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 tones, and a tropical vibe from pool-side bamboo plants and palm trees. The service is top-notch, with a hospitality team that does not seem capable of the word “no.” What’s most rare about the hotel is that it’s a casino-free environment. Now don’t panic, the casino is still there, it’s just a short walk through a retail tunnel (La Perla, Hugo Boss, Hearts on Fire) to all the action, but this distance keeps the hotel space quite peaceful and serene, without the exhaustion of crazy blinking lights or the stink of smoke-filled lobbies. You wake up in the morning, come down stairs and just feel relaxed and chill, especially with the warmth of sun filtering in through the glass-framed lobby.

Zakarian’s hotel dining menu is mouthwatering, and surprisingly reasonable. My breakfast—an oversized scrambled egg and herb sandwich on a puffy English muffin topped with melted cheddar was just $14 (a bargain for in-room dining) and among the best egg sandwiches of my life. Part of me thinks Geoffrey should go into the Deli business. The eggs were fluffy and light, and almost creamy, as though they’d been injected with helium, and they were perfectly seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper, and sandwiched between a warm toasted sandwich-sized English muffin that was soft and airy and filled with those nooks and crannies. On the side was a pile of crisped roasted potatoes. Craig’s smoked salmon bagel came with enough house-cured salmon for three bagels (at least), and was loaded up with capers, caperberries, heirloom tomato slices, and shaved red onion ($12.50). Neither of these items would have been remarkable in and of themselves, but there’s someone in that kitchen who cares a hell of a lot about the food served, that’s for sure. I am actually considering returning to the Water Club for that scrambled egg sandwich alone. Maybe I’ll get it with bacon next time. But then I might actually move into the hotel.
But there’s much more to return for—for example, a meal at Schulson’s Izakaya, followed by a delicious night’s sleep in big cozy beds covered in 400-count Egyptian cotton (yummy). My only complaint is one I have for many hotels who charge for wireless Internet. They want to nickel and dime you for wireless with the amount of money they charge per room? I think they can toss in the wireless service. It’s not only at The Water Club that this happens but it is something that bugs me.

But we digress. Back to Izakaya. The restaurant opened at the beginning of July in the former Susanna Foo space. It’s a sexy space that’s quite massive, as you might imagine a casino restaurant would be, with triple height ceilings and walls washed in slate gray juxtaposed against intricately carved back-lit dressing screens, and oversized murals of Geishas. Schulson’s “modern Japanese pub” menu is vast, and offers selections from the sushi bar as well as robatiyaki, and tempura, alongside cold and hot appetizers, and entrees.

Many of our first courses reminded me of Nobu dishes, like his new style hamachi sashimi salad ($12) and the crispy rock shrimp with pickled radish and chiles ($13). But Schulson is staking out his own culinary space with other small plates like an amuse bouche of spicy tuna on rice and sesame cracker, and Kinki chicken wings—super tender wings that Schulson learned about while in Kinki, in China. He confits them in duck fat, then deep-fries them brushes them with a ginger and chile gloss ($12). They’d do just fine at a Super Bowl bash.

Seared scallops, the size of marshmallows ready for the camp fire, are caramelized and topped with foie gras and bedded on a crisped potato gyoza—sort of like a big and beautiful Japanese latke ($18), and hamachi is cold smoked and served over Japanese mountain potatoes sliced into logs and fried (I guess they would be called Mountain Fries), and topped with a fiery jalapeno and ginger pesto that our waiter warned us was “a little spicy.” I’d say it’s a little spicy like the mortgage industry is in a little trouble. Whoa, that’s a lotta heat. But good, too.

While the fish dishes were good, for me the most notable items on the menu came from the Robatiyaki, an open flamed coal- and hickory-fired grill that turns anything that it comes in contact with into succulent morsels from heaven. King Crab ($14), generously sliced into rectangles the size of fancy digital cameras, are dressed in a little warm miso butter. The effect was possibly the most luscious piece of shellfish to have ever passed my lips. Ditto the Kobe beef skewers, brushed with a touch of Yakitori sauce ($18). After the crab and the Kobe, we had to try the lamb chops, and the lobster, too. The Robatiyaki is the way to go. It’s like candy to a child.

After dinner at Izakaya, the inevitable happened. We ended up in the Borgata casino. Craig likes to play a little Blackjack and I was actually on a mission to the roulette table. Last time we were in AC I’d won on the roulette table and the night before we left I’d had a dream about the number 29. I’ve never been clairvoyant but hey, there’s always a first time. And so I placed my bet—$5 on number 29 (I know, I am so wild and crazy) and watched the ball make its way around and around, slower, slower, and slower still until it tripped up and bounced around and finally came to rest in number 29. I don’t know how that happened, but we were very pleased. But then we took our winnings over to the Blackjack tables, where we promptly lost it all. I knew I didn’t like gambling. But I do love The Water Club.

The Water Club, a Signature Hotel by Borgata is located at 1 Renaissance Way in Atlantic City, (800) 800.8817, http://www.thewaterclubatborgata.com. Rooms from $249-%339.

Izakaya is located at The Borgata Hotel. To reserve, call 1-866-MY-Borgata, www.theborgata.com.

Andrea Strong