Locale Revisited

Something out of the ordinary happened last night. Me and all my roommates were home at the same time. So we decided to have a girls night/take Maureen out for her birthday dinner night. Locale was our destination. I’ve only been there once before with the gang for drinks, but the food looked and smelled yummy. Happy to report that it still does and they serve a lot more now.
One of the things I love about Locale is its simplicity. A large mirror hangs over the bar and there are few pieces of art adorning the walls. The tables are close to each other but not on top of each other and the lighting is nice and intimate. The mini loft level is surrounded by lovely iron work and its still nice and plush up there, perfect for sipping some wine with your sweetie.
Since we were having dinner we sat on the main level. Our waiter was great, attentive but not overbearing, honest in his opinions and a treat. Josh gets two thumbs up!
I tried to avoid an appetizer but one taste had me sharing in the Carciofini Croncante, Crispy Artichokes served with lemon sauce. The lemon sauce was awesome. I have to be in the right mood for artichokes but these put me in the mood. They weren’t ridiculously fried either which was my main concern. And it came with a little salad, I do so love my veggies. This was perfect to share, and if you are an artichoke fan this will do the trick.
We each got something totally different for dinner. Jamie, being the carnivore that she is, got the filet mignon, which was accompanied by broccoli and roasted potatoes. It was the perfect shade of red for her. I believe it was also covered in mushrooms. Maureen got the Penette Alla Vodka which came with chicken and peas. She wiped that baby clean in record time. I, could not look at another piece of chicken so I got the Linguine ai Frutti di Mare. I love me some seafood. Everything in it was so tasty and flavorful. There was so much pasta I couldn’t finish it-so I concentrated on the sea critters. Off the top of my head there were, clams(never had before, so yum), mussels, shrimp, scallops and calamari. Two sauce choices, I was going to go for the white but stuck with the usual red. There’s something on the menu for everyone, whether you want a small plate, or something more simple than dinner. The also offer a nice selection of paninis. You could easily have an appetizer and a drink and dessert and call it a night. Oh, speaking of dessert, my pseudo diet went out the window last night. We shared the hazelnut mousse and The Frutti di Bosco, which was a nice shortbread-esque pastry with cream and fresh berries. That one was my fave.
Naturally we had wine, and they have a nice selection of wines and specialty drinks.
I’m so happy that Locale is what it is. It’s nice and laid back, not pretentious or a scene, in any way that I could discern, the food is great and the service wonderful. Go out, eat drink up!

PS-this is a record review of an eatery. I have pages of notes from other places!