Parsons Assignment : Hudson View Restaurant

Hi, all!

On this bright Thursday afternoon I had the pleasure of stopping by Hudson View Restaurant for a quick chat with one of the managers, Roman, at the establishment. I always pass the restaurant, and ordered pancakes on a few occasions.

Though the restaurant was busy at the time, Roman gave me a few minutes of his time which I greatly appreciated. Before beginning, he had to answer a call on the restaurant number and I took that moment to observe the restaurant. The special today was corn beef in honor of St. Patrick’s Day! A few clovers were seen around pasted on the outside glass, and drawn on the specials of the day menu chalk board. The crowd was coming!

We started off the interview with quick introductions, and then I fired off as many questions as I could with such a short amount of time. The restaurant has a family feel to it that I wanted to know if it was family owned. Roman stated that the owners are Greek and they have been up and running for about 8 years! That was definitely a surprise!

I then asked, since it is a predominantly Spanish area, do they feel the pressure to serve Spanish food. Roman gave it a second to think carefully about his answer, and then responded by saying that they serve quesadillas, and nachos. He did not hint at expanding the dishes on the menu to be more Spanish-oriented so I think that things are staying just like they are. If its not broken then do not fix it, right?

Overall, the menu consists of hearty breakfast dishes, and bagels, etc. You can grab a few Greek, Mediterranean and Italian dishes as there is a specific section of the menu just for that. Don’t be intimidated either if you just want a simple salad as you have many salad choices as well as a NY burger or steak! There is something for everyone.

Roman says that there is not a particular dish that is the most popular, as they pretty much serve everything. He did boast that their pancakes are a hit, but everyone seems to like a bit of everything so it is hard to tell what are the personal favorites of his customers.

When I informed Roman that I would need to record the interview or at least part of it for my assignment I immediately saw his hesitation. He stated something that we all say, he doesn’t like the sound of his own voice. I, like many others can definitely relate. However, I did not want to have to stop the interview because of this so thankfully he still allowed me to tape some of the interview. I usually like conversational type interviews, but considering the unexpected language barrier, I would say that the interview went just fine.

As I was conducting my quick chat with Roman, every one of the waitresses were moving quickly and serving the patrons. They even assisted me with cleaning off the tables for the shot that I took of the restaurant before leaving.  Everyone seemed to be fully engaged in their conversations, enjoying the food and the atmosphere of the diner/restaurant.

Though our talk was very short, I enjoyed speaking with Roman and learning a bit more about the Hudson View on 181st!

(Thank you for your time and the opportunity Mr. Roman and thank you to the restaurant servers as well!)

Xenia Janniere