Free gumbo tasting and live entertainment will be featured at Friday night’s (May 17) Jersey Gumbo Kickoff Party for the June 15 “Jersey Gumbo Cookoff and Music Festival.” Chef Richard Spurlock’s Main Street American Café will host the party from 6pm, with a free concert by Mojo Mozart and the Mardi Gras Swingers planned from 6:30-8:30pm, presented by Tony Mart Presents.

There will also be free tastings of Carmen Marotta’s “Jersey Crab Gumbo” and Chef Richard Spurlock’s signature chicken and andouille gumbo.
Chef Spurlock will also feature an a la carte menu with two different kinds of Gumbo served with potato salad Cajun style, Jambalaya, Shrimp Po Boys and several other Louisiana specialties.

The band will be performing Louisiana, New Orleans and Mardi Gras favorites and everyone is welcome to dance and sing along.

Guests can bring their own beer and wine to accompany their orders of Chef Richard’s specialties.

Chef Richard Spurlock’s Main Street American Café is located at 6002 Main St., Mays Landing. RSVP Call 609-625-5500 for reserved seats.

The Jersey Gumbo Fest takes place June 15, 2013 at the Somers Point Volunteer Fire Company #1, 447 Bethel Rd., Somers Point and will feature the following musical lineup:

JERSEY GUMBO FEST ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE

12:20 GUMBO LESSONS
1 – 1:45    “ROSIE O’REILLY” GAZARRA
2:15 – 3:00    MOJO MOZART & THE MARDI GRAS SWINGERS
3:20 – 4:20    VINI LOPEZ & LICENSE TO CHILL
3:00  GUMBO LESSONS
4:40 – 5:50    VINI LOPEZ & LICENSE TO CHILL
6:10 – 6:30    AWARDS CEREMONY
6:30 – 8:00    TERRANCE SIMIEN & THE ZYDECO EXPERIENCE
8:30 – 9:50    JUMPIN’ JOHNNY SANSONE & HIS NEW ORLEANS ALLSTARS

See more at Tonymart.com.

Revel will introduce a new dining experience with the opening of Relish, a casual 24 hour café this Saturday, May 18. As part of a broader strategy to enhance the guest experience (guests who wanted a cheaper dining option), Relish will offer an affordably priced menu in a prime location on the casino floor.

The all-day menu will include breakfast dishes, homemade pastas, burgers, fresh sandwiches, salads, and soups—along with classic comfort foods like beef stroganoff and meat loaf.  Relish will be operated by Revel’s Food & Beverage team, who also operate SkyCafe and Alcove, on the Lobby Level of the resort.

Relish will initially open on Saturday, May 18, with lunch & dinner service through the month of May, followed by 24 hour service, including breakfast, which will begin in June.

Chef Richard.

Central Michel Richard, a restaurant at Revel, closed its doors on May 5.

The location will be replaced by Relish, a 24-hour eatery that is in response to customer requests for a less expensive restaurant. It should open by Memorial Day weekend.

ATLANTIC CITY — Those who savor fine wine, craft beers and top-shelf spirits will soon be able to shop, taste, learn and enjoy all in one new destination in Atlantic City. 

The Atlantic City Bottle Company (ACBC) will soon debut as the area’s premier destination for “all that is craft beverage.”

Located at the resort’s Black Horse Pike entryway on Albany Avenue, across from Bader Field, ACBC promises to please the palates of all with best selections of whiskey, micro brews, imported beer and wines, including the largest variety of sparkling wines and champagnes in Atlantic City.

Additionally, a seasonal and ever-changing small-plates menu will be offered, hand-crafted by executive chef Kevin Cronin using the freshest ingredients, and taking their inspiration from tapas bars, gastro pubs and his array of culinary experiences. 

“We are so pleased to bring our unique concept to Atlantic City,” says ACBC co-owner Paul Tonacci.

“Whether you’re looking for a casual yet interesting place to take a date, a warm and inviting lounge to taste wine with your friends, or an unpretentious after-work spot, Atlantic City Bottle Company will have something for everyone.”

According to Tonacci, a friendly and knowledgeable staff eager to share their love of craft beverages will greet all who enter ACBC. With the intention of making wine and whiskey more approachable, guests will have the opportunity to shop for their choice beverages at all price points. Those who prefer to stay and relax can proceed past the retail area to the relaxing bar and lounge, reminiscent of a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Here visitors can enjoy and sample a range of recommended and rare wines and whiskeys from $6 to $400 a glass.

Classes and seminars will also be offered at ACBC, including Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) classes and practical classes like “How to BS Your Way Through a Wine Dinner.” Cooking classes will be regularly offered as will special weekly events such as “Celebrate Italy” every Sunday, “Insider Night” every Monday with food and drink specials for local hospitality workers, and “Wine Geek Night” with blind wine tasting competitions every Thursday.

Learning about wines and spirits will be as easy as ACBC, which will  be open seven days a week. The retail shop hours will be Sunday through Thursday, 10am-7pm, and Friday and Saturday 10am-10pm.  The bar and lounge will be open Sunday 1-11pm, Monday through Thursday 3pm-1am, and Friday and Saturday 3pm-2am. For more information call (609) 348-6400 or visit acbottlecompany.com.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – According to a media release, a “big-name artist whose identity will not be announced until the night of the event” tops the Revel-provided entertainment at the 33rd Annual Stockton College Scholarship Benefit Gala on Saturday, April 27, at Revel in Atlantic City.

