Local is a steakhouse and bar in the historic town square of Jackson.  It has many rooms, some of which are for dinner and some for lunch and others for both.  We sat in the room with the bar counter and it had plexiglass between the seats and bar as did the booths have plexiglas between them.  The black wood tables were set off by the brown wood floor and light wood walls with mirror insets.  The booths had a padded seat whereas the bar was set with dark wood chairs with backs that were unpadded.  Music was in the background and a TV was playing in the bar area but it was muted.  We made a reservation for lunch which the website recommended but when we showed up the person at the entrance seated the 2 walk-up parties ahead of us in line to get in.  Their lunch menu was mostly sandwiches, particularly burgers and they had one special of the day (a hot ham and cheese sandwich) as well as a soup that changes daily.  Service was helpful, opinionated and efficient.

 

The Double Burger is on a toasted brioche bun served with lettuce, house mayonnaise and pickles.  You can add cheese for $.50, for which we chose American, and caramelized onions for $.50.  There are a number of additional things you can add.  All burgers come with fries or a side salad.  Chose the fries!  The double burger came with 2 pieces of cheese also and was topped with a pickle spear.  It was not cooked as rare as we hoped but it was very good and the bun held up well to the stuffings.  The fries it came with were exemplary – a small cut made in house.  They were really crisp and stayed so the entire meal with a good soft, potato center.  They really made the plate.

 

The Reuben sandwich is made with house-cured beef brisket, swiss cheese, local sauerkraut and thousand island dressing on marble rye.  It was a huge sandwich with thick slabs of the cured beef.  The sauerkraut was made with red cabbage for an interesting visual effect.  The rye bread was fairly toasted but didn’t taste burned.  There was plenty of cheese and a good amount of sauce for a perfect balance.  Cut in half and stacked with a pickle spear on top, it tasted great.  Alongside were the same amazing fries.  They are worth a trip to this place, just pick your favorite sandwich to go with them.

 

We tried the soup of the day which was a ham and bean soup.  It had several types of beans, shreds of ham, croutons and vegetables.  It was packed with ingredients and with flavor.  It was a delicious mix of stuff.