Quick View Of Tropicana's Quarter...

November 2007

A recent late night outing to Tropicana’s Quarter serves to demonstrate just how different - read improved - Atlantic City has become in only the last half decade. We arrived at nearly 11 p.m. on this unseasonably warm October evening, and the place was swarming with merrymakers.

Most noticeable among these were groups of young, attractive women, traveling in packs, including a multiple number of Bachelorette party attendees. While I’ve been married a long, long time, I can still remember enough about being single to know that the Bachelor Party is a sort of Holy Grail for those of us possessing a Y chromosome.

This, in accordance with laws of pheromonal science, means lots of young men, similarly on the prowl.

The confluence creates an environment charged with sexual tension, scads of appealing twenty and thirtysomethings with nothing more than a good time on their minds, not to mention below their belts...

And though the Quarter offers more upscale leanings on its first two floors, we were actually headed down, into the subterranean level, to A Dam Good Sports Bar.

That place, in case you don’t know, is the brainchild of a guy actually named Adam Good, who is also a longtime partner in A.C.’s mega-successful Hooters operations, which are consistently among the franchises top ten earners worldwide.

Good is one of the smartest businessmen we’ve ever met, and a real player in the local market. Just the kind of person Atlantic City now seems to attract.

It’s worth mentioning that Good’s business empire, also includes the adjoined A Dam Good Deli and Firewaters, a tavern featuring an amazing array of more than 150 varieties of beer, both draught and bottled. (We only know of one facility with a larger larder of the world’s oldest beverage, Washington D.C.’s legendary, also subterranean, Brickskeller. They possess a startling menu, arranged by country, of more than five hundred brands, plus a world-class collection of beer memorabilia.)

On this night, Good’s cellardwelling eponymous enterprise played host to one of the best bar bands we’ve ever seen at the Jersey shore, No Pressure.

Featuring a song list ranging from pop/rock like Bon Jovi and Def Leppard to harder edged music from Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots, plus mainstream, classic Aerosmith, Billy Idol, and Van Halen, this foursome offers something for almost any fan of rock music.

What we liked best about these genre-hopping sets was their sense of manic energy. Most acts take a few seconds, sometimes even a minute or so, between tunes. No Pressure offers an almost constant barrage of hard-hitting audio, without a lot of time for posturing and style points.

The band consists of lead vocalist Mike LaGuardia, bassist/backing vocalist Tom Branella, drummer Brian McKenna, and lead guitar/backing vocalist Scott Schenker. While all the members have extensive musical backgrounds, Brunella and Schenker are particularly notable as former members of wellreceived The Bleeding Hearts, one of our area's best original rock acts from the mid-1980’s.

No Pressure seem to have developed quite a following as well, evidenced by the packed bar, where the only place left for us to comfortably perch was atop a wooden table, set up to accommodate their massive speakers. Wandering out into the Quarter, and onto Brighton Avenue during the band’s breaks, we were amazed at both the steady flow of youthful patrons, and their apparent affluence.

It was clear that the party here lasts well beyond 2 a.m., when we needed to leave.

For more info on the band, pics (some intentionally, quite embarrassing!) and their upcoming schedule of gigs, check them out at NoPressureRocks.com.

Possible arson cause of fire at Borgata's new Tower...

From the “Intriguing Rumor” Department: Shortly after the recent fire in Borgata’s new Tower expansion, we ran into an old friend who happened to be a union contractor working on site the very day the ‘accident’ occurred.

We use the term ‘accident’ because, according to our anonymous source, that might not be the most accurate description of what transpired.

Specifically, we were told that he, as well as anyone working in the area on the day of the fire, was required to submit all clothing worn that day to arson investigators.

Now, we certainly do not purport to be experts on the subject of police work, so perhaps this is just the Standard Operating Procedure employed in the event of such a fire? However, maybe it’s an indicator that, as my source claimed “They know something was wrong,” and that it’s just a matter of time until an arrest, or arrests, will be made.

Maybe we’re dead wrong.

And no, we don’t have the usual independent corroboration that journalists require, but we’re going to keep digging and see what we can find.

What we do know is a simple principle that any good mystery writer can attest to: follow the money, find the source.

And who would want to prevent, scuttle or at least delay, Borgata’s expansion plans?

That list is too long for this column, especially considering the way they have dominated - and changed the landscape of - the Atlantic City region since first appearing in July 2003.

Remember, and keep telling yourself: it’s only a rumor. For the time being.

For me, this time of year it's all about great soup...

It’s November, the grayest, rainiest, generally most dismal month of the year. One of our favorite methods for combating the inevitable turn for the worse our weather is about to take is searching out and finding great soup.

It sounds so facile, but show me a restaurant with great soups, and I’ll show you a restaurant that is probably successful across the board.

Years ago, I described my Number One Rule of Dining as: The three barometers of a good restaurant, creative specials, good soups, and clean rest rooms.

And there’s no better time than right now, ingredient- wise, for soup. All the flavors of late summer are still hanging around, thanks to the prolonged heat of the warmest October in recorded history. Plus, the natural abundance of autumn means goodies like butternut squash, colorful cabbages and yes, apologies to Chef Neil Elsohn, pumpkins.

The best local product we’ve located thus far is from The Varsity Inn, on 8th Street - otherwise known as The Restaurant District - in downtown Ocean City.

Their baked tomato soup is an unbelievably creamy blend of fresh ripe chunks of fruit and sweet, silky cheese. Served French Onion style, topped with a dome of warm soft bread, this is as good as it gets, a real meal in itself. Thick and comforting, consuming a bowl of this orangey blend is like wrapping yourself in grandmom’s thickest, plushest afghan, from the inside out.

And despite the fact that we’re lactose intolerant, and generally therefore not favorable towards cream-based broths, this one is truly special enough to warrant special mention.

Defeat November’s tyrannical grip, eat great soup.

Frank Gabriel may be reached at Thaibasil@AOL.com