Love healthy chains such as True Food Kitchen and Sweetgreen? Local Provisions isn’t that. The Sterling restaurant, which opened inside a former Boston Market in the Cascades Marketplace last month, is a comfortable neighborhood restaurant. But Michael Stebner, who opened the business with his wife and fellow restaurant industry vet, Ally, has been the force behind the menus at both those chains, as well as a consultant at Cava. The result? Approachable food that’s far from boring.
A wood-burning oven and grill ensures that nearly everything that emerges from the open kitchen meets a flame at some point in its life. Take, for example, the roasted cauliflower “piccata” ($11). The hearty pile of stalks conjures campfire cooking with its ample dose of smoke. A light lemon sauce enlivens the plate, along with capers and a flurry of Parmigiano cheese.
The menu leans Italian and includes a section of pasta dishes, all featuring noodles made in-house. One highlight is the rigatoni Bolognese ($19), featuring toothsome extruded pasta with a four-hour beef ragú, topped with an overflowing spoonful of ricotta.
Grilled goods include Faroe Island salmon, a lamb burger, Roseda Farms flat iron steak, and a Green Hill Farm pork chop ($26). The pork chop is thick-cut, dressed with apricot agrodolce, and served with a glut of sweet-and-tangy charred Brussels sprouts.
With large portions at a reasonable price across the menu, it’s worth splurging on dessert, too. The apple crisp ($9) quickly melts a tower of homemade cream cheese-flavored soft-serve gelato on top. Will you feel as virtuous after consuming it as you do following a meal at Sweetgreen? Don’t bet on it, but you’ll certainly feel more satisfied. 46286 Cranston St., Sterling
See this: Watch chefs attend to the grill in the open kitchen, but also keep your eyes open for the fun wallpaper depicting cans of of sardines.
Eat this: Roasted cauliflower “piccata,” rigatoni Bolognese, Virginia apple crisp
Open daily for dinner. Lunch and brunch will debut April 1.
Feature image by Tyson Bateman
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