Waterfront Ale House
540 Second Avenue at 30th Street
New York, NY 10016
212-696-4104
http://www.waterfrontalehouse.com
I’ve seen many a movie at the nearby AMC Loews Kips Bay in the olden days (er, a few years ago), but I’d never noticed the welcoming casual pub at the next corner. Dave and I ended up here for a post-work meal since we both were in the mood for burgers. Even though it was a Friday night, we managed to snag a table in the eating area; the bar in the front was teeming with happy worker bees buzzing.
Waterfront is smart in that they put the condiments on a shelf behind the tables, saving space. Nevertheless, I was too close for comfort to the tables adjacent, especially one table of a couple and a girl being boisterous. The two of us started off with pints of the beer of the week, which happened to be a Smuttynose Winter Ale for $5. Eh, it was all right.
I ordered the burger with blue [bleu as noted in the menu] cheese. Earlier I had to squash the temptation to steal some of the waffle fries the table next to us were munching on. At $11.95 each and $1 extra for cheese, the burger wasn’t ultra cheap but par for the course in Murray Hill. There were a bunch of specials listed on a big blackboard, but I ignored them and went for the burger. Dave also was in the burger zone but made a last-minute switch to chili. Strong menu, even with a fair selection of barbecue. Chili could be in a larger size, but that was to be expected. Salty blue cheese. Chuck cooked as requested. Nice. Except the pickle was too garlicky and why on earth was there a radish on the plate? Anyway, I was satisfied at the end.
The waffle fries could have used a little more salt, but I contented myself with dousing them in the malt vinegar which was an option on the condiment shelf. If you’re a mustard lover, you’re in luck as there were around four different options you could choose from, and there were also British steak sauces and Tabasco varietals.
The dessert board announced Bailey’s cheesecake, so I made sure to save enough room for that goodness. And oh, the goodness. The graham cracker crust was sugary, and the filling was smooth and rich, though adding more of the sweet Irish cream may not have been a bad idea. Dave’s dessert consisted of an order of wings. I ate one and thought my tongue and lips were going to disintegrate, that hot.
Leaving Waterfront, I didn’t have the urge to smack annoying bar patrons (frequent in this neighborhood), always a plus. Great meal to cap off a busy week!
le gourmet pipette 