Virtual Gourmet

"Alsatian Girls," by Jean-Jacques Waltz also known as " Oncle Hansi", or simply "Hansi"

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THIS WEEK

ATLANTIC CITY BOUNCES BACK
by Christopher Mariani

NEW YORK CORNER
Café Centro
by John Mariani

HUFFINGTON POST: STELLA 34 TRATTORIA
by John Mariani

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ATLANTIC CITY BOUNCES BACK
by Christopher Mariani

1929

    I spent a fair number of weekends in Atlantic City when I was young, partying at nightclubs, gambling and attending a handful of the city’s posh pool parties. Then I stayed exclusively at either the Borgata or Harrah’s, because, well, let’s be honest, the other AC hotels are not exactly that fashionable, with the exception of the new Revel Hotel, which I am personally not a fan of due to a poor layout and almost sinister atmosphere. I’ve always felt the Borgata, with the addition of their new Water Club tower, was the closest thing to the “new” Vegas in Atlantic City. In my former view, Atlantic City was always a poor imitation of the west’s Las Vegas.
    It was not until a recent trip to Atlantic City that I realized the city had something to offer that Las Vegas physically never could: a wonderful seaside experience with an endless array of not-so-sinful options. Unless you consider a deep-fried snickers bar sinful.
    It was the end of the summer, and for the first time, I visited Atlantic City’s famous boardwalk and saw a completely different side of this boisterous city. My girlfriend and I checked into the Resorts Casino Hotel, located directly on the water, fitted out with spacious rooms and gorgeous views of the ocean and beach below. That afternoon, we left the casino, without gambling, and set foot on the city’s legendary wooden boardwalk, which, contrary to assumptions, was not badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy, as were resort areas south of AC.
     There were funky clothing stores, Atlantic City memorabilia shops, competing ice cream vendors and storefront after storefront of delicious, casual eateries, all serving pizza, gyros packed with savory sliced beef and oozing with tzatziki sauce, hearty sandwiches, saltwater taffy, and tantalizing deep-fried zeppoles coated with sweet powdered sugar. We had a blast, strolling down the boardwalk, popping into stores, people watching and just soaking up the sun’s rays. The boardwalk was buzzing with young families as children begged to go on rides and eat cotton candy. I was so pleased to see this joyful slice of Atlantic City that I never knew existed.
    That evening, before the Beyoncé concert at the City Center, we dined at one of the city’s oldest culinary establishments, Knife & Fork (left) whose doors opened in 1912 as a men’s drinking and dining club, continuing through the roaring 1920’s, even serving alcohol during Prohibition. With recent renovations in 2005 (below), the space looks better than ever and offers massive cuts of grilled steak, plenty of seafood options and lots of rich side dishes, not much different than you would have found on the menu decades ago. Indeed, Knife & Fork is both a throwback and something of a nostalgic trip at a time when the casino hotels are hiring celeb chefs by the dozen to replicate their menus from elsewhere.
    After filling up at Knife & Fork, we were chauffeured by limousine to the Beyoncé concert where we spent the night star-struck, as Beyoncé dazzled the audience, proving herself one of the greatest live performers of my generation.

    On the following sunny day, we had a great lunch at the new Landshark Bar & Grill, the first restaurant in AC to sit directly on the beach, looking out onto the ocean. Landshark operates under the Margaritaville brand and draws a laidback crowd of casual diners looking for good seafood, a burger and a few cold beers. The menu is extensive and revolves around fish sandwiches, chili cheese dogs, oysters and fried shrimp. The space is mostly all outdoors, centered around a bustling bar and fixed with large yellow Landshark umbrellas and long wooden tables. The place is simply fun to be at and worth a visit when staying along the boardwalk.
    After an afternoon at leisure, we got dressed and headed to the Taj Mahal Resort Casino where we dined at Robert’s Steakhouse, (left) led by executive chef Will Savarese, who has an impressive résumé, having cooked at NYC’s La Côte Basque, Aureole and Le Cirque in NYC, along with Westchester County’s La Crèmaillére and The Tap House in Tuckahoe before being asked to run the kitchen at Robert’s. I had few moments to chat with chef Savarese, who told me the hotel owners spared no expense and insisted he only use the most excellent ingredients. He was informed that the cost for the best products were not to be a concern, a conversation I’m sure most chef’s would love to be part of when food costs are ever rising and the ability for restaurants to make a profit is getting more and more difficult.
    The space is truly impressive, one of the few restaurants in the city I could say matches in quality and design those of Las Vegas’ finest. The room is extremely masculine, dimly lighted with amber light, dressed with wooden floors, large dark wood tables and comfy black leather banquets. Upon entry, there is a sexy bar and lounge, staffed with beautiful women dressed all in black, serving martinis and Champagne to well-dressed guests sitting or waiting for their table. Once seated, we started with two glasses of Champagne and a dozen east and west coast oysters served with horseradish and a mignonette sauce.
    Then, Japanese yellowtail sashimi with chili oil, ruby red grapefruit and jalapeños, along with Kobe beef carpaccio sided by arugula salad dressed with truffle oil and topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. For entrees, Robert’s offers USDA Prime house dry-aged cuts of beef, including a delicious porterhouse for two, costing $110, before sides like potato gratin with bacon; creamed spinach; beer- battered onion rings with malt vinegar, and rich and creamy macaroni and cheese. If you still have room, try the chocolate hazelnut “bomb” or the apple crumb cobbler, two desserts you will not soon forget.
    Robert’s wine list is a bit inflated in price and could use some more reasonably tariffed wines. The list itself is very impressive, but for the average AC diner, the price point is not at all modest.
    I’ve dined around Atlantic City and had some very good meals, but not until visiting Robert’s did I experience a truly great meal. As far as I’m concerned, Robert’s Steakhouse sets the bar for the Atlantic City dining scene.

