The Cafeteria at the Borgata Review

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. 

If you're an avid poker player (no better place to play poker than at the Borgata) and you need quick eats or just need a break to prevent yourself from going on tilt, just turn the corner to your right as you exit the poker room and head down the escalator to the Cafeteria.

There's a centralized, pristine-white seating area with a variety of quick and easy bites offered along the borders. Offerings include brain food for your inner poker child at Lettuce Head, cheese steaks from Tony Luke's, Ben & Jerry's to satisfy your sweet tooth, Villa Pizza for some Italian eats, Panda Express to churn out Americanized Chinese food, Hibachi-San to gorge yourself on over-salted Japanese grilled items, and Fat Burger, which offers grilled to-order-burgers 24-7 (except Sundays from 11PM to 6AM). How's that for a run on?

The GF and my first stop (well really just mine) was to Tony Luke's - a South Philly bastion for cheese steaks.

I've never had the chance to stop by the original location, but I've been to this outpost quite a few times now. And for what it's worth - it's the best iteration of the Philly cheese steak that is located in Philly. Technically though, I suppose we're in Jersey. I really do need to stop by the original location.

But on with the food! 

 
Cheese Steak Combo ($13.50)
Provolone, fried onions, french fries, medium soda

The rib-eye itself was perfect - slightly greasy from the marbled beef, but without drenching the structure of the fresh roll a la Jim's Steaks on South Street, this cheese steak will satisfy anyone's inner glutton. The provolone is actually interspersed throughout the meat, which is a plus in my book. The 'fried' onions were plentiful and offered a satisfying bite to the cheese steak.

But the kicker? Crispy, creamy fries, which were promptly anointed as 'best in life' by the GF. These came out pipping hot and were truly fresh. I could eat a bucket of these. And since we're in Jersey ... in the words of Pauly D - oh yeaaaaaaaaaaah! Buddy.

Of course, the GF decided to head over to Lettuce ... well, head. Not my cup of tea, but lady's choice.

The options here are plentiful, from the type of greens, dressing, and toppings. The GF opted for the 'Green Head.'

They didn't have green peppers, but the GF was fine with this as she preferred chickpeas, which she was able to substitute at no additional cost.

Green Head ($7.99)
Mixed lettuce, peppers chickpeas, cucumbers, avocado, mozzarella.  

The fresh mozzarella was sliced from whole mozzarella balls, which added a nice creamy touch along with the ripe avocados. The crunch from the fresh cucumbers was refreshing. The light balsamic dressing offered some tang to the greens, though the salad was a bit overdressed. I suppose you can always ask for the dressing on the side though. There was an accompanying multi-grain roll that offered a nice change of pace from chomping on the rabbit food salad, though it wasn't warm or fresh-baked.

Overall, if you need to get a quick bite to eat and have eclectic tastes or just crave a variety of options, head to the Cafeteria. It's spacious, clean, and emanates casual dining at its finest. 

The Cafeteria at the Borgata

1 Borgata Way  

Atlantic City, NJ 08401

(609) 317-1000

www.theborgata.com/dine/casual-dining/the-cafeteria

Sodastream Product Review

I've always been interested in purchasing a Sodastream to make my own tonic water for cocktails, seltzer, and of course, soda! However, the need to buy replacement CO2 cylinders prevented me from pulling the trigger. Of course, knowing this, the GF hinted to her folks that this would be the perfect Christmas gift for me.

So in addition to the actual Sodastream, I received the entire variety pack, which includes samplers for regular and diet versions of cola, pink grapefruit, root beer, lemon-lime, among other sodas.

There is really nothing to set up. You open the Sodastream box and it comes with a good-sized bottle to hold your first batch of home-brewed beverage - carbonated, of course.

Just fill up the bottle with cold water - up to the line!

Prep that CO2 canister!

And screw it in the back - really easy and effortless!

Then, you simply screw in the container with cold water and press the button a few times to quickly carbonate! 

There are many mix-in options available for your carbonated beverage. You can keep it simply seltzer but of course, there's the only standby of ...

Diet 'Coke'!

The instructions are pretty simple - once you carbonate the water, 

you simply add the mix into beverage.

Pro tip: if you prefer Pepsi, put an entire cap full of the mix in.

You'll get that sugary flat taste I typically associate with Pepsi (I'm biased obviously).

But if you prefer the clean, carbonated taste of Coke - 

something that doesn't feel like it's inducing a diabetic coma, just put in a third of a cap. 

Then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your own carbonated beverage. 

With a Sodastream, you no longer need to store multiple cases of soda and seltzer. 

You don't need to worry about anything going flat.

With the push of a button on the Sodastream, you can get a perfectly crafted beverage that is suited to your own tastes and at a bargain no less.

Wolfgang Puck American Grille: Tavern Review

This is for a series of posts for the Borgata Hotel & The Water Club including: Bobby Flay Steak, Wolfgang Puck American Grille, The Cafeteria, Tony Luke's, N.O.W., Metropolitan, Sun Room, Fat Burger, 28 West, Gelato, and the Borgata Buffet.  

