‘Watts for Dinner’: From a farm near you to The Local’s table

The Local of Naples is a farm to table restaurant. What does that mean? Just like it sounds, all the food is sourced locally, mostly from Lee and Collier counties, drawing a few items from as far away as Sarasota.

Things got off to an appetizing start with the Kung Pao Avocado – panko breaded avocado served over organic brown rice, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, cashews with garlic and the syrupy kung pao sauce.

This was a beautiful dish, but a lot was asked of the avocado; having to stand up to the breading and a strong sauce. The rice, veggies presentation also made it look more like an entrée; and not easily sharable as an appetizer.

Arriving early, we took advantage of a dinner special that allowed you to pick a soup or salad and selected entrees for $16.95.

I started with a cup of the tomato-based vegetable soup, followed by the “Carnivore Pizza,” featuring Sopressata, sausage, ground beef, mozzarella, oregano, parmesan and basil.

I know what you’re thinking; sounds like you’re at a restaurant with lots of healthy and vegan options, so what’s the deal eating all that meat. Exactly! My biggest concern with eating meat out is where did it come from? How was it preserved? Was it frozen? How was it handled? How far away? Farm conditions? How it was handled from before getting to my plate? This locally-sourced restaurant seemed like the best opportunity to alleviate some of those concerns and just enjoy it.

My partner in dine picked the kale Cesar salad to start. For his entrée, he originally chose the mushroom pasta. In short order, he found out the chef did not have enough ingredients to make it. Understandable. Especially at a locally-sourced restaurant.  But I run into this problem far too often and it’s still frustrating as a consumer.

His second choice was the “Roasted Palmetto Creek Farms Pork Ragu” – pork, tomatoes, house-made potato gnocchi, ricotta and rosemary.

He was delighted with his choice. I thought the portion size looked small, but then again, I had a whole plate of pizza in front of me. And I was a bit jealous, it looked delish!

He cleaned his plate and gave it big thumbs up. I had some pizza left, but absolutely no complaints here.

Make sure you sit yourself in front of the table that’s fresh from a farm near you.

This newspaper pays for all meals related to dining reviews. We do not solicit or accept free food.

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If you go

The Local

5323 Airport Pulling Rd. N, Naples

239-596-3276

www.thelocalnaples.com