So I want to start off my first food review article by giving you all a brief explanation as to what these reviews will entail and the purpose of the articles. My overall purpose for writing these articles is to share some restaurants that not too many people know about that are in the area. I encourage you all to check them out! I also want to explain to you my ratings. I will be rating each restaurant on its environment, the service, and the overall quality of the food each out of five stars.
The first restaurant I want to share with you is the Leaping Lizard Cafe. This is a cute place located on Shore Drive, about a 15 minute drive from campus. Their menu changes periodically, however, it’s always filled with a nice variety of options to please almost anyone. This cafe is moderately priced with dishes costing anywhere from about $10-$25. The prices are worth it, I promise.
The Leaping Lizard Cafe exceeded my expectations. I thought I would find a pretty standard cafe menu with coffee, tea, some basic sandwiches and maybe some muffins. However, I was shocked to find a series of fairly unique dishes that I’m not confident you could find just anywhere. The menu contains anything from seafood to sandwiches with the restaurant’s personal twists. I personally decided on a roast beef and turkey sandwich with provolone and a side of roasted potatoes.
I’ll be honest with you, I can’t remember or pin-point exactly how these potatoes were made, but they were delicious. They were cold, sweet, and refreshing which isn’t something I’d ever have expected from potatoes. The potatoes went beautifully with the sandwich which was warm and savory. The turkey and roast beef was cooked to nice tender perfection and the cheese melted just enough to top it all of. The bread was toasted beautifully ,which added a nice and necessary crunch to the sandwich. What pulled everything together for the sandwich though was the mayonaise. I’m not usually a huge fan but the sandwich didn’t contain too much or too little—just the right amount. It gave the sandwich a kick of flavor the contrast with the roast beef and turkey which I thoroughly enjoyed.
If you go here, I recommend going on a warm day so you can sit outside. The outside seating is calm and quaint making it so that you feel you could pass hours there and still be comfortable as long as you have an ice cold coke to sip on from one of the cafe’s cute mason jars. The feel of the Leaping Lizard Cafe is overall very welcoming and enjoyable. The people working there are beyond friendly and also give the best advice on what to order. If you go there, don’t be afraid to ask what your server’s favorite dish is. They guided me in the right direction. If you do end up at this awesome cafe, I hope you enjoy and I’d love to know what you thought.
Bayli Foley
bmfoley@vwu.edu
