NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

Food: 8.2 Ambiance: 8.2 Service: 8.3

I hadn’t even finished unwrapping my silverware when I felt the gentlest of taps.

“My wife just had to know what you ordered. It just looks beautiful,” the kindly older gentleman inquired, leaving us both to admire the conversation-starting entrée Lightfoot staff had just seconds before delivered to my table.

Chef/owner Ingrid Gustavson favors comfort foods (fish tacos, revolving grilled cheese offerings), but is unafraid to explore Asian influences (rotating pad Thai specials).

Buttery biscuits and hand-carved country ham—prepared bi-weekly, much to the chagrin of calorie-conscious severs (“I just want to grab it off the bone,” one tortured soul confessed—groove with maple-mustard (mostly sweet, but also a hair spicy).

Syrup-drenched French toast redefines sweet courtesy of shaved white chocolate, blackberry-butter sauce and roast marshmallows (have mercy).

A river of chorizo oil-stained egg and melted cheddar flows through a fabulous asparagus-packed frittata.

By Warren Rojas

Food: 8 Ambiance: 8.4 Service: 7.7

Locals continue to traipse into Lightfoot for on-the-money meals—a culinary gambit that typically pays delicious dividends thanks to chef/owner Ingrid Gustavson’s go-for-broke creations.

Though she doesn’t appear to suffer fools lightly—a server’s cheat sheet revealed an all-caps reminder from the kitchen that a Korobuta pork chop special “is a well-marbleized piece of pork—I will not take it back because someone thinks it’s fatty!!!”—Gustavson does her best to give the customer as much free reign (via evergreen cafe menu, rotating lunch/dinner fare and daily specials) as possible.

Choosing wisely requires minimal effort.

Mushroom-marsala bisque is frothy, luxuriant and altogether wonderful (displays its wine background well while hearty croutons imparted a playful crunch).

Fried oysters drenched in jalapeno-caper dressing (creamier than expected and captivating enough to get the nod from my spice-averse better half) bring the bayou to salad country. (Much like a real po’boy, this dish left me completely satisfied, pleasantly spiced and anxious for a return visit.)

Homemade bread pudding bathes the taste buds in alternating flashes of chocolaty donut, chewy coconut and fast-melting vanilla.

By Warren Rojas

Food: 8.1 Ambiance: 8.7 Service: 8.1

As if the reconditioned bank theme wasn’t eye-catching enough, the powers that be at Lightfoot have further upped the design ante with an al fresco patio and custom waterfall that made a big splash with area residents this summer.

The restaurant’s fan base seems to cut across most economic/generational lines, ranging from gussied up girlfriends to relaxed nuclear families interested in sampling chef/owner Ingrid Gustavson’s challenging cuisine.

Gustavson, of course, remains wedded to her dress whites. But her menus appear to be wearing more Asian designs (hoisin-glazed pork chop) alongside retro reinterpretations (cheese plate with brie, homemade blue cheese and port wine-cheddar balls) and evergreen favorites (meatloaf sandwiches, fish and chips).

Bisque tastes of butter and cream and is buttressed by a wealth of pulled jumbo lump crab (island of meat bobs pleasingly amidst the ruddy broth). Shredded duck, crunchy water chestnuts and cheese relocate the filled-tortilla theme from southwest to Far East in a cross-cultural quesadilla. Caramelized onions (very good) and fried oysters (surprisingly blank) dangle from a barbecue-brushed N.Y. strip parked atop cheddar-jalapeno grits (busy but pleasant collaboration).

By Warren Rojas

Food: 8.5 Ambiance: 8.6 Service: 8.3

No need to slip the host a sawbuck or practice your name-dropping skills to secure a table at Leesburg’s much-beloved Lightfoot. But chances are, you’ll leave this former bank feeling like a million bucks.

The sprawling, two-story restaurant integrates recycled vault accessories and vintage memorabilia to establish a quiet cool, then drops the lights real low to keep things nice and mellow. Clientele ranges from martini-toting girlfriends who seem quite content to gossip at the bar all night to mixed groups just as happy to pass plates back and forth so everyone can sample chef Ingrid Gustavson’s modern cuisine.

The menu tilts towards the sea (seasonal crab, halibut and salmon specials took center stage during recent visits), but land-lovers have nothing to fear.

Woodsy mushrooms and fresh goat cheese are baked into a flaky pasty puff (earthy richness). Creamy, spinach-laden stock is dotted with amazing little potato dumplings that simply melt in your mouth. No need to hunt for lobster in the soothing house bisque, a brew stocked with sweet lobster meat, homemade pasta and a smattering of salmon caviar. A grilled-to-order lamb T-bone (ideal for even the most discerning carnivore) is virtually bulletproof, whereas seared duck (done quite well, indeed) can’t fly high enough to escape a cluttered citrus risotto (bits of asparagus and sweet peas are good; pomegranate-orange-truffle oil emulsion seems like overkill).

By Warren Rojas

F 8.7   A 8.8   S 8.6

The tellers may be gone and the vault empty. Still, people appear quite comfortable leaving their money at Lightfoot in Leesburg, a former bank turned repository of wondrous tastes.

Traces of bank security remain-mammoth locks serve as the backdrop for the bar and iron bars still cover the front windows-but everyone is welcome here. In fact, it's customary to see suit-clad patrons dining beside locals in denim and cowboy hats. Youngish servers in monogrammed aprons add a dash of polish, but stumble from time to time when describing exotic ingredients or unfamiliar daily specials.

Executive chef and co-owner Ingrid Gustavson fancies fresh seafood and refuses to bow to market inferiority; a waiter counsels against ordering the trout one night because Gustavson "wasn't happy with it, so she sent it back." Crab appears nightly as "atomic" cakes (superb) and sometimes as a daily special (a creative Tandoori soft shell number). "The Plank" assembles spicy scallops (best), smoked salmon (very good) and roasted sausage (tasty) cooked atop a seasoned cedar plank. Beefier alternatives include a signature meatloaf sandwich, a respectable filet mignon and a stunning Tuscan rib eye.