The Connecticut casinos — Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods — may be big and flashy, but up until now, haven’t had a lot to brag about in the food department. That’s changing, however. Where there was once Todd English, there are now Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio, David Burke and other celeb chefs more often associated with places that are not Connecticut.
The newest addition comes from the Flay camp, which opened up Bar Americain in Mohegan Sun last month. This is his second Bar Americain (the first is on 52nd Street in Manhattan). And if the food stays as good as it was the night of the opening party, the restaurant should do well.
This reporter tried the lobster and avocado shooter, a creamy pumpkin soup, a Native American taco with a morsel of tender duck, and a little nugget of filet mignon with an over-easy quail egg on top. All of which were exceptionally good. (Although I would recommend staying away from the “whiskey smash” cocktail if you have a low tolerance for alcohol.) The steaks that are on the menu range from $31 to $39 and the menu includes goodies such as buttermilk fried chicken with black pepper biscuits ($28), a grilled pizza with bacon and caramelized onions ($16), duck with dirty wild rice, pecans and bourbon ($31) and more.
Bar Americain is not Flay’s first venture at Mohegan Sun. Earlier this year he opened Bobby’s Burger Palace which offers hulking hamburgers like the “Crunchburger” (which has cheese and potato chips), a “Dallas Burger” (your standard cheese-and-BBQ-sauce deal) and the “Philadelphia Burger” (Provolone, onions and peppers). Also on the menu are grilled cheese sandwiches, sweet potato fries and onion rings. But the must-try item on the menu is definitely the pistachio milkshake. If that sounds gross to you, well, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Somehow it works. (The priciest thing on the menu is the “Topless Burger Salad” at $8.50.)
Of course, Flay was hardly the first celeb chef arrival in Connecticut.
Todd English gets that honor for his Mohegan Sun Italian restaurant, Tuscany, which has a room in the back where all the pasta is rolled by hand. And the food is uniformly good — the butternut squash tortelli ($19) that I tried was excellent, as was the rack of lamb with excellent crispy gnocco frito ($34) and the wild salmon with Brussels sprouts, chanterelle mushrooms and sweet potato puree ($30).
Foxwoods has also gotten its share of celebrity chefs. When it licensed the MGM Grand name for its newest expansion, it got Tom Colicchio to open a Craftsteak and David Burke to open a David Burke Prime. (The kitchen at David Burke Prime has its own dry aging room for the beef.) Many of the delightful curiosities that made David Burke such an interesting chef can be found in abundance like a short-rib and lobster “Surf and Turf” dumpling ($14) — delicious! — and his famous cheesecake lollipops.
The nightlife improved, too, when Shrine opened earlier this year. It’s a two-story, 20,000-square-foot club/lounge/bar and restaurant all rolled into one. (The food at Shrine is general Asian — sushi is on the menu, as is “Hong Kong fried rice” for $14, miso salmon for $25 and General Tso’s chicken for $24.)
Kevin Long, the executive chef at Shrine, also opened up a Mexican venue called Scorpion Bar. It has its own “Mexican Pu Pu Platter” consisting of chicken wings, homemade nacho chips, Yucca fries and quesadillas ($23) which, if it doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.
But hey, if you’re coming to these places, you have to be up for a little gamble.
