Ideas for Atlantic City restaurant?

[Casey]

I am fortunate enough to be going with some friends to see Bruce Springsteen play in Atlantic City next Friday night. We're meeting up with others to be a group of 6, and are looking for someplace decent (not a buffet!) to eat near the boardwalk. Any suggestions?

Casey

[Nockerl]

Los Amigos (Mexican)

Los Amigos

Los Amigos is a one of kind Mexican restaurant located in the heart of Atlantic City. The unique building doesn't jump out at first because of the highly distracting area (The Light House, Caesars, etc.), but once you do see it, you won't forget it. For the summer, they have an outdoor deck and bar, and inside, they welcome you in a comfortable and authentic atmosphere. The food is always great and they have accommodated a group of 20, but wouldn't take the reservation. None-the-less, we have had nothing but fun and great Mexican food at Los Amigos.

Los Amigos

(609) 344-2293 1926 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ

I've eaten there a number of times over the years. And have enjoyed it. Good mexican at decent prices. The above description was from some website.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I haven't been in a while but, the best place to eat in Atlantic City is Chef Vola. It is in the basement of a private home on Albion Place, down at the end near the boardwalk (I love that word.) It is an Italian restaurant with terrific steaks and chops. The thing is, the phone number is unlisted and I don't remember what I did with it. But you can get it by calling the Chamber of Commerce or maybe the local police station (I'm hoping they are still in business.) But if you want a casual meal, the White House Sub Shop on Mississippi has what I believe is the best Italian cold cut sandwich anywhere. The Italian loaves they use are delivered every hour so they are unbelievably fresh. They make a great cheese steak sandwich as well.

[Jason Perlow]

Steve is correct about White House, but don't go there with a group of six. The booths there arent big enough, the place is tiny and there are usually huge waits to get into the joint. Forget about it.

Here's something we posted about on Chowhound in 1999, hopefully, some of these places still exist:

Subject:  Atlantic City & Vicinity

From:        rperlow@hotmail.com (Rachel Perlow)

Posted:      September 07, 1999 at 16:15:32

Message: 

So, to continue from the “best buffet” thread, Jason

and I went to Atlantic City over Labor Day weekend.

As promised, here are our comments on the restaurants

at which we ate. Only two of the places were

previously listed on this board, another is most

definitely worth going out of your way for, if you’re

looking to get the best crabs.

We arrived at the SEAVIEW MARRIOTT RESORT (Rt. 9,

Absecon, 609-652-1800) on Friday, September 3, 1999,

at 6 PM. As per my mother’s instructions I had called

ahead to make a reservation for their locally famous

(it is obviously a celebration destination, “Happy

Birthday” was sung several times by the live piano

player (grand piano in the center of the very large

dining room)), FRIDAY SEAFOOD BUFFET. Unfortunately,

I had not called early enough – prime times book a

week in advance – and our reservation was for 9:30

PM. We got up to the room, unpacked, relaxed, took a

nap, and were starving by 9. So, we headed

downstairs, checked in with the hostess, had a drink

in the hotel bar, and were seated by 9:15. I had been

concerned that, with such a late seating, they would

be out of the best items or they would have been

picked over. No need for such worries, everything was

great.

The star of the buffet is steamed 1 – 1¼ lb.

Lobsters. Many other items are worth your attention,

as well: very large shrimp with a nicely spicy

cocktail sauce and lemon wedges, a very fresh crab

salad (huge chunks of Maryland crab in a light

vinaigrette with diced vegetables), and my personal

favorite of the buffet: Grilled Chilean Sea Bass with

Beurre Blanc. Chilean Sea Bass is not usually my

favorite fish, however it was cooked perfectly and the

grill marks had a wonderful flavor. It was served at

the carving station with the sauce on the side, along

with prime rib and pork loin for those craving meat (I

had none, but Jason said the macadamia-encrusted pork

was good). Revelation: Beurre blanc is a wonderful

dipping sauce for lobster.

