Gallagher's Steak House at Resorts is meticulous in making sure it only serves the finest cuts of beef.
Gallagher's executive chef Sergio Soto
ATLANTIC CITY — The very first item prospective patrons glimpse upon arrival at Gallagher’s Steakhouse at Resorts is a small, well-lit, walk-in refrigerator directly opposite the entrance.
Within that exactly 36-degree chamber are bulging sides of whole beef: prime rib, triangular short loins for Porterhouse, monstrous bone-in ribeyes and house signature New York strip steaks.
According to executive chef Sergio Soto, it’s a carnivores treasure worth nearly $10,000. That meat, provided by top-shelf distributor Rastelli, will undergo an in-house, dry-aging process lasting several weeks prior to being served.
This is an inherently costly procedure. As steaks rest and age in cool air, they lose moisture, resulting in a significant decrease in total weight. The enormous upside is that like a fine reduction sauce, their flavor profile concentrates and is intensified.
This is one of a number of features providing Gallagher’s their distinct persona and cachet in the crowded steak house market. Like, for instance, having a professional butcher on the payroll. After all, someone has to be responsible for breaking down those costly racks.
With that much precious product on the line, it is not a task for the inexperienced. Soto speaks glowingly of his meat cutter, Jorge Gonzalez, even showing off a surgically hygienic room where this old-school trade is plied.
Another unusual aspect are the grills themselves. Gallagher’s exclusively utilizes open-flame charcoal cooking devices. They impart a distinctly different — authentic, in our opinion — sear and taste to prime beef. Throw in the fact that they authored our town’s first-ever Burger Bar, and you have a pretty formidable operation.
Soto, 45, has been employed at Gallagher’s since May 2006. They opened only months earlier, New Year’s Eve 2005. There’s a real family angle as well. Donna McCarthy, Gallagher’s general manager, owns and operates, along with husband Kevin, Ventnor breakfast and lunch favorite Hannah G’s. Another Soto calls the shots in the kitchen there, brother Angel, 41.
Two more talented family members work alongside Sergio at Gallagher’s.
Sister Raquel is the pastry chef and sibling Blanca a server at the adjoining Burger Bar. McCarthy, a Holy Spirit grad who returned locally after working for years in New York City, says of ownership group Ark Restaurants, “They are a very different company. Everybody knows everybody, everyone has been with them forever. It’s like a little family.”
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History is piled upon history when it comes to that significant moment when Resorts opened its door in 1978 as the first casino in Atlantic City. Resorts was able to jumpstart the casino era locally ...
� WHILE WORKING ON THE historical timeline sidebar for our Cover Story on Resorts (see Resorts Renewed on page 66), I uncovered a ton of fantastic historical material that could never fit even if this week's issue was 200 pages. I decided to include just the casino-era history of Resorts and share the pre-casino history of that property with you in this space. The Resorts property traces its origin to 1868, when the three-story Chalfonte Hotel opened its doors. (A conflicting historical account notes that the Chalfonte opened exactly 100 years ago in 1904. If anyone can accurately clear this matter up, please contact me). Not long afterwards, Haddon Hall opened next door (before then end of that decade) just next door. By the 1920s, the two hotels combined to form the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall, a 1,000-room grand hotel and one of the country's most luxurious vacation hotels. and the two eventually merged to become the 1,000-room Chalfonte-Haddon Hall, one of Atlantic City's most luxurious hotels. The Chalfonte-Haddon Hall had a rich and colorful history, but one of the more unique facets of that history dates back 60 years to the second World War. During the World War II, Atlantic City became known as...
By Jeff Schwachter THE LIGHTNING BOLTS that adorn Resorts Atlantic City's new tower are finally set to receive the jolt of electricity they've been anxiously waiting for this Friday morning, July 2. The casino hotel will officially cut the ribbon at its new 27-story structure, one that has been standing next to Resorts' existing tower -- under construction -- for the past two years. The shock is expected to be felt not only by Resorts, but also throughout the entire city. The tower, dubbed Rendezvous, is a $125 million project that boasts 357 rooms, 42 luxury suites, a retail space that will feature upscale shops, and 14,000 square feet of additional gaming space for Resorts. It will officially take its place in Atlantic City history with grand opening events scheduled throughout this holiday weekend. New rooms have been booked solid since the tower's "soft" opening in mid-June, and Resorts officials expect occupancy to be in the high 90-percent range all summer long. Several hundred more rooms at the foot of a recently re-nourished beach mean more visitors dining, shopping and experiencing entertainment in town as a whole. "Every hotel room helps the entire city by creating an opportunity for someone else to...
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