Riverfront Bar & Grill

It's HOT, it's HUMID, and you want to eat outdoors.  But you don't want to bake in the sun or be enclosed in a close area where the air is heavy.

Solution?  The Riverfront Bar & Grill!

Cool breezes come off the Hudson River while you sit on the upper deck protected from the sun.  Watch the ducks and geese being fed by patrons, the boats passing by, maybe an Amtrak train or two, the final cruises of the Aqua Ducks, and if you're really lucky maybe you'll even see the railroad bridge open to let a tall ship pass through.  All of that is certainly worth a star on it's own.

The food and drink is pretty basic.  A recent lunch on a day that met the requirements above, was met with mixed reaction.  Unsweetened Ice Tea is good for cooling off on a day like this.  The New England Seafood Chowder ($4.99/cup; $5.99/bowl) had a proper amount of creaminess, not too heavy, but was too salty. It was served hot and some pepper helped to improve it.

The hand-battered Fried Calamari ($8.99) was by default served with a marinara sauce.  We were never asked to choose between the marinara and cocktail sauce as offered on the menu.  Had I noticed that option I would have requested the cocktail sauce.  The main downfall of the calamari was that it was barely warm when it arrived at the table.  It had potential if it had arrived hot.

The highlight was the Pulled Pork Sandwich ($8.99) - topped with smoked bacon and melted smoked Mozzarella cheese, served on a toasted kaiser roll.  The BBQ sauce was not overly sweet, the bacon was cooked lean enough to add a bit of nice chewy texture.  The portion was large enough that it would have been very difficult to hold in your hands without making a total mess, so fork and knife were put to good use.

The fries that came with the sandwich were very ordinary.  That might explain why so many fries were disappearing overboard to the delight of the ducks and geese swimming about alongside the barge.

Service was prompt, efficient and friendly.

I went to Riverfront Bar & Grill often when I came to visit my uncle in Albany. It was really cool how the restaurant is on a boat docked on Hudson River. The view is amazing of course - good food.

Great location on the great Hudson River. Burger was tasty char broiled and the quesadilla was perfect. Nice unexpected treat.