There were, of course, numerous other

dishes/stations. These included: a salad station,

cheese station, caviar (with all the trimmings, but I

don’t like caviar), smoked fish (salmon and

whitefish), fried shrimp, fried scallops, pasta

station with “Scallop Carbonara” (too much bacon

flavor for me and I didn’t want to fill up on pasta,

so just had a taste (the scallops were very good both

fried and in the pasta), clam chowder, some other

Italian dishes and Jambalaya which I skipped. There

were also steamed clams and mussels in a Pernod

sauce. The clams were a little overcooked and the

Pernod didn’t match well with the mussels. Also,

there were potatoes and asparagus available. The

asparagus looked a little overcooked, so I skipped it

at first, but on a second (third?) trip up, they had

replaced it with the most perfectly cooked, skinniest

asparagus I’d ever seen!

On to dessert: there was a huge array of desserts, but

I was too full of seafood to try many of them. I

chose a slice of chocolate iced rolled white cake,

which I mostly just picked the chocolate out of, and a

fruit tartlet. The latter was wonderful. A very

crisp cookie shell (coated in white chocolate to keep

it crisp) with pastry cream and berries.

All in all this was a wonderful start to our weekend.

If you are going to be in the area on a Friday it is

worth the $50 pp price tag (~$120 for two with tax &

tip). PS – I just realized I wrote so much about the

food I forgot to mention the service, which was

excellent and very friendly.

Some other notes about the Seaview Marriott:

The hotel bar was quite nice, with live music at

night. Room service was prompt (see Saturday Night),

although we only tried it once. We shared a very good

Häagen-Dazs sundae (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry)

with hot fudge, raspberry sauce, brownies and macaroon

cookies ($5.50 plus tax & tip). I’m still craving

more of the macaroon cookies, which were nothing like

the Passover Macaroons you get in cans.

For lunch on Saturday, we went to WHITE HOUSE SUB SHOP

(2301 Arctic Ave, AC, 609-345-1564, 345-8599) on

advice of this board. It is a very nondescript corner

establishment. Nondescript except for the line out the

door. We arrived around 2:30 PM (had a continental

breakfast at the hotel around 11), and had to wait

around 15 minutes for one of the 9 booths (there are 5

or 6 stools for single patrons). The most frustrating

part about waiting there is the aroma and the locals-

in-the-know who kept walking in past us to place or

pick up a take out order. Not being lucky enough to

have another place to eat our subs, we waited

patiently while chatting with the others on line.

When we made it past the exterior door, we occupied

ourselves by looking at the countless celebrity

photos, which line nearly every inch of wall space.

By the time the grandmotherly woman in the housecoat

who cleans the tables summoned us to our table

(“Next!” – G-d help you if you aren’t paying attention

when called), we were ready to order. We shared two

half subs (each half is about 10” long). The first

was a cheese-steak with fried onions, mushrooms and

hot peppers ($.50 extra each). I had meant sweet

peppers when I said peppers, but I learned for that

you must specify a Green Pepper Cheese-Steak. It also

had lettuce and tomatoes on it, which I would ask to

have left off in future. Anyway, the sandwich was

quite tasty, dripping juices, the beef lean, the

sandwich not overly stuffed.

The second sub was the White House Special. It is an

Italian sub with very good cold cuts, provolone, raw

onions, lettuce, tomato, hot peppers and oil &

vinegar. I realized, while trying to get my mouth

around this sub, that “special” refers to extra meat.

You can also get a White House Regular, which would be

my suggestion.

The staff was very friendly, but very busy and you are

obviously not encouraged to dawdle. The deserts

available were Tastykakes, and there are no french-

fries, just bags of chips. Soda is available as cans

for 85¢ or a can with a cup of ice for 95¢. You pay

at the counter, our total was about $18 for two half

subs with extras and two sodas, including tax and tip.

Jason was craving Alaskan king crab legs after all

that lobster and shrimp on Friday night. We had the

concierge call around to some of the casino buffets to

find out if anyone had them, none did. Everyone

seemed to have snow crab that night. So, on the advice

of a hotel employee, we headed to CRABBY’S (1 mile

south of Mays Landing on Rt. 50, Belcoville, 609-625-

CRAB (2722)). It is about a half hour west of AC, on

the left as you head south on Rt. 50, a little while

down from the small “Welcome to Belcoville” sign.

