Atlantic City No-no's?

[GroovinGourmet]

Hi all... with any luck I will be transplanted to AC for several months. As reading menus is a fetish of mine I've already compiled a sizable list of prospects and have Google-mapped them.

Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing which places are good and which are to be avoided.

TIA for sharing places that you would not dream of visiting in AC...

[RAGHOUND]

If you're going to be there for a few months, I'm assuming you'll have a car. If that's true there's a GREAT Greek restaurant in Absecon, about 15 minutes from AC - Athenian Garden
http://www.athenian-garden.com/

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Athenian Garden
619 S New York Rd, Galloway, NJ 08205

[GroovinGourmet]

Already on the list. Thanks for the thumbs up!

[equal_Mark]

Also keep in mind that Cape May is only about 45 minutes from AC. Excellent dining opportunities there...

[Philly Ray]

If you are willing to expand your radius, the food critic in the Philadelphia Inquirer (Craig LaBan) does an annual Dining at the Shore article. Here is the link from the 2010 version and I'm sure you can find the rest...

http://articles.philly.com/2010-07-04...

[GroovinGourmet]

I've got some places in Cape May mapped... any places to avoid?

[Foody4life]

By all means, avoid the Lobster House in Cape May. You can't miss this place on your way into town as it sits on the main road and is at water's edge. Of course it's insanely popular because of its location, but unless you go for the raw bar outside, anything cooked and served inside is like eating at bad seafood convention.

A much much better alternative for seafood is Dock's in AC. A bit pricey but we've never had a bad meal and the old school atmosphere is really great!

[GroovinGourmet]

Thanks, F4L! Just the kind of info I was looking for.

[chowhounder411]

I love the Lobster House for cape may salts and lobster. The lobster is reasonably priced as well. If the wait is long, do not be tempted to eat at the raw bar and order anything from the raw bar's kitchen. It is lousy. I know a tourist trap when I see one and if I didn't know what to get, my intuition would surely say to avoid the food at the Lobster House (the bar on the boat outside is cool). But again, if you get the oysters or maybe a soup and lobster you will think this comforting, old school establishment is great.

[Foody4life]

Sorry but I dislike the Lobster House for anything cooked (aka overcooked, bland, the world's worst seafood/fish house). Lobster was rubber. Too big and too popular with tourists to care about the quality of what's coming out of their kitchen. It is what it is - a tourist trap maximus!

[newfie29]

Since you said you'll be there for several months, make a trip 15 minutes north of AC to the Oyster Creek Inn once the weather is warmer. The outside crab room is a great place for blue claws, lobsters, and cold beer while looking out over the bay.

Their website is www.oystercreekinnnj.com

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Oyster Creek Inn
41 N Oyster Creek Rd, Leeds Point, NJ 08220

[coldsolderjoint]

Add to the Do List:

Bill's Gyro - On the boardwalk just north of Bally's - Awesome Greasy spoon hole in the wall with Good Gyro's and Lunch counter type stuff.. also sells liquor and simple drinks- open 24 hours

The Irish Style Pub in the pier at Ceasers - Good Solid Food - Never Left disappointed- Nice Restaurant Atmosphere too

Los Amigo's Mexican Restaurant on Atlantic Ave by the shopes - Good Solid Tex-Mex

I've only been to Corky's BBQ once int he Trop and was satisfied... might not hold up to the BBQ standards on this board though.

[GroovinGourmet]

Oh yeah... Oyster Creek is already on the list with a bullet!

Thanks to CSJ for the tip on Bill's... sound's like my kinda place, and one that would not have turned up via searching.

Having grown up in Dallas, good Mex is way important... and hard to find outside the Southwest given my standards. Los Amigos is first on the list to try.

[Philly Ray]

If you will be in AC for a few months and you have a car, you might want to consider a day trip to Philadelphia where we have a thriving crop of Mexican restaurants and taquerias. Most of the Mexicans here hail from Puebla, so I don't know if that makes a difference in the food you are used to in Dallas.

Even if you don't have a car, you can take a bus or train to Philly and be here in about an hour or so.

[GroovinGourmet]

99% sure I will be driving out, and I should have 1 day and evening off per week, so trips to Philly are certainly in order, especially if my beloved Atlanta Braves are in town.

I grew up on TexMex which is strictly a regional thing, but I'm open to just about any style of Mex with the exception of the run-of-the-mill Sonoran stuff found in Arizona and Southern California.

Any particular Philly Mex you can recommend?

[Philly Ray]

Everyone has their favorites around here and if you want to wade into that debate, you can ask on the Philadelphia board or search old posts there.

