Vol. 5, No. 12, December 2008
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The Family Plan
Carmine’s Atlantic City serves up big portions and a great vibe
Located on two floors of the Quarter at Tropicana with a broad winding staircase that connects the upper and lower levels, Carmine’s offers as unintimidating and pleasant a dining experience as you’re likely to find in Atlantic City. The food is dependably delicious and above all, plentiful; doggie bags are virtually guaranteed.
With beige walls, dark wood wainscoting and warm lighting, the restaurant has an almost sepia color palette, which lends a vintage feel. Cloth-covered tables with ladderback chairs fill the main dining room; paintings and photos of notable Italians and Italian-Americans cover the walls. We made a parlor game of identifying Ezio Pinza, Lou Costello, Jimmy Durante and countless others. (There are also scores of black and white photos of unknown immigrant Americans, all of them original.)
Luckily for music lovers, the soundtrack is as traditional as the setting. Don’t be surprised to hear Sinatra, Perry Como and operatic favorites leading the hit parade.
It’s easy to imagine the stars of another era dining at Carmine’s. Service is prompt and attentive but not cloying; the atmosphere is low-key, warm and welcoming. A core philosophy of the restaurant group, with two locations in New York, one in the Bahamas, and one here, is making customers feel right at home, says General Manager Neil Terjessen.
“We serve everything family style, so people are always passing the food, passing the wine,” Terjessen says. “It’s like being at Grandma’s house for Sunday dinner. Everybody gets into a festive mood.”
The biggest phenomenon at Carmine’s “is people sharing their food with other tables,” Terjessen says.
As for the famous mammoth portions, Carmine’s delivered in spades. A single platter of chicken alla Romana easily fed five, with enough left over to take home. Tender breasts of chicken were heaped on a bed of savory sauteed spinach, with strips of red pepper and grace notes of white wine, garlic and fresh melted mozzarella.
Though my companion found the roasted potatoes a bit overdone, I loved the big wedges, browned to a turn and slightly crunchy at the edges. This main dish, hearty and rib-sticking, was served with a basket of crusty breads (some fresh-baked on premises, some delivered daily from Brooklyn).
Menu favorites include the penne alla vodka, with its distinctive pink sauce made of marinara and heavy cream (the vodka is added just before serving), and chicken parmigiana. There are daily specials too—Tuesday, for example, it’s rack of lamb; Saturday, the 38-ounce split prime rib.
Calorie alert: Carmine’s desserts are also served family style, and it’s far too easy to load up. Our server brought us a huge bowl of tiramisu, made with homemade ladyfingers soaked in espresso, coffee liqueur, and a hint of Marsala wine, making this one intoxicating dessert. The strawberry “shortcake” substitutes marble pound cake for actual shortcake, then loads on the fruit, whipped cream and pistachio nuts. I’m a fan of regular shortcake, but the pound cake worked too. Both desserts were sweet and rich to a fault, and again, we had enough left over to take home.
For the biggest appetites, or a hungry table, Terjessen recommends the Titanic ice cream sundae, created for a New York customer who asked for one of everything on the dessert menu. Made with six full scoops of ice cream, plus pineapple, strawberries, bananas, roasted hazelnuts, chocolate torta and Ferrara wafers, this confection is legendary. We didn’t brave the unsinkable Titanic, but will definitely try it when the kids come along.
Carmine’s seats 550 people at capacity and has two bars with 20 seats each, making it ideal for birthday parties, anniversaries and weddings.
Terjessen says two-thirds of the staff at Carmine’s have been there since day one, which may account for their ease and friendliness, among themselves and with their patrons. With good food, a delightful atmosphere, and a couple of doggie bags to take home, we enjoyed our first visit, and look forward to our next.
CHEF’S CORNER
Chicken or Veal Parmigiana
INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)
1 cup of flour
2 large eggs
3 cups of bread crumbs
2 five-ounce chicken breasts or veal cutlets, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups marinara sauce
5 or 6 1/4-inch-thick slices mozzarella
2 tbsp. grated romano cheese
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Spread the flour on a large plate. Whisk eggs in a shallow bowl. Spread breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Season cutlets with salt and pepper. Coat with flour and shake off excess. Dip in the egg mixture and let excess drip off. Press cutlets into bread crumbs, coating both sides. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours until needed.
In large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook cutlets for about 3 minutes each side or until golden brown. Transfer to paper towel to drain.
In a sauce pan heat marinara over medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer cutlets to ovenproof casserole and place mozzarella on top, sprinkle with grated cheese. Cook in oven 3 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted. Ladle sauce onto large platter and serve cutlets on top.
Carmine’s, The Quarter at Tropicana, Atlantic City
609-572-9300 • Open 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.-midnight Fri.-Sat.
Private parties • Takeout menu available
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