Beer is just what you need after a workout

An "ale house restaurant" has opened next to one of the biggest gyms in North Jersey.

A sign calls the bar-restaurant "a 'reel' great place to catch a good time."

If you work up a thirst working out, the 24 Hour Fitness in Paramus is one of the few gyms in New Jersey that gives you the option of slaking your thirst with beer or something harder.

Miller's N.J. Ale House was built next to the Route 4 gym, and its front door is only steps away from the entrance to 24 Hour Fitness, once a multi-plex movie theater.

The only good thing about the arrangement is that the two buildings aren't connected. Miller's Ale House opens at 11 a.m.

Raw bar, too


Miller's N.J. Ale House has a raw bar and serves wild-caught mahi-mahi, but you could hardly call this a healthy place to eat.

The online menu lists salads, ribs, steaks and other items, but nothing appears to be organic and none of the meat is free of harmful animal antibiotics and growth hormones.

Typical are fried chicken wings, a Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich, fajitas, "sirloin" burgers, steaks and baby back ribs.

Who is responsible for the mixed message of a bar-restaurant next to a gym?

Bergen Town Center

The two businesses are part of Bergen Town Center, the once dowdy mall that convinced Whole Foods Market that Paramus was a good place for one of the chain's biggest organic-food stores.

I called the mall's management office this morning for comment, but was told no one was available. I left a message.  

During construction, gym employees said a "sports bar" was being built next door.

Is that what Miller's N.J. Ale house is? "Ale house" suggests a a place stage-coach travelers stopped for refreshment in the 1700s.