The Local Eatery & Pub (Return)

I normally don’t return to restaurants this quickly, but there is something about The Local that I adore. Is it the casual gastropub atmosphere? The local ingredient love? Maybe. But it could also be because their food is unique, home felt, and good. Hubs and I, despite not falling fast for the food from our first time, did in a weird kind of way anyway. I haven’t really felt that way about a restaurant in quite sometime – thus, our return so quickly. We were on our way to a movie, just going to grab something casual and quick. But then we drove by The Local and our heads nodded towards one another in silent agreement.

It wasn’t busy at all unlike the last time. But it was also a Monday after the Super Bowl. The one woman working the front of the house was fast and friendly – she was fantastic. Our order was taken, our drinks were delivered, and we got comfortable. This time, we were seated on the bar side. I still loved the atmosphere and feel of the restaurant from this angle.

From a few other Indy food bloggers, I threw down and said we had to order the goat cheese. I wasn’t messing around since I’m a lover of all things cheese. And I have to say, I am happy I threw down. The goat cheese was phenomenal. At first, we scoffed at the large amount of bread supplied with the cheese, but I have to say, there wasn’t any left when we were done. It was the perfect vehicle for warm, creamy cheese. I was wondering how a bath of warm olive oil would compliment this, and it did. It gave another level of creamy texture. And the roasted garlic spread like soft butter – robust and earthy in flavor as it complimented the lemony flavor of the thyme. I loved every bite and could have left happy after that.

For our entrees, I wasn’t feeling a sandwich so I ended up with fish and tots. Yes, I substituted the chips for tots and there were no complaints on my end. I barely ate any of them though due to the large portion of white fish I was consuming. The batter was light, the fish sturdy in texture and subtly flavorful. The fish is from Lake Michigan – I have to say it was interesting to have something different in this form. The dill in the tarter sauce was perfect for the fish, which I squeezed lemon all over to give it a bit of light flavor over what can usually be a heavier dish. I liked it – thumbs up.

Hubs ordered the lamb burger, which was exactly what I expected out of a lamb burger. The focus was on the meat, not anything else that could have been incorporated into the meat. It had good flavor, but I thought it was just a bit too heavy for what I wanted out of the burger. I was slightly disappointed with the rosemary tomato jam – only because I wanted to have more. Only a small dollop was served on the bun, and that flavor would have carried the sandwich very well if there was more (hindsight – I get that we could have asked for more, but alas.) The sandwich also came with sauteed peppers and onions, which hubs ordered on the side and didn’t really incorporate. A good, but slightly heavy, burger. Next time – I want to try the Elk.

We definitely shared our meals and had much happier results this go around. Not that they were bad by any means last time. Quite delicious for sure. But I want all of you to know that you definitely need to give it a go. I see us heading there more often now, maybe becoming a staple for our frequent goers club (we don’t really have one. But if we did, this would be on it for sure!)

The Local Eatery &  Pub * 14665 Gray Road * Westfield, 46062 * 317.218.3786

Park Street Pub & Pizzeria

When our schedules permit, I’m sometimes able to meet hubs for lunch during the work week. This usually means a drive up to Westfield, and also means we need to dine at a casual and slightly speedy restaurant. The last time around, I opted to dine at a bar that I always pass on my way to pick him up: Park Street Pub & Pizzeria.

We grabbed a table in the subtle smokey atmosphere, which was easy to do as there weren’t many people there on the Friday afternoon. It was what I expected of a local bar. Nothing fancy, expect for the few signed photos around the restaurant of local and national celebrities and athletes. Mostly, beer posters and things you would expect to see on the walls of a bar. A few patrons sat at the bar, we were the only at a table. The bartender was not only the bartender, but also our server and cook. And she accomplished all of this with a friendly smile and speedy service.

We ordered fried pickles as our starter, and then I the special of the day, a chicken sub. Hubs settled on philly cheese steak. The fried pickles were pretty quick. A little dark from being over fried, they were hot to the touch, and pipping hot with the interior. They were spears, not chips, which is something that I prefer. They weren’t anything special – a simple batter that didn’t have a lot of flavor. But really, I anticipated that in the atmosphere we were in. A simple ranch dressing was served on the side, which was fine by me.

Hubs said his sandwich was good, but I didn’t give it a try. He did comment that the bread was good – whether it was made in house or bought from someone (which we both assumed.) It was slightly crunch on the outside, Vienna style, and tender on the inside. Melted mozzarella cheese was broiled on one side, while the other was piled with the fillings. He ate it all and said it was good bar food.

