Vue from Within

With its eclectic décor and fusion-inspired menu, Vue Restaurant and Lounge in Hudson is positively captivating. Here’s how Executive Chef Rick Carson takes inspiration from international tastes and flavors and masterfully creates an eye-opening dining experience.

By: Beth Newcomb
Date: 09/23/2008
After just three years on the local dining scene, Vue Restaurant and Lounge in Hudson has become a treasured landmark. Its eclectic décor and careful design have been painstakingly executed to offer every guest the best vue—no matter where they happen to be sitting. Whether you’re in the main dining room or intimately tucked near the bar, every spot on which your eye might casually come to rest has been filled with magnificent artistic beauty.

And that’s just how owners Butch Bartlett and Paolo Giorgi intended it.

“I’ve traveled all over the world,” Butch shares. “When we were asked to create a place that would become the fine dining restaurant in the First and Main district, we made sure to bring in influences from New York—like the feel of a supper club—along with a really cool contemporary vibe that reflects the fusion-style cuisine developed by our Executive Chef, Rick Carson.”

Vue is as much a tribute to design as it is to extraordinary flavors and ingredients. Cracked glass partitions provide a “smashing” division between spaces and deeply colored, sumptuous velvet draperies lend an intimate feel. Flower sconces envelope low-slung lights and cobalt blue water goblets grace each table alongside colored glass bread plates. “We won an award for our décor,” Paolo offers proudly.

The vue outside isn’t bad either. A 50-seat patio is as graciously appointed as the interior and makes dining alfresco a relaxing treat.

But no matter where you decide to take in your vue, it’s the menu that will knock you off your feet. Chef Rick has selected aspects of his Filipino heritage and placed them on a collision course with classic French and Mediterranean flavors. The result is an astoundingly complex feat of layering that plays out beautifully. Every dish is a perfectly executed masterpiece.

Should you find yourself fortunate enough to catch a moment with him, the simple act of listening to Rick describe the incredible amount of thought he puts into the selection and pairing of each ingredient becomes an instant guilty pleasure. His passion for creating understandable yet impossible-to-duplicate cuisine is an extension of his years of formal training. “We always work with local, seasonal produce and everything is at its freshest,” he promises.

The American Kobe Braised Shortribs are listed on Vue’s dinner menu and are an intriguing start to any meal. “We braise the ribs in fresh lemon grass,” he says. In fact, all of Vue’s meals are prepared with fresh herbs and spices—never dried. The shortribs are served on roasted garlic mashed potatoes with horseradish sauce hiding underneath. The idea is that as your fork travels through the layers, you’ll get a bit of each with every bite you take.

For your salad selection, Chef Rick recommends the Roasted Beet Salad. It includes crisp radish, fennel and goat cheese, with pistachio and rose petal orange vinaigrette on crisp baby greens. “Our rose petals are from Iran and we use locally produced goat cheese,” he shares.

Depending upon your next menu move, your trip around the world could include exquisite seafood selections (of such quality that they are considered “sashimi grade” and can be eaten raw), lively pasta selections with exotic cheeses, or locally sourced beef and fowl. “Our seafood comes to us within 48 hours of leaving the water,” Rick boasts.

Consider the Fennel Dusted Rack of Australian Lamb. “Australian lamb has much more flavor than domestic lamb,” he comments. Fresh figs are included along with salt roasted Okinawa purple potatoes from Hawaii and naked asparagus.

Mike Tomaselli is Vue’s General Manager and “resident wino.”

“I thought the word sommelier sounded stuffy,” he laughs. Mike’s an expert when it comes to wine and can help you pair with your meal any of the more than 3,000 bottles featured on Vue’s award-winning wine list.

“We want our guests to feel comfortable asking about our wines,” he adds. Wino Wednesdays are a great time to expand your vue of the world of wine. Guests enjoy half-off selected bottles as well as complimentary tastings.

The playful, laid-back atmosphere at Vue makes it an ideal spot to dine anytime. Forget the pomp and circumstance and hike up your best pair of cargo shorts—the dress code here is relaxed, if you choose.

For special occasions, the PreVue room offers private quarters for parties up to 100. In fact, the entire restaurant is available for larger events. “We offer the perfect setting for retirement parties, showers, intimate weddings and holiday parties,” Mike encourages. The room also features a 60-inch plasma TV making it the perfect place for business presentations.

A midday feast at Vue is an ideal way to break from the rigors of shopping or the demands of the office. Chef recommends the D’Anjou Pear Salad on the lunch menu that features crisp, sweet green pears, toasted macadamia nuts, crumbled Maytag bleu and white dressing. The Florida Grouper Sandwich is another popular choice. It’s served on sweet brioche bread with a side of crisp radish and corn slaw.

But no matter when you choose to enjoy your vue, the value is impossible to miss. “Our guests are able to partake of exquisite meals that include the finest ingredients from around the world, offered at very competitive prices,” Rick emphasizes.

The Sunday Brunch at Vue is perhaps one of the best examples.

Every Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., enjoy a magnificent variety of breakfast and lunch selections that include a design-your-own omelet station, a pasta station, salads, a fresh seafood display and a dessert tower.

Vue Restaurant and Lounge is located at 49 Village Way in Hudson at First and Main. The phone number is 330-650-1883. Hours are Monday-Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Brunch is served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The website is www.vue-restaurant.com.

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