“Don’t Call Me Francis,” (pictured below, right) a high-energy dance band (and big-name local band in its own right, also brought in by Revel), will perform following the surprise entertainer’s after-dinner show. The Stockton Faculty Band (below left) will play during the cocktail hour and dinner.

“Over the past 10 years, the Gala has raised more than $5 million for scholarships, benefiting hundreds of students during that time,” said Dr. Philip Ellmore, executive director of the College Foundation of the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in the release.

“The need for student scholarships has never been greater, and the Gala provides a wonderful way for Stockton’s alumni and friends to make a difference in the lives of our students. Please join us for what promises to be a great evening.”

Tickets are $225 per person for the event, which includes a cocktail reception, silent auction and dinner, followed by entertainment and dancing.

The Gala’s honorary chairman is Dirk Schavemaker, senior vice president of Operations at Revel. The co-chairs (and co-founders of the Schultz-Hill Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting southern New Jersey arts, history and education) are John Schultz and Gary Hill. The chairperson of the auction is Lisa Johnson, president of Lisa Johnson Communications.

The Foundation is seeking additional sponsorships and donations to the silent auction. To donate or become a sponsor, visit stockton.edu/gala.

The Atlantic Cape Community College Restaurant Gala, the region’s premier formal fundraising event, celebrated its 30th anniversary on Thursday, March 14. Since 1984, the Gala has raised nearly $3 million for scholarships at the Academy of Culinary Arts, to support educational endeavors at Atlantic Cape Community College and to help underwrite Foundation operations.

The dining extravaganza featured original dishes from more than 50 of the region’s best restaurants. Hors d’oeuvres were prepared by students at the Academy of Culinary Arts. The dinner included  a dessert reception, co-headed by master pastry chef Eugen Ess of Trump Taj Mahal, and executive pastry chef Deb Pellegrino of Caesars Entertainment.

Crab Cake lunch entree at the Inn at Sugar Hill.

Restaurant Week is so fabulous with such good food at a super price ($33.13, dinner. $15.13, lunch, for a three-course meal), I had to enjoy it one more time before the official ending, so it was off to the Inn at Sugar Hill in Mays Landing Saturday, March 9.

The Inn has been a favorite dining spot for locals in the region and their Restaurant Week menu reflected that quality. The Inn has “small plates,” versions of the evening meals with perfect portions, so they were well prepared for RW.

We arrived on a glorious day with bright sunshine, which enhanced the dining room experience. The Inn’s lunch menu included the appetizers pasta and crab with pesto cream, crab or tomato basil bisque and a Caesars salad. Sally and I both selected the crab bisque, which was loaded with hunks of crab in a lightly creamy broth.

For entrees we continued the seafood theme with Sally selecting the walnut encrusted salmon; I went with the crab cake. They came with a choice of sides and we both selected the mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes. The crab cake was mostly crab and what wasn’t provided perfect seasoning and just enough binding to make it creamy and delicious. The salmon was perfectly cooked, moist and delicious.

Other lunch choices included chicken Francaise, grilled chicken and arugula salad and curried tempeh & vegetable stir fry over jasmine rice.

Carrot Cupcake with caramel sauce.

For dessert we both selected the carrot cupcake, which was just enough to finish the meal with a lovely touch of sweetness.

The Inn at Sugar is one of the restaurants extending their RW menu for another week. Call 625-2226 for more info on Sugar Hill, and go here for a list of other restaurants also extending their menu for additional days.

Atlantic City’s Restaurant Week kicked off yesterday (March 3) and a trip to have lunch at the Atlantic City Country Club Tap Room Bar & Grill featured a terrific dining experience at the pre-fixe price of $15.13 for lunch and $33.13 for dinner, with over 80 local restaurants participating.

Go here for the story

Kelsey and Kim's

The Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority (ACCVA) announced on Friday that more restaurants have been added to the nearly 80 participants in this year’s 5th annual Atlantic City Restaurant Week, March 3-9.

“The number has grown to 81 with some last-minute additions,” states the ACCVA in a release to the media. “Atlantic City’s premier soul food establishments, Kelsey & Kim’s and the new Kelsey’s [at Kentucky and Pacific avenues; cuisine and namesake owners pictured above] both joined, along with Blue Water Grill at the Flagship Resort in Atlantic City and the all-new Kings Lounge in Egg Harbor Township.”

Read this week’s cover story for all the details and participating restaurants throughout Atlantic County.

According to regular performer at the Library III on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township, Patty Blee, the revered southern New Jersey area — and a favorite among locals — restaurant Library III is moving from its long-time address at 6605 Black Horse Pike to the site of the restaurant’s recently opened satellite location of Ocean Heights Avenue in EHT at McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links.

Blee states in an e-mail there will be nightly entertainment at the new location and “the same great steaks … and staff that you have known for years.”

The restaurant will have views of the golf course and is slated to open by the end of March.