An easygoing meal in downtown Boone

The Local | A casual, family-owned restaurant and bar on Howard Street in downtown Boone

The basics: A relaxed downtown spot a block off King Street, open for lunch and dinner, with brunch on Sundays. The menu runs long: burgers, sandwiches, salads, Southern-leaning plates and some things you won't find elsewhere. Inside, there's local art on the walls and TVs over the bar. Outside, there's a patio with heaters.

What it is: If you read our review of The Social on King Street, The Local is its older sibling. It's the same family, a few blocks away. The Social is the sleeker of the two. The Local is more casual and lived-in, the kind of place where locals, students and visitors all end up at some point. The menu has enough choices that deciding takes a while, which is a nice problem to have. On a pleasant day, the patio is where you want to be.

What to order: I had what the menu calls a “na’an-traditional Cuban sandwich” — a pun that indicates it comes on naan instead of Cuban bread ($15.95). Everyone else at the table ordered the kale salad with salmon ($14.95), and the verdict was unanimous: exceptional. On Sundays, the brunch menu adds things like stuffed French toast ($16.95) and salmon cake Benedict ($21.95), alongside the usual burgers, sandwiches and salads.

Good to know: Service was slow the day we went. That's not a big deal on a sunny afternoon on the patio, but plan for it if you're on a schedule. It gets crowded on weekends, especially when App State is in session, so make a reservation. Sunday brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the kitchen reopens at 5 p.m. for dinner.

The move: Make a reservation for Sunday brunch, grab a seat on the patio and order the kale salad with salmon. Don’t rush it.