We went to Atlantic City over the July 4th holiday. We stayed at the Borgata. Atlantic City has done a very good job of fixing up the Boardwalk. We hit perfect weather. It was clear and in the 70's but the ocean water was in the 50's. The beaches are great. We checked out Ventnor, Brigantine and Atlantic City. There are life guards everywhere and the beaches are clean.
The Atlantic City hotels have been able to put restaurant/ bars on the beach. Ballys, Resorts and Trump Plaza all have places on the beach. They have specials everyday. I had a Coors Lite for $4 on the beach at the Trump Plaza.
The Revel is desperate these days so they are offering to match all of your offers from other hotels. The hotel is still too big and has lots of unused space. They never have opened their beach club. However right next to the Revel is an outdoor club with a pool and bars. Unfortunately I could not check it out as they charged $60 to get in. You received nothing but admission for your $60. I guess AC is getting trendy.
Interesting sign on the beach at AC.
We ate at Izakaya and Fornelleto at the Borgata. Izakaya was very good. We had dumplings, fried rice, grilled chicken and a tuna/avocado roll. We had the cheapest wine on the wine list. It was a white wine from Spain. It was a Xarel-lo Albet I Noya Penedes and it was $24. The wine was crisp, light with good acid. Don't be afraid to order the cheapest wine on a wine list if the wine list is good. Beware if the wine list is not good. The Borgata restaurants have great wine lists.
Fornelleto was OK. We had pizza and a salad and some wines by the glass. The pizza crust was good but the cheese was not as advertised. It was not fresh mozzarella. We have had better meals there.
Another night we ate at Metropolitan which is the Borgata's diner type restaurant with a huge menu. The food was gross. Salads were huge and unappealing. Pasta was not to be described and the service was straight from Faulty Towers. I was very surprised at the food. The Borgata has been very reliable food wise but I guess to keep the prices down at their generic restaurants, the quality is going downhill.
We saw Jackson Browne at the Borgata and he was very good. The venue is not huge and the sound is good.
Southern California
I recently was in Southern California. Had a chance to go to Santa Monica for dinner. I like Santa Monica. It was great to walk around and go out on the pier. They have some interesting rooftop bars at some of the hotels and they have happy hours. Beers, view and sunsets are a great combo. Check out the Penthouse at the Huntley Hotel and the rooftop bar at the Shangri-La Hotel.
| 2011 Bodegas y Vinedos Shaya Rueda Shaya $11 Nice light white. Not complex but very drinkable. |
| 2008 Fougeray de Beauclair Marsannay Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair $15 Interesting Burgundy. Fruity with not a long finish but some earthiness. Enjoyed because it had more fruit than a typical inexpensive Burgundy. |
2011 Marchesi di Barolo Barbera del Monferrato Maràia $11 Enjoyed this bottle more than previous bottles. Nice balance, some complexity, good nose. Drank with pizza and salad and it was perfect. Great value. Maybe the wine needed to rest a bit. Would drink more if I can find it again. Made the WS Top 100.
NV Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley $17 VG sparkling wine. Complex and full bodied. Slightly unbalanced but we enjoyed with lobster
2009 Château Pomeys $18Moulis en Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend Good Bordeaux, a little different from other 09's. Tannic, started out grapey but tannins came out. Probably needs some more time. Decent wine for the price. Light in alcohol; ate with quail with Moroccan spices and stuffing
2012 Melville Chardonnay Clone 76 Inox Estate $30
Sta. Rita Hills A disappointment. Drank with 2 Premier Cru Chablis and it did not stand up. Probably a mistake. It may need to be consumed by itself. Not enough acid. I have had this wine in other vintages and loved it
2006 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Cerro Anon Reserva $12 Good lively fruit for a 2006 wine; nice balance, good nose and finish; good value; enjoyed the wine. Rioja is made from Tempranillo grapes.
2012 Bodegas Borsao Campo de Borja Borsao $12 Borsao is always good. Been drinking it for a long time. This 2012 tasted very good. Fruit and structure. Not grapey. Amazing value. Parker went nuts over the 2011, let's see what he says about 2012
2010 Pali Wine Co. Pinot Noir Alphabets
Willamette Valley Decent Oregon PN. Surprised me with its flavor and style. Medium weight with some complexity. I received as a gift. Would try again
2011 Gilbert Picq Chablis 1er Cru Vosgros
Chardonnay Wine has potential. It is fairly heavy and unbalanced now. Could develop more like a Grand Cru but now it drinking like a California Chardonnay with mild oak. Drank with another 2011 Chablis which was much more Chablis like.
2011 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis 1er
Cru Montée de Tonnerre VG Chablis with acid, fruit and complexity. Drank with another 1st Cru and this one had the Chablis character that I love. See above.
NV Pierre Moncuit Champagne Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay - Sparkling I may have had an off night but it was crisp but lacked flavor. Initially we had it too cold but even as it warmed up, flavors did not come through. Have had before and liked it alot. I wonder about Champagne since each lot is different and only the WA tells you the lot # but good luck finding the lot that they reviewed.
2010 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau Huge potential. Complex and balanced. Nice fruit. Enjoyed the wine
Some of my recent meals
Paella. I did not stir much so as to create a crust or soccarat on the bottom of the rice. It was good.
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