DateOctober 16, 2008
Location
824 Hinton Avenue
Right between Mas, Belmont BBQ, and La Taza
What I ate
Appetizer - House made mozzarella,roasted peppers, grilled bread, and sea salt
Entree - Braised beef short ribs with potatoes, carrots, and pearl onions
Who went
Nora, Suzie, and Matt
Website
http://www.thelocal-cville.com/
Thoughts
The food was great. The locavore in me loves the emphasis on local ingredients and I spent a lot of time reading over the menu planning out future trips. It is a bit expensive to visit regularly - appetizers are $6-$8, pastas are $12-$15, entrees are about $16-$18 - but it really isn't overpriced. The portions were generous and the food was rich and filling, though Nora said her dish was a bit too rich. No one had any room left in their stomach for dessert, but they all sounded delicious. I'm excited about going back in a few weeks, especially if they vary their menu with the seasons. I didn't get a good chance to look over the drink menu, but it seemed like they have a very well-stocked bar leaning towards the higher end in general.
Our waiter was really nice, even though it seemed like he was relatively new. He was very helpful and our relatively small glasses of water were never empty. Their menu says they will not split checks for groups larger than 4, but it was just 4 of us and there was no issue. The place was relatively empty, but we didn't get there until 7:15 and the hostess told me the reservation I made, while unnecessary at 7:15, would've been a very good idea just an hour earlier.
The lighting was a little on the dim side of ideal and would vary from time to time, but you could still read the menu and see your fellow diners. They generally played good music though I'm not sure Dave Matthews counts as a "local ingredient". It doesn't look like a good place to bring a large group, but there is plenty of seating, both inside and outside. Had we arrived earlier, I'd imagine we would've really enjoyed eating outside since it was a crisp, cool evening.
Recap
Pros - delicious food, nice atmosphere
Cons - a little expensive (though not overpriced), no parking in Belmont
Overall - Highly recommended, just not more than every few weeks
4 comments:
Sweet. That place sounds incredibly awesome. I'm really jealous. The food in Portland is, shall we say, for the most part, a bit uninspired.
You should also posting these reviews on Yelp.
The food was delish. The appetizers were a bit small for the price, but like Steve said, the entree portions were ample. As far as music, they had Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Wilco) on shuffle with their other songs. Modern/alt rock is not what I expected in a restaurant like that.
nonetheless, I think Wilco makes for good music with any meal! +1 for restaurants with good taste in music!
I went back there last night and just need to confirm how absolutely delicious the food was. My soup was a little uninspired, but the chicken was perfectly cooked and the rosemary creme brulee (I know, sounds odd) was awesome. Upon further consideration, the prices are really quite good.
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