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VIEW RESTAURANTTwo Chefs, One Magnificent View

There is a magnificent spot, nestled along the Connetquot River in Oakdale’s Idle Hour. Once the locale for William Vanderbilt’s estate, it is now home to View Restaurant.

BY MARY WHITE WOOD

Over the years, View has garnered many prestigious awards; most recently, earning 3 Stars from Peter Gianotti, Newsday’s well-known restaurant critic, and the highly acclaimed Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. What is it that makes View so special?

It’s all rooted in the kitchen, the heart and soul of View.

I spent an amazing afternoon sitting with Executive Chef Muzio (aka Chef Billy) and Chef de Cuisine Keith McConnell, enjoying brilliant vistas of the bay from the outdoor deck, and dining on superb menu selections. Nothing short of perfection can be expected from Chef Billy, who graduated at the top of his class from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Following graduation, he spent time as a sous chef at several fine east end restaurants. Despite his success here on LI, his passion for Asian cuisine inspired him to travel and cook his way

through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Upon his return, he had the opportunity to work at the prominent Le Bernardin in New York City, under world-renowned Chef Eric Ripert. Pair topnotch academics and experience with authentic Asian influence and passion for fine food and you wind up with the award-winning creative fare of Chef Billy.

I asked him what he wanted patrons to experience while dining at View.

“I want to WOW them,” says Chef Billy. “I want them to walk in and say ‘Wow’, to see the first dish and say ‘Wow’, to take a bite and say ‘WOW’!”

He achieves the “WOW” factor by knowing what customers want. Every morning, coffee in hand, Billy reads through a summary of the previous day’s posts on social media to understand what’s working and what’s not.

“We are constantly eliciting the customers’

feedback from our servers. We encourage them to share all comments. We want to know how to make it perfect each and every time.”

Clearly customer satisfaction is paramount here. Not only are customers responsible for altering a recipe, they dictate the menu.

“They’ve made it clear that there are some items I cannot change,” explains Billy, “We have customers who come specifically for our crab cakes. If I even think about changing the preparation, we’ll have very upset people in our dining room.”

What goes on behind the kitchen doors is also a major component of the “WOW” factor.

Watching them interact, these two have obvious chemistry. No doubt it’s all business in that kitchen. I wondered if they played music while they cooked.

VIEW RESTAURANT | 3 CONSUELO PL, OAKDALE, NY 11769 | (631) 589-2694 | VIEWOAKDALE.COM

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