AC article
by Bob Waite
My wife, Tanya, likes to take the expressway and get right there, but I like the long way going down Route 206 to Hammonton, and then turning onto Route 30 and taking it right into Atlantic City. Since Tanya wants a cup of coffee along the way, we take the longer route. We enjoy the slower paced ride through the New Jersey Pine Barrens and on route 30 we stop for coffee and indulge in a couple of donuts. It is Friday afternoon and the sun is shining—a perfect day to go to the shore.
We always get excited when we see Atlantic City in the distance and know that we are approaching the bridge and will soon see all those windmills that add to the City’s electric supply. In the evening there is a display of this added electricity in the lit-up casinos, night clubs and restaurants. Now it is afternoon and we are ready to check in at 4 p.m.
We arrive at the Tropicana. After parking we check in at the desk near the IMAX theatre and the elevators to the lovely 18-story Havana Tower which has recently been renovated and consists of 500 guest rooms and 45,000 square feet of hospitality suites and meeting rooms. Usually that is where we stay when come to the Tropicana, but this time our rooms are in the North Tower.
Walking through the casino we hear the sounds of bells, buzzers, music, and the spinning of wheels. The hundreds of conversations blend into its own sound as cocktail waitresses carry drinks and dealers smile at gamers sitting in silence at various tables. I walk in the wrong direction taking us by people shooting craps, playing blackjack and other games. Tanya, a much better guide, eventually turns me around and we are at the elevators to the North Tower.
The North Tower had a thorough renovation in 2015. Housing 463 hotel rooms, the North Tower has glass-enclosed showers, 42” flat screen TVs, in room safes, refrigerators, free Wi-Fi and when you come off the elevator, you are right in the casino.
Entering the room, Tanya lets out a kind of high pitched squeal. I am please too. “Wow,” she says. Immediately she is photographing everything, she is impressed by the closet, the bath, the beautifully dressed bed, the and the comfortable couch that sat in front of the window and incredible view of the Atlantic Ocean.
We rush to our first meeting with Nadya Ramos, the media services administrator and Steve Callender, general manager of Olón. Chef Jose Garces was inspired by the tranquil beach town of Olón, Ecuador when he created Olón. A mixture of traditional and contemporary cuisine typify this restaurant that features some of the famous chef’s family recipes. Seafood is the mainstay of this restaurant, which is especially known for its raw bar.
Walking into Bar Olón we see Nadya. Bar Olón is just outside Chef Garces’ restaurant and it has ample beverage offerings, including a custom, double-sided tap with 16 draft beer selections; 35 beers by-the-bottle; 20 wines by-the-glass; 75 plus wines by the bottle and 8 hand-crafted specialty cocktails. Sitting around the bar are people wanting a beer or late afternoon cocktail. We wait for Steve.
While waiting for Steve Callender, Tanya decides to take her own tour of the restaurant. She says, “Babe, I’m going to look around and take some pictures.” I say ok, although I am slightly worried that I will have trouble finding my ultra-curious wife as she walks into the restaurant.
Steve arrives. He has an aura of a man committed to hospitality. I find out that he also has a history in restaurant management and operations. His stellar career began when he got a job as a dealer at Resorts International when it opened its doors in 1978 as the first casino in Atlantic City. In no time he became the vice president of casino operations. Steve’s long career in hospitality and restaurant management makes him the perfect manager for a restaurant of this quality.
While taking a tour of Olón, Tanya sees us and comes in from the outside patio with its seductive ocean view. The restaurant is simply beautiful. Steve explains to us that Olón and its next-door neighbor Okatshe, another Chef Garces creation, are part of a 200-million-dollar investment that the Tropicana made to upgrade the property.
Steve takes us into the kitchen where Tanya, a real neat freak, says, “Wow! This is clean and so organized.” Also, all the ingredients look fresh and of the highest quality. We both realize that no one takes a couple of writers through a kitchen, unless it is in superior condition and very clean. It is both.
Now we go back to the room and I lay down for about a half hour, while Tanya unpacks and changes into something suitable for our reserved table at Carmines and our late-night fun atBoogie Nights.
Carmine’s in The Quarter at Tropicana is the restaurant’s first location outside of the Big Apple. It is a favorite with visitors and locals alike. The restaurant serves home-style Southern Italian appetizers, entrees, and desserts in extra large portions, evoking the comfort of grandma’s house. The bar features an extensive list of premium wines and very generous cocktails.
We enter and are seated. Expecting to look at a menu, we find out soon from our very nice waitress, Kayla, that the menu is on the wall. Having no idea that two people would get so much food with each order, we order Fried Calamari as an appetizer and for our entrée, Chicken Scallopini. Since it is family style, one entrée is more than enough.
We cannot believe the size of the bowl of fried calamari. There is no way we can eat it all, yet something inside both of us wants to give it a try. It is perfect—not overcooked nor rubbery. Instead it is deliciously tender and fresh. We eat too much and then comes the Chicken Scallopini, enough for four people. It too is amazing. We cannot finish it all, so we take a container back to our room and put it in the refrigerator.
After eating I can barely get up and we are supposed to shake it at Boogie Nights, a 70s and 80s nightclub. We have some time, so we go for a walk around the casino and then on the boardwalk.
The Atlantic City boardwalk is the best. Swanky hotels, casinos, a shopping pier, little shops, the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, food stands, rides, coffee, salt water taffy, and the regal architecture of old pre-casino Atlantic City still present. People are everywhere to be seen, young, old, and the crowd is from all countries, races and creeds.
Going to Boogie Nights is like stepping into a time machine and coming out when disco was king. We are hardly in the door when we see the huge disco ball reflecting light that creates an atmosphere to go with the pulsating music. I can almost see Michael Jackson doing Thriller or John Travolta dancing in Saturday Night Fever. Tanya is already moving and we are hardly in the door.
