The Barn Still a Delight After 80 Years

There's no sign for The Barn on the street. The old dairy barn is hidden between two houses—one owned by the widow of the son of the founder and the other by the present owner.

But generation after generation of Wyckoff residents and many from surrounding towns have found their way down Sicomac Avenue, seen two tree trunks wrapped in lights, and turned into the driveway to The Barn to eat their fill of burgers, ribs and fries.

"People in their 80s who come here remember Matt Weinstein, who founded it, and people in their 50s and 60s remember his son, Bob," says Eli Batin, a diamond-cutter by trade, who bought the place in 2001.

"The owners who bought it from Bob weren't making a go of it," Batin said. "They were never here." Batin, who used to own jewelry stores in Manhattan and Paramus, said he thought he could make it work because he knew how to run a business, and, "I like to eat."

He also likes to cater to families, and the night we were there, it was clear a fourth generation of customers was in the making. High chairs were readily at hand, and the kids got coloring sheets and a gift when dinner was over.

We had three children, 5, 3 and 14 months, in our party of seven, and they were thrilled to be presented with balls to bounce on the way out. Sheets to color are standard, but presents were something new for them.

As for dinner itself, we went for salads, a steak sandwich, cheeseburgers, a bison burger, chicken fingers and mac and cheese for the very picky 5-year-old. She pronounced it good and even managed to eat most of it, a record for her.

The chicken "fingers" were gigantic pieces, and a lot of the 3-year-old's plate wound up in a doggy bag.

The fries were good but the onion rings were outstanding, and we wished we had asked for two orders.  Our bison burger eater had sweet potato fries, which were crispy, unlike many we have had in other places. 

Three of the adults started with salads, which were truly gigantic and made good leftovers for lunch the next day. There were chicken and shrimp salads on the menu, and any one could really serve as a main course, but we all elected to take the less healthy route on the grounds that a once-in-a-while indulgence won't hurt you.

We also had one order of the jalapeno shrimp poppers, which were made with jack cheese instead of the usual cream cheese, according to the table's popper expert. These also were very good.

The Barn is known for its ribs, and it also offers a variety of chicken and beef dishes, befitting its heritage.

Batin said that when the dairy barn was first converted, Matt Weinstein's wife ran it as a tea room, but in 1929, silk manufacturers from Paterson wanted a safe place to drink and convinced Weinstein to open it as a speakeasy. It featured, Batin said, applejack made from fruits in nearby orchards as well as other then-illegal liquors.

Weinstein, however, added food to the menu, which broadened The Barn's appeal. "He used to buy half a cow and butcher it himself, making the hamburger, the steaks," Batin said.  "We don't do that, but nothing we sell is frozen, we use black angus, sirloin-quality burgers. We also make a lot of our own sauces."

The French fries are cut from Idaho potatoes on the premises—no bags of frozen fries.

Prices range from $9.50 for a plain burger to $20.95 for a filet mignon. Batin said a family of four could eat for under $50 as long as no one had any alcohol.

But The Barn's bar is famous. It's made from an old wagon, and the wheels are still there. There's a good martini to be had and respectable wine. 

Our particular booth, Batin assured us, was once a horse stall, and we believed him. The entire place is covered with carved initials left by previous generations.  But today, the tables are covered by Plexiglas. "It's hard," Batin explains, "to really clean all those grooves."  The floor, however, is still barn planks and has to be bleached every week.

While he will keep all those carved-up tables, benches and chairs, Batin does intend to make some changes in the near future.

"We're going to add some seafood to the menu,"  he says. After 80 years, a little change, like the Plexiglas tables,  probably won't hurt anything.

The Barn is open for dinner only, Tuesday through Sunday, beginning at 5 p.m.  It is across the street from Sicomac Elementary School and, as Batin puts it, "nobody wants somebody drinking too much at lunch and running into the school."

Food: Good

Service:  Good

Entrée Price Range: $9.50-$20.95

Atmosphere: Kid Friendly

Credit Cards Accepted