The Local Restaurant - Farm to Table - Charlottesville, Virginia

We arrived in Charlottesville hungry and thirsty so as soon as we got checked in at the Omni Hotel we headed out for dinner. Diana had found two places that looked really good in the quaint historical Belmont neighborhood that has become a destination point for great dining. I picked The Local because of its menu and great beer and wine list.

We had the opportunity to meet Matthew Hart the very passionate and talented owner and chef. Matt is a great guy who has worked hard to get to where he is today. He says the secret to a great restaurant is having really good fresh ingredients and making sure his diners know that they are appreciated. Matt and his staff do all that and more.

We started off dinner with two exotic cocktails, one call Granada which is made with Absolut vodka, Pama, Cointreau, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, and freshly squeezed lime juice and another called Belmont Tea – Firefly Vodka, Elderflower liquor, fresh squeezed lemon juice and a splash of Peach Schnapps. Honestly the cocktails while good where my least favorite part of dinner. Next time I will go straight to great beer and wine list. Unfortunately I have been spoiled by the some of the world's greatest cocktologists in New York City, they are very hard to beat.

On the wine list you will find a great selection of good Virginia wines, which is a topic unto itself which I will be posting about soon, and an international selection. After dinner I tasted a wonderful Petite Manseng from legendary Virginia winery Horton. Later in our trip we visited Horton, what a place. I bought a bottle of Petite Manseng home.

Petit Manseng is a new grape to me. According to Horton "It is famous in southwestern France for being the only wine used to baptize a royal child, namely Henry IV." It "has shown to be the perfect grape for the Central Virginia wine growing region. This rich, full bodied dry white wine is fragrant with unforgettable aromas of Pyrenean honey, toasted hazelnuts and acacia blossom, enhanced by a touch of guava and vanilla."

For dinner we enjoyed some very good beer including a Amber Ale from local brewery Star Hill and a lager called Jomo from the same. Later Diana had this amazing Espresso Stout called Shockoe from Richbrau Brewery in Richmond. I also had a Rye from Catoctin Creek. It is a very crisp and flavor whiskey called Organic Roundstone Rye. Catoctin Creek® Distilling Company was founded by Becky and Scott Harris in 2009 as the first legal distillery in Loudoun County since before Prohibition.

Ok so I am sure you are getting impatient to read about the dinner so here we go.

We started with two appetizers. The Local salad which is made, at this time of year, only with ingredients that are farmed within 60 miles of Charlottesville. It had a very nice dressing over a rainbow of vegetables that tasted so good.

The real jaw dropper was the Gnocchi Bolognese – Local Ground Beef, Veal, and Pork with Onions, Garlic, Tomato and The Local’s House Made Gnocchi, which is a recipe brought back from Italy by Matt's wife, Melissa Close Hart, who is the award wining chef of Palladio Restaurant at Barboursville Vineyards, yes a post is coming on this.

Next we had a special pork ribs entree over mashed potatoes and greens. I could taste the flavor of this dish as it was coming to the table. The meat came from a farm a few miles away and was tender and wholesome like no other. The potatoes and greens were very rich with buttery garlic flavors and cooked to perfection.

Diana had the Local “Rag Mountain” Trout stuffed with Spanish Chorizo and Parmesan Cheese served with Papas Bravas, braised local greens, and an almond aioli. The fish was so meaty and delicious. It makes any Trout we get up here looky anemic like a super model. The greens and baby potatoes were great, The Local really knows how to do local.

The restaurant and bar are very comfortable with seating inside and outside. We dined upstairs, inside as it was one of those 100+ degree days. It is a little quieter upstairs too.