It's great to be back for my first LoVerdict in a long time! To mark this special occasion I decided to LoVerdict my most recent culinary outing: Hildebrandt's of Williston Park.
You may have seen Hildebrandt's on the well known Food Network show, 'Diner's Drive In's and Dives.' A large poster and hat signed by Guy Fieri was posted up on the dining room wall. Much like my previous Loverdict of the Golden Mall, I love visiting places that celebrity chefs have been to. I enjoy sampling the same things and seeing the same places on TV in person. As we were watching a clip from the Hildebrandt's segment of Triple D on my phone, our waiter said: "Oh look its me on TV!" Our waiter was actually the same dude that Guy Fieri was cooking with and talking to.
Upon entering Hildebrandt's you get a sense of its small size and old-school historical vibe. There's a long counter with stools you can sit at, and a handful of tables in the dining area. There is also a counter with some home-made chocolates and candies available for purchase. My girlfriend and I were greeted promptly and offered to sit wherever we liked. The place wasn't packed but had a good amount of customers already seated. A lot of the most popular menu items were written up on a large chalkboard with their prices. We were presented with a small paper menu and promptly given two glasses of ice cold refreshing water.
As I have mentioned before, this place has your standard diner fare; burgers, sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads, etc. What piqued my interest was their large quantity of Italian dishes. The menu didn't describe each dish so I was a little perplexed by dishes called 'Pasta a la Mama,' and 'Chicken Alyssa.' I asked our waiter for a little more info on the dishes and he gave us the regular menu which was larger and described each dish. The Pasta a la Mama was one of the dishes Guy Fieri tried, which is rigatoni pasta with garlic, olive oil, cauliflower, and bread crumbs. While this did sound delicious, I wasn't quite in the mood for something like that.
My girlfriend and I decided to start with the homemade mozzarella sticks (another dish Guy sampled.) They arrived pretty quickly, and I was surprised on how NOT greasy they were. Most of the time deep fried foods tend to be ultra oily and greasy but these mozz sticks were nothing of the sort. The cheese was really gooey and fresh, and the homemade marinara sauce they came with was sweet and savory. My only complaint was that the outer layer was a little tough and not very crispy.
For our main course, I opted for the Chicken Alyssa, while my girlfriend ordered the Pecan Chicken. Both dishes came with a small house salad, which was very crisp and fresh. I accidentally doused mine with way too much balsamic vinegar, so it was a little on the tart side. We were also served some dinner rolls which weren't very fresh. However, just like any good Italian knows, its all about the dippin' and dunkin'. Our main courses arrived shortly after and smelled delicious. My Chicken Alyssa was a crunchy and juicy breaded cutlet smothered in a homemade marinara sauce with both plum and diced tomatoes. It was served over perfectly cooked al dente spaghetti. My girlfriend's Chicken Pecan was served in a honey mustard sauce with pecans sprinkled on top. She opted for a baked potato on the side. Both dishes were excellent, and we used the bread to sop up all the sauce.
A trip to Hildebrandt's would not have been complete if we didn't order some of their homemade ice cream. We were both pretty damn full at this point so we didn't want to go crazy and order a huge sundae. We both decided to split a marshmallow sundae with one scoop of maple walnut and cookies & cream. I've gotta say this plain and simple folks: AWESOME FRIGGIN' ICE CREAM! The maple walnut was sweet and tasted just like maple syrup, while the cookies & cream had big chunks of chocolate cookie pieces in it.
The LOVERDICT
Hildebrandt's was an awesome experience! You won't find many of these classic old-style luncheonettes anymore; they are a dying breed. It's good to see a place like this still in business while holding fast to traditions and recipes that have been handed down for several generations. The food was fairly priced, the atmosphere casual, and the wait staff very friendly. All in all, a very satisfying food outing yet again!
Hildebrandt's
84 Hillside Avenue
Williston Park, NY 11596
516-741-0608
http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/from-mozz-to-matzo-balls/index.html (Link to the Triple D episode site with recipes to a couple of Hildebrandt's dishes)
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