Leprechauns know how to eat.
The Irish Pub: In an ocean town known for its night life and overpriced food and cocktails we find a gem amongst a sea of stones: The Irish Pub. The pub serves food and beer 24 hours a day at some of the cheapest prices Atlantic City has ever seen. Beers are beers so I won’t talk much about them (always Irish on tap). As for food, there isn’t a menu item over $9 which is great because it gives you more money to spend on beers! What I love about the Irish Pub is that regardless of the time of day or night and situation this place can work for anyone (almost anyone late night it’s 21 and up) drinks and food wise. The atmosphere in the place is very dark the way a bar should be. In fact back when smoking was still allowed in bars in New Jersey you could bet you’d see a cloud of smoke lingering when you first entered. The rest of the place is decorated with all sorts of memorabilia on the walls giving you that traditional Irish pub feel. The bartenders all dress in white shirts with black ties, which I think is awesome and shows a sense of tradition. Now, let’s get to the matter at hand: the food. As I’ve stated earlier the menu at the pub is very easy on the wallet but, it also is very small in selection. There aren’t 10 different burgers or 15 different appetizers; this is another reason why I love the place. Whenever I make it out to the pub for some food I stick with the bar basics like burgers, fries, and wings. All of which I can say are great. The burgers are just great, not these 10 lb. mammoth things covered in grease and made of exotic animals. They are just 100% beef burgers packed with loads of flavor, the way a burger should be. The wings are fried and always plump, crispy, and packed with taste. I have yet to get a skimpy wing yet while eating here. If you’re looking to kick it up a notch, order the St. James Potatoes. These are the “disco-fries” of the Irish. St. James Potatoes are a plate of hot crispy fries covered in brown gravy and garlic with cheese melted over the top. If you’re wondering; yes, they are just as delicious as that sounded. Another menu item that they make very well is fish and chips. I haven’t had a chance to give these guys a go but from what I hear they are amazing as well. There is no excuse for you not to try the Irish Pub at least once while visiting Atlantic City. They are open 24 hours so go early or go late, start or end your night here; it’s a great place to do so! As a note for all of you that are going to rush down to try the Irish Pub it is a cash only establishment with an ATM located on site.
-J
Price: $ - cheap
The Irish Pub’s Location: 164 St. James Place, Atlantic City, NJ
Plataforma Churrascaria Rodizio: If you’ve never had Rodizio, you need to get with it real quick. As defined by the all and powerful Wikipedia:
Elements Cafe: Elements is a tappas style byob restaurant sandwiched between stores and other restaurants in Haddonfield, NJ. Elements is a very small establishment with not much seating (large parties I’d definitely call ahead). The inside décor is very plain with beautiful paintings for sale displayed on the wall. For those aren’t familiar with the term “tappas” (me prior to eating here). It pretty much means small portion style restaurant in which you are generally ordering more than one course. In my case I went during restaurant week and we were given a few choices to pick from to form a four course meal all for the great price of $25 per person. I love the idea of tappas because it gives you an opportunity to try numerous items without being burdened with finishing dishes and being overly full. For my first course, I had shrimp studded risotto balls with a tomato horseradish aioli. This was a great way to start off the night! The balls were a little bit smaller than a golf ball and were bursting with flavor. When ordering, I was nervous that there would be not enough shrimp at all but I was mistaken. Each bite contained a great blend of the little creature and risotto. The tomato horseradish aioli was drizzled on top and I wish it would have been more prevalent as it was a great accompanying sauce. The next course was a Manhattan clam chowder (yes, the red). It was a great soup. But, I’d like to note that this was my first time ever trying the red so my opinion on the matter is weak. The bowl was packed with vegetables and could have used a few more clams but, I’m not really complaining. The third course was a hearts of romaine salad in a creamy black pepper dressing and sprinkled with asiago cheese. I think that this salad defined simplicity with great taste. I’ve had many salads in the past that were overdone and packed with ingredients that sometimes weren’t needed. So it was refreshing to have something so simple and delightful. The creamy black pepper dressing was out of this world and the aisago cheese made it all the better. My fourth course of the night was homemade cavatelli with roasted cherry tomatoes, broccoli rabe in a parmesan cream sauce. This was just out of this world. Everything tasted great and complimented each other perfectly. I’m not really sure what else to say except do yourself a favor and try this if it’s on the menu. Overall, everything was great from the fresh ingredients, reasonable price and great wait staff. Elements left me excited for my next visit, whenever that may be!
Carmine’s (Atlantic City): Hey how ya doin’? I came to shoot craps! Bada bing! OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, let us get down to the nitty gritty: this place is a great family style Italian restaurant. I came here with about 5 other people this past Saturday night. We had the following: Veal with butter and lemon sauce (I know, I know, it’s delicious delicious cruelty), eggplant parmigiana, penne with vodka sauce, and meatballs. We then shared a delicious banana split.
