This is for a series of posts for the Borgata Hotel & The Water Club including: Bobby Flay Steak, Wolfgang Puck American Grille, Wolfgang Puck American Grille [2], The Cafeteria, Tony Luke's, N.O.W., N.O.W. [2], Metropolitan, Sun Room, Sun Room [2], Old Homestead Steakhouse, Old Homestead Steakhouse [2], Fat Burger, 28 West, Gelato, the Borgata Buffet, Izakaya, Bread and Butter, and Fornelletto.
When I started playing at the Borgata regularly, one of the first restaurants I had wanted to try was Wolfgang Puck American Grille. Unfortunately for the GF and I, we had a horrible experience. I mean, I realize that any casino-based celebrity-chef sponsored restaurant won't typically be up to the standards one might expect from the chef's own restaurants. Regardless, missed orders, cold food, poor execution, and aloof service does not a good meal make.
It took a few years for us to even consider returning to give it another go. And this time around, we opted to be seated at the more formal dining area, rather than at the more informal tavern. Perhaps that makes all the difference because our experience on this particular night was a complete 180.
The Macallan 12 Year [$15]
I started off with scotch, neat. A simple, yet effective way to start my meal.
Cabernet Sauvignon [$9]
Wolfgang Puck, California 2013
The GF decided to go with a nice cab, produced for the original celebrity chef himself. It had nice notes of fruit, with cherries and chocolate on the finish.
Bread Service
Bread service was a nice array of walnut raisin, caramelized onion focaccia, sourdough, and olive oil crisps, along with a pat of room temperature butter. Very nice.
Maine Lobster, Shrimp, & Crab Cocktail [$34]
Horseradish flan, avocado, tomato
The lobster, shrimp, and crab cocktail was beautiful, generously portioned, fresh, and sweet. To serve as a counterpoint to the sweet crustaceans and the creamy avocado, a horseradish flan showcased some technique, along with a bit of kick to each bite.
Spicy Tuna Tartare [$22]
Avocado, cucumbers, crisp wontons
The tuna tartare wasn't exactly spicy on its own, but was a wonderful melange of lightly marinated tuna and avocado, Ginger and wasabi was provided on the side to spice things up, though I would have preferred them to be integrated into the dish.
This was all accompanied by fried wontons and a pat of wasabi mayo.
Five Cheese Agnolotti [$22]
Summer truffles, sage, Parmesan reggiano
The pasta was an unexpected sensation. The fresh agnolotti were rich and bursting with cheesy goodness. The shaved summer truffles were wonderfully fragrant, especially when mixed with the warm pasta. A perfect portion for two, because any more would have been sinful.
32 oz. Prime Cote de Boeuf [$110]
Armagnac, bernaise, chimichurri, two sides
The USDA prime ribeye here is grilled and presented whole with a rosemary sprig, before being cut. It's offered with a trio of sauces, as well as the choice of 2 sides. In deference to the GF, it was cooked to a nice medium, but overall, there was a general lack of seasoning, which was unfortunate.
I'm generally not a steak sauce kind of guy, but the trio of sauces fit the bill here, with the armagnac and chimichurri being my favorites.
Parmesan Polenta
I'm glad we went with the polenta, which was creamy and rich.
Jersey Corn
Tarragon
Seasonal at the time, the "al dente" Jersey corn was obviously local, and more importantly, nicely sweet.
Baked Alaska [$12]
Vanilla cake, raspberry ice cream
I don't know why, but I have a fondness for this classic dessert. Perhaps it's all in the meringue for me, which was beautifully displayed here. Wonderful textures and plenty of sweet, I appreciated the vanilla cake, along with the tart raspberry ice cream.
While the steak could have been seasoned better, overall, the meal was well-executed and delicious this time around. The service was also a lot better in the formal dining area compared to the tavern. So if there's ever a question of where you should sit, I'd opt for the former.
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