Owners: Melanie Hartman and Charles Carlise
(Patch spoke with Melanie Hartman.)
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How long has the restaurant been around? We opened originally as BarCeluna in July 2008, just about three and a half years ago. We closed Jan. 1 for renovation and on Jan. 17 we reopened as American Oak.
Why did you make the change? We have a new chef, Gabe Cortez, formerly of and Boulevard. He’s taken us in a new, exciting direction. Instead of tapas and small plates, our new menu features gastropub food such as a classic wedge salad with bacon and bleu cheese, cassoulet with sausage and duck, mussels, frites with aioli, and pizza made in our wood-burning oven.
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It’s good food, comforting and kind of playful. For example, our burger is fabulous. It’s made with Wagyu beef and buns from .
So those are Feel Good buns? Yes, that’s right!
Do you think the menu changes reflect the economic times? I would say so. What we wanted to do is make it really affordable. All the entrees are less than $15 dollars.
What will stay the same? Our bar will be the same. Our whiskey club — which is called the Personal Liberty League — will stay intact.
How do you join the league? You just sign up at the bar — give us your name and email — and get your own sheet. We have 101 whiskeys, bourbons and Scotches. When you come in and try one of the 101 whiskeys, I get your sheet out and mark down what you’ve tried. And when you’ve made your way through the list, you get a T-shirt and a bourbon glass with your name etched on it so you can have a proper glass to drink out of when you come in.
Tell us why you chose the name American Oak. It’s fitting for a number of reasons. Our bar is heavy on the whiskey and bourbon concept. All American whiskeys and bourbons have to be aged in 100 percent American Oak casks. A lot of wine is aged in American Oak as well. We also burn oak in our ovens.
American Oak just hits a lot of points of what we’re about. It’s American. It’s familiar. It sounds staunch but not too stuffy.
American Oak is located at 2319 Santa Clara Ave. Telephone: 521-5862. Dinner hours are: Tuesday-Thursday, 5-9:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 5-10 p.m. Closed Sundays and Mondays.
