaurant, the menu posted in the window clearly reflects that appellation. While residing for almost two years in the center of France near Orleans, I took numerous trips to Lyons, Paris, Bordeaux, Chantilly, and many of their bucolic environs in the participation of “la chasse a courre” (hunting stag, roebuck, and wild boar on horseback behind a pack of hounds) in the country’s many magnificent big national forests. After all that, and after returning to France several times to hunt, I can say I never had anything but excellent meals. That goes not only for Michelin-starred restaurants, but for tiny small town cafés, truck stops and little restaurants in country crossroads, many kilos from anywhere of note.

It seems very difficult to get a bad meal in a public eatery in France. At least, I never did.

Julien’s follows that pattern well with a menu that contains 68 items, from casual dining to some more elaborate French dishes.

Categories in Julien’s daily menu include four salads ($4.95 to $16.95). These range from the house salad or a Caesar to a large Nicoise, served with tuna or steak. Seven appetizers ($5.25 -$7.95) include French onion soup, a soup du jour, and smoked salmon. Sandwiches, of which there are 20 listed, include everything from a Reuben to hamburgers, a veggie burger, and a buffalo burger, all served with French fries. There even is a pizza or two.

There are six egg dishes (8.95 – $10.95) including various omelets, also served with fries. Six pasta dishes ($8.95 – $14.95) include Alfredo, tomato sauce, and even Cajun chicken.

Among the array of 10 entrees ($12.95 – $16.95) are roasted chicken, a paillard de boeuf, salmon, and usually another fish dish. Entrees are served with potatoes and the vegetable of the day.

Completing the choices are some 10 desserts ($4.95 – $6.25) featuring crème brulee, chocolate mousse, fruits with Sabayon, bread pudding and other temptations.

In addition to all this are the often very creative daily specials.

An extensive wine menu provides numerous offerings by the glass or bottle, which reflect the choices in Julien’s wine shop which is adjacent to the restaurant.

The menu, in short, is impressive. My companion and I sampled the offerings in three luncheon visits. Here are some impressions:

The restaurant’s menu could be found in any number of Parisien cafés with its offerings of casual dining items as well as Gallic-inspired entrees. Café staples like Croque Monsieur and Madame, or a hearty onion soup, are joined by creative specials such as a creamy carrot soup flavored with thyme and other undisclosed herbs.

The French onion soup lived up to its historical reputation with copious amounts of onions in a tasty broth covered with a thick layer of bread and cheese browned under a broiler.

The house salad is simple, no onions, pecans, or other adornments, but the house vinaigrette was outstanding. A salade Nicoise featured a huge portion of flaked tuna on a bed of greens, asparagus, and green beans, also dressed with the tasty vinaigrette. Ringed with quartered hard-boiled eggs and potatoes, it was a meal that could easily feed two or three persons. The restaurant offers soup/salad or soup/sandwich combinations.

A house special fish, whose name we had never heard, turned out to be a tender white fillet served on a bed of creamed spinach. It was delicious. “Black and blue” chicken breast proved to be a successful combination of blackened meat coated with blue cheese and served in a Kaiser roll. The filet mignon we ordered one day was beautifully tender and cooked exactly to our order of very rare.

A pleasant surprise one day was a licorice-root mousse that tastes not at all like one might expect, but is a subtle mixture of flavors ranging from butterscotch to vanilla and beyond.The streets of Paris are lined with small cafés, unpretentious in décor, but in the French tradition, offering good café food and a selection of fine wines. Middleburg’s Julien’s is reminiscent of those establishments both in appearance and menu.

George Humphries is a retired Navy aviator who began cooking at the age of 10 and has managed several large restaurants. He has lived in Loudoun Country since 1984.

Class to Highlight One of the World’s Most Ancient and Healthful “Kitchen Arts”

Easter and Passover Lamb, Chutneys and More on the Menu
By Andrea Gaines

Approximately 8,000 years ago, some very smart person figured out how to add certain things to fully ripened food to preserve its shelf life. The idea was to try and make the food available for eating later, and, as time went on, to create foods and beverages with a very distinct and pleasing taste. Known to us lay men and women as something akin to “pickling” this technique is actually called “fermentation,” a process whereby various kinds of foods and beverages are preserved or created by adding acids or sea salt to preserve and flavor them. … Continue Reading

Oatlands After Five Presents Summer Garden Wine Tasting

Oatlands is a 360 acre self-supporting National Trust Historic Site. The site features a stunning landscape with magnificent gardens, 1804 mansion and the second oldest greenhouse in the nation. Oatlands’ summer garden wine tasting is a unique wine pairing experience that takes place in the gardens at Oatlands. The summer garden wine tasting, which will be held July 18 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., is part of the new evening event series, “Oatlands After Five,” that gives patrons access to Oatlands on select evenings. Award-winning sommelier Mary Watson-DeLauder will lead groups of 20 on a walk through Oatlans’ herb garden. She will describe how the flavors in each herb can impact the flavors of the wines offered for tasting. In addition, hors’doeuvres will be served and additional wine will be sold by the glass by Corcoran Vineyards under a tent on the mansion lawn.