The two places I keep going back to are Los Taquitos de Puebla for just tacos (great al pastor and they offer more exotic fare such as tripe, eyeball, and "head" meat) and La Lupe for a broader menu.

Feel free to jump over to the Philly board when you are coming up (just don't mention the Braves, lol).

Also, if you drive up to Philly on the Black Horse Pike (instead of taking the AC Expressway) there is a great "red gravy" Italian place called Maplewood II about 15-20 minutes outside of AC. Also worth a stop. I'm guessing you don't have a lot of Italian like this in Dallas.

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Maplewood II
6126 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing, NJ 08330

[GroovinGourmet]

Thanks for the recs... thought I'm pretty sure eyeball tacos are not in my future. Maplewood Ii sounds good... a couple of the guys I'll be working with are of Italian heritage, so places like that always in the mix. I currently reside in Salt Lake City... we have some excellent Italian here, including Settebello a real deal Neapolitan pizza place, but no red gravy places like Maplewood.

[foodislove1958]

My faves:
Casual: Little Saigon...I know there will be a backlash..just not a fan of Whitehouse...
Tun Tavern: Great steaks burgers, The bar at McCormick and Schmidt
Upscale: Girasole. Old Homestead (pricey), Itzakaya, OPA

No Nos for me....all the buffets, Mortons

[GroovinGourmet]

Got Tun Tavern on there. The Girasole website drove me nuts, so I did not add them. OH is on the list of potential splurges. Opa it would appear is closed. Thanks for the recs!

[angelo04]

I will butcher the name but Budhakhan over at Caesars pier was great. The edamane dumplings were to die for.

[GroovinGourmet]

You did! :D On the list... love the menu, and the dumplings were one of the first things I noticed that made the place stand out. Thanks for the thumbs up.

[angelo04]

Great cocktails too I might add!

[gwh912]

AVOID Fork & Knife Inn ( I think that is the name ) we had a pretty unsatisfactory meal there not long ago

Go to Docks Oyster House - I think its the best in AC all around for food. Never been to Chef Vola's though.

[GroovinGourmet]

Thanks... I think I recall coming across Knife & Fork, but for some reason it did not make it to the map, and now it won't.

Dock's is on there, and the menu looks really good, so that will be a place I hit early on in my stay.

[Philly Ray]

That's kind of funny since Knife and Fork and Dock's are owned by the same people.

I was at Dock's last summer and it was very good (but somewhat pricy to make many trips to over the course of a few months -- definitely a splurge meal).

I don't know if Tony's Baltimore Grill is on the OP's list. You can get very inexpensive meals there, but the quality is hit or miss. I have not had their pizza, but I hear that it is very good.

[GroovinGourmet]

Seems quite a few places get mixed reviews... par for the course I guess. Hopefully I will have the opportunity for at least a few splurges. Dock's is definitely topping that list. Baltimore Grill is on the map... thanks for the heads up.

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Baltimore Grill
, Atlantic City, NJ 08401

[1stand3rd]

Sorry that you had a bad experience, but Knife & Fork is a must for me in AC. Never had a bad meal there. K&F and Dock's are the 2 restaurants I frequent the most. I like to avoid all of the in-casino dining.

[GroovinGourmet]

I will have to check into K&F again... thanks for the rec.

[Bossa_Nova]

Add Little Saigon to the To Do List

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Little Saigon Restaurant
2801 Arctic Ave, Atlantic City, NJ 08401

[Quine]

Definitely!!!!!!

[GroovinGourmet]

Done! Thanks and keep 'em coming, both pluses and minuses...

[seal]

I'd rather start by listing a few do's:

White House Subs
Tony Luke's
Izikaya
Chef Vola
Opa
Corky's BBQ

For Dont's:

Any and all buffets
Most of the expensive Casino-attached restaurants

[GroovinGourmet]

Hmmmmm... all but Tony Luke's and Opa are already on the list. A Google search yields a Tony Luke's in Philly, but not in AC. And Opa is showing up as closed, and the weblink leads to a page about Jesus. So far, so bad!

[seal]

Tony Luke's is in the food court at the Borgata - located under the poker room. As for Opa, I am sad to hear they closed.

I have also enjoyed the ribeye steak and house made potato chips at Wolfgang Puck's place at the Borgata.

[Dithyramb]

x2 on the White House
there is a little Italian bakery just down the street from there that is pretty awesome too

[Quine]

I only eat at the Borgata Buffet when in AC. I like it alot.
If I want to go outside the city, I like tomato's in Margate. Excellent!

http://www.tomatoesmargate.com/