14 West August 2009

Every year I have the pleasure of going to GenCon in Indianapolis, IN and, every year, I eat at some pretty great restaurants.  This year started off with a visit to 14 West with the recommendation of both Urbanspoon and the hotel concierge.  While the lighting was poor, which seems to be a trend in Indianapolis and a bummer for me, the food was delicious and surprisingly inexpensive.  The service was attentive and the overall experience is one I’d be happy to repeat in future years.  

Due to the lighting, these posts won’t be quite as photo-heavy as previous restaurant articles have been.  I have come to the conclusion that, when making a reservation and being seated, I should just request a table with adequate lighting.  

Our meal began with house made pretzel rolls and a choice of herbed butter, mustard, and regular butter.  The rolls were fantastic and fresh.

From there we had salads.  Lance ordered the spinach salad which was topped with a perfectly poached egg, feta cheese, crispy pancetta, balsamic vinaigrette, and red onion.  The egg yolk mixed with the vinaigrette to form a great dressing for the salad.  This is one of those techniques I’d love to try at home some time.

I had the Caesar salad which included a parmesan crisp and homemade croutons.  It was also fantastic.  

For our entrees, Lance had the Chicken which, sadly, isn’t on the menu on the restaurant’s website, and I didn’t take notes during dinner!  I believe it was served with mashed potatoes.  The bite I had was nice and tender.  It’s also worth noting that most all of their meats were from local farms which is a huge plus in my book.  The picture of his dish didn’t turn out at all.

I ordered the Crispy Duck Confit which was served with goat cheese and mushroom crepes and a cherry glaze.  Lance thought my portion was a bit small, but I found it to be just perfect.  The duck was crispy, amazingly flavorful, and the crepes were a fantastic pairing.

For dessert we opted to split the Chocolate Mousse Cake.  It was a hollowed out pound cake filled with rich chocolate mousse and served with a ball of toffee coated vanilla ice cream.

This was a great dining experience and I’d strongly consider going again next year.  The service was spot on, we were never left wanting for drinks or anything else.  The only downside of the whole meal was the lack of lighting.  

Total price, including tip with no alcohol: Unclear.  

14 West
14 West Maryland Street
Indianapolis, IN

Reservations: (317) 636-1414