Local Chop & Grill (finally!)

I've been super remiss in writing here. Cut a girl some slack, I've been busy. Oh, and three trees fell on my truck. Thanks, derecho! Anyway. A little over a month ago, my husband and I went out with two other couples, leaving all of our children in the care of household pets skilled babysitters. We decided to go to the Local Chop & Grill. Contrary to my pessimistic statements beforehand, they did not lock the doors when they saw me coming. Yes, I finally ate at the Local Chop. One thing that was fun was that, with six people, I got to see and sample a wider variety of the cuisine than I typically do. Here's my report.

• Location: 56 West Gay St. It's in that renovated produce warehouse that has also been turned into condos, where Downtown 56 used to be.
• Website: http://www.localchops.com/
• Food profile:  Local gourmet
• Local sourcing: Oh yes. The menu even, in a handful of cases, tells you *what farm* a cut of meat came from.
• Takeout: Not that I'm aware of.
• Warnings: Closed Monday
• Tips: We ate in the bar, which was fun. I would mostly recommend this, except that, at six people, our group was seriously pushing the limits of the table's capacity. Also, check out their blog for events like dinners with local organic farmers (and, apparently, beer tastings!).
• Specialties: While I'm sure the kitchen staff is more proud of their grilled meats, everyone at my table raved about the duckfat fries (and joked that they were probably nabbing ducks off Black's Run, just out the back door).

About Local Chop:

Local Chop is a restaurant with a pretty awesome mission. It's trying hard to create food in a sustainable way, and to encourage other restaurants in town to do so as well. Their website includes an impressive list of local producers who raise the food that ends up on their table. 

Food: The food was pretty good, and it felt nice to know that a large percentage of it had come from the Valley. I'd say it's on par with Clementine (although the prices are a bit more in the Joshua Wilton House range). The recipes were pretty creative, which I appreciated--like wheatberry and couscous cakes. Who even thinks of that? 

Atmosphere: This is where Local Chop is a serious winner. The space is gorgeous, with well-chosen artwork and carefully designed lighting. I'm sure that there wasn't a massive physical renovation since Downtown 56 closed its doors, but the space feels airier. The wait staff was great. At one point, I knocked over my drink (and was super embarrassed, so shut up). Before I had a moment to take a breath, one waiter was mopping up the mess and another was handing me a fresh glass. The restaurant hit its mark in this respect--I have the feeling that the atmosphere is exactly what they had in mind.