I thought I was kind of over the “upscale southern” food trend. But then I went to Local Three. Housed in the former Joel space, the owners have completely transformed the restaurant from a hall of European elegance to a modern barn with velvet Elvis portraits on the walls. The place is a bit hard to find, but was packed when I visited on a recent Friday night.
The thing that struck me the most was our server. She was upbeat, friendly, and helpful. It’s sad that this is so rare that it’s worth commenting on, but she was truly a delight and made our meal that much better.
After perusing their beverage list, I decided to start with an Old Fashioned. The amount of Bourbon they offer (at least 30 bottles, including Pappy Van Winkle) was a good signal that they take their cocktails seriously.
We also ordered one of our favorite bottles of wine, Quivira Sauvignon Blanc. Local Three has a well-curated wine list with some hard-to-find bottles.
We started with the crispy brussel sprouts and the chicken liver pate. Both were excellent. The sprouts were roasted, I think in duck fat, which gave them a rich flavor and a nice texture as well. This was one of the best versions of chicken liver pate that I’ve ever had, mainly due to the house-made marmalade spread on top of the liver. Yum! Apparently they change up which fruit they use fairly often.
(Also note the adorable vintage salt & pepper, they had a different set on each table)
We also had a perfectly nice salad of winter greens. But the standout of the night had to be our North Carolina Flounder with linguine, shaved garlic and lobster butter. The fish was perfectly cooked and lightly breaded. The linguine with lobster butter was one of the better pasta dishes I’ve had at a restaurant. Silky pasta lightly coated in a super rich sauce…I’m salivating just thinking about it. The restaurant was kind enough to split our dishes onto two plates without making a fuss or including an extra charge.
I want to go back and try the Chicken Pot Pie- it’s been getting a lot of buzz as one of the best versions in town. They also have a great cheese plate and a charcuterie plate playfully called the Notorious P.I.G. If you come in for brunch, $18 gets you a pass into the famous $1 Million dollar kitchen for an all-you-can-eat buffet. The placemat is a map of the kitchen.
Considering everything up until this point was great, we opted to have dessert. We chose the chocolate pudding cake with Captain Crunch ice cream and salted caramel.
A perfect end to a nearly perfect meal. Local Three has earned itself a spot on my “favorites” list.
Our meal total came to about $80, but at least half of it was alcohol. Appetizers run from $3-11 and mains are between $10-25. They also appear to have a nice private room for a special occasion. I’m considering it as an option for a graduation dinner :)
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