The French Riveria chef offers creative and balanced seafood fare and more at new Revel restaurant.
Scallop ceviche
Azure is defined as the color of the sky near water on a clear, cloudless day.
A pale, heavenly blue.
It is also the title of Nice, France-native chef Alain Allegretti’s Riviera-inspired, beachfronting restaurant at the beyond-spectacular Revel Resort in Atlantic City.
And what better way to commence a meal in a Frenchman’s restaurant than oysters?
On this evening, Azure offered East Coast varietal Wellfleet and another from Washington state. The Wellfleet’s were dense, meaty and creamy while their Pacific relatives, smaller but deeply cupped in shells, offered a smooth, salty hint of their briny home.
Our next choices were a pair of house signatures, Riviera lobster salad and Provencal fish soup.
The salad, neatly formed into a taut circle, began with large chunks of crustacean-claw and tail meat-atop. Below, a sturdy base of fingerling potatoes, haricots verts, roasted pepper, fennel and olive tapenade was fanned, each ingredient separated.
The lobster was well cooked, firm and cold, bearing no evidence of excess moisture. Provencal fish soup arrived as a deep brown bowl of broth. Served alongside were a pair of Gruyere-topped croutons. Heeding the chef’s recommendation, we first dunked those crostini in the aromatic soup to melt.
Rich and lustrous, this classic originated, as much great cooking has, from the poor — in this case, humble fishermen eager to utilize less-desirable elements of their daily catch.
Allegretti’s elegant take combines blue crab, cod and monkfish, all thoroughly pressed and strained until pleasantly smooth.
The flavor profiles were equally remarkable. Seafood oui, but not fishy.
While garlic remains an essential ingredient, its often harsh nature was blunted, rendering a mild, nearly sweet influence. One of the very finest foods we’ve sampled in 2012.
Since opening just over a year ago, Revel has certainly faced more than its fair share of hardship. One undeniable fact though, the shimmering building with the globe on top has brought a dazzling collection of gastronomic options to the area, including star chef concepts from the likes of Marc Forgione, Jose Garces, Luke Palladino, Alain Allegretti and Robert Wiedmaier.
Atlantic City’s newest casino may have ranked eighth out of the 12 in terms of gaming revenue in May and June, but gaming was from the start only part of the total package the property proposed to bring to an Atlantic City entertainment environment yearning to become more diversified.
Amazingly, Atlantic City’s golden age of dining just keeps getting better.
Plus Clam-A-Rama in Cape May, Drew Toonz and the Album of the Week (Willie Nelson)
Wiedmaier’s room won’t be the only place to grab a steak at Revel. Chef Marc Forgione, one of Revel’s two TV Food Network “Iron Chefs” (Philly-based Jose Garces is the other) will be opening American Cut, which he described as his spin on a “classic steakhouse.”
With all the complexities of opening a brand new destination resort in Atlantic City, the executives at Revel already had a lot on their plate. However, those same executives decided to put some great food on the plates of visitors, by presenting the inaugural Taste of Revel, presented by Food & Wine and created in partnership with Travel + Leisure. This three-day epicurean extravaganza from May 18-20, will feature exclusive experiences developed specifically for the 6.3-million-square-foot beachfront destination.
The catalyst behind Revel’s ambitious nightlife and entertainment options is the Las Vegas-based Angel Management Group (AMG), which brings three unique nightlife concepts to the property and southern New Jersey.
“When I look at Atlantic City, maybe I just see something different,” says DeSanctis. “What I see, when you go out on our Sky Garden or you go out on our deck, that’s sort of the Atlantic City that I think about. We have this incredible geographic location. We have 47 million people within a six-hour drive of this place, and when we think about options from a resort perspective in the Northeast, there really aren’t any. "
ATLANTIC CITY — The pulse of Atlantic City's heartbeat just got a jump-start. History was made on Monday, April 2, as Revel, Atlantic City's 12th casino — and much, much more — officially opened its doors to the public after six years of planning, building and conceptualizing. The energy inside and outside the sprawling property was palpable all day and into the night as guests marveled at the beautifully designed areas inside the state's second tallest building. Revel executives and staffers also celebrated — albeit a little on the tired side after a long day's (not to mention months' and years') work — and agreed it was a very exciting day not only for Revel, but for Atlantic City and the state of New Jersey. The day started with a sunrise toast — with Revel staffers and CEO Kevin DeSanctis on hand — and from then on people and more people flooded in and out of Atlantic City's latest attraction, several of them guests staying at the new resort during its preview period, which will lead up to the official Memorial Day weekend grand opening. Ivan Kane's Royal Jelly debuted its burlesque show — featuring live music and burlesque dancing — around 8pm and the...
From a casual lunch-truck approach to modern Mexican to the finest in French-inspired cuisine, Revel will have the entire dining spectrum covered.
Article:
Congrats to the McCauley Clan
Article:
Spring Dining Dish ’13
Article:
ACBC: Intimate Dining, Endless Drinks
Article:
Tropicana Seafood Week Coming Soon
Article:
Head East
Article:
Atlantic City Restaurant Week Extended
Article:
Restaurant Week: Tap Room Bar & Grill at AC Country Club
Article:
Kings Lounge Fit For a King
1. Sheryl Scheetz said... on May 27, 2012 at 07:03AM
“Terrible dining experience May 26 2012. My brother in law ordered the filet and it was sooooo overcooked and a very poor cut of beef. They said it could take up to 30 mins to get another but it did come out sooner. They also never brought him his peppercorn sauce he requested. It was a shame that by the time his food came, we were all finished our meals. Also the loud techno type music was very annoying. We had trouble having a conversation with each other or even hearing our server. All in all, a very disappointing experience.”
2. Lynn said... on Jul 2, 2012 at 02:56PM
“Our dinning experience wasn't terrible but there were some real issues on this
Thursday night, May 28th. The food was fine, not great, but the service was terrible. It was at least 30 minutes between courses. Service people were running around like bees but nothing was getting to the tables. We were seated by the kitchen and witnessed at least two servers crying. The music was mind drilling and we had to lean into the deep table to hear each other talk. My husband's beef fillet was fine but my veal ragu was flat, lacking seasonings. At their prices they need to step it up.”