Buddakan: After having two delightful meals at Stephen Starr establishments in the past, I jumped on the opportunity when I was invited to dinner at Buddakan. Buddakan is one of his Pan-Asian restaurants where the food is served family style placed in the center of the table as soon as it is done being cooked. I didn’t understand why they did family style when they kept their portion size similar to regular meals. The restaurants décor was of an orient theme and was very dimly lit. My favorite aspect of it was the ceiling. They had it painted black with little led lights depicting stars to give you a night sky setting. After sitting down and perusing the menu for a short time our “great” waiter introduced himself. This gentleman had such a stuck up attitude and was not friendly or helpful throughout the night. There was even an incident where he took away a plate of mine with food on it that I was still eating. As for the food they had a pretty good variety to choose from and I think they had something for everyone. As for me, I went with the Szechuan Crusted Rib Eye. When I order a steak, I like it medium this one happened to be delivered to me well done. Since the steak was close to $30 I explained this is not what I wanted. It was then taken back and a new one was going to be cooked. After fifteen minutes, my second steak was delivered to the table, this time medium rare. After speaking to the manager, letting him know this wasn’t what I ordered for the second time, he offered once more to cook it again. I refused because by this time everyone is finishing up their dinner and I have yet to start mine, so I kept it. The steak was very disappointing and you can tell it was rushed to get out to the table. Its accompanying turnip fries were almost tasteless and seemed to not even be seasoned. It would have been nice if it came with a sauce to make up for the lack of taste. After my sub-par steak I was able to sample the sweet and sour chicken that someone else ordered. The chicken was dry and again disappointing in taste. However, the sweet and sour sauce it was cooked in was delicious. It’s a shame they had trouble getting the chicken right. At the end of the meal the rib-eye was taken off the bill by the manager, which made it easier to stomach. Overall, I did not like my experience here and don’t plan on coming back to this location. However, there is a Buddakan in Philadelphia that is supposed to outdo this one tenfold, maybe I’ll give that one a go around one day.
Bobby’s Burger Palace: I’m in love with a man. That’s right, I said it. I’m in love with a man. And that man is none other than Bobby Flay. This is possibly the greatest thing to happen to New Jersey since the invention of the Brita Filter (seriously that tap water is dangerous). This name of this restaurant suggests royalty, a supposed hierarchy in the world of burgers. That suggestion would be correct. You could nail one of these burgers to a wall in the Louvre and it would be right at home. I felt bad eating the burgers. I should have put it in glass and guarded it 24/7. When I took that first bite, I’m pretty sure I came. Twice.
Tepliyzky’s: Stephen Starr does it again with another diner-themed restaurant. This one located at the new Chelsea Hotel & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ. After a night in the Chelsea we figured to give this place a try being it was by Stephen Starr and located right in the lobby and we wouldn’t have to walk in the freezing cold. The atmosphere and décor is like a blast from the past with everything from the wait staff’s outfits to the table settings being done in a retro fashion. The menu is very an upbeat twist on what you would see in a normal diner. One of my favorite parts of the menu was everything was made with either turkey sausage or turkey baking, it’s healthier and in my opinion better tasting then their predecessors. It was small but each dish offered definitely had something for everyone and I’m sure they’d be open for your open customizations. For my breakfast I had the Stuffed Challah French Toast. Wikipedia told me today that Challah was a type of bread, which is why it didn’t taste like your normal wheat or white. I was served 4 good sized triangles of Challah stuffed with cinnamon cream cheese, in which I topped it off with some delicious maple syrup which helped to blend all the flavors together beautifully. Along with my FT I got a side a berries and whipped cream. I don’t think the whipped cream was homemade (negative points) but the berries were fresh. I received a delicious blend of blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. The meal was just enough to fill you up but not stuff you. I hate when I am overly stuffed after breakfast and don’t feel like doing anything for the rest of the day. If you’re looking for a good breakfast at a moderate price this should be on your radar to try if you’re in Atlantic City.
Tony’s the Original Pasta House & Gourmet Pizzeria by Lubrano
: Well I had already once covered this place before for pizza week. This time around, I’ll be talking about their dinner dishes. The food here is superb. They have an excellent selection of dishes. Their specials are also phenomenal. I’ve been here dozens of times and I can honestly say I don’t think I will ever have a bad experience here ever (in terms of food service. Who’s to say I won’t get shot leaving the place. I have many enemies.) I’ve had such dishes as their “Mezzi Rigatoni Zio Giuseppe,” which is mini rigatoni with crumbled Italian sausage,garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and onions in a creamy parmesan sauce, and their Penne Vodka with chicken(self explanatory). The food is outstanding. It’s BYOB so you must bring your own booze. I’d say bring wine. Steel Reserve doesn’t mix well with garlic. It’s definitely a place for a nice, relaxing dinner.