What I Did On My Summer Vacation...

I met a friend for dinner last night and needed to kill an hour before setting out to meet her. Inspired by my upcoming summer vacation (a week in Atlantic City over July 4th), I decided to make a vacation guide for myself and my friends.

And instead of wasting more time and creative juices, I thought I'd just repurpose my AC Guide here. And maybe inspire you to come see how the other side lives in Dirty Jers.

The Greatest Beach Vacation Ever!
Your Guide to Atlantic City

The Island (AC 101 for newbies)
Melissa’s parents were born and raised on the fair isle of Atlantic City, and she spent the summers of her youth on its fragrant shores.

Atlantic City is on an island with 4 towns that geographically range from schmanciest to shadiest. Not surprisingly, the further you get from AC, the better off you are. The towns are: Longport, Margate, Ventnor, AC.

Ventnor and AC are the only towns on the island with a boardwalk. Lucy the Elephant is in Margate. Rich stuff is in Longport.

Local Chow
The best subs in the world hail from AC. And if you don’t believe me, you’ve clearly never had one.

The Blogtari’s prefer Dino’s, the Margate sub outpost, because Melissa’s been going there religiously since birth. It’s also about 1/3 as crowded as its more famous AC competitor and they have YooHoo.

The best known sub joint in town is The White House. I am unsure about the YooHoo, so you may want to skip it. But like big city cheesesteak rivals Pat’s and Geno’s, I suggest you try both and see what happens.

Posh Dining
With the addition of The Borgata in 2003, fine dining came to AC. Your favorite restaurateurs (Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay, Stephen Starr) all have restaurants in the top casinos.

The annual Blogtari Christmas outing has allowed us to dine at some of the best spots, including Cuba Libre, PF Changs, Buddakan, Bobby Flay Steak, and Hooters.

Beach Bars
In the years before decent nightlife came to AC casinos, Jews from across the East Coast (OK, from outside of Philadelphia) flocked to a noble beach bar.

The Greenhouse has seen its fair share of nasty beach hook-ups. It’s 18 to enter, 21 to party, and right on the beach. What could be better?

Craving a poorly made Mind Eraser shot? The Greenhouse is where it’s at!

Clubby Guys
Again, thanks to The Borgata, nightlife is back in AC! Three casinos reign supreme in the nightlife department these days (sorry Mr. Trump).

The Tropicana

• 32 Degrees (bottle service vibe from Philadelphia)
• Red Square (Cold War bar from Vegas)
• Cuba Libre (salsa joint from Philadelphia)
• Providence (a new place I know nothing about)

The Pier at Caesars

• The Continental (best cocktail menu on Earth from Philadelphia)
• There’s also been a rumor that Rum Jungle is coming to the 4th floor. The website is not supporting this cause. This makes me supremely upset.

The Borgata

• Murmur (the chicks from The Hills partied here. Enough said.)

Gambling
Of course some folks head to AC for the gambling. Here’s a list of casinos listed in proximity to Ventnor.

• Hilton
• Tropicana
• Trump Plaza
• Caesars
• Ballys
• Resorts
• Taj Mahal
• Showboat


And over in Brigantine…


• The Borgata
• Trump Marina
• Harrahs

Shopping
For the ladies and the gentlemen who love them, there is some decent shopping in AC.

If you love buying discounted Coach bags from 1993 and ill-fitting slacks from Banana Republic, then the outlets in inner-AC is the place for you.

If you’re willing to shell out real dough for real products, The Pier at Caesars may be a better match. The Pier is a fancy mall with regular chains and high end shops. There’s also a candy shop for your Sour Power needs.

If you’re feeling naughty, why not pick up a novelty T with airbrushed boobs at one of the Boardwalk’s many fine retail establishments? Chase down your Puerto Rican flag towel with a soft serve ice cream and some salt water taffy and you are in Jersey Shore heaven.