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“Izakaya and the New Water Club in Atlantic City”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Asian	Suburbs	Moderate	Good

Historically, I’ve never been a fan of Atlantic City. I don’t gamble, so I have little interest in the casino scene, and while I don’t mind the Boardwalk, over the years it’s just never been a place that really called me. It’s always seemed to be a very sad sort of city. My mom and my Bibi, however, are a different story. They would move there if they could. I think Bibi views sitting at a slot machine the way other people view running on a treadmill—the longer you stay, the bigger the reward, and it’s gotta be done daily, at least. Actually, she may also see those slots as on par with a yoga class. I have rarely seen her more at peace then when she’s got her hand on that long lever, ready to pull a perfect three across.

Over the years, I have ventured down to AC with Mom and Bibi, but I’ve done it more for the bonding time than the experience of Atlantic City. That started to change a few years ago when the Borgata Hotel opened in June 2003. There, at least, I had a place to shop, eat (Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay, Michael Mina have restaurants in that ultra glam, Vegas-esque hotel), work out and have a few spa treatments while Mom and Bibi became one with the slots. I was very pleased. But then the Borgata opened a signature hotel called The Water Club and after a recent visit, I may become a regular on the Garden State Parkway South.

The Water Club is a brand spanking new, 43-story, $400 million hotel with 800 luxurious guestrooms and suites, a two-story state-of-the-art spa, five heated pools (two indoor and two outdoor, plus hot tubs, a 25-yard Infinity-edge lap pool and shaded cabanas for more sun-free lounging), and delicious in-room and waterside dining by chef Geoffrey Zakarian. What’s more, chef Michael Schulson, whose food you may have tried at Buddakan, opened Izakaya—his take on the modern Japanese pub—in the Borgata earlier this month. All this was sounding pretty good to me.
So when Craig and I got our marriage license last week (our wedding is this weekend!), we decided to make an overnight stay of it at The Water Club, and celebrate. I imagined a lazy afternoon by the pool, an evening of cocktails and snacks, and a late dinner at Izakaya. That’s precisely what we did.

The Water Club is pretty sweet. It’s about as elegant as they come, marked by sweeping sheets of marble, mile-high ceilings, a palate of soothing earth to ... [more, click below]

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Posted: August 10, 2008

Other restaurants in Suburbs :
+ Gaia in Greenwich CT   + North Fork Table and Inn   + Izakaya and the New Water Club in Atlantic City   + La Estacion (Fajardo, Puerto Rico) by special guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + The Lunch Truck at the North Fork Table and Inn   

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