Over the past several years, Baltimore's bar food has steadily improved, with sophisticated flavors and techniques along with a farm-to-table ethos. But what about post-bar food? When the evening's winding down and you realize you're ravenous, the culinary choices are often just not that great.
With the early February opening of The Local Fry in Federal Hill, that is no longer the case. Though the restaurant's menu is limited to wings and creatively topped French fries, the sauces and toppings are interesting and well-executed.
This is food that sounds like the best idea in the world after a few Friday night drinks. But it's also good enough to be just as appealing while dead sober on a random Tuesday.
Scene & Decor We visited The Local Fry on a random and rainy Tuesday. The space is cool and rustic-modern, with pale walls, gray floors and wire baskets used both functionally and as wall art. Like the rest of the restaurants on its block that night, it was fairly quiet, with just one other table occupied.
Appetizer The menu at The Local Fry is straightforward and focused. Options include wings, French fries, and fries with toppings. That's it. At a different restaurant, that menu might seem limited or boring. At The Local Fry, it's neither.
Wings ($5 for 5 or $9 for 10) can be tossed with one of more than a dozen seasonings or sauces. We chose the honey Old Bay variety, which were sticky, sweet and cooked gorgeously. There are a lot of mediocre chicken wings out there, so biting into a great one feels like something special. These, with super-thin, crispy skin and juicy meat, were fantastic.
Next time, though, we'll probably opt for a different sauce. Our chosen option was a touch heavy on the honey. An extra sprinkle of Old Bay would have been welcome.
Entrees The restaurant's specialty-fries concept is simple: A basket of fries is topped with a bunch of ingredients. This isn't a terribly new idea but The Local Fry does a good job with it.
The list of toppings is a trip around the world, from Greece to Vietnam to the American South, and the execution is sophisticated and smart -- and it will change frequently.
The Korean short rib fries ($12) were drizzled with crema then topped with chunks of braised short rib, pickled red onions, sliced scallions and a scattering of sesame seeds. All together, the ingredients were a great mix — colorful and varied in texture, with the bright acidity of the onions and scallions standing in contrast to the meat.
None of it would have worked, though, had the centerpiece — the meat — not been so good. Soaked in a sweet and salty marinade then braised until extremely tender, the beef was full of flavor.
The Tonkatsu fries ($9), built around the Japanese specialty, were equally impressive. These fries were topped with strips of breaded and fried pork, bright and crispy slaw and a fruity, savory sauce. As with the short ribs, the meat was cooked nicely and the combination of flavors was powerful and likable.
These weren't chaotic plates of fries topped with gloppy sauce and mushy meat. Both meals were constructed and executed thoughtfully, with plenty of crisp and crunchy elements punching up each bite.
The toppings were the stars of both dishes, but the fries themselves held their own. On the skinny side and fairly crispy, they were seasoned lightly and were sturdy enough to stand up to everything piled on top.
Desserts During our visit, the menu did not include any desserts. There are plans in the works, though, to begin offering churro fries with chocolate dipping sauce.
Drinks The Local Fry is BYOB with no corkage fee, though glass rental is $2 per glass and the restaurant sells customized corkscrews for $4 a pop. For those who aren't indulging, bottled water and sodas are available.
Service Orders are placed at the counter and during our visit, when the restaurant was not very busy, they were delivered directly to us at our tables. The man behind the counter was friendly and pleasant and our food arrived quickly.
The timing might be a little longer on busy nights, of course. And given its appeal, The Local Fry is likely to have lots of those.
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Nearby reviews: DishBaltimore.com - Federal Hill / South Baltimore