Red Hat on the River: Restaurateurs Feed The Senses

Conversations with Allan Wolper

Bill and Hillary Clinton celebrated their birthdays there. Former New York Yankee baseball great Bernie Williams often stops by and bestselling author James Paterson made Jimmy Parker and Red Hat on the Hudson characters in his books. Former film producers, Jimmy Parker, and his wife, Mary Beth Dooley used their cinematic background to create one of the most visually exciting restaurants on the East Coast, one that sits right alongside the Hudson River in Irvington, New York. The New York Times, describing the restaurant in a review, says Red Hat “has a lot of food you want to eat,” suggesting diners “do an early Saturday dinner, have the delicious seared swordfish and a sparkling wine cocktail called the Royale, maybe a slice of Islamorada-worthy Key lime pie, and wonder if the fisherman 100 yards down the river is catching anything interesting.” During the warm spring and summer months, jazz bassist, legendary Bill Crow, performs there. Just a few hours at Red Hat makes you feel like