If I had a way to make a blog post sing, this one would sing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” with the fervor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  The brunch buffet is back at Local Three Kitchen & Bar!  A couple of months back, I spoke of Local Three, praising the food and lamenting the loss of their brunch buffet.  This Sunday, we slept in and decided to head in town for brunch.  The choices, on Open Table, were Local Three and Canoe.  We chose Local Three, expecting their brunch menu that had been in place for the last several months.   When we got there and were seated, we found the above menu showing us where to go “In Hungry” and come “Out Happy”.   I almost cheered.

The buffet is not quite as expansive as it was previously, but it still had three distinct sections: Starters (chilled pea soup, a fig salad and blackberry smoothies), Breakfast (soft scrambled eggs, Nueske’s bacon, potatoes, biscuits and gravy and french toast) and Lunch (pork loin, shrimp and grits and mac and cheese), along with a dessert bar. 

My judgement on the first pass: 

The french toast, covered in peaches which had been macerated (this is a fancy word for the process by which my mom would slice up strawberries, sprinkle them with sugar and let them “sit” for a while) and cream: Really tasty. 

Pork loin (kind of garlicky) and mac and cheese (which had squash and zucchini): They were both okay, but neither made me want to go back for more. 

Banana nut bread and the fresh fig salad with mozzarella, arugula and balsamic vingear: The banana nut bread was really dry.  I don’t know that I’d ever eaten a fresh fig before, but it was unexpectedly sweet.  I’m not a huge fan of arugula, but fresh fig with goat cheese on spinach could make a fairly awesome salad.

Nueske’s bacon:  Awesome.   One of my favorite brands of bacon (in the “great” as opposed to “good” category).I followed that up with a small side of Tybee Island shrimp, with polenta and capers.  The shrimp was fine, without a lot of “extra” taste and the polenta was okay as well.   So I prepared for my return run through the kitchen.  With what did I return?Bacon and a biscuit and sausage gravy.  What a way to finish.   I cleaned that plate, sopping up the last of the gravy with a strip of bacon.  I didn’t even need to visit the dessert bar.

While the price of buffet had increased slightly (from $19.93 to $25.93), the food is still excellent and one of the best brunch buffets in the city.