Recently, my husband was asking about other restaurants in Leesburg, wondering if there are any good ones that we haven't tried yet. So, I started looking around online and came across "Tuskies," also known as Tuscarora Mill. Although it has been around for years, we never thought to try it. This was partly because it struck me as an upscale establishment where one had to dress up to be there.
It turns out that, despite giving off an upscale vibe, there is no dress code. We saw those who dressed up to attend, and we also saw those who showed up in shorts and flip-flops.
We were here on a Saturday for an early dinner and had a reservation for 5 p.m. However, we arrived early, and they had no problems seating us. We were taken to a small side room that had about 5 tables in it. Our table was a 2 top that was spacious enough, as it had plenty of room for all our food. We also had a window view.
Our server was an older man who was very well-versed in the menu. We were impressed when he rattled off the daily specials without using a cheat sheet... well, only towards the end of his recitation did he have to check his list.
We started with drinks. I had a mango mojito, which was well-made, as I could clearly taste the mango in it. My husband had a Michelob Ultra.
We started with an appetizer, "Heirloom tomato and burrata" which consists of: "dill tomato vinaigrette, red onions, basil, pine nuts, aged balsamic". The star of this dish was the heirloom tomatoes. We could tell that these were freshly picked, as if they had been picked up at a farmers' market. There was no red onion, which was fine with me, and the pine nuts were tiny and easy to miss.. We were also given some bread that our server said was baked fresh at a nearby bakery. The bread was good, and we chose to use the olive oil that was on the table. It turned out to be a bit too bitter, so next time, we both agree, we'll ask for butter.
For my main course, I ordered "Grilled Creole seasoned trout," which consists of: "lump crab meat, almond butter, whipped potatoes, asparagus, carrots, and capers". Our server asked if I wanted one or two pieces of trout. I chose to have one piece (which turned out to be a good idea). The crab meat portion was tiny. The trout was properly cooked and seasoned just right, as none of the seasoning overpowered the trout. The veggies were sautéed and tender, with a flavorful taste. The capers were really tiny, but I was able to get them onto my fork.
My husband ordered one of the daily specials, which was a 15 oz. New York Strip. The steak was very flavorful, but it had too much fat and gristle. Overall it was disappointing.
We both had some crème brûlée for dessert. It came with a snickerdoodle cookie and is topped with fresh strawberries. One thing that disappointed us was that the crème brûlée lacked the flavor of vanilla beans: it was creamy, but bland.
Prices are rather high for this venue. read more