Health & Fitness
Craft Beer, Burgers & Indie Rock
Rahway is fast becoming known for its arts scene and I'm lucky enough to be right in the heart of it all. Follow my blog for an insider's perspective on arts & cultural events, dining, and more.
A delicious new addition has made its debut on the Rahway restaurant scene. The Rail House 1449 has opened a casual dining unit next door at 1443 Irving Street. The restaurant’s interior is freshly renovated, with high ceilings and low hung ceiling fans, exposed brick walls, a hand-built wood bar, and seating for approximately 60 people.
While the Rail House’s fine dining room offers a menu of upscale wines and gourmet cuisine, the ‘Cable Car’ addition focuses on comfort food and an extensive bar menu. Although the two dining rooms feature different menus, the food is prepped and cooked in the same kitchen, and both share the three-season outdoor Rail Yard patio with seating around the cozy fire pit.
The casual menu items include appetizers like tasty beef chili and aromatic wild mushroom soup, as well as entrée dishes and numerous specialty beef, chicken and vegetable burgers with a wide range of toppings.
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We tried the ‘Born in the USA’ burger, a meaty beef burger that was grilled to perfection and layered with crispy bacon, American cheese, lettuce, and tomato, and a customized beef burger with jalapenos and pepper jack cheese. Both burgers came on pretzel rolls, a delicious change from the usual brioche or hamburger roll, and real homemade catsup. The choice of sides offered was French fries, homemade potato salad or coleslaw. (Hand-cut boardwalk-style French fries would have pushed the meal over the top to an all-time favorite!)
The Rail House specializes in craft beer, so beer lovers won’t be disappointed. There are lots of beers on tap from the well known to up-and-coming names. For non-beer drinkers, there’s a full menu of flavorful cocktails, martinis, and shots.
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One of our favorite features of this new space is the live music. A wealth of local indie-rock bands have already made their way to this small venue, playing to a packed house during Wednesday open-mic nights and Saturday (weekly) Sessions. We caught the recent ‘End of Days’ show featuring Chocolate Bread, Philip and the Nasty, Charles Keith Sztyk, and Stephen Kelly. Coming to the Rail House on Friday, January 11th is XNY and This Old Ghost, two melodic bands from New York City, and local bands The Ugly Club and Pilots in Orbit will be playing on Saturday, January 19th.
The Rail House is located at 1449 and 1443 Irving Street in Rahway, New Jersey. Call 732-388-1699 or visit therailhouse.com for directions and more information.
