Review: Fun and Fine Dining at (Local)

700 Montgomery Highway (Vestavia Hills City Center)
949-0886
www.LisLocal.com

By Deborah Lockridge

Local is a place where you can have fun with fine food.

It starts with the ambiance, as soon as you walk in the door and step onto the artificial grass in the foyer. Large multi-paned windows that look out onto the fountain at Vestavia Hills City Center are actually red-painted garage doors that can be rolled up in nice weather for an al fresco feeling. Walls are either white or painted a retro blue-and-chocolate-brown combo reminiscent of Brady Bunch days. A large sign proclaiming "Local" on one wall was salvaged from the sign of the previous tenant, Calypso Joe's. The covered outdoor patio is separated from the public by a red-painted picket fence. There are white tablecloths, but this is a restaurant where you can come as you are, whether that's dressed for shopping, a movie, or an elegant fine dining experience. (Located just down the escalator from the Rave movie theater, Local offers a chance to take the "dinner and a movie" date to new heights.)

The fun continues with the menu, which owner/chef Anthony Marini is constantly tweaking to take advantage of fresh finds, try new recipes or respond to customer demand. There's "The Best Chicken Ever," a dish Marini says is the only one he's ever copied, from a favorite of an infamous mobster. A gourmet burger may make you never want to eat fast food again. On one visit, we were treated to "sticks and stones," an appetizer consisting of round balls of Marini's famous truffle risotto and sticks of creamy yet firm Southern grits, deep fried. (We had to tease Anthony, who is from Philly, that he truly had become a "local," since we like to deep-fry nearly anything here in the South.) And if you love good food, what could be more fun than dipping artisanal bread, succulent prime filet tips and tangy Granny Smith apples into a classic gruyere and ementhaler fondue?

We do have to offer a disclaimer here. Normally we try to do our reviews anonymously; we go in for a meal just like anyone else, without the restaurant knowing we're doing a review. That's not possible with Local, as we knew Marini from his previous restaurant (the highly acclaimed but poorly located AMBA) and have been to his new place several times. We did not, however, let him know we were doing a review on this particular visit.

We started with appetizers of Lobster Egg Rolls and Prime Steak Tartare ($12 each.) The egg rolls were not terribly hot, as if they had sat a few minutes after coming out of the fryer before being delivered to the table. They were still delicious, especially with the mango-hot mustard dipping sauce, but a little more lobster would have been nice.

The tartare was a very large portion, about the size of a small filet mignon. For those unfamiliar with tartare, it is raw steak, finely chopped and mixed with various seasonings, served with toasted slices of bread to spread it on. This was very nicely seasoned, with a definite taste of black pepper, but not so much that it overwhelmed the flavor of the steak.

Local's wine list is not large, but is well-thought-out, without resorting to the same over-exposed, mass market wine labels you commonly see. With our appetizers, we enjoyed a glass of crisp, cold Italian Trebbiano and a McManis Cabernet.

After sharing the generous amount of tartare, we did not have room to have an entrée each, so we split an order of North Coast Sea Scallops with 24-hour Braised Beef ($25). This unique take on surf and turf was a delightful contrast of textures and flavors. The beef had been simply slow-cooked with red wine, salt and pepper and thyme. It was very tender, like a cross between pot roast and barbecue, but without the fat. The scallops were large and sweet, perfectly seared, a bit on the salty side. Both beef and scallops were served over a "Red Pepper Mojo" sauce, a spicy chipotle-based sauce that gave some kick to the simple beef and a nice contrast to the sweet-salty scallops, without overhelming heat.

This was a little hard to match with wine, with all the different flavors, especially since our server, who was otherwise excellent, said the dish was not spicy. We each had something different, a lovely dry and fruity Gewurtztraminer and a fruity Syrah ($8/glass).

(It was a little annoying to discover we'd been charged $4 to share an entrée, since this was not noted on the menu. We have often shared entrees at other fine restaurants without such a charge.)

One of the reasons we split an entrée was to save room for dessert ($7 each). Pastry Chef Stephanie Bedford had impressed us in the past with her innovative concoctions, including basil ice cream. A bit like mint ice cream but not so in your face, the basil ice cream was a pleasant accompaniment to Chocolate Bread Pudding with chocolate sauce and orange confit. The bread pudding was baked as an individual loaf, for lots of delicious crust. Lemon-black sesame Pound Cake with Orange Creamsicle sorbet and basil syrup was dense and rich, with subtle lemon and sesame flavors. Other choices included a Blueberry Float, Caramel Apple Crisp and house-made fresh fruit sorbet in three flavors.

Local's menu is always changing, but here's what it looked like on the night we dined. The menu was divided, not into appetizers and entrees or small plates and large plates, but by price. For $5, you could get Puree of Carrot Soup with Hawaiian Ginger. For $9, Anthony's Salad, Crispy Risotto, or Buffalo Mozzarella with cold Chino Beets and Basil Crush. Cornmeal-dusted fried Fanny Bay Oysters and the gourmet Bistro Burger were other $12 options. (The oysters, accompanied by wood-smoked homemade mayonnaise, were a big hit at Local's grand opening party in April.) For $20, we had the options of "The Best Chicken Ever," Florida Gulf Shrimp with Fennel Risotto, Pocono Mountain Trout, and Marini's version of a Philadelphia Cheese Steak – braised short ribs, French Horn mushrooms, grilled onions and Parmesan crema with "Uncle Mike's greens." $25 options included a whole Georgia Striped Bass with Black Rice and Ocean Sauce, Painted Hills Beef Tenderloin with whipped potatoes and wilted spinach, a Very Large Maryland Crab Cake with Alabama tomatoes fried, roasted and fresh; and an Illinois Pork Chop with Alabama organic grits and "creamless creamed corn."

Also on the menu was "Old School" Fondue. It comes with artisanal bread, plus you get your choice of Kielbasa, shrimp or prime filet tips, and your choice of apples or Yukon Gold potatoes. The petite size ($30) claims to feed one to three. In our opinion, it makes a wonderful meal for two, especially when combined with a salad or other appetizer and some good wine. Or it would make a nice appetizer for four to six. There's also a Grande version, designed to feed four to six people, for $40.

The service on our last few visits has been very good. Marini admits that he had some service problems in his first few months of operation, but that appears to be in the past. Our servers, including Evan, Dean and Cameron, have been enthusiastic, knowledgeable, friendly and attentive, sometimes young but eager to please.

One thing we'd like to do is get some friends together for Local's Chef's Table, where Marini prepares "a collection of 8 to 10 spontaneous courses" for a group of four to eight guests, with the menu developed based on guest preferences or distastes. This meal is served in a special area in full view of the kitchen. We got a taste of Marini's "spontaneity" on our recent visit. Someone he knew had stopped by and was seated at the bar, and asked Marini to surprise him with a snack. Marini wrapped tender shrimp, goat cheese and basil in spring roll wrappers and fried them. The guest shared a morsel with us, and it was delicious.

Local is the crown jewel of Vestavia City Center, but we'd like to see it promoted more. We like the fact that developer AIG Baker has made a real effort to get locally owned restaurants into Vestavia City Center and its other properties. Unfortunately, a number of them have not succeeded, including Yanni's, Bacca and Jean Rene's. We can't help but think that if we saw and heard more ads and promotions about City Center's restaurants and other businesses (in contrast, you can hardly turn on the radio without hearing ads for The Summit, whose restaurants are all chains), that more people in the Birmingham area would eat "local."

Published August 2006