restaurant recommendations Loudoun county (Leesburg, Purcellville: island, place, top)

[GoHokiesGo]

Originally Posted by cdmurphy

There's a new place in Ashburn that a lot of my neighbors have been raving about - Ford's Fish Shack. It's by the Ice House, in the strip behind the Shell - in the corner spot that used to be Village Grill (and before that, Beef O'Brady's). Their menu doesn't seem to be online yet but some of the dishes people have liked include lobster roll, crabcakes, fried lobster, pecan crusted trout, mussels with chorizo, clams, cod, calamari, blueberry pie. The prices have been reported as reasonable (but not cheap).

Well, we went ahead and tried this place out last night since it's within walking distance from our house.

It's definitely a keeper for the neighborhood. Their menu is mostly fish and seafood (as the name implies), but they've got a few burgers and a bacon-wrapped hot dog on the menu as well.

The corn bread that they give you before the meal is incredible - it's served nice and warm, whole kernels of corn inside, and is slightly sweet; they serve it with a flavored butter that tastes like maple syrup is mixed in that melts into the bread. The cornbread tasted amazing and was the best part of the meal, which was good all-around.

Entrees were very good as well. We got the crab cake sandwich and the fish sandwich. The crab cakes had a lot of crab in them with a nice remoulade on top. The fish was a fish-n-chips style fried cod, it was cooked very well - light and flaky inside with very good flavor; we ordered fries and sweet potato fries with our meal. We would've tried a few more appetizers or desserts, but we were stuffed afterwards.

Their sandwich entrees were around $9-15, and main entrees were $15-20. The entrees we saw at other tables looked very good as well. The inside was mostly typical bar decor - wooden tables, chair and bar area. It was a tad pricey for a typical neighborhood joint, but the food tasted very good and was worth the price

We'd recommend it and will be going back to try a few of their other dishes.

[cdmurphy]

Thanks for your review! That cornbread sounds wonderful!

[michgc]

You missed your calling as a food critic. You made everything sound so tasty, and I don't even eat fish or crab cakes!

Originally Posted by GoHokiesGo

Well, we went ahead and tried this place out last night since it's within walking distance from our house.

It's definitely a keeper for the neighborhood. Their menu is mostly fish and seafood (as the name implies), but they've got a few burgers and a bacon-wrapped hot dog on the menu as well.

The corn bread that they give you before the meal is incredible - it's served nice and warm, whole kernels of corn inside, and is slightly sweet; they serve it with a flavored butter that tastes like maple syrup is mixed in that melts into the bread. The cornbread tasted amazing and was the best part of the meal, which was good all-around.

Entrees were very good as well. We got the crab cake sandwich and the fish sandwich. The crab cakes had a lot of crab in them with a nice remoulade on top. The fish was a fish-n-chips style fried cod, it was cooked very well - light and flaky inside with very good flavor; we ordered fries and sweet potato fries with our meal. We would've tried a few more appetizers or desserts, but we were stuffed afterwards.

Their sandwich entrees were around $9-15, and main entrees were $15-20. The entrees we saw at other tables looked very good as well. The inside was mostly typical bar decor - wooden tables, chair and bar area. It was a tad pricey for a typical neighborhood joint, but the food tasted very good and was worth the price

We'd recommend it and will be going back to try a few of their other dishes.

[Caladium]

Well Gohokies, after your glowing review we decided to check out Ford's Fish Shack. I must say it lived up to your review. We had the angry mussels, the pecan encrusted trout, and the swordfish. The mussels were outstanding, and this was also a fun dish to share. The swordfish was very tender, with a citrus sauce that was delicious.

My dh said the trout was very tender and tasty, but he was less than thrilled with the side dishes (beans and macaroni & cheese). The beans were tender and nicely prepared, but he would have preferred asparagus. The mac & cheese was an intriguing idea but to be honest a potato dish would have been better.

The corn bread was indeed top notch but skimpy. The server asked us if we wanted more and I should have said yes. The maple butter was very good, too.

Service was excellent. Our waitor was very helpful and attentive, and we didnt have to wait for anything.

Overall, I'd say the food was quite good. The ambiance was so so. And, I give them an A+ for service. This is great for a neighborhood place, but I wouldn't drive out of my way to eat there. OTOH, if you're in the area I'd definitely recommend it.

[GoHokiesGo]

Originally Posted by michgc

You missed your calling as a food critic. You made everything sound so tasty, and I don't even eat fish or crab cakes!

Haha, thanks! That's my wife's dream job actually, she'd love to be a food critic someday.

I always tell her we should start a blog or something about the places we go. Heaven only knows how much money we blow on eating out at fancy places and local joints....

Originally Posted by Caladium

Well Gohokies, after your glowing review we decided to check out Ford's Fish Shack. I must say it lived up to your review. We had the angry mussels, the pecan encrusted trout, and the swordfish. The mussels were outstanding, and this was also a fun dish to share. The swordfish was very tender, with a citrus sauce that was delicious.

My dh said the trout was very tender and tasty, but he was less than thrilled with the side dishes (beans and macaroni & cheese). The beans were tender and nicely prepared, but he would have preferred asparagus. The mac & cheese was an intriguing idea but to be honest a potato dish would have been better.

The corn bread was indeed top notch but skimpy. The server asked us if we wanted more and I should have said yes. The maple butter was very good, too.

Service was excellent. Our waitor was very helpful and attentive, and we didnt have to wait for anything.

Overall, I'd say the food was quite good. The ambiance was so so. And, I give them an A+ for service. This is great for a neighborhood place, but I wouldn't drive out of my way to eat there. OTOH, if you're in the area I'd definitely recommend it.

I think that's definitely a good way of putting it - I wouldn't go out of my way for it if I wasn't living in the area, but definitely worth it for a local place for those nearby. We don't have a ton of decent sit-down restaurants in Ashburn, so it's nice to have something for a change that's not a chain restaurant.

And yes, I was surprised that you only get one piece of cornbread per person, but we just asked them for more and they kept it coming as long as we asked for it.

The Angry Mussels dish is one that we were hoping to try next time, so we'll definitely have to give it a try now!

[normie]

Originally Posted by GoHokiesGo

The Angry Mussels dish is one that we were hoping to try next time, so we'll definitely have to give it a try now!

Why are the mussels angry?

[Margery]

Originally Posted by normie

Why are the mussels angry?

They keep putting them next to the crab cakes and nobody wants to be around a crab.

[arielmina]

Hallelujah... after a year of searching, finally a good Mexican restaurant in western Loudoun! wahoo! Just went to Los Tios Mexican Grill, located below Fireworks Pizza in Market Station, Leesburg and it was SO Good!! Fresh, lots of fresh chips and yummy spicy salsa. I had a taco salad with grilled chicken and ate every last bite. The kids and hubby had enchiladas which were awesome. Very good, good service, nice atmosphere. LOVE. Only complaint is no kids meal, but my kids split an adult dinner and they even put it on separate plates with their own servings of rice and beans. Cost us $45 before tip. Not bad!

http://lostiosgrilllsb.vpweb.com/default.html (broken link)

[Denton56]

Oh my! I just discovered that restaurant too! I was there on Friday night. I liked it a lot. DH was out of town so I want to go back with him. Very interesting menu too, with more than the usual Tex Mex. The black beans and rice were very good too.

[Caladium]

OK, you guys are making me hungry for Mexcian food. I might just have to try this place.