Our Trip to Market Salamander

Chef Todd guided us through a delightful sidewalk cafe market experience- all under the roof of a carefully crafted design- including a perpetual blue sky painted overhead (actually, a perfectly partly cloudy). We started at the ‘front’ of the shop- surrounded by an array of coffees ‘n other drink specialties- and some very tempting (and obviously homemade) cookies ‘n such. We proceeded to the kitchen area- offering sumptuous crab cakes, fresh-cooked greens and the piece de resistance- macaroni ‘n cheese- done in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson- surrounded by an aroma of a home-cooked pork dish. Turning around, we couldn’t help but notice the display of desserts- really more like little, individual, artistic creations for the (now slightly glazed) eye ‘n (now more than watering) palate. Mental notes were made to return at a later moment. Rounding the corner, we felt the jaws drop as our gaze met the assortment of cheeses ‘n sausages- each obviously picked for its individual characteristics of aroma, texture, and of utmost importance, taste. The final leg of the first floor consisted of yet one more stop: another row of shelves lined with countless goodies for home, office, party or any other suitable destination; crackers, condiments, sweet treats, international (and local) beers, cooking kits ‘n other items called to be included in one’s shopping basket- or perhaps a gift assortment for friend/family.

Now visually ‘n olfactorially satiated, we were invited upstairs to complete the journey; our ascent was rewarded with an impressive array of wines- literally from around the world- placed in a quiet, more private, loft setting (yet still offering window glimpses of the goings-on below).

The staff at Market Salamander carefully select each bottle- whatever the variety- to perfectly please the customer ‘n those at their table. Even this wine novice felt a touch of confidence in perusing the shelves (the customer doesn’t need to be the expert, because the Market folks are). We left the establishment in a rapture of sights, smells, friendly sounds- and promises of a return visit at the earliest opportunity!!!!

Enjoy a video tour of Market Salamander and an interview with Cheff Todd

Enjoy a photo tour of Market Salamander

The Stop at Goodstone

Our trip to the Goodstone Inn near Middleburg was an exercise in hospitality. After a complete tour of the grounds (they have something like 260 acres), which included a short conversation with Oliver the Pig (a local rescue animal) and several views which were nothing less than stunning, our attention was drawn to the efforts around the kitchen. The layout for the Goodstone’s basically a lavishly refurbished historic estate- with guest rooms in what once were horse paddocks, cottages and even the Pre-World War II Manor House. The dining accommodations enjoy space in a more modern addition- built seamlessly into the existing ‘horse barn’ structures- with views opening out on the woodsy slope down to a tributary of Goose Creek and the corresponding opposite rise.

We were treated to a brief description (and demonstration!) of our meal by none other than Chef William- in the inner sanctum of his creative domain. What a treat to watch and listen as he prepared our first course- a bouchee of Main Lobster- freshly extracted pieces (too tender to be called chunks) of the crustacean, swimming in a heavenly concoction which included brandy ‘n cream- lovingly served in individual, hand-made puff pastry ‘bowls.’ The first taste demonstrated the importance of William’s precise judgment in balancing the brandy, cream and other delicate flavors (to emerge, but not overpower, the star status of the lobster). Seafood can often be chewy- if not downright tough- or, cooked into disintegration; Chef William proudly serves his lobster in a texture best described as velvety. I’ve never enjoyed the meat of this creature more. We must also pay homage to the future saint who prepared the home-made puff pastry- the perfect vehicle for a creamy seafood dish. And this was just the warm-up. I’m normally a very light eater during the noon hour, but I made an all-out exception for the Chef’s entrée’: Harris Ranch Filet Mignon. This seemed to be an example of taking an exceptional ingredient (beef from Harris Ranch) and, while teasing and accenting and enticing the flavor- certainly not getting in the way of a good thing. The meat was magnificent: butter-knife tender, juicy, cooked to that perfect stage of doneness, and flavored with the natural goodness of the ‘open range.’ Chef William’s impressive truffle sauce made an appropriate accompaniment- possessing the strength to go the distance with the filet, but never attempting to take the crown from the king of the plate. The Chef’s freshly made Bearnaise provided an alluring richness to the last few pieces of our beef; the meat certainly needed no extra ‘sauce’ or ‘jazzing-up,’ but the golden cloyishness made for a wonderful supporting close to an astonishingly delightful meal.

We should say a word about the menu prices: sure, it’ll set you back a bit more than a trip to the Golden Arches, but you’ll get an experience to remember for a lifetime. Chef William and Justin Hunsaker (the Estate’s Food and Beverage Manager) will see to it. Tell ‘em you heard about it from Tim Jon and The Blue Ridge Leader.

Enjoy a video tour of Goodstone Inn and their wine cellar
Enjoy a photo tour of Goodstone Inn

Coming soon!

There are no articles yet in this category. Please check back.