I’d been to the Lightfoot Restaurant once before about a year ago, and had been meaning to get back there for more.  It’s a little bit of a hike to get out there – they’re located in downtown Leesburg – but well worth the trip.  I took the Ducati up Rt. 7 and parked a couple blocks away in the convieniently free parking garage (which DC and VA should get more of).  I couldn’t get a reservation on OpenTable, so I called to see if they had anything available.  They did, and mentioned their systems were down (a good to-know – always call a restaurant if you can’t get reservations online).  I showed up around 5 PM on a Sunday, and they had plenty of space available.  The restaurant is in the old Peoples National Bank of Leesburg, and some of the bank vaults play into their decor (there’s one in the bathroom, and the dials still work…I may or may not have been trying out the combo lock).

The outside of the restaurant.

Yep, really used to be a bank.

I got three of the same things I had ordered a year prior…I wanted to get a baseline for whether they were still as good as I remembered.

• Chef Ingrid’s French Onion & Field Mushroom Soup – Best French Onion soup I’ve had.  Comes with croustade, Gruyère, goat cheese, Pecorino Romano, and truffle oil.
• Fried Green Tomatoes – One of the restaurant’s signature dishes.  These are delicious…jalapeño cheddar cheese, sautéed shrimp, Szechwan chili cream.
• Slow Braised Pork Shank – Lots of restaurants say their meat falls off the bone.  This literally did.  While Lightfoot provided me with what appeared to be a pretty sturdy knife for this entrée, it was entirely not needed.  The meat was served in a brandy glaze with broccolini and a delicious bread pudding filled with aged cheddar, apple wood smoked bacon, and fresh thyme.

Even if French Onion soup isn’t your thing, you should try this…it’s delicious.

Fried Green Tomatoes is one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, and for good reason. It has not at all changed a year later, and is just as good as the first time I tried it.

Gives Tommy Floramo’s a run for their money…this is the Pork Shank that falls off the bone. I had this the first time I went to Lightfoot, and when I asked for a recommendation, my server came right back to this one. Glad I did the repeat.

The first time I stopped in to Lightfoot, my dining companions and I also got the Peking Duck Quesadillas, Meatballs with Butternut Squash, Coconut Cream Cake with Chocolate Ganache, Pumpkin Brownie, Apple Raisin Cranberry Crisp, and the Yukon Potato Encrusted Halibut.  I’m not sure which of those were seasonal or no longer on the menu.  All of those dishes were great, though, and I’d expect that most of the offerings on the menu when you go would be as well.  Make the trip out to Leesburg and try them out…you won’t be disappointed.

Book on OpenTable – Diners’ Choice Winner (American)