The Local — Restaurant in Maryland

Not a place we’ll return to for dinner, especially for the price. Altogether a very lackluster meal which at times was downright bad.

Starting off with the cornbread and jalapeño butter, which was standard fare for cornbread, but a nice touch of jalapeño, not too spicy at all but just enough to be interesting.

We ordered two appetizers, the “Beets by Chef” and “PB&J Pork Belly”. The beet appetizer was, just like the cornbread, pretty unexciting. The ingredients were fresh, but not very flavorful, and the combination of the balsamic, beets, and mozzarella was just very bland. Could have used some herbs liven up the dish. The use of balsamic as a crutch is a common theme for this restaurant. The pork belly appetizer had a perfectly crispy outside, but a rather disappointing and dry inside. It should be difficult to dry out a cut of meat that’s almost exclusively fat, but they managed to do so. The “peanut butter” sauce and “jam” were actually very good. Unfortunately, they didn’t add enough flavor to the pork belly for me to forgive the dryness of the meat, and certainly not enough to make it a good dish.

For our entrees we ordered the “Duck and Dumplings” and “Pork Milanese”. The duck leg was grilled (we think, it had grill marks) but the texture was very mushy, with no crisp. There was an accompanying sauce which was presumably made with the duck fat, which only made matters worse as far as texture. The duck itself tasted fine, nothing special about it. The flavor of the duck meat was very obvious, but little can be said for any additional seasoning. Perhaps the overpowering carrot and parsnip flavor in the very fatty, oily sauce was hiding any extra seasoning on the duck. Speaking of that sauce, the decision to add balsamic to duck, and then to place the duck into a sauce made of its own fat should have been seen as a recipe for disaster from the start. The result was a singular texture which left the mouth with a gummy, oily feeling. Duck is naturally very oily, but adding more and more fat to it didn’t help at all. The gnocchi was similarly covered in the carrot-parsnip duck sauce and otherwise lacked any of its own flavor. Having been sat in the oil for so long before reaching our table, it also was mushy. It seems the fried outside of the gnocchi “dumplings” was unable to hold up to the duck fat.

The Pork Milanese was an outright disaster. Firstly, the breading, to my palate, was unseasoned. I cut into the pork and it became obvious that this restaurant cannot cook pork properly. The poor pork cutlet didn’t stand a chance against the over-cooking, since it lacked its own fat content, and was bone-dry. Underneath of the breaded pork (which was served on a cutting board so that any oil quickly ran off the plate and onto the table) was a welcome surprise to an otherwise very boring meal. The kale, tomato, and parmesan side dish actually was very well-seasoned, even if the tomatoes were a bit overcooked as well. The sauce that was served onto my pork at the table by the waiter (which, like the oil from the kale side dish underneath, quickly dropped off of the cutting board) also lacked any real discernible flavor.

All in all, I don’t think this is a place we’ll be keen return to, especially not for the price. I have never sent back food, and the awful Pork Milanese nearly made me break that streak. When you charge around $35-$40 an entree, some amount of thought needs to go into texture and flavor when designing a recipe. Duck is simply too naturally oily to not prepar a crispy skin, especially if you’re going to accompany it with a duck fat sauce, and it should go without saying that at this price point, overcooked pork is simply unacceptable. Breading also needs to be pre-seasoned before being cooked.

The portions were very generous- but were so oily or dry (depending on which meat) that we couldn’t finish the meal. The service was very good and responsive and very friendly, the ambience was also reasonably quiet and cozy. It’s a shame that the food wasn’t the star of the show here, not even...

The food has been highly rated by neighbors, and this restaurant has experienced some “buzz” but I found it to be on the expensive side, more suited for special occasion dining. The items are priced at the top end of what this area will tolerate, but that elevation is excused because the flavor profiles are more gourmet than other area offerings.

A friend had reserved a table for 6 on a Sunday afternoon. The restaurant is located in an unassuming building, which I understand to have formerly been a Pizza Hut. As our group was ushered to the table, we passed the largely empty bar, and it looked like a cozy hangout for another day. Our dining table was on the former sidewalk/tented patio area, and somewhere nearby there was a slamming door-- which was discordant until it was mentioned to our server and the jarring noise ceased.

