Comments on: Local 44 Announces Its First Ever Executive Chef

By: Leigh@L44

Leigh@L44 — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 19:07:52 +0000

Ha! (Only annoyed at being spoken for by a stranger. It colored the rest of it. Apologies.) Will not be trying your suggestion…

By: Seitan

Seitan — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:44:44 +0000

You sound annoyed, mix some seitan and warm soymilk to relax

By: Leigh@L44

Leigh@L44 — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:38:15 +0000

Chris: Thanks, but no thanks. Don’t speak publicly for Brendan or I ever please.

Vegan haters: Whatever. Vegan and Veg fare has always found a home on our menus and always will. Our priority has always been inclusivity, and that includes vegans.

We’ve spent 4 years eating at Local 44 and liking it just fine. The food was never an afterthought, just not the main focus, the way the beer has been. Plenty of people seem to like joining us for dinner.

You can only get a table if you’re eating because we have so few tables and so many folks who want to eat. It helps make this possible. This, I do not think, is a crazy new concept.

Our prices are in line with what food costs, and if anything we battle to keep the costs low so that more people can visit us more regularly. We’ll keep on doing that.

The stepping up of the menu and hiring of a chef who will facilitate this is an effort to grow with the neighborhood.

Easy enough to understand. If you’re finding a scandal here, it’s because you’re in need of one.

Leigh

By: Shawnboy112

Shawnboy112 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:11:11 +0000

I’m a vegetarian, and I hope that Local 44 continues to have options for me, but I too am happy that they are changing the menu. I always thought their food was OK, but not good enough to draw me there for a meal. It was always about the beer. With the hiring of an executive chef, hopefully I will find the food just as enticing as the beer selection.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:50:23 +0000

@Maf. I am a meat eater, but I also appreciate vegan/vegetarian dishes. I will often try a veggie dish at a restaurant because I like to have variety in my diet. Nobody has ever “bullied” me into ordering it. Why is it such a big deal for a restaurant to have a variety of dishes that will cater to multiple tastes and likes?

By: rory

rory — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:56:28 +0000

@Josh–you do seem mad. I don’t remember what I had a year ago and six months before that (the two times I went), i just remember it tasted of cheap cheese and one thing was overly battered. And you want a list of better gastropubs? LOL–that’d be beyond easy to list (standard tap, johnny brenda’s, mccrossen’s, st stephen’s green, silk city, memphis taproom, resurrection, and most definitely the Khyber, just off the top of my head).

have i offered the owners feedback? I don’t have a duty to do that. My feedback was simple: I didn’t come back. the owners weren’t there, and besides which, telling an owner you didn’t like the food doesn’t go over well all the time–especially when your main complaint is “this tastes like cheap ingredients.” lol.

sorry, but i spoke with my wallet when i decided not to return.

By: Snippy

Snippy — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:39:01 +0000

Jason, quit being a crybaby and eat your meat.

By: barryg

barryg — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:14:34 +0000

If food is an incidental at Local 44, why won’t they seat you in the large back area unless you’re eating? I have passed on going there several times to drink and not eat with a group because I knew it would be hard to get a seat.

By: chris

chris — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 21:55:37 +0000

the food sucks, there. that was by design, the food sales there are incidental; you know, order a burger or wings after having a few.

it also is not affordable – $12 for a chicken and mozz sandwich on shitty bread? there? please.

brendan and leigh knew it, they were ok with it.
what changed? who knows.

but, i’m pretty sure this chef was hired reluctantly, brendan doesn’t like being told he’s wrong.

By: badjack

badjack — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 21:51:44 +0000

Maf.. who appointed you spokesman for the entire restaurant business?

Over the last 15 years I’ve cooked with plenty of top-notch chefs, and not one of them had any resentment about vegans – vegans who happened to be assholes, yes – but not vegans. The only people I’ve worked with in kitchens who were so resentful and generically angry about vegans were young line cooks who didn’t yet know any better.