My sandwich was lack luster. I was debating on getting fried chicken strips, which I should have gotten rather than the sandwich. Because that is exactly what my sandwich was – three fried chicken tenders with lettuce, tomato and pickles. It was, once again, standard bar food. But, the bread that hubs had, I also had and it was quite filling. I enjoyed it with the fried chicken – nothing exotic about it. But it was what I expected, so I can’t really complain. We also received a large basket of fries since our sandwiches both came with them – I’m sure it was easier for them to be served that way. Nothing fancy, straight edge fries from a fryer.

Pub food was exactly what I expected, and exactly what we got. Cheap eats, cheap drinks and friendly atmosphere and staff. It was good for what we wanted it to be. I’m sure it is a great local hangout for the people of Westfield to enjoy – sounds like they were having a band and other fun things planned for the community. A quick bite to eat, simple and nothing fancy. There were a lot of pizzas listed, so I’m wondering what they would be like…

Park Street Pub & Pizzeria * 515 West Park Street * Westfield, 46074

The Local Eatery & Pub

The Local is a place that I’ve wanted to eat at for quite a while. Recently I’ve seen and heard of more and more people dining there and saying great things. This makes me want to go that much more. This past weekend, I made hubs and I a reservation for Saturday night. I couldn’t miss out anymore; I was craving what everyone was talking about.

Making a reservation was the best idea I had in addition to dining there. When we walked in, the wait was quite extensive. However, we were immediately sat at our table with menus in hand. The speed of the service definitely stopped at that point, but at least we had enough time to really read the menu while waiting for our server. Our stomachs growled as we each ordered a local brew to quench our thirst and waited patiently for our starter.

After our visit to Vancouver in 2009, hubs developed a love for poutine. When he saw it on the menu, I knew there was no chance in convincing him to order frog legs. The french fries were the perfect size – not too thick and not too thin – the perfect size to soak up all the gravy. They were crispy, which stood up to the beef gravy spooned all over them. The gravy was seasoned perfectly, and I only note that as sometimes I find poutine to be quite salty. That clearly wasn’t the case here. Chunks of tender beef were part of the rosemary gravy, covering all the fries and delivering flavorful bites every time. Melted cheese was the final ingredient – and there was a lot of it – to make this basket of poutine perfect. My only gripe would be how it was served. The parchment paper couldn’t hold up to the fries and ripped all over the place. Luckily, no paper was in our bites, but we were both careful to ensure it wouldn’t be a problem. Preference would, of course, not to have to worry about the paper and have the fries served on a plate instead.

After licking our lips clean of the gravy, hubs and I waited for our next course. And we waited some more. Fortunately, we were having a great conversation, but eventually, I couldn’t help but look at the clock and realize we had been sitting and waiting for 35 minutes on our dinner. At that point, our server stopped by to inform us our dinner was being plated and would be out shortly. Then, 20 more minutes passed. When he finally came out with our food, he was extremely apologetic, but I still couldn’t help but notice how we were avoided the whole time we were waiting.

Once we received our dinner, I was happy to see it was at least piping hot rather than have had sat in the window for a period of time. Hubs had ordered the pig and the pork specialty sandwich with tator tots as his side. Overall, he wasn’t pleased with the sandwich. We had decided to split our entrees so I too had my fair share of bites. I’m sad to say, I wasn’t impressed either. But we had different reasons on why we didn’t enjoy the sandwich. He didn’t like it as the pork patty seemed awfully fatty – he was taking pieces out of his mouth upon chewing. I didn’t notice it as much, but I was picking it apart rather than eating it straight up as a sandwich. The pulled pork on top lacked flavor to both of us, and the cilantro cream sauce lacked that strong cilantro flavor. The apple beet salad was served on the side almost as an afterthought rather than part of the dish, and as a beet lover, I wasn’t impressed either. So he didn’t enjoy the tastes, where I was just expecting more and was left disappointed. And, if you haven’t noticed by the photo, his tator tots weren’t on the plate as he was given french fries instead. But at this point, we had waited so long he wasn’t willing to wait any longer for his potato correction.

I had ordered the The Local cheese steak, and I was definitely much happier with my selection than hubs. The bread was thick enough to serve as a perfect vehicle for all of the juicy braised meat and sauteed veggies, but tender and thin enough that it wasn’t the main part of the sandwich. The braised beef tongue was tender – so tender that it was falling off the thickly sliced pieces. And the melted Swiss cheese was great with the meaty components of the sandwich without being overwhelming in flavor, really letting the meat shine. The mustard finished it perfectly as a tangy fig taste complimented everything beautifully. As for my side, I had ordered a side salad with a fried egg on top. I love the option of the protein addition, and the egg was pan fried just enough for the whites to be done, but for the yolk to spill all over and act as a dressing for the greens.