According to their ads they were voted Best Crabs of

the Shore for the past 9 years. I can believe it. We

did not have a reservation, but arrived around 8:15

and did not have to wait for a table. It is a very

casual, semi-raucous local bar/restaurant. The

waitresses shout out their drink orders to the

bartender. Instead of just the staff singing Happy

Birthday, the bartender gets the entire place’s

attention by shouting, “Excuse Me Everyone!!! It’s

Linda’s Birthday, let’s all sing for her!” and we all

did. He got the crowd’s attention again a little

later to present some gifts and bid farewell to one of

the waitresses and her husband, a marine who was being

transferred. They really make you feel you don’t need

to be a local to be part of the gang.

On to the food... We had several starters. Jason had

the seafood gumbo, which was nicely spicy and full of

crab bits. I had the steamed little neck clams,

yummy, and we shared a special appetizer, Shrimp

Jalapeño Poppers served with Remoulade sauce, double

yummy, though not too spicy. As main dishes, we

shared 4 Garlic Crabs (Maryland blues, $4.25 a piece)

and the Crab Sampler ($25), which consisted of two

Alaskan king crab legs, two Maryland blues with Bay

seasoning, a snow crab and half a Dungeness crab.

The Garlic crabs were completely cleaned, sautéed and

served with scampi sauce for dipping. They were

delectable and easy to eat since the underside shell

and “dead man’s fingers” were removed. The king crab

legs were particularly sweet, even better than those

we’d had at Steve’s Pier One on Long Island, NY

(search for one of Jason’s previous posts for more on

Steve’s). Although the blue crabs were caked with Bay

seasoning, they weren’t too spicy because it was just

on the body shell. You had to take off the exterior

shell and clean out the lungs yourself on these, just

as you would in Baltimore, but they were slightly

larger than the ones prepared with garlic and were

quite sweet. Of the four, the snow crab was my least

favorite. I found it too be very iodine/salty, except

for the largest claw, which was sweet and had a

texture very similar to the Dungeness.

My only complaint is that no side dishes are served.

About halfway through our crabs, I was longing for

something, anything, green. When asked I found they

have basically no vegetables available, not even

corn! We settled for some coleslaw and french-fries.

Which were both quite good. The fries had the peel

on, were not too thick and not too skinny and weren’t

salted, which was fine with me with all that crab.

Crabby’s has all you can eat specials during

weeknights from 6 – 9 PM. I know Monday is Dungeness,

but I can’t recall Tuesday – Thursday, call and ask

because it’s worth going out of your way for this

place! BTW – our bill totaled ~$85 with tax & tip.

We wanted ice cream for dessert, but the place we saw

on the way to Crabby’s (Scoops) was closed, so that’s

why we ordered the sundae from room service (see

above).

The Seaview is supposed to have a wonderful Sunday

Brunch, but as we were going to head into AC to see a

matinee show, the concierge recommended (and made us a

reservation) at CASA NICOLA at TRUMP TAJ MAHAL (609-

449-1000) for their Sunday Brunch. Although the

restaurant serves “regional Italian specialties” at

dinnertime, Sunday Brunch was representative of a

wonderful hotel Sunday brunch ($35 pp, ~$85 for two

with tax & tip).

Among the standard brunch stations such as omelets and

waffle (with bananas foster and vanilla ice cream

available) stations, there was perfectly ripe fresh

fruit, shrimp cocktail (with shrimp even fresher and

larger than at the Seaview and extra horseradish

available if the cocktail sauce was not spicy enough),

crab claws (a little watery, they were probably

previously frozen), smoked salmon (with all the

trimmings you usually find with caviar, but I didn’t

see any caviar), a display of terrines, cheeses and

meat pates, sushi (tuna, cucumber and California – all

made fresh in front of you, though not to order), dim

sum (hargow (shrimp dumplings) and scallion pancakes

(very crunchy)) and some other Chinese dishes (fried

rice, lo mein, chow fun, gailon (Chinese broccoli –

very impressive for a non-Chinese restaurant, heck its

even impressive when a Chinese restaurant has

gailon!)), chafing dishes with pasta, fish, risotto,

chicken, beef tenderloin. What also impressed me

(besides the gailon) was the other vegetables

available, the green beans (with the beef) and the

asparagus were both perfectly cooked, not overdone as

can happen when things sit too long in chafing dishes.

Desserts were a beautiful display of individually

portioned tartlets, cakes, cookies and wineglasses

layered with puddings/mousses and Jell-O and/or

whipped cream. My favorite was a chocolate enrobed

brownie topped with chocolate mouse (under the

chocolate dip). The one dessert that didn’t work was

chocolate croissant bread pudding. As I learned in

New Orleans, bread puddings need to be made with

regular bread. Sweet or extra rich breads end up

making mushy bread pudding, as this one was.

