My initial reaction to The Local was a good one as we walked into the restaurant. The name says it all and the clientele appear to be patrons from the local area who visit to relax, eat and have a few drinks with friends. Warm and inviting, the interior is small with tables and a large glass window in front.
Our waitress dropped by and we ordered a couple of drinks. They have 70 options for beer that should keep most of you aficionados happy. Their menu is filled with comfort and bar foods. You will find a variety of burgers, grilled cheese, hot dogs and sandwiches.
After hearing how good the fries were and on our waitresses recommendation we started with their parmesan fries:
These were very good and why wouldn't they be? They were covered in garlic butter with grated parmesan cheese. We also found out that the fries were voted the second best in the state in a viewer’s choice vote on WMUR earlier this year. The fries are actually frozen (not hand cut like we assumed) so I’m not sure if they are worthy of second place in the state but they were good as a starter.
For our main entree we both selected a hamburger, my pick was the Pig Pen.
Served with onion rings, this was a house made patty with BBQ pulled pork, bacon, smoked Gouda, cole slaw and BBQ sauce. It was a little too sweet for my taste and the bun was dry. On the plus side the bacon was not overdone and the burger was infused with flavor. They might want to give an option for something else other than a bun, how about grilled bread?
My wife got the Slightly Wicked burger which arrived with cheese, bacon, and house made 1000 Island dressing.
While she enjoyed the half that she could eat because it was a big portion, she commented that the bun tasted stale.
Our waitress was very nice but as the meal went on we felt like she had forgotten us and the service seemed to tail off at the end. It is also important and this goes for everyone to make sure you have a good story to tell about your restaurant. When I asked her why it was called The "Local" she didn’t know the answer. This would have been a good time to ask the owner to stop by our table or just ask the owner for a response.
My wife was excited to try the ice cream cookie sandwich for dessert and the menu listed chocolate as an option but we found out that they don't carry that flavor because there isn't enough room in the freezer. It is okay if you don't have an item just make sure you take it off the menu or at the very least have your staff let customers know that the food is no longer available.