We have been going to The Local for dinners at least once or twice a year since it first opened. It was the first truly “farm to table” restaurant we’d found in Naples. What first impressed me, in addition to its really good food, excellent wine program and laid back but attentive service, was the fact that every week they sourced a half pig from a local farm. Their chops, bacon, guancale, and shredded pork were always superb. A recent visit found that their pig farm is no longer in business. A shame, but the food still proved to be superb. Barb and I have talked all year about going to The Local, but just hadn’t been there. So we popped over for I’m their Sunset Dinner special. They offer a three course meal for $25 or $30 if your order is in by 6:15. It’s a very good deal considering the quality of the food and very good choices.
The wine program offers several ever-changing wines by the glass served in 6 or 9 ounce pours. This glass of Cline Pinot Noir was a larger portion very fairly priced at $18.Barb had the Prosecco priced at $12. I started with a cup of their Lentil soup, which has been on their menu since day 1. I’m a big fan of lentil soup and this is the best I’ve had anywhere.Barb started with the night’s special soup, a carrot, fennel, orange soup with cilantro garnish. No cream. She flipped out over this soup.We both ordered a small salad, included with the special menu. Barb had the Kale Caesar and I had the Local Tomato salad. I forgot to take pix of either, so I photographed somebody else’s small salad. We enjoyed both of our salads.Guess who ordered the Carnivore Pizza. Plenty of meat, but to add a small insult, I asked that they add some Pancetta. The crust was perfectly thin, but chewy. The toppings were superbThe Local Garden Veggie Pizza was just what Barb was craving. She loves thin crust flatbreads and this was not quite whisper thin. I tasted it and really liked it, but felt it was lacking in one ingredient: meat.I almost forgot to photograph this exquisite Banana Bread Pudding. I missed the presentation, but you get the idea. It was outstanding. Not part of the Sunset dinner, the additional $13 was money well spentOur server, John, could not have been more delightful. He knew and described all of the menu highlights and directed us to all good choices. He was fun and checked on us several times to make sure that we were enjoying our meal.
I’m sure that we would go to The Local much more often, we’ve just gotten away from 35 to 40 minute drives when going out to dinner. This meal reinforced the value and worth of making this drive, so we intend to get back there another time before we go north for the Summer. They are also open for lunch and weekend brunch.
JoshEatsandDrinks 