Dinner Sunday night was at the KNIFE & FORK INN

(intersection of Atlantic, Pacific and Albany Avenues,

609-344-1133). After all the seafood of the past few

days, Jason was longing for some red meat. Advertised

as “an Atlantic City tradition since 1927 [the windows

of the dining room were etched with “since 1912”

however] ... fine steaks and seafood”, it was really

more seafood than steaks. However, not to be daunted

we did order meat. But first the starters. It was

rather windy and chilly that evening so we both

ordered soup. I had the Manhattan clam chowder, good

but nothing special. The soup de jour was another

story, Cream of Asparagus with Crab, it was simply

sublime, no salty bits of crab, just the sweetest

lumps. We also shared a plate of fried Ipswich belly

clams, on the menu as Fried Soft Clams ($19 for an

entree portion, it was not available as an appetizer,

only as a main course, although the portion was about

the same as most plates of fried clams you’d get as an

appetizer). They were OK, but not great. I had been

craving them since people started talking about them

on this board, and none of the other seafood places

we’d been to had had them.

As for main courses, Jason ordered the Surf & Turf

($38). He was the one who was tired of seafood, but

the “regular” filet mignon was $29, so for an extra

$9, he figured he may as well get the lobster tail!

It was a spiny lobster tail, of course, but very

good. The filet was very good too, cooked to the rare

side of medium-rare. My entree was not so perfect. I

ordered the chopped steak ($19), medium. It came out

over-well-done. I rarely send things back, but this

was rather dry, so I did. The waitress was very nice

about it, Jason gave me some filet mignon to nibble

and I picked at my fries. However, when my

replacement came it was more than rare, it was browned

steak tartar! (I could just imagine the cook

thinking, “she wants it less cooked, I’ll show her

less cooked!”) So the very accommodating waitress

brought it back once again. This time it was cooked

perfectly. Apparently, the head chef had taken a

break, she said he was appropriately cross with the

cook when he came back and heard what happened. I

wouldn’t necessarily recommend it however, as it had a

few too many ingredients, more like a fancy individual

meatloaf. I prefer my chopped steak to be just that.

To its benefit, it was served with wonderful onion

rings.

Meanwhile, the potato side dish was interesting, very

skinny french-fries (practically potato sticks, but

not so hard), which they called Long Branch Potatoes.

We also ordered, ala carte, a side of asparagus, which

were perfectly steamed, and what was billed as corn

fritters, which was good, but was really a corn

pancake, similar to what I make for breakfast, not

deep-fried fritters. To make up for the first chopped

steak mishap she brought us another corn fritter

(which we ended up offering to the parking attendant

(too full)). After the second, we were offered an

after-dinner drink or dessert. Being that we were

totally stuffed and the last patrons in the upstairs

dining room, we thanked her anyway, but she offered to

wrap up dessert. So, we brought back a piece of lemon

pie, which we ate that night (good, but I prefer it

tarter), and an individual sized blueberry pie, which

was wonderful shared for breakfast Monday morning.

Our bill was about $100 before tax and tip, and I left

a nice tip, as it wasn’t her fault the kitchen screwed

up.

For lunch on Monday, we felt the need to eat something

healthy (after all that overindulging and I was

starting to feel a little sick with a cold), so we

headed for LITTLE SAIGON (corner of Arctic and Iowa

Avenues, 609-347-9119) for some Vietnamese soup and

summer rolls. As soon was we walked in the door we

knew it would be good, as it was packed with

Vietnamese families. Luckily there was one table for

two left in the corner so we were able to sit right

down. I knew I wanted beef pho, but there were

several variations to choose from. I stuck with what

was billed as Deluxe Beef Pho ($8). The broth was

mild and delicious, the noodles nicely firm, and the

beef plentiful, but rather fatty. The classic

condiments of bean sprouts, basil and lime wedges were

perfectly fresh. I think what made this “deluxe” was

the extra large cartilaginous fatty pieces in the

broth. I can imagine this being a delicacy to Asians,

but I just picked them out after the first try. Next

time I’ll either try the Pho with Beef Ball I saw a

kid at the next table enjoying, or the My-Tho Style,

which is shrimp & pork in a chicken broth pho.

Jason ordered Chicken Curry with Noodles ($8), which

was a soup, although not billed as one. He was warned

it was spicy when he ordered it and again when it was

delivered. That’s fine with him, he loves spicy

food. I gave it a little taste, too spicy for me, but

Jason loved it, sweat dripping down his brow all the

way! For appetizers we had ordered spring and summer

rolls ($4 per order). The spring rolls were perfect

versions of what I was familiar with (for those that

don’t know, they are not like Chinese spring rolls,

they are tiny and have noodles as well as veggies &

pork in them). I did not care for the shredded pork

summer rolls (I usually get shrimp summer rolls, but

even I was tired of seafood at this point), as they

were flavored quite differently, with lots of anise,

but Jason gobbled them up. We also shared an order of

Vietnamese fried rice, which was very similar to

Chinese Young Chow fried rice ($10), we took half of

that to go. Drinks were also interesting, Jason had

iced coffee with condensed milk (“very strong,” he

said) and I had coconut juice, which was rather sweet

and slightly tangy, and went nicely with the pho. Our

bill was around $40, plus tax & tip.

Well, I hope our little adventure is helpful for those

on their way to Atlantic City. We left for home right

after lunch. As the bathroom at Little Saigon was

temporarily out of order, we made a pit stop at the

Visitor Welcome Center along the Atlantic City

Expressway. The bathrooms were clean and they have

Salt Water Taffy out to sample at the information desk

(along with souvenirs to buy and lots of info on stuff

in and around town). Two nice older ladies staff it,

so stop by on your way into town. May Lady Luck smile

upon you so you can enjoy some of our extravagancies!

Giving credit where credit is due: all the addresses,

phone numbers and some quotes were from the September

1999, issue of “Shorecast” magazine, found in all

hotel rooms in AC.

[Lreda]

By far the best place I've eaten in at A.C. was The Temple Bar inside Ceasars. They have a sushi bar and served New American food off their regular menu.

Apps $9-15

Entrees $20-32

Good wine list, not overly priced.

There is also an Italian restaurant on the ground floor of The Ocean Towers located between the Hilton and Tropicana that my father likes. I've never eaten there, but bbeware the specials as they are not written out, only told by the servers without prices. I think they knocked my old man over the head with a Veal Chop for $42.

Girasole is the name if memory serves me.

Edited March 1, 2003 by Lreda (log)

[Steve Plotnicki]

Casey - I don't know who you are but, I promise you that if you can get in to Chef Vola (which can be impossible sometimes,) you will have one of coolest dining experiences in the country. Anything at any of the hotels just does not compare. There is a reason the phone number is unlisted. And the place has been there for something like 50 years. It's the real deal.

[rozrapp]

I haven't been in a while but, the best place to eat in Atlantic City is Chef Vola. It is in the basement of a private home on Albion Place, down at the end near the boardwalk (I love that word.) It is an Italian restaurant with terrific steaks and chops. The thing is, the phone number is unlisted and I don't remember what I did with it. But you can get it by...

...looking in the NJ Zagat.

Chef Vola's, 111 S. Albion Pl. (near Pacific Av.) 609-345-2022. N.B. Cash only.

[Joe H]

There is only one meal in Atlantic City to compliment a Springsteen concert: the above mentioned White House which the Philadelphia Inquirer once voted a better cheesesteak than any in Philly. This is an institution and the only restaurant that the Beatles ate at in 1964 on their first American tour, it shipped over a hundred subs to the set of Cleopatra in Rome for Elizabeth Taylor forty years ago and actually caters the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon in Vegas. Zagat gives it the highest food rating of all in Atlantic City along with the lowest rating for ambience. The New York Times once said their bread (which comes from the Atlantic City Bakery and Rando's (see my post on the New England board about pizza and ovens) was as good as any french bread in America. That was a few years ago but still their rolls are incredible for the substhey make.

Why the White House? They have the best cold cut sub and cheesesteaks on earth. The line moves fast and is worth the wait. Order a White House Special which is double cheese and double meat. Or a cheesesteak but make certain you have grilled onions. Their hot peppers are really more sweet than hot and add to the subs.

Then Springsteen. A great meal for a great concert.