L O C A L (all spaced and italic like they have it on their site) is a trendy spot in Dallas located in Deep Ellum, a downtown neighborhood. When your diving to Local, there are lots of bars and such along the way. It looked a little seedy on a Wednesday night... it might be rocking on a Friday or Saturday though.

If you are looking for Local, I hope you have checked out the web site first. The sign is very small and the only way we found it after driving by it a few times was that the architecture looked like the drawing on the site! Some might say it makes it feel exclusive. Others might say it makes the experience difficult. It's your call.

Walking into the Local, housed in this cool old hotel, feels like walking into a night club more than a dining establishment. It is full of shag carpet and groovy walnut Eames chairs, which are way more comfortable than they look! I love the fact that the owners restored this great building, keeping details like the old painted tile in tact. On the Local's site, they even tell you all about the design and restoration. I like that!

When you first sit down, the wait staff brings a yummy roasted nut / chex mix. It reminds me of Ina Garten's Rosemary Roasted Cashews. Very nice! (I pick out all the cashews and almonds by the way).

We ordered wine - more on that later - and our entrées. Then came an amuse bouche of broccolini soup. Tasty. I ordered the fois gras with Sauternes steeped apples, currants and a vanilla bean compote. The whole thing was garnished with greens. I love buttery, creamy foiegras. It should just melt in your mouth. This was good, but a little over done... there was some necessary teeth action. The next course was the duck... pan seared Muscovy duck breast with fresh cranberry, tangerine and Moscato syrup. It was accompanied by mashed turnips and a mini spinach salad. The duck was cooked perfectly and I loved the freshness of the sauce. It was a great alternative to a traditional black or blueberry sauce on duck. All this was finished with a scoop of yummy cinnamon ice cream (if you have read other postings, you will know there is always room for ice cream!).  Overall, I give the meal a B+. It was pretty, and tasty, but the trendy plating and desire to point out all the specialty ingredients on the menu combined with service that was a bit stiff seemed to lack heart.

The real highlight of our meal at Local though was the wine. I am going to have to write a whole nother review on it. Our waitress recommended the 2005 Stevens Winery 424 from Washington State. This wine is sold out so I hope you can find it in a restaurant. If you do, order it. A blend of 45% Cab Franc, 45% and Cab Sav, and 10% Merlot, it was smooth and complex at the same time. Wine Enthusiast gave it 91 points in November 2008. I can totally see why. I'm going to write a separate review on this; it is worthy of its own entry.

At 10pm, we closed the place down. I don't know if Dallas dining is dead, or the Local's hard-to-find locale was to blame. The food at Local is good, the service is thorough. Don't get me wrong! I would never dissuade anyone from going. It may just be a touch too cool for this gal in school.