The Local

Start to finish, this was one of my favorite meals of 2017 thus far. I tend to ramble on when I like a place this much, so I'm going to try and simplify it down to a few things you should know.

1. There's a list on the wall of the farms and purveyors they source all their product from. They care about the ingredients they use, and so should you.

2. The space is an old farmhouse, with seating upstairs and downstairs, and a few tables on the porch. It's warm, and welcoming, with a clean, open kitchen. Everything in its right place.

3. We started with an incredible skillet bread with sorghum butter and the South St. Bandito (a tequila cocktail with volcanic black salt on the rim), and the quality of both set the tone for the evening. Many places find it hard to live up to great cocktail and bread service, but that wasn't the case here.

4. Our server, Mark, was the right kind of weird. He was funny, and knowledgable about the food. He made great recommendations, and insisted that we all order different dishes and share. I can see how that could conceivably bother another group, but we always eat that way, and it just showed his faith in his kitchen. Once the food started arriving, that faith was justified in each and every dish. Plus, he was attentive and was quick to bring anything we needed.

5. I admit I was skeptical of the tuna tartare with the listed ingredients of guacamole, cucumber, enoki mushrooms, and sushi flavors. Sushi flavors? I think they say that so people won't be scared off by the wasabi peas they threw in that gorgeous presentation. I ain't never scurred.

6. The Duck Three Ways is a showstopper of a dish. If they had only brought me the perfectly tender breast with the crisp, rendered skin, the plate marked with commas of that divine sauce...it would have been enough. If they only brought it confit, mixed in with the buttered späetzel and the sweet sopressata and the mushroom and tomatoes...it would have been enough. But they also brought a tiny little skillet with a wild ramp granola crisp and foie gras smeared all over it...and it was exceptional. Get this duck.

7. Although the duck was easily my favorite, we didn't have one dish I didn't like. From the smoked salmon belly rillettes hidden under candy-striped beets and laced with buttermilk dressing, to the cedar-planked trout with almonds and farro verde, to the soft shell crab and grits, to the Jerusalem artichoke ravioli with the five spice goat butter and a sunchoke frico...every dish was original and delicious, with balanced flavors and beautiful presentations.

8. We even got dessert, and although I'm more into chocolate chip cookies, the birds' nest with mochi and some crazy ice cream was a winner as well.

Eight is lucky in Chinese culture, so I'm going to leave it there. I will absolutely be back, and soon.

We had a reservation for 7.30 pm, we had time to see all the beautiful dishes coming out of the tiny kitchen as we waited about 5 minutes. A true little gem. Service was excellent, waiters very knowledgable and on point. We shared the antipasto plate for appetizer, olives, salami, prosciutto, mozzarella cheese, red n yellow roasted peppers, hot peppers, very satisfying for 4 people.
My friend had the sea bass and enjoyed it. The Farm Duck Breast and Spiced Confit Leg, was a combination of sliced breast and confie, presentation was stellar as well as delicious. Two of us had the " Hog" a nice size pork chop and some ......
None of our desert were up to par! All together missing in taste, our apple crisp was under baked the ice cream was nothing special. The bill came with a few pieces of brittle.
I gave it 4 starts only because the place is very noise, hard to carry a conversation.

In a word: yes.

The Local delivers on its promise. Bigly! The kitchen knows what it is doing. Everything that came out during our visit (and we were a table of 8, and I made sure to grab a little something from everyone's plate...) was downright righteous.

Plus, the place is totally Rhinebeck. Yes, be prepared for separation from a few shekels for the privilege of dining here. Yes, it is a little precious and trendy. But if someone says to me, "Hey, we should make a reservation at The Local..." I will heartily agree and make sure I have a small lunch that day in prep for it.

The Local is a great contemporary American restaurant that focuses on the smaller details, and really gives you a great experience from start to finish.

The bartender is knowledgeable not just about his drinks and the menu, but also about the history of the restaurant and the town. We really enjoyed having a drink (or two) at the bar before dinner!

This isn't the type of restaurant where you should expect to take home a 'doggie bag' with leftovers, their portions aren't small but just the right size where you should be able to finish them without feeling overly stuffed. Often times my eyes are bigger than my stomach, but in this case I was able to comfortably eat an appetizer and an entree without getting that post-thanksgiving feeling.

For an appetizer I enjoyed a nice Sky Farm Baby Arugula salad with pepperonata vinaigrette, house smoked burrata, baquette toast, and the best part.... Sweet soppresata crisps. So light and delicious that I could have easily taken a larger portion for my main course.

