Road trip: Atlantic City

the Sands doesn't exist anymore....so yes, its been a while.

for a good upscale meal in a cool setting, try amada at the revel. spanish cuisine, and the restaurant looks out on the ocean. (the restaurant, like the revel gaming setup, is on the sixth floor).

 

Trying to identify a spot for the US-Portugal match Sunday. Might try Picalilly Pub, which has been recommended by a few friends, but it's small and might get too crowded. Any suggestions?

A simple Google search found A Dam Good Sports Bar, Mountain Bar, Chickie and Pete's, and Bill's Burger Bar. I'm sure any of those will do the trick.

 

one vote for chickie and pete's

 

White House is fugazy. Not better than a supermarket deli, just has bigger portions.

 

I'm not a Chickie and Pete's fan.

The White House is an AC institution. and if you eating at the White House, go to the real one. I know they opened a location at the Taj, but go to the real White House.

You could down to Somer's Point and hit Charlie's. Great, great place.
I used to frequent a tiny joint called Rob's in Margate.

Speaking of Margate. Lucy the Margate Elephant is a must.

 

Ha. I got married on New Year's Day inside Lucy the Elephant. Quite a scene.

Ryan, if you're looking for a decent place to watch Sunday's match, try RiRa Irish Pub inside the Tropicana. Decent food, good beer, and they'll have the game on the projection screen. It'll be crowded, so get there early.

Other than that, Chickie's and Pete's might be a decent crowd, but I can't get behind what that company stands for, so I wouldn't go there. Also at Trop is Firewaters, which might be AC's best place to get high-quality beer. Unsure how they'd be for the soccer match, though.

Other possibilities: Ducktown Tavern -- great dive, will have a good crowd, near Trump Plaza; Chelsea Pub -- Similar to Ducktown, down by Trop.

If it were me, I'd set up shop at Ri Ra early and enjoy the match there. But I can't imagine that it won't be on most TVs in any bar in the city. Not much else going on at that time on a Sunday evening.

 

Just looked up info on RiRa. That might be the play. Really good happy hour Sunday through Friday 4-7, which just happens to fall during the game. Thanks for the tip!

 

Better hurry if you want to see the Revel, as they appear to be going down for the third time . . .

 

Chickie and Pete's is so, SO Philly.

That is not an endorsement.

 

I left the area in 1997, and Chickie and Pete's was one location and relatively new.
Five years later, they were all over the place.

It's like they're selling a Philly-theme restaurant to the people in and around Philly. I don't get the appeal.

I lament a lot of the changes when I go to visit my family.
Why are there so many Subways and chain sandwich places in an area that is home to some of the greatest local sandwiches on the planet?

very sad

 

Update: Had a great time in AC. One of my blackjack dealers at Harrah's was telling me about Revel possibly going under in a few months, which is sad. We visited that place and it was awesome. Too good to be true, it turns out.

Anyway, we stayed at the Golden Nugget and really enjoyed it. I played a little there, but spent most of my time at Harrah's. That's where I'll be staying from here on out. Good casino, decent poker room, although the late-night crowd is very small. Kinda hard to get a game other than 1-2 NL. I'm more of a 2-4 limit guy, and I did manage to get a game one night. Played a tournament at the GN and busted out in level 7.

Watched the US-Portugal game at RiRa at the Trop. Great place, packed crowd. Very rowdy and awesome.

Ate at White House...twice. It's that good. Between White House and Jersey Mike's, that state knows how to make a goddamn sammich. Also had lunch one day at Picalilly Pub. A very divey dive bar, but the food was great (get the Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls), the beer was cheap, and the regulars were pretty friendly. Highest of recommendations.

We also found a great breakfast spot on the other side of the marina from GN. Gilchrist Restaurant. They cut the scrapple as thick as I've ever seen it cut. And the crab and spinach omelet was tremendous.

The rest of Atlantic City was exactly as a comedian we saw last Friday night described it. Detroit East. The boardwalk was OK. We walked a good bit of it one day, stopping in a few casinos along the way. Wasn't overly impressed with anything; fairly typical.

Overall, a solid trip. Made enough at the tables to cover our expenses, which is always nice. I'll be back in November for a poker tournament at Borgata.

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks.