Food, Wine and More Continues in Atlantic City
I was in Atlantic City for a little birthday celebration
with my close friends Liza and Lynn before the Food and Wine Festival. We
had a fun evening and were up early for a beautiful day along the Jersey
Shore.
Liza had to head out in the early afternoon, but Lynn and I
remained. I used my free time to walk along the boardwalk for about an hour.
I was happy to see that everything had been rebuilt along this part of the Atlantic Ocean since the last time I was here, prior to Hurricane Sandy.
I was happy to see that everything had been rebuilt along this part of the Atlantic Ocean since the last time I was here, prior to Hurricane Sandy.
I spent some time at both the beach and pool before Lynn and
I headed to the next stop, Caesar’s Resort.
I’m not usually one to go for the buffets in Atlantic City,
but we were both hungry and I knew I was going to have a late dinner. We were not disappointed as the selection at
the Palace Court Buffet is huge.
I had a little bit of everything, including General Tsao
Chicken, pork dumplings, salad, pasta, brisket, stuffing, and vegetables. They
also had ice cream you could serve yourself and I happily topped mine with hot
fudge and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Lynn had to leave and my room still wasn’t ready so I went
to the Caesar’s Pier Shops, looking around and using a Victoria’s Secret gift certificate
I had gotten for my birthday.
I picked up my credentials, tickets for the Atlantic CityFood and Wine Festival events, and goodie bags, which included Guy Fieri’s new
sauces.
My daughter, Sam, was meeting me for the rest of the
weekend, but she was stuck in traffic so I had plenty of time left to relax and
leisurely get ready for dinner.
When she arrived we took a cab over to Harrah’s for the
Media Dinner at Martorano’s Restaurant with the other writers and the staff at
DKC Public Relations.
One thing that I’ve been missing since I moved to Champaign
is a good Italian restaurant so I was more than ready for a meal that I was
told would be as authentic as it gets.
Martorano’s is everything you’d expect from a New Jersey
Italian restaurant and more, including the atmosphere, the music, and the mafia
movies (the one thing I actually could have done without -- a bit too much
blood and foul language for dinner time). The waiter’s even sported shirts that
read “Yo, cuz!”
We ordered cocktails to start and I was very happy with my
Watermelon Ice Martini. It wasn’t long before the waiters were also pouring
Martorano’s own Pinot Grigio Venezia Giulia 2012, and bringing out platters of
food family style.
The food here was beyond incredible and we all ate until we
couldn’t any more of meatballs, fresh ricotta, chicken Marsala, calamari,
shrimp scampi, eggplant with fresh mozzarella and tomato, ziti with veal and
peppers, and spaghetti with a pork sauce.
As we finished dinner, the atmosphere also changed, with
disco music and lights. People got up to dance and even the waiters had a bit
more swag in their movement. Everyone was having so much fun as the restaurant
turned into a nightclub.
It wasn’t much longer before the dishes filled with desserts
came out, including waffle sundaes, chocolate cake, and the best red velvet
cake I have ever had. The frosting alone was like eating cheesecake.
I am very picky about my Italian food, especially since I spent
years perfecting my cooking to please my Sicilian grandfather, and this meal
was one of the best I’ve ever had.
It was after midnight by the time Sam and I got back to the
room at Caesar's. It took a bit longer before we could finish digesting all
that food and go to sleep. We had a full day ahead of us at the Atlantic City
Food and Wine Festival.
Comments
Post a Comment