 Gambling, With Wine
Much has been written about Las Vegas and the adult theme parks/shopping malls/casinos that line up, shoulder-to-shoulder along the Strip, competitors in the entertainment Super Bowl. A lot of those words are devoted to the great restaurant, food and wine venues that make LV a foodie’s delight. It makes you wonder why the casinos on the East Coast haven’t caught on to the “casino as weekend destination” idea. Actually two have: Mohegan Sun and the Borgata. These two facilities offer an experience, including gaming, wining and dining, spas, and shopping that equals the best Las Vegas spots.
MOHEGAN SUN, owned by the Mohegan Tribe, opened in Connecticut in 1996. It is a world-class facility. You could spend a couple of weeks at Mohegan Sun and not do, taste or experience everything. From its 34-story hotel tower rooms, the views of the Thames River and countryside are lovely. Its 29 dining spaces run from Krispy Kreme and Bubba’s BBQ to Jasper White’s Summer Shack (New England sea food) and from Lucky’s Las Vegas style lounge to Todd English’s Tuscany restaurant. A treat is the Uncas American Indian Grill, which offers a fine meatloaf, stuffed turkey fingers and braised shortribs.
Mohegan Sun’s 300,000 square feet of gaming space make it the second largest casino in the world. The décor overall is inspired by Native American designs and the use of natural materials. (In the Mohegan language, “Mohegan” means “grey wolf” and “Sun” means “rock.”) The spa is stunning. It features Elemis products and includes a wide range of professional treatments, saunas, whirlpools, a large workout area and aerobics classes. Next to the spa is a 10,000 square foot glass enclosed pool – complete with palm trees and a bar at one end – which make you feel like you are on an island.
Wine… this is a column about wine, of course. And food. Millions have been spent on kitchen renovations and equipment. There is a “stove” in one kitchen made of titanium that cost almost a quarter of a million dollars. And the equipment is kept busy serving 570,000 meals a year and 1.2 million people in the food court. There are 650 wines in the MS cellar, ranging in price from $25-$1500 a bottle. And, the wine list is different for each restaurant. The wine team of 50 people gets in-depth training every month. Some interesting bottles are the Shug Cabernet and Pinot Noir, Gruet sparkling wine from New Mexico, Sonoma Fire Station Pinot Noir and Cabernet and Casa Lapostolle’s Clos Alpata.
There are little bars hidden throughout the massive space. My favorite, up a stairway inside Wombi Rock, an alabaster mountain, is Leffingwell’s, where you can relax with a designer martini and look out over the gaming floor or stare up at the constellations in the sky….actually a planetarium dome. And don’t miss the Brew Pub, where seasonal beers are brewed onsite. Once a year, the Sun Winefest takes place over a weekend, with hundreds of wineries and restaurants participating.
Shopping is abundant with over 60 stores. And the entertainment is Vegas quality. There’s a 10,000 seat arena, a cabaret theater and a smaller entertainment space, the Wolf Den. Children are well provided for. The supervised, family entertainment complex and video arcade (only non-violent games) will hold their attention…at least for a weekend.
THE BORGATA, in Atlantic City, is, to my mind, the only Las Vegas style casino in AC. It is head and shoulders above the others. Its location in the Marina area sets it apart as well, requiring a cab or Jitney ride to reach it. The 2,000 guest rooms and suites are done in muted earth tones with lots of marble and floor-to-ceiling window views of the ocean. The gaming floor spreads over 125,000 feet and has hundreds of tables and 3600 slot machines.
Spa Toccare is a real oasis, offering a full range of massages, facials, wraps, even a room with an old-fashioned footed bath tub for soaks. The huge exercise room/gym is impressively appointed. It overlooks a 4’ deep glassed-in heated pool.
Food and wine are stars at the Borgata. A dozen restaurants range from top gourmet (Specchio, Ombra, Susanna Foo’s Suillan and The Old Homestead) to the casual grab-a-sandwich-and-rush-back -to-the-tables. The Borgata wine cellar has over 14,000 bottles. At Specchio, where chef Luke Palladino is creating super dishes like truffled cheese ravioli, baby lamb chop with gnocci and cabbage and king crab oreganata, the wine list offers 600 bottles from the $20-range up to $16,000 (for a Chateau Cheval Blanc). It has an amazing list of almost 50 wines from Italian winemaker Angelo Gaja. They have begun a by-the-glass program featuring more expensive bottles so that people can try out these often unapproachable wines. For example, a1998 Banfi Brunello di Montalcino is $30 a glass.
My favorite place is Ombra, a subterranean wine cave serving more Italian fare with a long bar and wine storage in the walls. It gives you a sense of having discovered it on your own. Ombra has begun a wine flight program, with ample pours of three wines and a little tasting card with small stamps of each label and places to rate each wine. It’s an excellent way to learn and have fun.
And it will only get better. Currently under expansion, the Borgata is adding new restaurants from Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck and Michael Mina. There is a handful of retail stores (and Atlantic City has copious numbers of outlets) and a large event arena and comedy club. Top acts like INXS, The Pogues, Ricky Martin, Bon Jovi and a bevy of comedians appear regularly. And in summer, there is nothing like strolling down the Boardwalk…hearing the surf, dodging gulls, eating taffy, soaking up the sun.
By Patricia X Savoie
return to the Wine index page |
