Purcellville’s chill barbecue spot offers a wide selection of slow-cooked meats such as brisket, pork ribs, pastrami, and pulled pork. A multitude of barbecue sauces in various styles allows customers to mix and match. The smoked gouda mac and cheese is a popular side. 

A casual creperie and café, Petite LouLou serves a range savory and sweet crepes to go with sandwiches, soups, and salads. It’s a good spot for a quick coffee and a croissant, but also for a substantive meal. Order brunch kits and other carryout here. Reservations for private greenhouses are available here. There’s also a Petite LouLou stall in Union Market.

This Leesburg taqueria sources seasonal ingredients from farms across Virginia and Maryland — and at least one Mexico City market. Customers can find tacos full of pork belly al pastor, fried Chesapeake blue catfish, grasshoppers, and more. Order takeout online here, or call in to buy a family meal ($60 to feed four) full of chips and salsa, a quart of soup, 12 tacos, rice, beans, and churros with spiced chocolate sauce. — Gabe Hiatt

Mom’s Apple Pie Co in Leesburg sells individual slices as well as whole servings of fruit, nut, cream, custard, and chess pies. The namesake apple pie is a favorite, but blackberry crumb and coconut cream are also popular. Seasonal flavors rotate. Order online here.

Tuskie’s, as it’s affectionately referred to by locals, hosts customers in a restored mill from 1899. A popular spot with numerous awards, the restaurant showcases high-end New American fare along with a large selection of Virginia wines. The menu is comprehensive, but customer favorites are the large and sumptuous crab cakes, creamy corn chowder, and the hickory glazed duck breast. Order curbside pickup here.

This small restaurant in Sterling has been around for over a decade and continues to serve distinctive dishes from the Southeast Asian country in its name. Staples such as the tea leaf salad and mohinga (fish stew) appear on a menu that includes Burmese curries — go for goat accented with ginger and garlic — beef cooked in an onion sauce with potato, and a tamarind-forward, tart vegetable curry. 

Stylish AhSo is worth a stop in suburban Brambleton. The menu changes almost every day based on what’s available, but expect modern American with a touch of international flair. Think crispy wild boar ribs with gochujang, ginger garlic pork sausage with sticky rice, and prime rib with crab beignets. Nightly tasting menus are also available. Order online for curbside pickup or delivery.

Set in the heart of Middleburg at the historic Red Fox Inn, the modern American dining here showcases seasonal ingredients from Virginia’s Piedmont region and a wide selection of local wines. 

Make the drive out to Hammerdown for tender, fatty brisket. It is extremely popular with customers, so call ahead or pre-order as they sell out fast. 

This no-frills spot in Chantilly, just outside the county line, focuses on food from the South India. There is no tikka masala or saag here, but there are fantastic dosas; spicy curries heavy on black pepper, tamarind, and curry leaves; and regional style biryanis. Try cubes of idly (fermented rice cakes) that are fried and tossed with a spicy powder and plenty of curry leaves. Chicken liver with spices and black pepper or crab cooked with fennel and coconut are two other smart selections.