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November 23, 2004
Tuscarora Mill Restaurant, Leesburg, Virginia
I recently went to Tuscarora Mill Restaurant - dubbed 'Tuskie's' by regulars - for the second time. The last time we went, it was for lunch on a Saturday. I remembered liking the food, so I thought it would be neat to go for dinner. Tuscarora Mill Restaurant is tucked away in a fairly large crafts and arts type of shopping area. However, the restaurant is quite spacious.
I ordered a seared ahi tuna appetizer, which was delicious. I'm actually impressed that although Tuscarora calls itself an American restaurant, there's definitely a lot of Asian-inspired touches to the cuisine. This works in my favor, because I grew up with Asian cooking.
For the entree, I ordered the Pan Roasted Long Island Duck. I didn't know that Long Island was known for duck, but I've always liked duck, and was willing to give it a try. I also picked an Australian shiraz to go with the duck. The verdict? The duck was excellent - not too greasy, and the skin was well-prepared. Whether you agree with me or not, I always use the perfectly seasoned and roasted NYC and Vancouver Chinatown-style ducks to compare to any other roasted ducks. I'm happy to say that Tuscarora's roast duck was pretty close to Chinatown's. I thought the shiraz would be a perfect match - bear with me, I'm not a wine connoisseur - but perhaps a different red wine would have been a better pick. It's not like the shiraz was bad or anything - it was acceptable. I just remember that there was this one Syrah that went perfectly with a Provence-style honey roast duck I made once. I think Syrah and Shiraz are just different regional names for the same wine.
Anyhow, Todd ordered the buffalo steak special, which he paired with a merlot. That turned out to be a good decision, because the buffalo and merlot went together like bread and butter. Yum. Yes, he let me try some of his entree and wine.
All of this was topped by a wonderful selection of desserts. I picked the trio of creme brulees - vanilla, chocolate, and raspberry. I think creme brulees are my weakness. Vanilla was very good and the chocolate was very rich, but the raspberry is hands down the winner. I wonder if I can just get an extra large portion of the raspberry the next time I go there? I think it'll be pretty soon that I go back there.
Posted by Kathy at November 23, 2004 10:09 PM