Locale
Lisa's Review:
Earlier this month, Fred and I visited a restaurant we have only been to once before in the summer. We were first interested in trying Locale because it is one of the few restaurants that offers outdoor seating. As you can see from this picture taken back then, the exterior is quite pretty and Mother Nature provides a beautiful ambience.
Our visit this time was in the colder month of November, so it meant a chance check out the interior and sample their Italian menu again. The front entrance is inviting and the interior attractive and well kept, but the ambience we felt outside was missing inside the restaurant. The decor was pleasant enough but on the plain side. I guess I'd say that there was nothing special inside but nothing terrible either!
For my appetizer, I ordered my usual salad which was tasty. I've noticed that many restaurants now offer a similarly constructed salad: It includes some kind of lettuce (bib or mesclun), with cheese crumbles (blue or goat), candied nuts (walnut or pistachio), dried fruit (cranberry or cherry) and a healthy dose of sherry or citrus vinaigrette. At Locale, instead of a candied nut, it was roasted walnuts, and instead of a dried fruit, it was fresh pear julienne. That's a refreshing change and it keeps some unneeded sugar out of the salad.
I ordered wild mushroom risotto for my main course with grilled chicken breast added to it. The risotto was presented in an unexpected way, with the creamy arborio rice forming a ring around the edge of my plate, the wild mushroom gravy placed in the center, and the chicken presented on the top. The unusual presentation did give me a chance to taste the base risotto, which I felt was bland and under seasoned. However, the wild mushroom gravy in the center was rich and flavorful and more than made up for the rice. The chicken breast was nicely cooked and moist.
As an aside, if you care about having some kind of starch with your protein, it seems that it is mainly the steak or lamb dishes where this comes as part of the ordered dish. If however you order fish, chicken or veal, in most cases they are served with mixed vegetables but no starch. Alternatively, if you order a starch based meal, like the risotto, there is little protein. Fortunately, when I asked the waiter of I could have starch added to fish/chicken/veal or chicken added to risotto or pasta, the answer was yes! I realize that some readers' eyes just glazed over, but when you're counting calories and trying to eat a balanced meal...it matters!
Overall, my experience at Locale was pleasant. The service was attentive and the staff were willing to adjust orders to my needs. I recommend Locale for good Italian food and service. If you can, try to go in the summer to enjoy the outside dining atmosphere, in addition to the food.
Fred's Review:
What Lisa didn't mention is that, on our second visit to Locale, immediately after being seated we were wished a happy anniversary by our waiter. Which struck us as a bit odd since it was not our anniversary. Had someone here incorrectly inferred this since I requested a quiet romantic table when I made the reservation (as I often do)? Or were we instead being mistaken for another couple actually celebrating their wedding anniversary? If so, then besides misappropriating their table perhaps we would soon be the unworthy recipients of all sorts of other special perks meant for them.
For the next few minutes I couldn't help but envision a nice sweet couple who had come here for their anniversary dinner expecting to be pampered all evening by the entire restaurant staff. But now, because of us, they were instead being ignored by their waiter while sitting at some crappy table next to the restrooms. Fortunately, a glass of sparkling wine helped relieve the guilt, and then it came time to order our dinners.
Emboldened by the certainty I would not be having my cholesterol levels checked again until next year, I chose the Caesar salad, to be followed by the fettuccine carbonara. And each was delicious. The entree in particular was very tasty, especially after having it topped off with fresh ground pepper and grated cheese. The carbonara sauce was very rich and thick, as such cream sauces should be. And of course the viscosity quickly increased as the dish cooled. Fortunately, I was able to finish nearly all the fettuccine before it solidified completely.
For some reason they, like most other Italian restaurants, include green peas in their carbonara sauce. I don't know why since, in my estimation, peas do nothing to enhance the taste or the texture of this dish. Is the intent to add a bit of color to the plate? Or maybe they believe that including some vegetables will make it healthier? Well, if so, then I think they should scrap that idea. Anyone who orders fettuccine carbonara should just accept that it is very likely the unhealthiest item on the menu, and a few green peas aren't going to change that.
Despite skipping dessert, I was quite full by the time we finished dinner. This was not due to the portion sizes, however, which I would classify as small to medium, but rather to the heaviness of the cream sauce. Overall, it was a very nice dining experience. Except that I think the menu is rather limited in its offerings, and valet parking seemed unnecessary on our second visit considering the size of their property and the scarcity of patrons that evening. It was much busier last summer when outside seating was available on their patio.
No comments:
Post a Comment