• Craig LaBan delivers the first of his two-part Shore dining report with a look at the dining options at Atlantic City’s latest casino Revel. There he “was impressed” with Jose Garces’ Amada, where former Tinto chef de cuisine Anthony Scuderi and his kitchen crew “nailed the Andalusian flavors of the mother ship.” Alain Allegretti’s Azure served “pristine luxe seafood executed behind show kitchen glass with a focused precision and flavors.” “What a splurge,” he said of Marc Forgione’s American Cut, but adds, the 28-day dry-aged, 44 oz. Creekstone Farms “tomahawk chop” was “one of the best pieces of beef [he has] savored.” At Michel Richard’s Central “the finesse to make comfort food riffs feel like worthy upgrades, not just culinary fuss, was missing,” while Garces’ remake of Village Whiskey “is another of Revel’s underwhelming spaces.” [Inquirer]
• Adam Erace checks out the West Philly bricks that have anchored Honest Tom’s to a fixed location, and pulled the taco truck of the same name off the street. There the “humble space, powder blue, and strung with backyard globe lights” turns out a “straightforward” menu of just tacos and burritos. He “loves” the vegetarian “flattop-blistered sweet potatoes” and their “streaks of caramelization, creating crispy and chewy contrast within the soft spud,” and finds the original steak tacos “hard to resist.” [Courier-Post]
