Surviving AC: The Tropicana Wants to Get You Drunk
6/29/2008 at 4:00 PM
Tags: Gambling, Surviving Atlantic City, Bars, Nightlife, Restaurants (all tags)
Who goes to Atlantic City? We sent Neal Ungerleider to find out.
The three-year old Quarter at the Tropicana is one of Atlantic City's two Las Vegas-style shopping complexes. (The Pier Shops at Caesars is the other.) The stores include some A-list franchises--Brooks Brothers, Swarovski and a nearly-open Brookstone--along with some awesomely left field shopping spaces like the Old Farmer's Almanac General Store and a branch of New York City's Spy Shop.
But that's beside the point. From what we've seen, it's definitely the best place to eat and get drunk in Atlantic City. A ritzy food court has franchises of New York's Palm steakhouse and Carmine's, Philadelphia's Cuba Libre restaurant and several others, including a Jeffrey Chodorow Russian-themed restobar with suspiciously little Russian food on the menu.
Nearby is yet another shopping corridor, which makes sense given AC's emphasis on parting folks from their money in every way possible. Although it requires a walk through the casino (see what we mean?), this corridor features a beer bar that's one of the best we've ever enjoyed. Firewaters features 50 beers on tap, with a special emphasis on fruit-flavored beers and stouts. Its an idiosyncratic beer menu, in the best sense of the word, and any place that offers an Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen should be celebrated.
Meanwhile, the nearby Adam Good Sports Bar has the novelty market cornered with $5 40s on offer. And, though it's tempting to recapture college with a 40-ouncer of Budweiser, some things are better left in the past.
The food is also worth a look. Cuba Libre, for one, made a damn fine meal. The restaurant's decor is interesting--almost a Disney World version of pre-revolution Cuba--and the food was good, if not very Cuban. The kitchen has a way with steaks and appetizers, but it was odd to see Venezuelan-style arepas on a Cuban menu. Ditto for what a friend described as an "Americanized" vaca frita.
But with that said, the kitchen is doing a great job of introducing Cuban cuisine to an audience that's most likely never been to Calle Ocho or Union City. Plus the caipirinhas are good. We're thrilled that they've become the official drink of "Nuevo Latino" restaurants--even if they're Brazilian.
Related Stories:
· The Quarter at Tropicana [Official Site]
· Firewaters [Official Site]
· Adam Good Sports Bar [Official Site]
· Atlantic City Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Firewaters]
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