Ahhh, The Wine Kitchen...where do I begin?
My love affair with this gastronomical destination began about 5 or 6 months ago, and when I left after dining for the first time, I found myself questioning how I did not happen upon it sooner.
Located on King St. in historic downtown Leesburg, VA, The Wine Kitchen is just that. It is welcoming, it is comfortable, it is a place where the hours can go by without much notice (or care for that matter!). Their motto is: "Eat. Drink. Simply." and they have executed this without fail. Their farm-to-table seasonal menu is inspired and perfectly executed. You can feel the passion of the place as soon as you sit down.
Service here is laid back and welcoming. Everyone who works in the Wine Kitchen - from the service staff to the owners - treats you like a well-loved friend. The bar looks like a kitchen, with cabinets for plates and wine and recipe books like The French Laundry by Thomas Keller and The Professional Chef which is full of recipes from the Culinary Institute of America. The water here is filtered and served from old-time glass milk jars and even the "napkins" are kitchen towels.
Recently I tried (and licked the plate clean) one of their new dishes which was a local pork chop (delivered by the farmer himself) wrapped in bacon and brushed with house-made peach barbecue sauce and served with a delicious lardon (thick cut bacon used to flavor meat) potato pancake. One bite of this and I died and went to heaven. Not only was the pork chop cooked to perfection and was tender and juicy, but the perfect marriage of flavors left my tongue very, very happy.
Every experience I've had here has been like this; Perfection and a happy mouth.
The Wine Kitchen's cheese and charcuterie plates are delicious and change daily depending on what the local farms have to offer.
Their arugula salad tart is paired perfectly with fresh local blueberries and Hooks bleu cheese and complimented with a pancetta chip and red wine vinaigrette. The bleu cheese is creamy and velvety and leaves you begging for more.
The pan-seared Corvina fish (mild white fish) is another dish done perfectly and is served with spaghetti squash, sauteèd spinach, beets and Meyer lemon buerre blanc.
If your in the mood for something slightly provencal and rustic, go for the Coq Au Vin. The chicken is local and free-range and is what chicken should taste like. It is served with creamy mashed potatoes (with the skins still in the mix - yum!), pearl onions, button mushrooms and bacon.
As for wine, the menu is fairly small, but it is constantly changing so there is always something new to try (which I love). The Wine Kitchen has a great selection of flights for sampling different wines and all the wines are pretty diverse in region, meaning that they have wines from California, Idaho, France, Italy, Spain, Virginia, etc. Organic and Biodynamic wines are available as well! All the wines they have are accompanied by playful descriptions that almost read like a fairy-tale and (it is extrodinarily evident in the script) the passion for wine is alive and well and dances in the molecules of the air that fills the restaurant itself.
The Wine Kitchen..."Eat. Drink. Simply." A concept brilliantly thought and perfectly executed indeed.
The Wine Kitchen
7 South King St.
Leesburg, VA 20175
Mondays - Closed
Tues-Thurs (11.30 a.m. - 9 p.m.)
Fri & Sat (11.30 a.m. - 10 p.m.)
Sunday (11.30 a.m. - 9 p.m.)
Tele: 703.777.9463
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