After a wonderful weekend filled with big wins and getting to the semi-finals of a blackjack tournament I was invited to, the GF and I headed over to Wolfgang Puck's American Grille. It's located in the Borgata Hotel, which hosts other fine dining establishments such as Michael Mina's Sea Blue (now closed due to poor demand) and Bobby Flay's Bobby Flay Steak, where the GF and I had a poor dining experience. But we had high hopes for Wolfgang Puck, one of the first, if not the first, celebrity chefs. Having dined at Cut in both his Vegas and Beverly Hills outposts, I knew that he was not just a famous face on TV.

The American Grille offers both a fine dining and tavern atmosphere. The tavern doesn't require, and frankly doesn't take reservations. The fine dining menu offers a USDA prime sirloin, while the tavern offers a rib-eye cut. I wasn't sure if it was certified USDA prime, but I was willing to take my chances on the rib-eye, since it's my favorite cut of beef.

On a weekend, it took about 45 minutes at 7:30PM to get a table, but no matter. It was actually for the best since after couple of pulls on the adjacent slot machines to pass the time, both the GF and I had enough to pay for dinner a few times over. I tend to stay away from slots, but they sure are loose at the Borgata!

Bread Service

But our night started going downhill once we were seated for dinner. From start to finish, service was uneven. Bread service consisted of cold varieties - a caramelized onion, a multi-grain, a mini-baguette, and a saccharine potato roll perhaps? Butter did not accompany our bread, though other patrons received it. I asked for butter, and the server apologized and said he would bring it right away. It never came.

Pineapple Ginger Mojito [$12]

My mojito certainly had both elements of pineapple and ginger, but the minty saccharine nature typical of a mojito was not embodied in this tipple. Pretty lackluster.

Raspberry Lemon Drop [$12]

The GF's martini was warm and did not have any sour notes from the lemon. It tasted of artificial raspberry puree - certainly not a fan of high fructose corn syrup in a $12 martini. Added bonus? Our server dropped the accompanying lemon on the floor - it was never replaced. Doubt it would have made the drink much better though.

Truffled Potato Chips [$12]
Maytag bleu cheese and chives

The Yelp reviews of the American Grille are all over the place. However, quite a few of them promulgated the truffled chips as a great starter. Unfortunately, while these are perfect for a late night bender, the ones that were offered to us consisted of salty, thin kettle chips which were clearly not fresh. In fact, the dish came out just a few minutes after our initial order and some of the chips were chewy. Truffle notes were not apparent at all. While I enjoy Maytag blue cheese, the sauce overpowered the appetizer. Not by its innate funk, but just by the profuse pour over all the chips. The chives sprinkled on top were a nice touch, but again - overcome by the amount of sauce that pooled on the bottom of the dish. The salt alone from dish rendered us 'satiated.' In fact, we should have stopped right there.

Spicy Tuna Tartare [$22]
Avocado, cucumbers, and crisp wontons

I know that Wolfgang Puck offers a great tuna tartare. In fact, some would say he's known for his tuna tartare. The tuna tartare at the American Grille is not pictured above. Why? The one dish we were looking forward to was forgotten about. In fact, after a fairly quick apology, I had to call the server back to let him know to cancel the order since we had just received our mains.

Grilled Ribeye Steak [$49]
Peppercorn sauce, bleu cheese hollandaise, french fries

Before ordering the ribeye, I specifically asked if the steak was USDA prime. I figured at around a $50 price point, it had to be. But then again, we were in a casino. In any case, the waiter stuttered at first, then collected himself, and proclaimed that yes, they were the 'good kind - the prime kind.' I had my doubts, but went ahead with the order and requested it at a medium temperature.

If this steak was USDA prime, it was clearly of the lowest quality. In fact, I still have my doubts that it is truly prime certified as the tavern leaves 'Prime' off of the menu, while the fine dining menu clearly states 'Prime' for its sirloin. In any case, some parts of the steak were closer to medium-well than medium. And while the crust was decently seasoned with pepper, the accompanying peppercorn sauce brought the pepper notes over the top. There was also a blue cheese hollandaise which was completely cold. I also didn't taste any blue cheese notes in the sauce - perhaps all the blue cheese was used up on the truffled chips? The fries were merely passable.

Almond Crusted Salmon [$27]
Horseradish mashed potatoes and red wine reduction

The GF had the salmon, which was almond 'topped,' rather than crusted. In any case, the almonds didn't add much to the dish. The salmon was lukewarm at best and fishy in some parts. Clearly not fresh. The red wine reduction was tepid at best. The mashed potatoes were the best part of the dish - but only because they were edible, despite being a bit dry.

FYI - the prices for most dishes have risen about $1 to $5 than what is listed on the website menu. Still, the prices are reasonable at the American Grille, with the exception of the rib-eye (especially if it's not USDA Prime). However, that's only if the quality of the food is consistent with the price point. Unfortunately, the quality on this night was clearly off. No offense to Chef Wolfgang Puck, but clearly the quantity of his establishments has diluted some of the quality, especially out in AC. I loved Cut, so I had high expectations for the American Grille. However, the service and food were simply not up to the standards he would expect of his kitchen.

http://www.theborgata.com/dine/fine-dining/wolfgang-puck-american-grille