There's no problem so big, that a natural nine can't solve.

A great evening with Sev, starting with a great view of the beach and boardwalk from the Caesars Diamond Lounge

0 commentsPublished Thursday, September 11, 2008 by baccarat_guy.

Posted with LifeCast

Met Sev at the Caesars Diamond lounge, where we had great conversation over Grey Goose Martinis (lots of olives for Sev, as they were out of onions) for a few hours. Couldn't decide where to go for dinner, so I suggested we try to seek out Valentino who was a previous waiter at Primavera (Caesar's Italian joint) for over 20 years. He moved over to Mark Anthony's (which is the Trump Taj's Italian joint) around a year ago.

Valentino immediately started us off with an awesome antipasto, and it was like dining with an old friend again!

Had a lovely dinner starting with a seafood tower trio, accompanied by some great wines. I can't recall what the exact wine was we had with the seafood trio (it was German and sweet, if I recall correctly).

UPDATE : Sev was able to provide some details about our first wine :
Our wine to accompany the starter was a "2003 Berncastler (often also spelled Bernkastler) Doktor Riesling Spaetlese (meaning late picked); those tend to be richer and more concentrated. From the town of Bernkastel in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. There are several producers of this high-end German Riesling; I forget which one we had but I think it was probably Dr. Thanisch. The "Spaetlese" is a higher quality than the generally-drier "Kabinett," and there is also occasionally an "Auslese" which is even more concentrated/sweeter. Though this is Germany, these are grapes grown on hillside terraces on the river banks and are harvested and selected by hand."

A nice shot of Sev and our lovely seafood tower (enjoying his wine).

Sev made sure that the folks were on their toes, confirming the specific vintages available; as the wine list was lacking this very pertinent information. The 2003 Tommasi Amarone was a most excellent choice to accompany our prime. I wasn't particularly familiar with Amarone, and was really glad Sev had suggested it.

The details about Amarone are quite fascinating (probably more details than necessary, by Tom Hyland from the Guide to Italian Wines)

Amarone is one of Italy's wine treasures that is loved by wine drinkers looking for ripe fruit, power, roundness and a sense of adventure in their red wine. Put a combination like that together and it should come as no surprise that Amarone is so popular these days.
Why is Amarone enjoying such renown and acceptance these days? Being a big – read 14 percent alcohol – wine doesn't hurt and either does the name which most people can pronounce, unlike some Italian words. But it may be the singularity of this wine that makes it such a favorite.
Amarone is produced in the region of Veneto by estates that make Valpolicella, one of the most popular wines of this area in Northeastern Italy. The same grapes, primarily Corvina (usually the leading component in the blend) along with Rondinella and Molinara, are used to produce Amarone. But the difference between the two wines is usually striking; where Valpolicella is a medium-weight wine meant for consumption with lighter fare with in its first 3-5 years, Amarone is a much more robust wine that is perfect with game birds or other such sturdy fare over the course of 7 to 15 years.
The reason for the stylistic difference in these wines is in the winemaking. To produce an Amarone (properly known as Amarone della Valpolicella Classico), a winemaker will take the harvested grapes and lay them on a straw mat, often in an attic or other warm room. The grapes then dry over the course of several months creating a raisiny flavor that is a distinctive character of Amarone.
As Amarone comes from the Italian word amaro ("bitter"), most examples have a tartness or slightly astringent edge to them. Alternatively, you may notice a sweet edge to them that can be explained in the concentrated sugars the grapes pick up during the drying process. Certainly, the combination of raisiny and sweet black fruit can make Amarone an irresistible temptation.
That slightly sweet edge in the finish can also come from the fact that a particular Amarone may not be entirely dry. Amarone is actually a recent innovation, dating back only from the 1950s. Before that, the process of drying grapes in this fashion (known as appasimento) resulted in a sweet, super-rich wine known as Recioto. Legend has it that the first Amarone was a mistake, as a winemaker had let a barrel of wine ferment too long and the wine's residual sugar had been eliminated. Recioto is still made today and its sweetness and richness make it a perfect choice at the end of a meal, often with powerful cheeses. (Many producers of Amarone also produce a Recioto – the official name is Recioto Della Valpolicella – with Masi and Tedeschi among the best.)

The only let down for dinner, was the dessert which was an edible basket with berries (I forget all the details), but the edible basket was not particularly inspiring, and was very heavy and "doughy."

Upon examining the check, Sev noticed a pricing error for one of the wines (seems that some of the wine lists for the restaurant had not been updated recently). It wasn't hugh, but was a bit annoying, nonetheless. Since we had already settled the check, we convinced Valentino to finish off our evening with two glasses of Hennessy XO; which he graciously poured for us directly from the bottle at our table. This more than made up for the error, as this was a $30'ish glass of Cognac at Mark Anthony.

At some point during dinner, the handy iphone totally lost it's charge, so I was a bit unconnected for the rest of the evening (which was fine...) We went over to Showboat for a bit, as I had a 6x multiplier bonus for September 11th. Played some video poker, $5 Top Dollar (which, was just eating and eating my $$$$), and a little bit of dice. We also were able to partake in a Davidoff Grand Cru #4 Cigar; while being ever so cautious to make sure we were in a proper smoking area. Which, for only a few more weeks includes high limit slots and the rather small section of video poker machines near the center bar. Seemed that both of the dice tables (at Showboat) were non-smoking on this evening. There are only a few more weeks left of smoking in Atlantic City Casinos. Starting next month, the casino floor will be 100% smoke free.

For those interested, the dice table minimum at Showboat had been lowered to $5 (with standard Harrah's Atlantic City 5x odds). But, the table was pretty dead, so I decided to cut my losses and depart Showboat. Sev and I said our goodbyes, and I was back to Harrah's for a bit more gambling.

Got on a very hot dice table, and was able to make a nice hit in the first half hour or so. Actually, got another fire bet (this time, 4 points 25 for 1). Earlier in the evening, got a fire bet for 250 for 1 (5 individual points). This is a total sucker bet, so I only put up a $1 on the chance, I might win. Considering this day, I've probably pre-paid my "fire-bets" for the next 10 years.

Managed to drop back a significant amount of my dice winnings playing some more Top Dollar at Harrah's (can we say "addiction"); but, overall it was a pretty successful evening. I sort of wish I was a little less, "into the action" as I probably should have packed it in (along with a larger win) much earlier in the evening. Such is life in the gaming world!

Finally got to bed around 5'ish!

Labels: atlantic city, caesars, trump taj