The Boathouse

The Hudson River Line of Metro-North affords some spectacular views from its route along the eastern edge of the Hudson River, but one unfortunate result is the almost complete separation of the people of Westchester County from their scenic riverfront. There are bits and pieces of accessible land between rail line and river, but good dining and recreational opportunities across the tracks are unfortunately few and far between.

This is one reason we so welcome the Boathouse restaurant, opened in late 2008. The Boathouse is right on the river, situated between a marina and a boat club; you could easily arrive by water if you so choose. At first glance it appears to be the sort of casual waterfront boaters’ hangout where the food is an afterthought, but The Boathouse is much better than that.

The menu includes things like a balsamic-glazed chicken breast and a miso-marinated Chilean sea bass, or sirloin steaks and fruit-stuffed pork loin. We enjoyed a grilled salmon fillet with teriyaki sauce, but our favorite items were the clam chowder and burgers. The chowder is prepared New England-style, and while it’s called clam chowder it might as easily be called clam and bacon chowder for all the up-front smokiness contained therein. The large serving, listed as an appetizer, in itself can serve as a generous lunch.

Burgers are served on terrific crusty and chewy toasted ciabatta rolls. We especially enjoy the stuffed burger, with an oozing center of Jack cheese and bacon and tomato. The beefiness of this burger had us suspecting a house-ground source but we spied some empty boxes of ground beef outside. Whatever, they are loosely-formed and good-tasting. The side of frizzled onions doesn’t hurt, either.

A tempura-dipped nori-wrapped sheaf of julienned vegetables makes a fun first course, as do the anchovy-touched spedini and the house-favorite Shrimp Luciano served in a lemoned and garlicked parsley butter. The small dessert list included apple raspberry pie and cranberry bread pudding (this during the holiday season) but none of us had the appetite to sample.

Service is friendly/casual, the room daylight-bright and modern with large windows looking out over the river and Rockland County to the west. There are a few outdoor tables for when the weather warms up. Right now, in December, all the marina boats next door are shrink-wrapped, separated from the restaurant by a barbed wire-topped fence.

Note: the address is listed as 46 Westerly Road, but be aware that using that address in your GPS or Mapquest will miss the mark, leaving you just outside of Ossining’s famed Sing Sing (which is a little south of the train station). For routing purposes, use 800 Westerly Road, which will take you north of the station.