Due to the wait, our server (Thom) was friendly and kind enough to offer free dessert to offer his apologies. I will never say no to beignets and am beyond happy I didn’t say no to these. A large portion for sure, the beignets were fried to golden perfection with crispy outer layers. Inside, a light doughnut texture that was airy leaving a nice contrast to the fried crust. Powdered sugar was the sweetness that was needed to complete all the flavors that I anticipated. But to make it that much more delicious, a vanilla cream sauce to dip the powdered dessert in finished the dish. The frustration of waiting all disappeared with each bite I savored.

Despite the wait, everything else was great. All the staff worked together well and seemed friendly. We had several servers stop by to refill our waters and pick up plates when our server wasn’t around. A real team environment, the staff made it apparent with the turning of tables and the assistance everyone was kicking in to make it happen. This family friendly eatery was beyond busy – full of a variety of customers including large groups, families, girls night out, bachelor time, and couples out for dinner. There wasn’t a definitive customer and everyone really seemed to be enjoying their food in the laid back environment, enjoying the artisan food.

Sure, hubs and I weren’t a fan of his burger. And we had to wait for quite a while to eat. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be returning. We had a great evening together. There was a slew of other items I was drooling over to try. I loved the honest food, the great service and the casual environment. It is everything I expect out of a gastropub and I can see it becoming a go-to for me in the future.

The Local Eatery & Pub * 14655 N Gray Road * Westfield, 46062 * 317.218.3786

Carey Tavern

Hubby works in Westfield, so on the occasion I am able to meet him for lunch, I’m always looking for something casual but good. We decided to try Carey Tavern again. We had been there about a year ago, but I didn’t quite remember much about it. We ducked in and got a seat.

Out of the 40 or so seats at the bar, about half were taken by patrons. Maybe 10 tables, two were dirty, two were taken, and we found ourselves at one near the door. It is a bar – a smokey bar . Exposed brick on one side, dark paint on the opposite with pool tables, tables, bar and karaoke stage in between the walls. Nothing special, but not dirty like a bar can appear to be. We waited for a bit because the bartender, who was the only server, didn’t see us for a while. She was quite apologetic and was quick to serve when she realized we were waiting though.

Hubs ordered the Chicago sandwich. He had it before and enjoyed it, which is why he had ordered it again. I didn’t take a bite, and he didn’t comment on it much, so I won’t say too much about it. The only thing he mentioned was the bread was good. All I can say it did look like a good piece of bread, not right out of a standard sandwich bun package. His lack of comments lead me to believe it was a standard sandwich since he wasn’t raving or pushing the plate away.

Being back in Indiana after a week in Las Vegas (posts to come soon), I settled on an Indiana favorite – the pork tenderloin. I asked if it was made in house and the server said yes, so I gave it a go. It didn’t seem like the standard breading or form of a frozen tenderloin, so I’m inclined to think she was telling the truth. The tenderloin wasn’t pounded consistently, thicker in some areas while thinner in others, but it didn’t bother me. When eaten along, it was quite salty. But despite the fried salt taste, it had a crunchy breading and tender piece of meat. It was seasoned perfectly when eaten with the bun, lettuce, pickles, tomato and mayo that it was served with – the salt wasn’t overpowering then. Served with fries, these were lightly salted and fried to perfection. A good mix of fried crisp and tender potato filling, they were a good side for the fried sandwich.

Of course, the tenderloin was large – I don’t think I will ever encounter a small tenderloin. Hubs sandwich was quite large as well, so we were both very full as we left the restaurant a mere $20 later (included two drinks before tip).One thing to mention, they must be undergoing a menu change. Half of their menu was crossed off with black marker, and I did originally order something that was no longer on the menu – they just hadn’t crossed it off. Be aware that if you go soon, you may have limited choices.

It was solid food for a quick stop in. If I was in the area and wanted bar food, I would go back. But I wouldn’t be making any special trips to Westfield for Carey’s. Would be interested if anyone knows of other casual restaurants in Westfield that I should try when seeing hubs again for lunch. Has to be one hour limit and casual – welcome any suggestions!

Carey Tavern * 17421 Carey Road * Westfield, 46074 * 317.867.0397

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