Our server, Alec, was friendly and very professional. The special that day was a 3lb Tomahawk Steak, which is quite unusual—and tempting. We started with orders of Char Grilled Oysters to share and Alec delivered delicious Corn Bread, with jalapeños in the accompanying butter.

This is an overly complicated menu. We saw every table asking their servers to explain it which takes up time (e.g. “Matignon” is minced) Not everyone speaks French; cares about the difference between chopped, diced or minced; or wants to pull out Google translate before they place an order.

Our food was delayed and Alec repeatedly made apologies for the kitchen being understaffed, and brought an extra serving of Corn Bread. We could see that the new arrivals at the Bar were receiving their food orders while we waited for ours which had been placed earlier. (A tablemate later mentioned this, and a bottle of wine was comped.)

The food came to the table 1.5 hrs from when it was ordered, just short of 2 hrs from when we sat down. When it finally showed up, for a group of 6 only my Chicken and Waffles were correctly placed in front of me, perhaps because a waffle can’t be mistaken for anything else. The Prime rib (rare) received a Filet (medium) and creamed corn. The Filet (medium) got the Filet (rare). The Gumbo had the Duck placed in front of him. That is inexplicable, don’t the food runners know their cuts of meat or recognize drumsticks? The food delay and the ensuing table mixup lost what would have been a 5 star review.

Once our food was sorted out, the Fried Chicken and Cornbread Waffles were very tasty and I would recommend that dish. Also the creamed corn, as the side dish for the filets, had a nice and unexpected bite of horseradish.

I sat on this review before posting it and a few nights later went to the bar for a glass of wine. I liked the friendly atmosphere and Hailey, the bartender, was personable so in the future I would return to dine at the bar. While sitting there I observed a single swinging kitchen door servicing the dining room. There seems to be an in/out traffic problem which would account for a lack of efficiency.

I understand the Chef/Owner is opening up a catering business across the street. I hope he succeeds but would suggest he gets his ducks in a row on this...

Okay, to start, I must admit I'm slightly biased to The Local. They catered an event I went to, and the food was absolutely awesome. This was an event for a local non-profit.

With that, now on to the review. This will also include the food I had at the event.

Event food: Ahi Tuna tacos. These were absolutely amazing. Pan seared tuna cooked perfectly, cucumber salsa, seaweed salad (first time having this and it was very good so give it a try) with an aolio sauce. These were perfect finger sizes for the event as appetizers.

The tuna at the restaurant was not served in a soft taco, but it was still amazing.

There were fresh oysters at the event, but I didn't eat any as I just can't stomach them. Although everyone else had them said they were so good.

There was a cheese/smoked meat tray that was a perfect pairing of 5 or 6 cheeses, 5 or 6 meats, and a few choices of sliced breads. Again, all amazing. The cheese melted as you chewed it, and it was cold. Firm yet creamy is the best way I can describe it.

There were 3 choices for the entree. A short rib, I didn't get this, but everyone at our table that did, said it was perfect. Salmon with a sauce. I don't remember the name of it. This was just ok to me. I like my salmon cooked a bit more than this was, and the sauce just didn't do it for me. Not that others didn't like it. Last was a portobello mushroom stuffed with something. I honestly didn't pay it much attention as I had no interest in it.

Then, to finish it off was a fudge brownie and vanilla ice cream. The brownie was extremely sweet, but the ice cream cut it down some. Still to sweet for me.

Now on to when we visited their location in Fallston/Belair.

We started with the cream of crab soup. Some, if not the best I have ever had. The ahi tuna appetizer is still amazing. We tried the cheese steak egg rolls, heavy but good. Then we both got the crab cake entree. Green beans were cooked perfectly. House fries were good (closer to a shoestring type). The crab cakes themselves were in the top 3 I have had. Not the best, but I will definitely order them again, and I definitely recommend getting them

Finally, to finish the visit off, we shared the bananas foster. This is like if Crack was a food. It was the best I have ever had by far as bananas foster goes. If we would have been alone, I would have drank the liquids left after eating the solids. Lol.

To sum The Local up. Locally sourced ingredients, thoughtfully prepared, and a great atmosphere plus food that tastes amazing.

Definitely go out of your way to...