Mike Orren Staff

Food: 5/5  Vibe: 4/5  Service: 5/5  Value: 3/5  Overall: 4/5

Been meaning to try Local for a long time. We went last night at the tail-end of a long-planned date night.

A warning-- Despite the laid-back Deep Ellum vibe, it ain't cheap. But it's worth it and then some. All the ingredients are fresh and delicious and there is an attention to detail that underscores that someone is thinking about food as (accessible) art:

Lobster cake appetizer was delicious and immediately displayed the welcome addition of a mini-salad on almost every item. Fried green beans with a buttermilk sauce showed the right way to eat green vegetables-- only complaint is that the portion is so large and filling that it puts you in a worry about the meal.

Even though the cooking is elegant, homey ingredients are put to great use. I had the bass coated with corn flakes and it was fantabulous. (Also on a bed of risotto, plus the ubiquitous greens on top.)

"Chocolate Composed" dessert was a mini-souffle; three perfect cookies and a spiked ovaltine shot (see elegance + homey ingredients.) It was a chocolategasm that still has me in a trance today.

Biggest criticism is that there's nothing affordable on the wine list. If you want a bottle, you're dropping a minimum of around $80. A half-bottle list only highlights the pricing. That said, we were driven to the much more reasonable prosecco mojitos, which were very refreshing.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )