The Local Joint — Restaurant in Fairview

Not great

Editing per the owner's rude statement below all but calling their paying customer a liar.

I understand being a small business. That does not give you a pass to basically call a reviewer a liar, have a disgusting place of business, etc. So here is my constructive review.

Today, Google reminded me I've had a busy few weeks and asked to review places I've been lately. To clear up the confusion, I did NOT visit this restaurant yesterday, but I DID visit this restaurant on May 14th on a day trip. Photos to prove it attached. I don't know our servers name. I asked her what we could do in the area locally to kill time before the movie started that we drove in to watch in Asheville. The movie was in the Biltmore area theater, and it was a special showing of Grease. I also attached pictures of the sign at theater to show I was in the area. Again, I shouldn't have to prove to an owner calling a customer a liar. I also questioned her about Tempeh, which she exclaimed was delicious. I ordered it on her advice. It was Mother's Day, and I believe her daughter was sitting at the bar counter after visiting her at work. Anyways....

Issues: Dirty restaurants. Looks like an old Waffle House or Huddle House. Its attached to a gas station, in itself wouldn't be a bad thing. I think they are confused about who should clean the restroom, and so neither side cleans it. It doesn't look like it's had a good scrubbing in a very long time. Employees cooking food did not have the best hygiene. I didn't take images of the filth as I had no intention to leave a review at the time of the visit. I did, however, take images of the food to send to the local who referred me to the restaurant. Images look yummy. What you don't see is the slimy mushing rancid tasting Tempeh inside the omlet alongside the extremely long hair that I pulled out of my mouth on my 2nd bite. ( 1st bite was all egg no Tempeh)

The fried Brussel sprouts weren't bad at all. However, after the hair and the Tempeh, I couldn't stomach anything else. I didn't complain, I didn't throw a fit. Instead, I asked for the check, and we paid and left without the server even bothering to ask why 2 bites were taken out of the omelet. So, instead of doing a very damaging review of this experince when Google asked if I wanted to rate some places Ive been -I thought I would be extremely vague in the comments and yet still leave the star review that reflected my visit. After being called out by the owner, I will leave the review I should have started with. Clean your restaurant, clean the bathrooms, require the visible cooks to come to work appearing clean with hair restrained, and if your gonna have Tempeh on the menu at least know when its bad and should not be served to customers.

Hope that's enough for...

Visited this restaurant for the first time Friday, November 13 at 7:15 pm. If I could give it minus stars I would it was that bad. When my party (three adults) arrived there was one couple waiting. We were told we would be next and to have a seat in the area going back to the bar. The couple that had been waiting was seated almost immediately. Didn't look at my watch but our wait was an extended one, finally a booth opened up and as we stood up to go get it a party of five came out of the bar and was seated. So much for us being next to be seated. After another extended wait, we finally got a booth. A waitress greeted us from another booth and said she would be with us shortly. After yet another extended wait, she took our drink order (water, hot tea and unsweet tea) our appetizer order (fried eggplant fries) and our regular order (three of the surf and turf specials) We got our drinks pretty fast, although she delivered the water and unsweet tea to the wrong people at the table. No straws, had to ask for sweetner for the tea and cream for the hot tea. Another waitress brought out the appetizer. No silverware, no plates. Either the appetizer had been sitting or it was because the egg plant was cut so thick but it was soggy and mushy with very little flavor. Although the chutney that came with it was great. We were using napkins as plates when the original waitress finally realized we didn't have silverware or plates. She brought those and our meals at the same time. We all three ordered the surf and turf special which was a steak with a sauce over it, three grilled shrimp, with sides of 1 teaspoon of wilted/steamed spinach and about a cup and a half of grits. At the last minute we had all changed our minds and ordered the special and it was my fault that I didn't listen to what the sides were. I don't eat spinach or grits so I left those. The steak was cooked correctly (Medium) but very grainy, wouldn't say tough but definitely chewy. The waitress was great in keeping us in drinks and bringing us our bill timely. The three shrimp and the unsweet tea was excellent. Was the meal worth $78.00 NO WAY. Will I be...

Brunch And A Show

You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Dinner and a Show.” Typically referring to a good meal out and a movie, this was how we entertained ourselves on a Friday or Saturday night years ago, and how some of us still do. Little did I know that the show could actually be watching a few talented chefs prepare meals, and that dinner could be brunch. It was late Sunday morning and desiring a hearty and healthy brunch, my husband and I decided to head to the Local Joint. I’ve seen them crowded before but this time it was really packed. There were only a few seats left at the bar. This turned out to be to our benefit. After deciding what we wanted to eat, Jim and I became mesmerized by Chris, Jeffery, and Joshua as they dashed from place to place while expertly manipulating spatulas, spoons, scoopers, and knives. They were busy making massive pancakes; dishing up perfectly fried, poached, or scrambled eggs; sizzling bacon to the requested crispness; flipping French toast, toasting bread and croissants; doling out mounds of creamy grits, and filling order after order with absolute precision. Megan, Carla, Anastasia, and Ellie rushed past us like busy bees to deliver these delicious morsels to the happily awaiting patrons while keeping coffee cups filled. Both the cooking crew and the wait staff buzzed back and forth, in front of and behind us. It was so entertaining to see how smoothly and fast they worked. One could tell there were years of experience under the belt...