Food and Function
by Pauline Uchmanowicz and photographs by Jennifer May

Dining at Local 111 is typically a bustling community affair. Its convivial bar crowd is a boon to lone diners and its children's menu is welcoming to families. Soothing jazz wafts through the sound system as an efficient team of locals overseen by front-house manager Tim Deak warmly attend to patrons. Though the eatery's location (200 yards from a church) prohibits a full-beverage license, its limited yet savvy selection of potent potables includes winsome sherry or sake cocktails as well as such artisan beers, such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale ($2.50) and 16-ounce draft Chatham Porter ($4). Focused without being intimidating, French and Italian red wines by the bottle range from Vrac Cotes du Rhone ($15) to Aleramici Brunello Di Montalcino ($55, the most costly). From among four whites one may choose Chardonnay or Riesling, along with Chateau Haut Rian Bordeaux, all dry, crisp, and delicious at $4.75 by the glass.

The central attraction at Local 111 remains the kitchen's honest, well-portioned and reasonably priced variations on familiar dishes. According to Wurth, "A restaurant should be affordable enough so that the farmer who delivers fennel in the morning on his tractor can come back later for fennel salad." Exalting even the humblest food group's most basic elements through tiny accents, he offers hamburgers and pork sandwiches ($8) on store-baked hard rolls, accompanied by blanched then fried-to-order russet potatoes tossed in salt seasoned with crushed rosemary and paired with a salad comprised of 90-percent mixed greens (red or green oak, romaine, arugula, wild nettle, heirloom lettuce, and others) finished with a judicious amount of olive oil, herb vinegar, sea salt, and vegetable puree. Another recently featured salad combined white beans and sheep's ricotta with asparagus spears, sublimely fixed between raw and cooked and arranged like teepee poles over a log-pile of garlic-infused, oven-steamed fingerling potatoes and topped with a drizzle of lemon and olive oil.

The soup of the day might sound offbeat, as in an eggplant recipe that began as rich and buttery liquid, fortified by a zing of crumbled goat cheese and laced with chiffons of Italian parsley adding depth to the central vegetable's already creamy texture ($5). Other subtle manipulations involve using store-made condiments. For instance, a spoonful of classic Spanish romesco sauce (chilies, olive oil, canned tomato, garlic, and breadcrumbs) becomes a tiny pedestal for enhancing a plate of sea scallops with background heat and a smoky, underlying flavor. In preparing duck confit ($8), Wurth keeps his attention on the shredded texture of the essential boned meat, tossing it with dandelion greens and sauteed carrots and finishing with a melange of rosemary and cherry vinegar to create various levels of crunchiness and savory sweetness.

Served with choice of two hefty vegetable sides, rotating entrees extend to nightly variations on familiar land, sea, and air dishes reminiscent of European peasant food. The chewy, grass-fed consistency of grilled steak ($22) may take some getting used to, though it is pleasingly graced with a red-wine reduction and quietly sweetened with butter, black peppercorn, and caramelized shallots to echo Old World au poivre. In contrast, the addicting taste of a springtime offering of Chatham cod ($22) unfolded gradually, sensitively layered with clams, barley, fiddleheads, and bacon and elevated by a whole artichoke prepared a la Greque, a light pickling method involving steaming and searing. Pan-roasted chicken ($19) results in bright, sharp notes when its beautiful juices release into seasonal herbs such as aromatic lovage. Vegetarians, meanwhile, may order a medley of three vegetables, such as honey-glazed carrots, grilled beats, and steamed kale, accompanied by grilled bread ($8).

Dessert master Heather Morris's homemade baked goods are equally inventive; for instance, cornmeal almond cake ($6) married to citron curd and candied lemon slices simmered in sugar syrup to cut their tartness. Since Local 111 also runs a continental breakfast cafe on weekday mornings, Morris concocts a changing roster of bakery items, including muffins, sweetbreads, and sticky buns, offered alongside egg sandwiches and coffeehouse-inspired drinks.

"Stylistically, it's a restaurant that speaks for itself. It's an old garage with tables and chairs," says Wurth. And the food? "Well, we went to the farm that day and got the stuff." As if voicing Local 111's motto, Gatter adds, "We're our own little biosphere."

Local 111 is located at 111 Main St. in Philmont, New York. Dinner is served Wednesday through Sunday from 5-9pm and Friday and Saturday until 9:30pm. (Reservations are recommended.) The restaurant operates a continental cafe Wednesday through Sunday from 8am-12pm.

(518) 672-7801; www.local111.com.

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