Hildebrandt’s, the iconic Wiliston Park eatery, is about to put the village on the map – or least in the consciousness of cable TV viewers – when it’s featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” on Monday night.
The restaurant will make its prime time debut during the opening segment of the show at 9 p.m. The episode is entitled “Mozzarella to Motzah Balls,” so co-owner Susan Strano Acosta is pretty certain that the restaurant’s Mozzarella sticks will be one of the items highlighted from Hildebrandt’s menu.
Hildebrandt’s is trumpeting its imminent appearance on the show with a sign in its Hillside Avenue window. An autographed picture of Guy Fieri, the spike-haired host of the show, hangs on the back wall of the restaurant.
Asked how she felt about the restaurant being featured on the prime time show, Acosta said, “It’s nerve-wracking and exciting. We have no idea how they’re going to feature us or what they’re going to feature food-wise.”
The show spent a total of 34 hours shooting material for what will probably be a 15-minute segment for the show, including two 14 hour shoots on consecutive days last fall.
And after the extreme weather of a winter that dampened its business, Acosta said she’s looking forward to a bump in business after the segment airs.
I’m hoping for it. It would be nice to have people in who haven’t been here in awhile,” she said, adding that the TV time prompts people who’ve never eaten at Hildebrandt’s to sample the show.
But she also hope the publicity helps to draw people to sample the stores and the ambience of Williston Park.
“I hope everybody gets to see what homey town this is. A lot of people who grew up here still live here,” Acosta said.
Hildebrandt’s is emblematic of that home town atmosphere as a business that has been in the Strano family for 36 years. She and her husband Bryan have been co-owners for the past five years.
Her mother, Joanne Strano, who works in the restaurant’s kitchen putting her personal touch on her own recipes, is also certain to be featured on the show.
She said she’s “very excited, happy and all those good things” about being in the prime time spotlight. She said she’s also glad that people who visit the restaurant as a result of the show might also check out other businesses in the village.
“It was interesting,” she said of the Food Network shoot in the eatery. “They watch everything and they keep changing their minds.”
When her daughter suggested featuring the restaurant’s Chicken Dakota dish on the show, the director of the shoot initially shot the idea down. Acosta reasoned it was a good choice because it’s a particularly colorful dish – and ultimately the director agreed.
The Acostas invited a select group of regular diners to populate the counter during the shoot. But to find out who made the final cut, everyone will just have to tune in to the Food Network on Monday night.
