Great Food Within Easy Reach

Of the hundreds of places to eat in Loudoun County, these are some of my favorites. This list is not encyclopedic. There are no rankings. These are just places you should know about if you live here: Some are stand-alone restaurants, and others are locations offering many choices.

A Chain Worth Visiting

Opened in December 2006, Willow Creek Farm is a jewel of the Clyde's Restaurant Group fine-tuned for the Virginia landscape. Historic buildings provide the framework for the restaurant, which can seat more than 700, and they have been filled with glorious folk art, stunningly restored old carriages and collectibles, including horserace trophies and antique dough bowls. Although there are attractions designed to please the younger crowd, the adults haven't been forgotten. A dining room and adjacent bar are for adults only, and smoking is allowed in two bars. The restaurant's location, about 10 miles from Dulles International Airport and just off the Dulles Greenway, makes it convenient, and so are its all-day and late-night dining options. The standard American menu is rarely adventurous but has something for everyone. There is plenty of parking, and reservations are accepted. 42920 Broadlands Blvd., Broadlands, 571-209-1200, http://www.clydes.com.

Downtown Leesburg

Leesburg isn't lacking for restaurants in historic buildings. Tuscarora Mill (203 Harrison St. SE, Leesburg, 703-771-9300, http://www.tuskies.com) opened in an old mill building more than two decades ago. It's part of a complex of old buildings that houses several other eateries and shops, including a wood-fire-oven pizza place, Fire Works Pizza (201 Harrison St. SE, Leesburg, 703-779-8400, http://www.fireworkspizza.com). Tuskies, as Tuscarora Mill is known by the locals, has a casual cafe/bar up front with its own menu and more formal dining spaces at the back of the building.

Lightfoot Restaurant (11 N. King St., Leesburg, 703-771-2233, http://www.lightfootrestaurant.com) has occupied the majestic People's Bank Building opposite the county courthouse for the past decade. The towering space has fireplaces large enough to stand in, ethereal Fortuny lamps and huge posters of European ads. The old bank vault, which serves as the wine cellar, is elegant and a bit whimsical (check out the butler at the entry). The surroundings might be chic, but the place is comfortable. The signature tomato soup is a winner. If pulled pork barbecue is a special, don't miss it. Lunch favorites include a meatloaf sandwich that can be downright addictive. The salads show particular care. Both Tuscarora Mill and Lightfoot are smoke-free.

In a frame house a couple of blocks away, Galletta's Pasta & Italian Specialties (211 Loudoun St. SE, Leesburg, 703-737-3700, http://www.gallettas.com) offers sandwiches at lunch, freshly made pasta and ready-to-cook dishes and sauces. The prosciutto alone is worth the trip. Across the street is a retail branch of Sterling-based Mom's Apple Pie Co. (220 Loudoun St. SE, Leesburg, 703-771-8590, http://www.momsapplepieco.com), with a seasonally changing list of pie favorites.

Other Leesburg Gems

Across Route 7 from the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets is a place worth hunting down. The Blue Ridge Grill is tucked behind a service station and close to Department of Motor Vehicles offices. Once an Applebee's restaurant, the interior has been transformed with a restful blue-green hue on the walls, accented with large photographs of whitewater rafting, fishing and horse races (the genteel Loudoun County sort). Old windows serve as dividers around the perimeter of the space, separating the cozier dining areas from the bar. The menu bears a resemblance to other local chains (think Sweetwater Tavern), but the execution is what counts, and Blue Ridge makes the grade. 955 Edwards Ferry Rd. NE, Leesburg, 703-669-5505, http://www.brgrill.com.

Tenderjacks serves the kind of fast food we all enjoyed back in the days before McDonald's sold its first million hamburgers. Here the hamburgers are hand-formed and individually cooked on a flat grill. The french fries are hand-cut and deep-fried in canola and cottonseed oils that are trans-fat-free. The salads are crisp and served on real plates. And the chicken tenders are marinated in a buttermilk batter that cooks into a light crust and seals in the meat's juices. The dining room is a combination of comfortable booths and tables with high-back chairs, divided into several seating areas. There is even a nook for people waiting for carryout orders. 506B E. Market St., Leesburg, 703-669-4866, http://www.tenderjacks.com.

Purcellville

Another mill, another Tuskies enterprise, this time in downtown Purcellville. Magnolias at the Mill is a former seed and feed mill that once provided much of the orchard grass seed for the Virginia Piedmont. Transformed into a restaurant three years ago, it is once again the center of activity in town. More rustic than its downtown Leesburg sibling, Magnolias has an eclectic menu that includes small and medium plates and main courses. The stone-baked flatbread pizzas are the signature dishes, and no meal should be without one. 198 N. 21st St., Purcellville, 540-338-9800, http://www.magnoliasmill.com.

