Poor Herbie’s Strikes It Rich

First things first: there's nothing poor about Poor Herbie's—not the calorie count in its oh-so-delicious fried apps, not the bottle/tap beer selection, and certainly not the well-managed service team of college students and owners, Judy and Dennis Mullins and Dennis Mullins, Jr. To be blunt, I don't feel one bit bad for Poor Herbie's, which is doing a heck of a lot of things right.

The self-named "Cheers in the heart of Madison," Poor Herbie's is an interesting combination: a building rich in history dating back to 1877 when the location was actually part of Chatham, a popular bar with obvious Irish influences (a digital clock counts down the months, days, hours, and minutes until St. Patrick's Day), and a full-service restaurant that puts out traditional bar food plus a solid range of dinner eats.

Much of the fare is a heart-attack-on-a-plate, and I say that with the highest of compliments. This is the food we shouldn't but love to eat, and Poor Herbie's bar food/appetizers is exactly what it's supposed to be: yummy, bite-sized bits for noshing, and if fried, all the better. And it's not just bar patrons who are ordering the mini corn dogs ($3.95), hot wings ($6.95), cheddar skins and bacon ($4.75), dumplings ($3.50), jalapeno cheddar poppers ($4.25), and mozzarella sticks ($6.95). Kids are gobbling them up as well.

Two of the menu's most popular items, mac 'n cheese triangles ($3.95) and "Flexible Flyers" ($4.50) are perfect examples of Poor Herbie's deep-fryer mastery. The mac and cheese itself is pretty ordinary, but when chilled, battered, and deep fried into petite little wedges, it becomes a crispy, melty, cheesy concoction unlike no other. The Flexible Flyers are of similar design. A play on Poor Herbie's hot wings, the Flexible Flyers are breaded chicken fingers fried and covered with either hot wings or BBQ sauce. In a word, yum.

Dinners are served with a huge loaf of bread (and a one-foot bladed knife that puts Outbacks' to shame) and a very respectable side salad which can include a generous portion of crumbled blue cheese for a nominal charge. Of special note are the down-home "pub" options, such as shepherd's pie ($13.95) and the truly tasty, falling-to-pieces pot roast 'n mashed potatoes ($13.95) which is a very generous, waist-stretching portion of just-like-your-grandmother-made beef topped with a jus-brown gravy.

Equally good are Poor Herbie's 8-oz. burgers ($7.50-$9.25), which are served on a toasted Kaiser roll with cole slaw and a pickle. The burgers are cooked and served as ordered, and there are a number of cheeses and toppings at various prices to dress them. Also available is the "fabled Kobe beef" burger ($11.50) and a vegetarian option on wheat bread ($5.95). Fries and onion rings can be ordered a la carte in a number of ways: shoestring, sweet potato, steak cut, and "tanglers." 

All of Poor Herbie's steaks are Black Angus Steer, and they are not messing around. There is a 20oz. ribeye "club" steak ($23.95), a 14-oz. strip sirloin ($21.95), twin 5-oz. loin lamb chops ($15.95), and prime rib ($24.95), as well as a few smaller cuts. There are also a number of seafood and chicken entrees, including crab-shrimp-scallop cakes ($14.95), salmon with dill sauce ($15.95), chicken parmigiana ($13.50), and fried or roasted chicken ($13.55 and $13.95). Poor Herbie's also serves a selection of hot ($5.95-$9.50) and cold ($5.25-$8.95) deli-style sandwiches, salads ($7.95-$10.45), and pastas ($10.95-$13.75).

And it's not just the food that delivers at Poor Herbie's. The bar, too, has a nice, if smallish, beer menu from domestics to a few select microbrews (bottled Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and Brooklyn Pennant on tap, $4.75 per pint) to old Irish favorites like Smithwick's and Guinness. Their wine list is limited to three Californian vineyards and a smattering of bottles from other regions, but all major varietal bases are covered.

Poor Herbie's caters to a wide range of clientele, and with good reason. Sports fans (especially Jets) gather on game day, families with kids patronize tables in both the bar area and the restaurant's main dining room, and college students, professors, and all walks of life seem to find their way to Poor Herbie's for lunch and dinner. The overall atmosphere is casual, cheerful, and very welcoming. The tables and chairs are well-spaced and comfortable, with plenty of room to spread out. Service is attentive with sometimes a tag-team of two or three young students running food or bussing each table. And the biggest feather in Poor Herbie's cap is not the fact that one of the senior owners spends a minute at every single table, but that they honestly seem to care if you enjoyed your meal.

All in all, I think there is a bit of truth to the idea that Poor Herbie's is Madison's "Cheers" (at least in regard to the TV show and not the spin-off chain restaurant). Because when you get right down to it, people can take refuge at Poor Herbie's and set aside diets for comfort food at fair prices, indulge in a bit of the drink, and leave happy. Without a doubt, Poor Herbie's is a satisfying, guilty pleasure. Pour me another pint!

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Poor Herbie's

13 Waverly Place, Madison

(973) 966-0211

Hours of Operation:

Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 am-2:45 pm

Lunch, Sunday, 12-8:45 pm

Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 4:30-9:45 pm

Dinner, Friday and Saturday, 4:30-10:45 pm

Bar, Monday through Thursday, 11-1 am

Bar, Friday and Saturday, 11-2 am

Bar, Sunday, 12 pm-1 am

Take-out available.

All major credit cards accepted.