I’ve been hearing lots of good things about Rail Epicurean from a lot of sources and met my friend Suzanne over there. The first thing I will say about this place is that it is ridiculously cute. It’s an old barn smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It has a nice little patio to sit on in front (we did) and a warm interior with several wooden tables as well. They serve beer and wine and I can totally see myself sitting outside if having a glass if this was my neighborhood (Westfield is a bit of a hike for me). I would say it functions as a store as much as it does a restaurant, selling many different local products (including my favorite cookies from 4 Birds Bakery.)
We were there for lunch though, and chose from the 4-5 options on the menu—there are like 3 sandwiches and a soup and a salad or two as well as a daily quiche. It’s a small menu. I think maybe expanding it a bit might be helpful. I had the chicken salad (no nuts! no fruit!). It was pretty straightforward—a lot of chicken, some celery, mayo and some dill maybe. It probably could have used a bit of salt and pepper. The bread was good—very dense in relation to the amount of filling on the sandwich though—I ended up eating it open-faced in order to really taste the fillings. It would be better on something lighter, like a croissant (lots of local choices there too). I had a side of the house made potato salad—it had a lot of dill in it but because it was very minimal on the binder (a very little amount of mayo), it was pretty dry. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the somewhat soft green beans in there.
Suzanne had a ham and Brie sandwich that they heated up and this was definitely the better choice. It was the same bread, but the heartier meat (Smoking Goose City Ham perhaps?) stood up better. And the cheese was nice and melty. I think if I were going for lunch again, I would give the quiche a try or get one of the sandwiches that could be heated up.
If I lived nearby, like I said, I can see this being a great warm, casual space to grab a glass of wine (or beer). If it were my restaurant, I would add a couple of cheese and/or charcuterie plates to go along those lines. And maybe jazz the sandwiches up a little.
Rail Epicurean Market
211 Park Street
Westfield, IN 46074
317/450-4981
I am lucky enough to live nearby, and have dropped in a few times. This is where I was introduced to B. Happy peanut butter, and can pick up the wonderful 3 Birds cookies whenever the craving strikes. I had a wonderfully tasty salad here with romaine lettuce, candied pecans, dried cranberries and chicken with a vinaigrette (I don't remember what type). There were some other things in there but it was long enough ago I don't remember ... but it was so good! I have also had some pastries, most memorably the cinnamon rolls with little pieces of bacon rolled in. The owners are a very nice young couple who are always friendly and happy to talk about their offerings. I love that we're getting locally owned shops like this up in my neck of the woods!
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