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Peer through the nautical porthole windows of her thick ship-like doors. Pull open those doors and find vestiges of “The Boat’s” past life, now showcased in its new incarnation.
This restaurant was once an actual boat. How it got docked on Rosemead Boulevard is a pirate’s tale for another time.
The galley proper is a cavernous and sprawling space, something like being inside of a whale, but filled with homey, wooden shellacked tables for two and four. Sailing wheels dot the walls and model ships sail along, displayed in large fish tanks.
The intrinsic kitschiness makes this a great place for first dates, a few of which I noticed were going on at the tables next to ours.
The Boat is the counterpoint to the main restaurant located just across the parking lot. You dine on fish and steak in there, and here in the boat, you eat cheeseburgers, cheesy bread, and drink beer.
And it being Cheeseburger Week through Friday, The Galley was a must try.
Being a vegetarian, I often feel like a fish out of water, however I was able to survive because apparently black beans are available in this port. The Galley’s vegetarian offering is much like your standard burger — shredded lettuce, thousand island dressing, tomato, and cheese, on a sesame seed bun, but instead of throbbing gristle, you’ll find a black bean patty at its heart.
My dining partner smartly ordered pickles on her burger and they were delicious. Long strips instead of the usual round chips.
The black bean patty is flavorful, spicy, and full of cumin. Like all black bean patties, it is soft and mushy and might have benefited from a bit more grilling to give it a crunch. It kept disintegrating and falling out of the bun making a fork and knife the preferred method of consumption.
The black bean flavor might have been at odds with the surrounding condiments and bun which were quite good on their own, and perfectly matched for the real meat they were originally intended to cradle.
The carnivores surrounding us seemed to agree. We saw lots of happy cheeseburger diners throughout the restaurant. Such is the vegetarian’s lot.
Indeed, this burger would have even been fantastic with a standard gluten/oat style veggie burger patty. The tasty black bean patty might work better wrapped in a tortilla with salsa and roasted chiles, or perhaps naked with a side of tortilla chips.
That might just be reason enough to return for another sailing adventure, with knife and fork.
Clearman’s Galley is at 7215 Rosemead Boulevard, San Gabriel, CA. (626) 286-3579. www.clearmansrestaurants.com
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