P. J. Clarke's on the Hudson

I tried P. J Clarke’s on the Hudson with my 11-year-old son about a week ago. It is basically a slightly more upscale version of Houlihan’s. Spectacular views of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty are about all that distinguishes it from a mass of similar restaurants around town.

Frank Bruni wasted a reviewing slot here, awarding zero stars:

It’s better than snobs would like to think and worse than contrarians would hasten to claim, which may be another way of saying that it’s usually serviceable and sometimes respectable.

At least he provided a history of the world-famous urinals.

For the record, a Farmer’s Omelet ($10.80) for me and a Buffalo Chicken sandwich ($12.20) for my son were unobjectionable. Service was pretty much invisible until it was time for the check, and suddenly our server became unnaturally chummy.

The original P. J. Clarke’s has been on the Upper East Side for something like 12o years. Perhaps it has some residual charm that this mass-produced version lacks.

P. J. Clarke’s on the Hudson (Four World Financial Center, Battery Park City)

Food: Acceptable
Service: Mediocre
Ambiance: Just like Houlihan’s
Overall: Acceptable