Dinner…
Ledo Pizza
Sterling-45995 Regal Plaza Drive
Ashburn- 42920 Piccadilly Plaza
Leesburg- 1037 Edwards Ferry Rd.
Some people are circles and others are squares—or maybe that’s just pizza.
Ledo is definitely among the latter category, and while it’s hard to mess up pizza—Ledo Pizza does it well. They also do it in sufficient quantity (all of it square), that it’s much more economical to fill up the family and friends—or in my case, bring the extra home for the ever-important “cold pizza for breakfast” test. By the way, Ledo’s Meat Lover’s Pizza passes that test very well.
In addition to pizza, Ledo’s also serves subs, calzones, salads and some traditional Italian favorites as well. While tasty, Ledos’ doesn’t break any new culinary ground, but there is something reassuring with that when taking the family out on the town. What they serve is consistently tasty without being outrageous.
Located just next to the CountrySide Theater, it’s an easy walk for those wanting to catch a quick bite either before or after a show. A relatively small freestanding restaurant, Ledo Pizza seems to maintain an easy camaraderie among patrons and in my past visits, there always seems to be someone there that we know. It’s that kind of place, family-centric and easy-going.
Ledo is a regional franchise with its origins in Adelphi, MD. Founded in 1955, Ledo Pizza is now in six states and the District of Columbia.
…And a Show
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (PG-13)
Synopsis:
To save his friend’s life, a suburban teen becomes an apprentice to a vampire (John C. Reilly) performing with a traveling freak show.
Review:
Having seen the trailers, I was not expecting much from “The Vampire’s Assistant.” In the age of the “True Blood,” “The Vampire Diaries” and the yawn-inspiring “Twilight” adaptation, vampires are a little overexposed—a neat trick, since they’re not supposed to show up in photographs or video anyway.
Like many critics, I was missing the point. An adaptation of the first in a series of young adult novels by Darren Shan, “The Vampire’s Assistant” is specifically designed for a middle school/ early high school audience. With this audience in mind, the film is pitch perfect—with a few scares and mature themes, but not enough to have parents covering their teens' eyes.
Even better, while the script has some sarcastic moments, there is very little of the ironic or worshipful self-referential jokes that we’ve come to expect from teen movies. Instead, it’s a clean film with some solid performances and some likeable characters.
Even so, it’s not “Harry Potter,” and is not likely to receive that level of praise even from younger audience members. There are some pacing problems (not uncommon with a movie adapted from a book) and the characters and institutions are not quite fleshed out as well as could be expected—even so, it’s good clean fun for a teen audience in the mood for some light fun.
Rating (1-5): 3
John Geddie will not suck your blood if there’s coffee available.
Next: The Men Who Stare At Goats
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