American Italian fare in Atlantic city

Cheese Ravioli

Atlantic City, best known as a destination for gambling aficionados, also boasts of a rich Italian heritage.

Although American Italian food is not at all a rare find in today's America, our visits to two of these Italian restaurants will remain fond memories.

Spinach, olives and chicken pizza

One was the old-school, non-pretentious deli Tony's Baltimore Grill. We tried their made-to-order pizza.  This dish is memorable for its combination of high quality and reasonable price (10" pizza for around 10 dollars).

Shrimp pasta

On the drive out of town we stopped by Angelos fairmount tavern, a family-run cosy restaurant in the heart of the city. We tried their steamed mussels in a house-made diavlo, some very freshly baked sesame bread (that was apparently supplied by the next door bakery), goat cheese ravioli, and a fried shrimp pasta with lots of (house-made?) marinara sauce. It had nice ambiance and is apparently a local favorite.

Another restaurant that we had heard great  things about was Chef Volas but could not get a reservation on short notice. If you plan to visit it, remember to reserve a table in advance.

All in all, great food! I would definitely visit Atlantic City again if I were in the mood for Italian American.

Dining at the harbor

Egg  Benedict

This summer, we had the opportunity to dine at a couple of restaurants serving American Southern cuisine. Two features these restaurants share are the fresh seafood and high cost, the latter reflecting the price of decent ambiance.

The first was a visit to Edward Lee's Succotash at the DC's National Harbor. Here, we tried their house specialties including the fried oyster rich po-boy (with trout caviar) for an appetizer, dirty fried chicken, and crispy catfish for entrees along with the recommended Succotash curry.

Fried oyster rich po-boy

The food was edible if bland. I would probably not go again, especially given the small portions.

The other restaurant was Home maid, located on the Baltimore Harbor. We sampled the breakfast/brunch menu, specifically the waffles with chicken and the eggs benedict. Both dishes were served with a side of sweet potatoes with a dash of maple syrup - a bit too sweet for my taste. The food was good. The crab meat in particular was delicious. I still did not think it was worth the wait or the price. However, the ambiance was nice.