mfeygin

You have not tried the entree to be pricing it!!! ← Please do not bother. Thanks

You have not tried the entree to be pricing it!!!

Dear Menton, why are you discussing the Dinner menu pricing when you paid an average $10 for lunch? You are fast to agree with a “critic” on Mouthfuls without even tasting the food – did you know that Chef Gary was out with the Flu on that day (feb 2nd). I ask for you to consider trying the food first. I do not want to question your motivation. Concerned - Mike

kick plate n. A protective sheet of metal attached to the bottom of a door.

Thanks Tommy and Menton, I was thinking about an aluminum kick plate, plexy may be a good way to go..thanks for the advice - please keep it coming, will take care of it Saturday. Mike

Thank you Menton, glad you made it. However our Lunch menu at $8 average has very little to do with the Dinner menu. I will make sure to have the staff clean the kitchen door today. I'm in San Francisco all week and did not get a change to "scope the place". As far as decor, there are plenty of restaurants with wallpaper but not many that use top ingredients. We are not “fine dining” and do not pretend to be, Chef Gary is all about “the food”. Hope you get a chance to try the Dinner – I’ll make sure to have the door cleaned. Glad you made it and liked the food, Mike

Per Se Masa Le Bernadin Daniel Jean Georges Silver Oak Bistro i think your enthusiasm for the place might be getting in the way of reasonable thought. also, serving enough food for 3 people doesn't negate the average price of a meal. leftovers don't come into play when determining if a restaurant falls into an "expensive" category. SOB is not the cheapest BYO around. entrees reach the high 20's. i agree with this review, and others, that suggest that the dishes can be too busy, to my taste at least. there's no denying the brilliance of the soups and the BBQ, however. and it's just a pleasant place overall. ← Thanks Tommy, you are absolutely correct, we are not a 4 start Restaurant - we a re a Bistro. This is one of the reasons that we don't use tablecloths . Chef's BBQ has made it to our regular Dinner menu - this means that he should have it ALL THE TIME (Right Chef Gary?) LOL Mike

I have to get over there, I'm sure I would like the place, Mike. Please note that I was NOT disparaging SOB, I was making a comment about the Bergen Record Restaurant reviews in general. ← Thanks Menton1, our food is not for everyone (no Chicken Parm on the menu), but Chef Gary is an Artist that loves to create. The portion size come from his "Southern Hospitality" and once we get going for real, Chef will have more time for his original creations. We are planning to change the Menu fairly often - Lamb 4 ways has been gone for about a month now. Hope to see you soon, Mike.

Sorry Bergen, Friday lunch was a killer and we sold all the soup that would last through the day. The Gumbo was back on Saturday, Sorry - Mike.

Dear Menton1, have you tried our food yet?

the sign has been there for quite some time, but i haven't noticed much movement. i've been keeping my eye out, rest assured. meanwhile, i've been considering opening a BBQ place in bergen county. perhaps my timing is a little off. it's just as well someone else makes the good BBQ anyway. less hassle and more BBQ for me. edited to add that you should definitely give Silver Oak's BBQ a try if you haven't already. he's not messing around over there. ← Tommy, Chef Gary and I are ready...we just need more seats, parking spots and a way to sell beer with the BBQ...LOL Mike

It is the same sauce. Chef Gary is ready for the cooperative - he makes enough sauce for an army - I wonder if he was ever in the service....I will ask him tomorrow, but afraid that if the answer is yes, he may have to cook for all of Iraq….LOL. We will be selling BBQ takeout kits fairly soon. Just working on logistics now. Mike

← Dear Menton, you are welcome to try us at your leasure. It is 100% Mesquite smoked. BBQ is not available at all times, please call ahead. Chef Gary cannot wait to meet you. Hope to see you soon. Mike ← Sorry - correction, after talking with Chef Gary, it's all Hickory smoked. He uses an indoor BBQ smoking cabinet by Cookchack: http://www.americasbestbbq.com/moreinfo.cf...ct_ID=455629618 The last smoker that he used was able to produce 2000lb of BBQ at one time. Being in Ridgewood, I'm not sure if people around us be very happy smelling the smoke - and we have a small place. Need to start small - but planning to begin offering BBQ takeout by the pound. Just another project. All the best. Mike

← Dear Menton, you are welcome to try us at your leasure. It is 100% Mesquite smoked. BBQ is not available at all times, please call ahead. Chef Gary cannot wait to meet you. Hope to see you soon. Mike

It's funny that I called Chef Gary SOB about 4 times tonight....LOL Mike. PS: Hope WTC enjoyed it....

Hi Rosie, one more - Silver Oak American Bistro - BYO Ridgewood www.silveroakbistro.com - Thanks, Mike

Chef Vola's is the best, we are in AC now and could not get a reservation. Book in ADVANCE!!!! Great Italian American menu, nice people!! Loved it!

Thanks Anonymouze, I found the SOB abbreviation very funny - this is exactly what I call Chef Gary during the dinner rush....

Hi Rosie, as of today, Chef Gary will start offering his specials once again and I’m happy to say that we will begin announcing the prices with these specials. We feel that this will be in the best interest of our customers and Silver Oak. I truly thank everyone who had contributed to this discussion on and off eGullet and looking forward to more feedback in improving the dining experience at Silver Oak. Thanks again, Mike Feygin.

Hi Scott123, Chef Gary just stared making Andouille at Silver Oak American Bistro. It is made in Ridgewood and we are selling it for carry-out at $6.95 per lb. for more info please visit www.silveroakbistro.com. Mike Feygin

Rosie, your waiter was asked to recite the price of the special to you. Should I be working on the logistics?

Hi Rosie, this topic seems to upset many people. I will ask Chef Gary to stop making any specials till we can figure our what went wrong here. Concerned, Mike Feygin

Thanks Tommy

Where else can one get direct feedback from customers? GO eGullet!!! I thank you all for your suggestions and will discuss it with Chef Gary upon my return. I do respect everyone’s opinion and understand that this is very hot topic of discussion. As I stated before, we just have to work on logistics of telling the customers about the pricing. I will keep everyone posted and THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK!!!!!

Hi Rosie, I see that we stir the usual controversy ..LOL As far as stating the price of the Specials ( I’m in Pittsburgh on business and did not have a chance to discuss it with Chef Gary – I’ll let him read it and comment) – I’m personally not sure what direction to take. Printing the specials out every day sounds reasonable - but what do we do when I’m not available to do it ( I’m there on Fri and Sat night). For a small place like ours, reciting the specials seems to be more “practical” at the moment. Most of the “specials” are already priced in the menu – pasta of the day and soup of the day, fish of the day, desert of the day. There is only one – mainly meat special that Chef dreams-up on daily basis and it is mainly priced inline with the rest of the menu. I’m thinking that maybe be will state the price if it is outside of the regular price range. I’m not a lover of people telling me what the price of the specials is at the restaurants that I frequent – unless it is priced way outside of reasonable – kills the enjoyment of the meal – but getting gouged is a different story. I would not call our “special” pricing as “marketing” as we try to bring the freshest and most expensive ingredients as specials because we cannot afford to put it on the menu for financial or availability reasons. As you know we are new and did not get a chance to figure out what is wrong and right yet, but we always love suggestions in enhancing the dining experience. We are still working through some service quality, training and coverage issues. Please keep the comments coming…Mike Feygin