(Inactive) Olana $$$$$

 

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Olana Restaurant, named after the famous estate of Hudson River School painter Frederic Church (called Olana State Historic Site), serves modern new American cuisine with French and Italian influences. Olana State Historic Site has been a source of inspiration for Executive Chef/Owner Albert Di Meglio (formerly of Le Cirque and Osterio Del Circo) and Managing Partner/Owner Brothers William and Patrick Resk, for its rich history rooted in the 19th Century Hudson River School of Art; its majestic location in Hudson New York overlooking the Hudson river and Catskill mountains; and the wonderful local food and wine sources available in the Hudson River Valley.

At Olana, their menus are designed to allow each guest to design their own dining experience based on a format of one to six courses. Olana’s main menu is composed of appetizers, pasta, fish and meat, with entrées available for two and served tableside. A wide variety of food is offered throughout the seasons with special attention paid to pastas and seafood. Meats and fish are given equal consideration, and desserts by pastry chef Katie Rosenhouse are beautifully composed with a homey feel. Lunch, bar and private party menus are also available.

The Chef’s philosophy is to encourage the guest to explore and taste as many different courses from the menu as possible. They want each guest to enjoy and understand the full interpretation of the fresh and seasonal menu and to understand how it relates to both the traditional French and Italian influences which inspired this food and cuisine, while enjoying the warm cherry wood paneling, crystal chandeliers, sconces and mirrors.

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Al Di Meglio, Chef/Owner

The chef as artist takes on its true meaning with the opening of Olana, where Chef Al Di Meglio resides in a restaurant named for the home of Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), one of America's most important artists, which is now a New York State Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark, and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Hudson Valley. Olana was named for a fortress treasure-house in ancient Persia, and now it is a treasure-house of fine food and wine in New York presided over by brothers and co-partners William and Patrick Resk.

For a chef, the connection between New York City and the Hudson River Valley is no coincidence; certainly many farms producing cheese, fruit and vegetables as well as those raising poultry and cattle are in the area, and can be seen weekly selling their wares at Union Square’s Greenmarket. Church called his Olana "the Center of the World," and as a chef Di Meglio’s Olana is the center of his. In this case it is a perfect match because Di Meglio actually studied painting as a teenager. To this day he explores his cuisine with the eye of an artist: Start with one flavor and explore how to give it texture and add more flavor. To Di Meglio, food is art, just take all the inspirations around you and in life and put them on a plate.

Combining the trained eye of an artist with over twelve years of varied culinary experiences from Cellar in the Sky with Marc Murphy, Windows on the World with George Maserof and Michael Lomonaco, Le Cirque 2000 with Chef Sottha Khunn and finally to his own three-year chefdom at Osteria Del Circo owned by the legendary Maccioni family, Di Meglio certainly has an array of inspirations to draw from.

Patrick and William Resk, Owners

Olana, owned by Patrick and William Resk, is a new restaurant, but in well-seasoned hands. Patrick has held several executive positions for entertainment and marketing companies over the past ten years, including Executive Vice President of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR North America division. During that time, Patrick always stayed close to the restaurant industry through his family's restaurant investments (with brief stints as a part time sommelier). While he has been fortunate enough to entertain his clients at top restaurants and sample the best of regional and international fine dining, his true love has always been and remains wine. He has been collecting wine for over fifteen years and has regularly hosted wine tastings, both formal and informal throughout that time. Additionally, he makes wine every year with his brother-in-law using equipment they purchased. Together, they have made wines using the grapes Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, and Montepulciano to name a few. All wines have been made the traditional way starting with purchasing and crushing the grapes. Patrick has continued to build on his knowledge of wine through completion of several intensive certification programs, most recently through the American Sommelier Association's highly respected Certificate Course Series.

Patrick’s brother William’s passion for the restaurant industry began after college working for his uncle, Managing Partner and Owner, Peter Higgins at the Hudson River Club with Executive Chef Waldy Malouf and downstairs at his more profitable Wall Street business model, the Edward Moran's Bar & Grill. After attracting a rather impressive following down in the World Financial Center and learning how to manage and run the busiest bar in the country in the mid to late nineties he began a modest experimentation with American and French inspired cuisine, inviting large groups of friends in their later twenties to participate in five course meals methodically prepared in an Upper East Side bachelor pad.

After 9/11 his uncle surrendered both leases and ventured into consulting and William joined up with NYBG as a GM/Investor to open a midtown steakhouse for Managing Partner, John L. Sullivan, called Savannah Steak. Serving up succulent prime beef and generous portions of large fish to a deluge of hungry businessmen and women with a female friendly focus seemed to be an interesting angle at first. Yet, with the nearby powerhouses of Bobby Van's, Del Frisco's, and Maloney & Porcelli, the market for steakhouses in the East Forties was over-saturated.

The pursuit for other alternatives and the desire to branch off onto his own after working for two restaurateurs began to become William’s primary focus. After spending two years searching for the right location, it soon became clear France and America would not meet on New York soil. Instead he found American, New York City born classically trained French and Italian chef, Albert Di Meglio with a distinctly formed palate for Hudson Valley cuisine. Of course he seemed the perfect choice and the brothers had met their match.

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Striped Bass Tartar—Ruby red grapefruit, champagne gelee, mint, sunflower shoots and mustard oil

Herb Roasted Organic Salmon—With braised bibb lettuce, hedgehog mushrooms, roasted new potatoes and spring onions

Mint Tacconi—Pasta with house made lamb sausage ragu, roasted peppers, watercress and eggplant puree

Veal and Ricota Cappellacci—With Sicilian pistachios, grana padano and roasted tomato sauce

Crispy Free Range Chicken—Fresh green chickpeas, ragout of eggplant and roasted tomato

Croque Madame—With a fried duck egg on top

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