hi everyone... I am back from that hard job of walking, taking jitneys, checking bars, restaurants, and taxi stops. I have actually come to a conclusion and hope everyone will agree. I personally have stayed at borgata, harrahs, showboat, hilton and a few others. I figure that where ever we go, we will want to eat and drink in the same hotel/restaurant. some of the gamblers may want to wander off to the casinos. the others can sit at the bar and chat. that way no one is left out or ignored.

borgata is beautiful but getting a group together for a drink is about impossible. they wait in line for the bars. the buffet is excellent but you wait in even longer lines for the buffet. the other restaurant big enough for all of us to sit together is their 24 hour place. the lines are a nightmare even for 2 or 4 people. they do not have a courtesy policy for large groups. another problem is that if anyone wants to drink and is staying in town, you need a designated driver or a very expensive cab ride. jitneys do stop there but only 2 lines of jitneys go to harrahs or borgata. the rest stay in the ac proper area.

harrahs is one of my favorite places but their bars are totally noisy. their buffet is pretty good but the most expensive in ac along with being noisy as can be as will be agreed to by everyone who was there last year. again, it is away from where most plan to stay so drinkers will be at a disadvantage. their 24 hour restaurant is lovely but the menu is a little more limited.

so, I started hopping around the boardwalk. well, hopping isn't the word for it. I'm too old to hop so figure a leisurely pace was set. showboat has a nice deli with a rather limited menu. their buffet was a little cheaper than harrahs and I got 2 comments about. one from a stranger and one from my daughter. both said it was mediocre. the location is good because it's on the boardwalk. didn't get into the bars because they were packed.

so down the boards...the irish pub...neat place but talk about limited menu...I don't care if a place is buffet or menu, I want choices and I know everyone else does. also, if the restaurant isn't in a hotel/casino we will be trying to run around as a group.

I will be honest, I didn't get to every place. I only had about 40 hours and well, the slot machines were calling me. what I did do was check the 4 places I have a comp with. that's for several reasons... the major one is that I can eliminate some of the line standing as the partyers saw last fall.

the last place I checked was the hilton. their buffet is the cheapest. it looked great till I saw the desserts that were mediocre. they had all the the standard fare for the rest of the buffet but in smaller scale than harrahs and borgata. it is only $18.95 and if you are not into lovely desserts it is fine. they had enough large steamed shrimp sitting there to fill all of us again and again.

of all the places that I went, the hilton 24 hour deli restaurant was the one that impressed me the most. it was the only place that would give me a menu (although she missed the dessert page). the restaurant is quite large and I was told they could easily accommodate 20 people or so in a group. the menu is extensive and having eaten there twice I can say the food was excellent. they also have a nice and maybe a little more peaceful bar right inside the boardwalk door which is about 50' and a short escalator ride from the restaurant.

what kevin and i talked about was if we decide on the deli/restaurant we will set a flat rate of $X figuring $25 or less unless they are willing to do separate checks which i imagine they will do if we ask nicely, lol. from anywhere you are staying on the boardwalk, it is a short $2 jitney ride, or a push cart ride or a taxi ride. for those adventurous souls who want to stretch their legs and wobble down the boardwalk, it is a long but relaxing walk to the other end.

I am going to post the menu (minus desserts page) for all to read. I do want feedback from all of you. then it will be up to the mod squad to make the final decision.

also, for those who are staying over and want breakfast...i will include that in the poll. the deli does have a full breakfast menu besides the all day one.


the menu will be posted within a few minutes i hope... why am i now having trouble posting it after doing it right once?

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Brava queenie...you did it. I got them all now. Hope I wasn't upsetting you...I was trying to help. Just saw your last post...they were coming through, but they weren't able to be opened until you did them again. Go take a nap, you deserve it!!! I must get back to cleaning now.

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i appreciate the help ruba...it has been a helluva 24 hours. yesterday i went to a very sad many tissue used funeral and somehow, one of the people i hugged and kissed had on makeup, perfume, after shave or something that i must be allergic to. i am puffy and itchy on one side and trying to do this thru a haze of benedryl. not easy!!!

now off to shower and try to scrub more of whatever i got on my face off of it.

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The restaurant at the Hilton had a fabulous selection! Something for everyone. It got my vote!

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That restaurant does indeed have a great selection. I'll be content either way, whether at the deli or the buffet - I voted buffet for dinner (just because I think it makes everything simple and clean) and deli for breakfast/brunch, but we'll go wherever the vote takes us.

Sherry - thanks for all the legwork!

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I agree - but the prices are widely spread. Someone gets a nine dollar sandwich, someone else the thirty dollar surf and turf.

If we did lunch there, though, we could just put a cap on the price and people would do fine with salads, wraps or sandwiches.

It is easier to have conversations when it not a get-up-and-get-your-own place.

We are fine with either choice. It's not like we're going primarily for the food. Heck, if we were doing that we'd fly down to MJ's

betcha they don't mind splitting the bill. they love money (don't we all) and will do it. or we can set a limit somehow. i have to say that the restaurant impressed me with its selection and the 2 meals we had there were well presented and really good portions.

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This it?: http://www.hiltonac.com/hilton.cfm?p...izons&i=dining Certainly looks nice. I will be in AC on 7/3 if there's something you want me to do while there!!! (besides winning millions so we can have this party in Aruba, (of course I'd pay)).

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I'll have no problem if we decide to get something expensive and pay our own - if the restaurant will do it, of course! Maybe that is something Elisabeth can ask them?

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that's the place elisabeth. it is so warm and comfy even though it is large. i was amazed how pleasant it was in there. i am used to the hustle and bustle of harrah's 24 hour restaurant where they rush you in and rush you out.

if you go in from the boardwalk, the first escalator you find will take you to the buffet and horizons. the buffet is nice, on a smaller scale so not as noisy, but the desserts as i said looked fairly boring. although they did have my weakness of soft ice cream. walk thru the buffet. they will gladly let you take a peek. and glance in at horizons. notice that it is separated into several sections so the first area you see isn't all there is. it isn't super fancy but good food, comfort, and enough quiet to hear each other makes a place like that ideal. plus, at the boardwalk entrance is the major bar. spacious compared to the others i have been in and much friendlier and quiet.

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Well we will certainly start praying for you right now !!!!

gee, did elisabeth realize what she was getting herself into? poor elisabeth, running our errands for us.

the good thing is whichever place we go to, i have a premier card with them so we get to skip the lines. like we did at harrahs.

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Honestly I don't mind. I don't have the money to spend gambling all day like my girlfriend will be doing...so I'll walk around and check things out. We are just going for the day because her comps end 6/29 and don't start up again until 7/5...I think they did that on purpose because of the holiday w/e. So we are gonna leave at around 10:00 am and stay probably until 5:00 or 6:00 PM. Hopefully all the "Shore" traffic will be gone. I figure everyone who doesn't have off on Monday will already be home and those who do will stay until Tuesday! Monday seems like a good day to go.

I love the colors and decor of that place Horizons...I think I said in a previous post that when the Hilton was the Golden Nugget they used to have one of the best buffets...they had a entire raw bar also. Unfortunately that was a long long time ago.

Again...I don't mind. I'll be there anyway and it will keep me out of the outlets...can't really afford to buy stuff either!

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...Elisa
defecting to St. Thomas 5/24-5/31/08, Lauderdale by the Sea 2/4-2/11/09; St. Croix Oct. '09!