Someone whisks by us in roller skates. This is Roller Girl and in the front past the dance floor is another Boogie Nights character, Hula Hoop Girl, swinging a hula hoop around her waist to the tune of Staying Alive by the BGs.
The crowd is a mix of ages: some who remember the era and others who were born when it was coming to a close. As we sit down for a second, a young man comes dancing around us. He asks if we want a beer. A DJ dressed with a king’s crown beckons us to dance. The main floor is too crowded so we dance in the back on the smaller dance floor.
Doing some moves from the movie Dirty Dancing, Tanya and I are a show for a young couple who give us a thumbs up sign. Then, making us both blush, they applaud our slightly risqué dance. Tired from having such a really good time, we leave Boogie Nights at 1:30 a.m.
Back in our room, we decide to watch a movie but within a half hour we are both snoring. We wake up and it is already 11 a.m. We are going to have brunch at 1 p.m. at Olón. While Tanya is getting ready, I hop on the elevator to get coffee. By 12:45 awakened by Starbucks and all ready, we head for Olón.
After being seated at Olón, we were greeted by Artan an affable waiter who has a great sense of humor. We order the brunch and have full access to the raw bar. After having our fill of oysters, clams, mussels and shrimp prepared in various ways, we order an entree. I ordered the chicken and waffle and Tanya ordered the smoked salmon on a bagel. The waffle and chicken is by no means ordinary, with it is a special sweet sauce, walnuts and more. Delicious! And Tanya loves her smoked salmon.
We are greeted by a friendly woman who introduces herself as Annicerys Viola, the gourmet manager (a title that tells us a lot about this foodie paradise). She holds that title for both Olón and Okatshe. She asks us about the food, whether we liked it, and we admit that we haven’t found any rival in our many travels. She reminds us about the bottomless Bloody Mary, but neither of us wants to drink with the first meal of the day. We compliment Artan and she explains to us the rigorous three-week training all the wait staff receive before they can wait on a customer.
After brunch we walk off our food in the Quarter. There, while window shopping, Tanya’s eyes light on something. I ask, “What are you looking at, Gorgeous?” She pulls my arm and takes me into Marshall Rousso. “What is it?” I naively ask. Shoes. Tanya is a shoe addict, who has no plans for recovery. Her shoes take up most of our closet space in the apartment. I remind her that she already has too many shoes, only to be chided by saleswoman, who emphatically says, “There is no such thing as too many shoes.” Tanya smiles, as she tries on a pair of wine colored boots, which she purchases. I grimace. The saleswoman gives me a stern look.
Shopping in the Quarter is really nice. We are regulars at several other stores: Francesca's Collections, Hat Emporium (where I bought a cowboy hat), Zephyr Gallery, LICK ( a candy store) and a few others.
Back to our room for an afternoon nap. Tanya asks rhetorically, “Do we really have to go home tomorrow?” I answer her anyway, “Afraid so,” I say.
At 6 p.m. we have reservations at Buddakan. This restaurant located at the Pier Shops at Caesars is a sight to behold. Walking in is a long table leading to huge statue of Buddha in the back of the restaurant. Still full from our brunch, we wonder if we will be able to eat much. Walking in and looking to the side where there are candle lit enclosed booths, we are seated at one of them. The atmosphere and decor remind one of an Asian village. The ceiling is painted to look like an evening sky full of stars.
Our waiter is Joel, a friendly and helpful waiter, is willing to explain all the specials and menu items. We are also visited by the manager, Mark Crookston, who brings us an appetizer to try—Lobster Puffs. It is heavenly. After that we order Sweet & Crispy Shrimp and Black Pepper Beef. We are given plates to share the entrees and we leave having perhaps the best Asian food we ever ate. Afterwards we both have a cappuccino.
We leave Buddakan and walk a little on the boardwalk, then go to the Tropicana Casino. Our slot machine budget is very small so we play penny machines. I quickly lose $20 but Tanya does something we do not understand and the credits begin to mount up. “Look babe,” she says. I see the numbers of credits won keep going up. I run into the restroom, come back and it is still going. She is saying, “Yes, yes, yes! Look at this babe!” She wins $165. She cashes out and we go back to the room. “I guess that more than pays for the shoes,” I say. She sticks her tongue out at me and we both laugh.
At 10 p.m. we are scheduled to go to Okatshe, a modern take on a traditional Japanese izakaya (a type of informal Japanese pub that is a casual place for after work drinking, comparable to an Irish pub). We enter Okatshe through what appears as a Japanese candy store but has a secret passage way into this speakeasy, giving the restaurant a hint of Hollywood’s version of Asian intrigue. Once inside, we meet our waiter, Roberto. He is a friendly man with a keen wit who uses humor to make us feel at ease.
We speak with Patrick, one of the general managers who buys liquor for Okatshe, which includes 24 kinds of Japanese whiskey—something people are willing to travel a distance to drink. Inside families, couples, groups of guys and girlfriends eat the delicious Japanese street food and drink the exotic whiskeys and, of course, sake.
We are mesmerized by the mirrors on the wall, the dim lighting, the beautiful bar, the seating arrangement and the nightlife feel. A DJ is playing mood music and we have small plate fare. We share pineapple salad, short ribs, and sushi. It is overwhelmingly delectable. We are full beyond belief. Unable to sleep after eating all day, we walk off our food again in the casino, the Quarter and briefly on the boardwalk. We are back in the room by midnight.
Sadly, we wake up at 9 a.m. and get ready to leave. The Tropicana is always a hard place to leave, as is Atlantic City. We take Route 30 back. We make a coffee stop and talk about our adventures. We are already planning our next trip to Atlantic City’s Tropicana. Can’t wait.
Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine.