The Westside Local is one of those places that feels special and comfortably neighborhood at the same time.With its exposed brick, salvaged-wood tabletops and a beer garden out back, it has a friendly, workmanlike demeanor.But black-clad servers and a cozy, stylish bar give the place away as something more than a beer-and-a-shot joint.Then there’s the menu. It’s built on a combination of hearty comfort and ambition. Sure you can get a sloppy roast beef sandwich or an exceptional burger. But a sweet-and-spicy beet-watermelon-cucumber soup, which the Westside offered up on a recent lunch menu, is not your average fare.And while braised rabbit sounds country, just try to find it hopping out of other restaurant kitchens around town.The Westside Local adds oomph to a powerfully diverse, food-oriented intersection at 17th and Summit streets. Its neighbors include the Los Alamos Mexican grocery and taqueria, the Blue Bird Cafe, the Fervere bread bakery, Lillies and the Sun Ray Cafe. Like the others nearby, Westside Local is refreshingly unstuffy.You’ll spot any number of locals from the neighborhood — artists, professionals, entrepreneurs — and alongside them food-and-drink tourists, who have been flocking steadily to the place since it opened earlier this summer.Six picnic tables in a narrow, shaded patio and a well-chosen list of fine brews beckon the after-work crowd looking for more than yard beers. You can get a Schlitz if you want one, but the beer list favors big-boy, connoisseur stuff such as Boulevard’s Double Wide IPA, a bunch of Belgian ales and the colorfully labeled Hitachino brews from Japan. I saw a bartender friend heading to the beer garden, making his first visit to the place, then leaving a couple of hours later with a big thumbs up. The small bar inside has just three high-top tables and a half dozen bar stools at an L-shaped counter.As for food, the menu is short but inventive. Rick Martin, executive chef, spent 17 years matching food and beer at the Free State Brewery in Lawrence before joining his former colleague and Westside Local owner Troy McEvers. Just want a bite with your beer? A series of “Localities” can take the edge off for $2 each: Deviled eggs, a plate of pickles, samples of Maytag blue, chevre or Emmentaler cheese are among the offerings. Mix and match, or order larger snack plates, including a charcuterie ($9) with slices of La Quercia ham (from a highly regarded processor in Iowa), a braunschweiger and sausage; a cheese plate ($9); or a sampler of sardines and pickles ($7), which comes with four Moroccan sardines (from a can), three pickle spears, a few meaty green olives and some house-made crackers.Heartier appetites, especially at lunch, would go straight to the Summit Burger ($9). It’s a substantial, dense patty of grass-fed beef on a bolillo (a Mexican baguette). The burger is layered with wilted arugula, Emmentaler and a drizzle of mustard.Other sandwiches range from grilled cheese ($7) to a seared salmon burger ($11). Each comes with the house-made — and highly addictive — garlic fries.Three of us sat down recently for a midweek dinner. A warm, pop-beat buzz cushioned the table talk in the main dining room as we nibbled the charcuterie and sipped wines from the short but nicely chosen list. Service was friendly and efficient.Salads included a colorful mix of spicy arugula and beets ($12) and a variation on the wedge ($5), made not from iceberg but from a floppier butter lettuce grown in the restaurant’s garden.

Posted on Wed, Sep. 09, 2009 10:15 PM

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MY DINNER AT | THE WESTSIDE LOCAL

My Dinner At | Westside Local

By STEVE PAUL

The Kansas City Star

JIM BARCUS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Exposed brick and a relaxed atmosphere keep the Westside Local from feeling pretentious.

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The Westside Local is one of those places that feels special and comfortably neighborhood at the same time.

With its exposed brick, salvaged-wood tabletops and a beer garden out back, it has a friendly, workmanlike demeanor.

But black-clad servers and a cozy, stylish bar give the place away as something more than a beer-and-a-shot joint.

Then there’s the menu. It’s built on a combination of hearty comfort and ambition. Sure you can get a sloppy roast beef sandwich or an exceptional burger. But a sweet-and-spicy beet-watermelon-cucumber soup, which the Westside offered up on a recent lunch menu, is not your average fare.

And while braised rabbit sounds country, just try to find it hopping out of other restaurant kitchens around town.

The Westside Local adds oomph to a powerfully diverse, food-oriented intersection at 17th and Summit streets. Its neighbors include the Los Alamos Mexican grocery and taqueria, the Blue Bird Cafe, the Fervere bread bakery, Lillies and the Sun Ray Cafe. Like the others nearby, Westside Local is refreshingly unstuffy.

You’ll spot any number of locals from the neighborhood — artists, professionals, entrepreneurs — and alongside them food-and-drink tourists, who have been flocking steadily to the place since it opened earlier this summer.

Six picnic tables in a narrow, shaded patio and a well-chosen list of fine brews beckon the after-work crowd looking for more than yard beers. You can get a Schlitz if you want one, but the beer list favors big-boy, connoisseur stuff such as Boulevard’s Double Wide IPA, a bunch of Belgian ales and the colorfully labeled Hitachino brews from Japan. I saw a bartender friend heading to the beer garden, making his first visit to the place, then leaving a couple of hours later with a big thumbs up.

The small bar inside has just three high-top tables and a half dozen bar stools at an L-shaped counter.

As for food, the menu is short but inventive. Rick Martin, executive chef, spent 17 years matching food and beer at the Free State Brewery in Lawrence before joining his former colleague and Westside Local owner Troy McEvers.

Just want a bite with your beer? A series of “Localities” can take the edge off for $2 each: Deviled eggs, a plate of pickles, samples of Maytag blue, chevre or Emmentaler cheese are among the offerings. Mix and match, or order larger snack plates, including a charcuterie ($9) with slices of La Quercia ham (from a highly regarded processor in Iowa), a braunschweiger and sausage; a cheese plate ($9); or a sampler of sardines and pickles ($7), which comes with four Moroccan sardines (from a can), three pickle spears, a few meaty green olives and some house-made crackers.

Heartier appetites, especially at lunch, would go straight to the Summit Burger ($9). It’s a substantial, dense patty of grass-fed beef on a bolillo (a Mexican baguette). The burger is layered with wilted arugula, Emmentaler and a drizzle of mustard.

Other sandwiches range from grilled cheese ($7) to a seared salmon burger ($11). Each comes with the house-made — and highly addictive — garlic fries.

Three of us sat down recently for a midweek dinner. A warm, pop-beat buzz cushioned the table talk in the main dining room as we nibbled the charcuterie and sipped wines from the short but nicely chosen list. Service was friendly and efficient.

Salads included a colorful mix of spicy arugula and beets ($12) and a variation on the wedge ($5), made not from iceberg but from a floppier butter lettuce grown in the restaurant’s garden.

Steve Paul, senior writer and editor, 816-234-4762, paul@kcstar.com.

Posted on Wed, Sep. 09, 2009 10:15 PM

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