Admittedly, I found the menu at Local Rumor, a hip and colorful restaurant that opened this summer in the old Blue Door Pub spot, near the corner of Selby and Fairview avenues, to be a bit perplexing at first. With entrees ranging from a smashburger to beef cheek tacos to Thai curry to a pork chop with chimichurri, a unifying culinary theme seemed elusive. And apart from two somewhat slippery header categories (“Light” and “Hearty”), the menu’s only organizational principle seemed to be that items were listed in descending price order — which led to quirks such as the only dessert, a skippable tres leches cake, showing up in the middle of several vegetable options. As I ate, though, the menu’s driving force dawned on me: “What if we did…but…?” What if we did steak tartare, but with salsa macha and blue corn tortillas? What if we did chicken wings, but confited them whole? What if we did a chopped cheesesteak-style sandwich, but with romesco sauce and smoked gouda? The ideas were clever. And they — mostly — paid off. Dishes at St. Paul restaurant Local Rumor on Nov. 20, 2024, include Thai curry (left), roasted Brussels sprouts with anchovy vinaigrette and pomegranate molasses (top right) and tater tot hotdish (bottom right). (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press) Standouts of a recent meal at Local Rumor included that Thai curry (“What if we did a Thai-style yellow curry, but meatless and not so spicy?”), which was enjoyably coconutty and veg-forward, and the “T.T.H.D.” (“What if we did tater tot hotdish, but skipped beef and green beans to go hard on cream-of-mushroom soup and crispy garlic?”), most successful on its bottom layer of fully sauce-soaked tots. The Brussels sprouts (“What if we did roasted Brussels sprouts, but with anchovy vinaigrette and pomegranate molasses?”) were also good; neither the vinaigrette nor molasses flavor was powerful enough to be identifiable on its own, but they melded to create a deeply savory and somewhat sweet sauce. The dish was unexpectedly (pleasantly!) spicy — more so, in fact, than the curry. The steak entree was served with harissa compound butter on Nov. 20, 2024, at St. Paul restaurant Local Rumor. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press) The biggest disappointment of that recent meal was the steak (“What if we did a chuck steak, but topped with a harissa compound butter?”), which was unfortunate, since it was the second-priciest item on the menu. The best part of the dish itself was that butter; the meat arrived in a pool of deep-red juices that became deeper as we ate, taking our poor steak’s moisture with it. The meat clearly had not been rested long enough between cooking and cutting, which feels like a rudimentary execution error that I’m surprised made it past the kitchen doors. (I fully admit I’m descending into nitpicking here, but: The steak was also served on a sloped, squarish white plate that felt slapdash against the rest of the carefully selected dark ceramicware and also only drew further attention to the juice issue. Served in this way — and a la carte without sides, like everything on the menu — the $21 price tag seemed less worthwhile.) The Blood Moon cocktail, as served at St. Paul restaurant Local Rumor on Nov. 20, 2024, contains vodka, maraschino liqueur, fig, pomegranate and lemon. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press) The focus on flavor experimentation extends to the cocktail menu, too, with a similar success rate. The aquavit-based King of the North was very dry and very herbaceous; sign me up. The Blood Moon — vodka, maraschino liqueur, fig, pomegranate, lemon — was candy-tart and juicy, which might be a literal description of the main ingredients given the cocktail’s deep ruby color despite a base spirit and liqueur that are both crystal-clear. Tasty, for sure, though its ingredients separated over time. As St. Paul neighborhood restaurants have changed hands in recent years, I’ve noticed a trend toward decor that’s hip and dark and flowery.Related Articles Restaurants, Food and Drink | 10 years of wonder: Gingerbread Wonderland is back at Norway House Restaurants, Food and Drink | Don’t shun pinot grigio! The good versions of wines you think are bad Restaurants, Food and Drink | Quick Fix: Horseradish Crusted Snapper with Arugula Pasta Restaurants, Food and Drink | Recipe: Chicken and apple sausage with cheesy grits comes together in 10 minutes Restaurants, Food and Drink | Smorgie’s New Year’s Eve party features a giant leprechaun dropping into a pot of gold Go to Bar Cart Lounge in the old Khyber Pass Cafe in Mac-Groveland, to The High Hat in the old Bon Vie Bistro/A Piece of Cake in Cathedral Hill, to Russell’s in the old Tavern on Grand, to Gus Gus in the old Stewart’s in Merriam Park. Patterned wallpapers on cool teal walls, quirky art, maybe a faux-neon sign for good measure. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, of course: Herbst Eatery & Farm Stand in St. Anthony Park is bright and sparse; the Pauly’s Pub & Grill guys have taken the former Kalsada spot on Selby Avenue in a more rustic, sports-bar-like direction. But that handsome, millennial vibe is certainly having a moment, and it’s a category that now also includes Local Rumor. The restaurant’s petite size and table arrangement — bar seating, two-tops, and only one or two four-person tables — make the vibrant, moody Local Rumor more well-suited for a date night or an evening with a friend than a family or group outing. And anyway, especially in terms of side dishes like fries and vegetables, the menu seems sized and priced for splitting. With the a la carte style, cobbling together a traditional entree-and-sides meal here could get spendy, but the overall fair prices mean that a pair of cocktails and a couple dishes to try tapas-style won’t break the bank. So if you go, be sure to invite someone who’ll share food — and good gossip — with you. The place is called Local Rumor, after all. Small Bites are first glances — not intended as definitive reviews — of new or changed restaurants. Local Rumor Where: 1811 Selby Ave., St. Paul. Hours: 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Monday. Contact: 612-790-0614; localrumor on Instagram at instagram.com/localrumor and Facebook at Facebook.com/localrumor. Atmosphere: Dark, moderately loud; better for pairs or small groups. Street parking. Prices: “Light” options (including wings, fries and vegetable sides like collards, broccolini, Brussels sprouts and carrots) range from $8 to $17, with most $10–14; “hearty” options (including entrees — pork chop, steak, burger, chicken sandwich, Thai curry — and heavier starters/sides like chorizo queso dip, potato-leek soup and mashed root vegetables) range from $9 to $28, with most $11–$16. Cocktails range $13 to $16. Reservations: Walk-ins only. Good to know: The menu changed seasonally between summer and fall 2024 — I visited for this meal during the fall menu — but the menu may once again rotate in the future.