For the main course I enjoyed the Cedar Planked Trout, which was made even better by the fact that our seat overlooked the kitchen, and I got to see them prepare this truly beautiful dish! And yes, they did indeed put the Trout onto a Cedar planked when they cooked it. Kudos! The trout itself was cooked to perfection, and accompanied with carrots, farro verde, red veined sorrel, and almonds.

This restaurant is great for special occasions, or when you just want a good meal and don't feel like cooking for yourself! The price may be a bit on the higher side, but as they say... You get what you pay for, and in this case, it's worth every penny!

This is a belated review for my dinner at The Local in November 2013...

I try to make it to the Hudson Valley (New York's version of France's Gascogne) every Fall for a West Point Football Game or to go hiking at Bear Mountain and then finish the day with dinner at one of the local (no pun intended) spots in the area. As a huge fan of college football, Fall foilage, great culinary scene (CIA for example), foie gras, duck, pork, cheese, etc., the Hudson Valley can't be beat, especially as it's only an hour and a half from NYC.

I can't recommend this restaurant enough and is one of the best in the area. We tried to go to one of the restaurants at the CIA (Bocuse, American Bounty, etc.), but as it was graduation weekend, we had no chance, so we drove up to Rhinebeck, and based on Yelp reviews, we decided on the The Local. We definitely weren't disappointed.

We shared (and these items are still on the menu as they're very good) the Foie Gras appetizer (on special that day), the Banh Mi Crepe appetizer (with pork & duck liver), the Hudson Valley Duck 'Two Ways' (breast & leg confit) and the Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sundae. I remember every plate because they were so memorable, but have to say that the Foie Gras & Duck were some of the best I've ever had. We also ordered cocktails and those were excellent as well - the Hudson Mule & the Cosmo Blanco.

My only complaint would be that the Wine List is very U.S.-centric, with little-to-no options from France, Spain, Italy, etc. Their wine list won a "2014 Wine Spectator Award", but as those in the Sommelier world know, Wine Spectator is a heavily biased publication for U.S. wines, they know almost nothing about wines outside the U.S., except for maybe South America, so I give little credence to that award. No offense, just my Somm opinion coming out.

Overall though, a great restaurant with great food and a great ambiance as well. Highly recommend it if you're in the area.

There are five very good restaurants in Rhinebeck, but only one great restaurant, THE LOCAL. It is indeed Michelin star worthy. It is in fact the best restaurant within a hundred miles.
I will avoid specific offering descriptions, there is not a fault on the menu, and give only the important overall evaluation.
The attention to detail is extraordinary as is the perfect blending of ingredients. Choices are perfect throughout and one must return again and again to sample it all.
It simply does not get any better.

Wow, where can I start? First, the bread was soft, felt like a pound cake in my mouth. House made bread and butter. I had 1/2 dozen oysters, BLT salad, duck and steak. My favorite was the duck. HIGHLY recommend the duck. The server was very attentive and polite. I am ready to bring all my friends and family here.

Reservation - 8:15
Arrive at restaurant - 8:20
Seated at table - 9:00
Order taken - 9:10
Drinks arrive - 9:30

What was the point of making a reservation. The worst restaurant experience I've ever had. Shame because the food was actually quite good.

This restaurant was SO LOUD upstairs that I thought I would lose both my hearing and my voice! The truffle fries were marginal -greasy, too small (each individual potato piece), too salty, not that great. The chicken dumpling appetizer was quite good but the broth a bit too sweet. My friend's sweet potato squash ravioli were delicious. The trout spread was good but not mind-blowing. The beet salad was a waste of time - when I eat a beet salad I want to have more than three or four beets on my plate - the sauce was bland - they shouldn't bother with the raw thin sliced ones - yuck.
This all coming from a San Francisco and New York City eater who knows FRESH, knows DELICIOUS. All of the staff at the LOCAL were great. They have a good thing going here for a small town but I would not say it is the best food I have ever eaten in my life. Not even close.

The food, atmosphere, and menu are thoughtful and the wine selection is nice. The concept of the restaurant has recently changed completely and is much more relaxed, light, and seafood centric. It was a little jarring because I liked the darker romantic feel of the place before, but I respect the change and can appreciate it for what it is. I think the "theme" could be toned down a little. The 60's surf music on repeat felt a little contrived and I think the bright lighting took away from the atmosphere slightly. I think they'll work out the kinks of their new restaurant and it will great.