Noms: The Local, Wellesley

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To celebrate Jonah’s birthday, we decided to venture out to The Local, a restaurant that just opened up in Wellesley last November.  Per usual, we went for an early dinner (5:30  pm), so when we arrived, there weren’t many patrons.  Suffice it to say, the place began to quickly fill up, and as we walked out the door at 6:30 pm there were people waiting for tables.  The Local’s menu is divided into clever sections such as “Snack Things,” including warm potato chips and dip and spicy Chex mix, “Mac and Cheese Things,” which allowed the diner to customize his or her mac and cheese, and “Bigger Things,” which was comprised of larger entrees including chicken cacciatore, short ribs, and semolina-crusted fish and chips.  Impressively, none of the appetizers is more than $14 (most were $5-8), and none of the entrees costs more than $19.

To start our meal, we had the fried pickles, which were crispy and delicious and not greasy in the least.  For our main meals, Jonah had the grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup, while Joanne had the Atlantic salmon, which came with roasted Brussels sprouts and parsnip puree.  Although Jonah’s grilled cheese was smaller than others he has gotten at similar restaurants, he felt it was the perfect amount of food and was comfortably full by the end of the meal.  Joanne’s salmon was perfectly cooked, and the contrast in flavors among the salmon, Brussels sprouts, and puree was addictive.

While our meal was tasty and uneventful, it appeared as though the couple dining next to us were not happy with their orders.  We overheard them telling their waiter that the steak tips they had ordered were not cooked to their liking, so they sent them back.  In addition, it looked like there were other issues with that couple’s meal, including missing meal components.  Our guess is that since the restaurant is still only about a month old, it is working out the kinks.

All in all, The Local was a pleasant surprise for its delicious food at very affordable prices.  It will surely be added to our favorite restaurants rotation!