Downtown Middleburg

The food emporiums that bookend downtown Middleburg are among the fanciest food stores in the county. On the Washington end is Home Farm Store (1 E. Washington St., Middleburg, 540-687-8882, http://www.homefarmstore.com), a quintessential English farm store, complete with detailed information about the farms that provide the meat. The store, which sells organic meat, fruits and vegetables along with cheeses and some ready-to-cook dishes, is from Sandy Lerner, the Cisco Systems co-founder who owns the very British Hunter's Head Tavern (9048 John Mosby Hwy., Upperville, 540-592-9020, http://www.ayrshirefarm.com/huntershead.php) and nearby Ayrshire Farm, which supplies most of the meat.

At the opposite end of town is Market Salamander, the initial phase of what promises to be Black Entertainment Television co-founder Sheila C. Johnson's Salamander empire in Middleburg. (A luxury spa and resort are under construction.) Market Salamander (200 W. Washington St., Middleburg, 540-687-8011, http://www.marketsalamander.com) offers mostly prepared foods (Todd Gray of Washington's Equinox restaurant is the executive chef), wine and a few specialty foods.

A block off Washington Street is the French Hound bistro (101 S. Madison St., Middleburg, 540-687-3018), where chef John-Gustin Birkitt's menu includes snacks such as French radishes with sea salt, spicy peanuts and marinated olives. At lunch there are French-style sandwiches on slender baguettes, and the dinner menu includes classics such as steak frites.

Lansdowne Town Center

Among the dining options in this new development are two elegant ethnic eateries. Silk Road (19385 Promenade Dr., Leesburg, 571-333-4930, http://www.silkroadcuisine.com) serves elaborately spiced Afghan food. Spicy doesn't translate into hot; it means more flavorful and rounded. Many dishes are tempered with yogurt; others are enhanced with a tart cilantro sauce. The dumplings are standout appetizers.

Mariachi Restaurant, 19405 Promenade Dr., Leesburg, 571-333-4280, http://www.mariachilansdowne.com) is the most formal in a group of five restaurants opened by Salvadoran immigrant Jose Perez. Main courses include a variety of Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites, such as fajitas and chiles rellenos. The menu also embraces a broader range of Latin American dishes. A crescent-shaped vestibule offers a buffer between the main dining room and the busy street outside.

Broadlands Shopping Center

Broadlands isn't just home to the newest Clyde's in the area; the development's main shopping center is a dining destination in itself. Cafe Panache sets the standard. The lovely space is all rich wood tones and deep green. The highest-priced dinner item is the rack of lamb at $27, but the cooking is more sophisticated than the prices might suggest. The service is attentive and friendly, and the ambiance is much cozier than the 800-pound gorilla down the street. 43135 Broadlands Center Plaza, Broadlands, 703-723-1424, http://www.cafepanache.net.

Mezza Grill (43150 Broadlands Center Plaza, Ashburn, 703-723-7447) provides a taste of the Middle East, with 80-plus items on the menu. The shopping center includes a branch of Bonefish Grill (43135 Broadlands Center Plaza, Ashburn, 703-723-8246, http://www.bonefishgrill.com).

Southern Walk Plaza

This Broadlands shopping center is home to Callaloo (43170 Southern Walk Plaza, Suite 100, Broadlands, 571-223-2330, http://www.callaloocuisine.com), an upscale Caribbean restaurant that wants only for an ocean breeze. Upholstered bamboo chairs and ceiling fans with blades carved into palm fronds contribute to the island ambiance. The Hellshire honey garlic shrimp are perfectly cooked, and the jerk chicken is moist, flavorful and not too fiery.

Next door is Anothai (43170 Southern Walk Plaza, Suite 108, Broadlands, 571-223-0053, http://www.anothairestaurant.com), a Thai restaurant where the drunken noodles might be the best I have encountered. The noodles are perfectly cooked and not mushy, and the chilies add just the right amount of heat.

Sterling

Stretching from Taste of Burma (126 Edds Lane, Sterling, 703-444-8510, http://www.atasteofburma.com) to O'Faolain's Irish pub (20921 Davenport Dr., Sterling, 703-444-9796, http://www.ofaolains.com), the adjacent shopping centers of Countryside Marketplace and Regal Plaza offer a wealth of ethnic food, including authentic Mexican at Los Toltecos (50 Pidgeon Hill Dr., Sterling, 703-421-3380, http://www.toltecos.com), Vietnamese at Taste of Vietnam (46005 Regal Plaza, Sterling, 703-433-9543) and Thai at 4912 Thai Cuisine (45965 Regal Plaza, Sterling, 703-433-9720, http://www.4912thaicuisine.com).