Photo courtesy of West End Grill & Pub
Broiled salmon with cheddar herb grits and fig bacon jam
Photo courtesy of West End Grill & Pub
Carl Hazel
When Carl Hazel took over the kitchen at West End Grill & Pub (354 N. Boyle) last July, the executive chef knew he wanted to freshen up the menu and bring in more local ingredients.
He's now ready to debut his hard work.
Hazel—whose resume includes Eleven Eleven Mississippi and an 8.5-year stint at The Scottish Arms—says the new menu has gotten a positive response after it was quietly introduced last week.
"We're such a neighborhood-driven restaurant," Hazel says. "So much of our business is regulars that come in all the time. We wanted to... make sure that everyone was going to really be happy with [the new menu]."
You'll find those familiar favorites (mussels, chicken-under-the-brick) and a few tweaks to certain dishes like the crispy cauliflower and the hummus appetizer dish.
More noticeable changes can be found within the entree selection. Hazel has introduced a duck confit; a pork porterhouse, made with a pistachio crust and sweet potato hash (which has been a "good crowd-pleaser" so far, Hazel says); and a broiled salmon with white cheddar grits and a fig and bacon jam. Hazel describes it as rich, creamy, sweet, and nutty—"fun, playful flavors."
Also look out for potato skins with pancetta, goat cheese mousse, and chive oil; and a Reuben sandwich with housemade pork pastrami, swiss cheese, kale, pecan kraut, and remoulade on marble rye.
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Photo courtesy of West End Grill & Pub
Pork pastrami sandwich on grilled marble rye with swiss cheese, kale, pecan kraut, and remoulade
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Photo courtesy of West End Grill & Pub
Crispy potato skins with pancetta, goat cheese mousse, and chive oil
"The biggest change I would say overall to the menu is the approach of it," Hazel says. "[Which means] more things done from scratch, in-house; using local farms and farmers for different things... Just kind of taking that slower approach, trying to freshen things up a bit."
Hazel will also host a wine dinner tonight at West End, which is an event the restaurant puts on every fourth Wednesday of the month. The dinner features five courses, all paired with wines. Tonight's dinner, which is already at capacity, will offer a wild game theme with dishes using venison, quail, and duck.
West End also has a brunch menu every Saturday and Sunday. Hazel says the changes to that menu will take effect in the coming weeks.
The restaurant, a neighborhood spot in the Central West End, also hosts a weekly happy hour on Thursdays with $1 raw oysters at the bar from 4–7 p.m.; and you'll likely find a game of trivia in play on Monday nights from 7:30–9 p.m.
