Before there was the Spotted Pig and before the rise of the gastropub, there was Waterfront Ale House. You would never guess from the outside that this Murray Hill saloon (there’s a second location in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill) serves up some amazing grub. A hand-painted sign on the wall self-depracatingly proclaims this pub to be the “Home of Warm Beer, Lousy Food and an Ugly Owner.”  But make no mistake about it, the beer is served at the perfect temp, the food is anything but lousy and as far as owner Sam Barbieri’s looks go, you can decide for yourself (he’s the one on the right holding his famous homemade egg nog). Given its location adjacent to the Kips Bay movie theater, Waterfront Ale House has been a part of our dinner and a movie night routine for some time now. What’s not to like about a friendly, neighborhood bar where you can choose among great beers, grab free popcorn from a self-serve popper and order just about anything from a diverse and fairly eccentric comfort and game food menu and know that it’s gonna be pretty darn good. The taps are constantly changing and the kitchen features sublime pub fare with many comfort food favorites, including great burgers and award-winning bbq. It’s the perfect spot to grab a beer and a bite on a rainy day, which is exactly why we decided to head over there on Sat. afternoon…more of what we love about WAH after the jump… During holiday season, we love the warm cozy atmosphere and the famous house brand ‘Serious Egg Nog’. It’s so tasty and full of good rum that we usually take a couple of bottles home with us. It is our no. 1 holiday drink. Other signature libations include the homemade granny apple infused vodka and “painkiller” rum punch. The specials listed on the blackboards are a menu onto themselves. Don’t expect your normal pub fare here with specials like venison stew, bison burgers, exotic soups, duck liver pate and other hard-to-find game meats with a twist. They were even offering a Grilled Caribbean Pork Loin with a Ginger and Guava Glaze when we were there. Owner Sam Barbieri is an avid barbecuer and has several trophies to attest to his prowess. I’ve had the ‘pulled pig’ sandwich and it was downright great bbq.

There’s an assortment of different hot sauces lining the walls and on the table, but none comes close to Sam’s famous house brand (available for purchase). Using what tastes like Habanero peppers as a base, this hot sauce achieves the near impossible balance of being both flavorful and as someone on Citysearch puts it “still boasting a heat that’ll blow through the roof of your skull.” Not to worry, there are plenty of great draft beers to help wash it down and put out the fire.

Jill and I couldn’t find an open cab yesterday, but we remembered that Tylenol has been running a promotion right across the street from our apartment offering free rides to anywhere in Manhattan in London-styled taxi cabs.

We started with a crock of french onion soup. This 4-onion soup with porter, which the bartender told us is the chef’s mom’s recipe, is delicious. The porter really added a depth to the beef broth, the bread was thick and brown, the onions were soft and tasty, and the cheese was properly melted over the side of the crock with a nice crispy brown coloring. It was also topped with freshly chopped chives and peppers. I started with a Magic Hat Roxy Rolles, a hoppy amber, and Jill with a Maudite, a strong belgian ale from the same brewery as Le Fin Du Monde. I also tried the Dogfish Head Punkin’ Ale, one of the better seasonal pumpkin ales I’ve tried. They also had two warm cask ales, one of which was a Six Points Otis (oatmeal stout). Click here to check out the current beer list.  For my lunch, I had the french dip au jus and Jill went with a grilled vegetable focaccia sandwich with fresh mozzarella and sun-dried tomato pesto. People also swear by WAH’s burger and some call it the best beer+burger in town (they also have famous waffle-cut fries). Maybe we’ll feature it in an upcoming Burger Wars.  We look forward to our next dinner+movie night soon…even if the movie isnt’ great, we know we won’t be let down by dinner at Waterfront Ale House.

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