Strolling through a casino, especially a newer one like the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is always fun. You can admire the
architecture, shop in cute but overpriced stores and people-watch to your heart's content. The two other major
attractions of casinos are, of course, gambling and eating. I'm not too lucky when it comes to the slots, but I lucked
out by picking Cuba Libre for brunch.
Now, there are many restaurants around the country that share the name, but this particular restaurant has but two locations, in Atlantic City and Philadelphia. I hear that the Philly location has dancing, but the Atlantic City one serves brunch seven days a week. The brunch menu is packed with options, but isn't overwhelming. The black bean hummus is excellent and the plantain chips are a nice touch with the tasty sandwiches.
The egg dishes are all good, though they aren't kidding about the "lightly spiced enchilado sauce" on the Huevos Enchilados. It tasted delicious but left me wondering whether concessions in the heat level had been made to the Jersey shore location. Of course, I forgot about it once I realized that Churros y Xocolate, fried, sugared dough bits and latin-style thick hot chocolate, were available as an appetizer.The thing that really sold me on the restaurant was the Dedal. It is a shot of thick, perfect espresso that has salt added to it. I was a little surprised that it worked so well, but once I got over the initial salty taste, the whole drink melded together wonderfully. And for $0.75, how could you not take a chance on something so unusual (and good)? Next time I'm in Atlantic City, I'll definitely be back for seconds, though I'll probably experiment with the Dedal at home. I might even give some of their other recipes a try!
Cuba Libre
The Quarter at the Tropicana
Casino
2801 Pacific Ave.
Atlantic City, NJ 08401
(609)348-6700
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