Sign Outside the Mall Announcing Yard House

With it’s close proximity to Bergen County, Rockland County is always a destination we keep an eye out on for new and interesting places to eat and drink. Our most recent adventure was to the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack (sorry, we’re from Jersey… malls are a way of life for us!) to check out the new beer, bar food and classic rock mecca: Yard House.

Yard House has 50+ locations around the country with the closest one in Yonkers (which we have not been to). According to their website, the idea for Yard House was that the owners wanted to create a restaurant that would offer one of the largest selections of draft beers, a diverse menu of American fare, and play a heady selection of classic rock music on a state-of-the-art sound system. For the record, this basically describes our dream Boozy Burbs restaurant.

The Keg Room 

The space is dark with a very modern feel. The bar, which includes 160 (yes, 160 spread over 180 taps) beers on tap. We were told that even though many beers sell quickly, no tap will sit for more than 90 days, making sure you always have access to fresh beer. We counted at least 10 TVs and plenty of high-tops around the bar to watch sports.  We can already see that Yard House will be a popular destination for those with NFL visions in their heads.

Quick Shot of a Few Taps

Let’s face it, the beer selection is MASSIVE. Even a big drinker would need a few weeks of visits everday to really go through all the options, including draft, bottles and specials (Beer is available in the following sizes: Shortys, Pints, Goblets & Yards). Yard House even features something called Chalkboard Series, which features rotating limited quality beers which change all the time. Wine and liquor drinkers have no fear! They also feature a selection of specialty cocktails, martinis, low calorie options (called Fresh & Skinny) and wine. Plus we’re sure they can mix up a Jack & Coke if your palate desires.

On to the food portion of this preview… The menu is a very diversified selection of traditional American bar food with some gourmet “kicked-up” twists to appeal to the even more sophisticated diners. The more traditional items are nachos, wings, fried calamari, dips and sliders. There are many Asian-inspired items like Kung Pao calamari, Shiitake Garlic noodles, Moo Shu egg rolls and Korean beef. And that’s just from the Appetizer menu. The menu is rounded off with sushi, salads, “Street” tacos, sandwiches, seafood entrees and more. We certainly didn’t get to try everything, but we’ll try our best as the year progresses 🙂

Buffalo Wings

They even feature a protein substitute called Gardein™ (which is a chicken or beef substitute made from soy, wheat, pea proteins, vegetables and ancient grains), that can replace wings, burgers, be put on salads and pizzas, etc for the vegetarians in your crew. Their food program seems to really have covered every base to satisfy a large array of diners.

BBQ Chicken Pizza (Mozzarella, cilantro, red onion, smoked gouda and bbq sauce)

Hawaiian Poke Stack (Marinated raw ahi with crispy wontons, carrots, bean sprouts, avocado, wasabi soy sauce)

Kung Pao Calamari (candied walnuts, red peppers, celery, carrots with jasmine or brown rice)

Pork Belly “Street Tacos”

BBQ Chicken Salad (avocado, pasilla, corn, cheddar, jack, tortilla strips, tomato, pinto beans, citrus BBQ, fried onions, cilantro and chipotle ranch dressing)

Thai Chicken Noodle (Egg noodles, grilled chicken, broccoli-carrot-sprout-cabbage-cilantro slaw and spicy peanut vinaigrette)

Southern Fried Chicken Breast (Served boneless and skinless over spinach-corn-mashed potatoes and bourbon gravy)

Fried Chicken Strips (Maple dijon and buttermilk ranch with fries)

Yard House 4374 Palisades Center Drive, West Nyack, NY Website