We arrived at the Borgata in Atlantic City probably around 5ish on Thursday. Right after check in, we ran to the pool and stayed there for quite some time. The pool area is really nice. Very clean and relaxing. Yes, clean. Having spent a large part of my working life traveling across the US and staying at Holiday Inns, I can tell you that about 95% of the pools out there have a floating top layer consisting of oil, sweat, hairspray and piss. I was actually totally okay with submerging my body not just in the pool but the hot tub too! This is quite unusual for me.
After the pool, we went to eat at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant, The American Grille. Honestly, the only reason we ate there is that I happened to notice they were cooking pizzas in a brick oven… and I am so hungry for a DeLorenzo’s Tomato pie that I couldn’t resist. We ordered the Spicy Lamb Chorizo Pizza with Tomatoes, Shaved White Onion and Cilantro for an appetizer and it was interesting in a good way. The dough was really cooked through and I liked the combination of cooked (cheese, chorizo) and raw (tomatoes, onions, cilantro) ingredients on the pizza.
I decided to get the Braised Kurobuta Pork Ossobuco with Sweet Pepper Romesco and Green Olive Tapenade with goat cheese potato puree in natural juice as my entrée. My decision was based purely on the amount of vowels and how the words rolled off my tongue: Kurobuta Ossobuco Romesco Tapenade.
After the amazing dinner we took a taxi cab to Harrah’s to see their new pool. Unfortunately it was closed so we couldn’t get up close but we were able to peek in and gawk. It really blew away The Borgatta’s pool. Amazing. Regardless, Harrah’s smells funny and otherwise looks rather run down. I was happy to stay at The Borgata despite my pool envy.
The next day I putzed until Pookie got out of his meetings. I spent a bit of time sitting at the counter of the Gelato Parlor, eating Gelato and writing in my mini-notebook. An older man saddled up next to me and asked if I was filling out a job application.
“Nope”
“Oh, do you work here?”
I pointed to my cup of Gelato and said,”Nope, I am just sitting here eating Gelato and writing out my to do list for the next week.”
“I see, what do you do for a living?”
“I own my own business.”
I got a kick out of saying that. I know he was just being friendly and we did have a much longer conversation but I couldn’t help but feel awesome saying I owned my own business after he asked if I was a waitress or applying for a job as a waitress. Looking back, I really can’t figure why he thought those things. I was dressed well and was clearly a paying customer. Maybe it was because I was writing in a little notebook. I don’t know.
Once Pookie’s meetings let out, we went to the White House for hoagies. We ordered the Whole Italian hoagie and afterward realized we should have ordered the White House Special hoagie. They are basically the same, there’s just more meat on the Special. Live and learn.
The ride back to Philly was uneventful until we got to Philly and then we found ourselves in the most tremendous traffic jam I have ever experienced. We crawled along at a snail’s pace for about 3 hours!?! We got home around 6:30ish… we left AC at 2:30. Gotta love Philly traffic… not.
Even though I had a really lovely time, I still feel like I need a vacation. One day.