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NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani

CAFÉ CENTRO
200 Park Avenue
212-818-1222
www.patinagroup.com

There are two ways to tell if a person is an out-of-towner in New York: If he asks you directions to the Avenue of the Americas or the MetLife Building, he ain’t from around here. No New Yorker ever calls that street the Avenue of the Americas; it’s Sixth Avenue. And no one would use the ugly name MetLife Building; it’s still the Pan Am Building.
Even under its former jet age name, the latter—before Pan Am went belly up in 1991—was never actually beloved as a NYC landmark. The damn thing was set atop the Beaux Arts beauty of Grand Central Terminal like a wedge driven through the heart of New York. In fact, that architectural rape of 1963 was what led to the city creating a Landmarks Preservation

Commission in 1965.
Nevertheless, in its heyday the Pan Am Building was home to some cherished eateries, all then run by Restaurant Associates. There was Trattoria, one of the best contemporary Italian restaurants of its time, a German wurst place called Zum Zum, and the sexy Sky Club on the 56th floor. Today the restaurants in the skyscraper, now all run by the Patina Group, include Naples 45 (where Trattoria was), Cucina & Co., Fonda del Sol, and Café Centro.
Café Centro is immensely popular for all sorts of reasons, convenience of location being but one of them. During warmer months the outdoor tables are packed at lunch and dinner, and even at breakfast, as a lot of meetings are conducted here by execs from the skyscraper above. The website touts the restaurant as “a richly elegant Grand Café in the classic Parisian tradition,” which is quite true, right down to the big roomy booths, soigne art deco mural (below), white tablecloths, mirrors and brass railings (right). The menu shies away from being in any way daring, instead

focusing on French brasserie and Mediterranean classics that have been honed to perfection over the years. It gets a solid bar crowd—you can eat there—but the bartenders still need a few lessons in classic cocktail making.
Over two recent dinners at Café Centro, I realized what I had missed by being away so long. You might begin with a shellfish platter, shimmering on its display tier. The bread and butter are copious and excellent. The onion soup gratinée, with its bubbly, caramelized Gruyère and Comté cheese lid, needs no improvement, but it’s time to retire the plate of mozzarella and tomatoes if better tomatoes can’t be found.
Chicken bisteeya baked in buttery phyllo with toasted almonds, golden raisins, orange flower essence is much better than you might imagine—flaky, piping hot, crunchy and aromatic, while the terrine of foie gras with candied celery, rhubarb, and aged Sherry is the very soul of bistro cookery. The lobster

chowder, laced with crème fraîche, is one of my favorite soups in NYC.
Fillet of sole is expertly, carefully sautéed in butter with a tomato Fondue and wonderful lemon coulis, and if you love mussels, those shiny bivalves done here in white wine and garlic, or with andouille sausage, Belgian beer, and tomatoes Dijonaise, will make you very happy. You certainly won't go wrong with the admirably priced steak frites ($36) or the hefty portion of coq au vin, steaming hot and riddled with lardons, its

flavorful juices seeping into the egg-rich, buttered spaetzle and mushrooms. Seared Rib Eye Steak Au Poivre with spicy green peppercorn sauce is another old favorite you don’t see as much as you used to. Roast chicken (left) is equally as classic in its presentation as a bistro dish beloved for obvious reasons of good tasting comfort.
    Toeing the bistro line, there is, of course, apple tarte Tatin, here with maple ice cream and apple crisp, and crème brûlée together with a molten chocolate cake.
    The wine list is one of the most carefully selected in the city, with dozens of wines by the glass and an amazing number of bottles under $50, just as you’d find in a Parisian bistro—good country wines too.
    Grand Central Terminal is crammed full of restaurants, take-out shops, eateries, bakeries and food stores, so it is testament to Café Centro that, with so much to choose among, people return here again and again for just the right amount of cosseting, comfort and consistently good, always lovable food.

PARKING SPECIAL When you dine at Café Centro, One Parking at 200 Park Avenue offers a special rate of $25 for up to 4 hours of parking.

Open for breakfast and lunch Mon.-Fri., for dinner Mon.-Sat. Appetizers $12.50-$16.50, main courses $19-$44.

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GOOD THING HIS
FAVORITE MOVIE
WASN'T "BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN"

Twin Stars diner in Moscow, only hires sets of identical twins (right) as its waitstaff. Owner Alexei Khodorkovsky told the BBC he was inspired by his favorite childhood movie, The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors, in which "a schoolgirl crosses into an alternate world and finds her twin."

EAT YOUR SOUP BEFORE IT CLOTS!

Australian chef Michael Moore's new book Blood Sugar has been translated into Danish, as Blod Sukker.

MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani, Robert Mariani, John A. Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein, Suzanne Wright, and Brian Freedman. Contributing Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery, Bobby Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.