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Food and Wine is a Top Bet at Mohegan Sun CasinoBy Marian Betancourt
About 10,000 people attended this third annual January
event for a grand tasting, a celebrity dine around, wine and food seminars,
cooking demonstrations, a chefs’ showdown (think mini Iron Chef), even an oyster
shucker’s contest.
Todd English was one of more than a dozen celebrity chefs in attendance along with Ted Allen, Rick Moonen, Kim Canteenwalla, Mary Ann Esposito, and Jaspar White, who operates Summer Shack, one of the best restaurants at the casino. This seafood restaurant has an open kitchen and recreates the feeling of New England and fishing with a tin roof and corrugated (faux rust) walls, tin signs, and boat bumpers hanging from ropes. Daily specials listed on chalk boards included organic king salmon with maple lemon butter and pecan rice; and Mahi mahi with Cantonese black bean sauce and jasmine rice. A scallop ceviche appetizer made with coconut milk, cilantro, red onion, jalapeno and lime was cold, crisp, tender, and tangy. The lime wedge on the side had just been cut so it was juicy and aromatic. Details like this identify a top notch restaurant.
Tuscany is the Todd English restaurant located behind the big waterfall, in the casino of the sky. You enter another world here, an elegant but rustic Italian setting. (In fact, part of the wonder of the Mohegan Sun’s architecture is the way an environment can completely change with elevation, lighting, or what seems almost like smoke and mirrors.) “Primi” course choices at Tuscany include roasted sweet potato ravioli, mussels fra diavalo, and seared lamb bruschetta. “Secondi” offerings include handcrafted potato gnocchi, gorgonzola and almond crusted pork chop, and even spaghetti polpettine “Brooklyn Style.” A new casual restaurant in the casino of the earth is the Uncas Native American Grill, which can serve 400 people plus 25 at the bar. Real birch trees and basket constructions provide a warm rustic, feeling with open hearth dining. Smoked peppered trout, seared scallops and Mohegan Johnny Cakes, are just a few of the offerings.
The casino of the earth was built a few years earlier and
has a more cave-like feeling.
By the way, Mohegan Sun is the second largest casino in the world. Can you guess where the biggest is? If You Go: Photos courtesy of Mohegan Sun |
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Even
if slot machines give you a headache and you don’t play blackjack, you can still
have a great time at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. There
are excellent restaurants, big name concerts, and the WNBA Sun plays in the
10,000 seat arena. Then there are special events such as the weekend-long Sun
Wine Fest where you can schmooze with celebrity chefs and tipple with wine
makers from around the world.
More
than one thousand fine wines were available for tasting in the grand ballroom,
such as an outstanding 2003 Paraduxx, a Napa Valley red wine from Duckhorn Wine
Company. This medium bodied blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet
franc, aged in American and French oak, is fruity and spicy with ample tannins
to give it a smoky kick. Wines from northern and southern Italy were showcased
at seminars with Leonardo LoCascio, an authority on Italian wines.
“Seasoned
with Spirit: A Native Cook’s Journey,” a 2-hour seminar with Loretta Oden,
included a preview screening of her new PBS series of the same name. This was
followed by a tasting of specialties from the Houma tribe of Louisiana.
Breakfast
is available on weekends at Summer Shack and Jaspar’s lobster hash—also known as
righteous hash—is made with over roasted potatoes, peppers, onion, spices
(including fresh thyme), and a little bit of apple wood smoked bacon topped with
a poached egg.” The egg on top was poached just right so it wasn’t runny, but
not exactly solid either. Other breakfast specialties include hang town fry,
which is a rolled omelet stuffed with crispy fried oysters and home fries. Crab
cake benedict is another customer favorite, so you’ll need many visits to try it
all.
The
architecture and food alone is worth the trip to this 240 acre site on the
Thames River, a short drive from New London. The casino of the sky, designed by
David Rockwell, has a sweeping lobby overlooking a 5-story waterfall. The
feeling of space and light lifts the spirit, which is what it is intended to do.
This is the newest part of the casino.
You
can take an audio guided tour and learn more about the Mohegan Tribe, which owns
this impressive place. The 1200 rooms in the 34-story hotel are modern, bright,
and clean. The staff of 12,000 people operates one of the most efficient
entertainment complexes anywhere. These are 60 restaurants and shops at Mohegan
Sun, so you could spend a weekend here without making a bet--although the gaming
areas are pretty tempting.