By Chris Stark, courtesy Visit Loudoun
Tell me about some interesting off-site venues.
A 1790s manor house and an Arnold Palmer signature golf course draw events to Belmont Country Club in Ashburn, where views from a terrace and the ballroom are described as grand.
American folk art, Audubon prints and antique carriages dress up the dining rooms and the four bars at Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm in Broadlands. Four historic buildings were saved, moved and merged to create the restaurant and event venue.
Many Loudoun wineries offer more than tastings. At Hillsborough Vineyards in Hillsboro, a stone barn from the 1850s has been turned into a rustic but elegant dining room. Notaviva Vineyard designs team building in the vineyard and in association with a local river-rafting company. An 1870s barn, restored by Amish craftsmen, offers more than 3,000 square feet of meeting space at Sunset Hills Vineyard.
Where can I go for some local dishes?
Magnolias at the Mill is in a 1905 grain mill, and many of the inner workings of the mill remain in the handsome timber building. Try tomato-smoked gouda soup to start; put a sweet ending on an evening with frozen white-chocolate-chip and banana ice cream pie topped with honey butterscotch sauce. Loudoun is home to nine “Destination” restaurants, eateries that are so interesting, different or special that people travel to dine at them. Three are in Leesburg, Loudoun County’s largest town. DC Metro Food Tours offers a guided dine-around that includes two of them, Lightfoot and Tuscarora Mill, as well as Palio Restaurant. At the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, fields are the chef’s pantry, and menus change with the season. Tables on the patio overlook the Potomac River.
