Business Profile: Oscar’s Restaurant & Bar, Yorktown
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
Mention the restaurant business to Haverstraw resident Oscar Aguilar and his face will light up.
“I love it. This is my life,” Aguilar said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I like people.”
He brought his passion for the industry when he opened Oscar’s Restaurant & Bar in Yorktown about four months ago. It is the first business he has owned. He worked for the previous owners of the site, Three Boys and Gauvios, for 18 years as a manager who also cooked. The menu is basically the same as the previous eatery, Aguilar said.
Oscar’s pizzas are cooked in brick ovens which brings “a really good taste” and with a crunchier crust than most pizzas, Aguilar said. “It’s the best you can get.”
Aguilar said his new restaurant has several popular pizzas, such as Buffalo chicken, that includes Buffalo sauce and fresh mozzarella; brick over margherita, grandma’s, which consists of marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and garlic, parmigiana cheese and parsley; chicken bacon ranch, in which ranch dressing replaces the traditional tomato sauce and the eggplant calabrese, which includes eggplant, fried onions and ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.
Aside from pizza, the extensive menu includes calzones, wraps, heroes, antipasti, soups, salads, pastas, risottos, and several entrees that feature chicken, veal, fish, eggplant and beef. Oscar’s also has a lunch menu and does catering.
It is not a problem to offer a wide variety of food at his restaurant, Aguilar said. “When you love it, you can do it,” he said. “The food is quality.”
Aguilar said among his favorite dishes from his new restaurant are Veal Ala Jay, which includes scallops and mushrooms in a truffle cream sauce and several chicken dishes, including Chicken Caprese, which includes tomatoes, capers, basil and fresh mozzarella in a garlic wine sauce. His favorite pizza is Buffalo chicken.
Oscar’s customers come “from all over,” including northern Westchester and Putnam, Aguilar said, adding the Roma Building is a good location for his business.
Aguilar thanked his wife, Olga, whom he described as “a big supporter” of him, who occasionally helps out. He said his goals for his new business are “to make it grow” and eventually open additional eateries.
Oscar’s Restaurant & Bar is located at 2026 Saw Miller River Rd. in Yorktown in the Roma Building. For more information, call 914-245-0920.
