Cuba Libre and Tropicana Casino and Resort have combined for a pretty sweet deal. Partake in chef Guillermo Pernot’s Tastes of Cuba tasting menu (PDF) for two at Cuba Libre’s 2nd Street location and you get a free overnight stay at the Tropicana in Atlantic City.

Dinner consists of three courses and a side for $39 per person and the free room is available Sunday through Thursday.

Complete menu after the jump.

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Stephen Starr is out at Atltantic City’s Chelsea just a year after the casino-free hotel opened. Teplitzky’s and Chelsea Prime will soldier on without Starr’s backing. According to the Press of Atlantic City’s story, most of the staff was kept including the executive chefs.

Starr Restaurants checks out of the Chelsea [Press of Atlantic City via Grub Street]

Congrats to Alyson, Christian and Jackie, winners of our contest for tickets to the Atlantic City Wine & Food Festival.

They were the first to answer each of our three trivia questions correctly.

1. Which Philadelphia restaurant is encouraging diners to step away from the bar and dine in their dining room by offering 50% off their wine list?
2. Guy Fieri will be among the celebreties at the AC Food & Wine Festival. In his show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, which Philadelphia diner does he visit?
3. What Phillie pitcher recently he was partial to Bordeaux, Barolo, super Tuscans and California Cabernets in a recent interview with Wine Spectator Magazine?

Answers are after the jump.

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Craig LaBan is back at the shore this week. This time checking out value nibbles by the beach.

Brown’s (Ocean City) – “Freakies,” mishapen doughnuts full of crunch and crispness.

Teplitzky’s (Atlantic City) – Roast chicken crisped to a succulent brown over sauteed spinach and roasted potatoes.

Megan’s Good Grub & Pub (Atlantic City) – Sloppy Joe with Kobe beef in an aromatic sauce on house-baked buns.

Trattoria Il Mulino (Atlantic City) – The cheesecake was “irresistable.”

701 Mosaic (Ocean City) – Authentic jerk chicken is among the best LaBan has ever tasted.

Ocean City Seafood (Ocean City) – The cream of crab soup was “knockout rich.”

Mud City Crab Cake Co. (Forked River) – The crab cakes “deliver a purist’s pleasure” and the muddy sauce might be ugly, but sure is tasty.

Fine flip-flop fare [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Adam Erace’s review of Teplitzky’s at the Chelsea in Atlantic City reads like a prototypical one-bell, hit-or-miss review of another reviewer in town. But that’s not to say there aren’t dishes worth doting over.

Two tender matzo balls bob like buoys in the broth. On the shimmering surface, golden droplets of chicken fat-the only way to conjure them is making the stock from scratch, which Murphy admirably does-catch the light like shipwrecked jewelry on gentle Atlantic swells. These magic molecules inform a broth so deep it sends echoes down the esophagus. Now I get why they call this stuff Jewish penicillin. All the single bubbes, put your hands up. I’m available.
 

Diamonds and Clubs [Philadelphia Weekly]
Teplitzky’s [Official Site]

Headed to the Jersey shore this weekend? Craig LaBan has a rundown of the quiet start to the season.

The usually bustling Atlantic City scene, in particular, is eerily quiet, with none of the splashy openings that have marked the casino town’s emergence in recent years as a restaurant destination. Instead, the late-August openings from last year will get some extra attention. For example, Stephen Starr’s two spots in the nongaming Chelsea hotel – the luxury steak house Chelsea Prime, and the updated Jewish diner Teplitzky’s – will get considerably wider exposure this year in their first full summer.

And of course there’s always Mack & Manco’s.
The dining scene is off to a quiet start [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Readers of the Daily Pennsylvanian (which you are since you read that last post) are entitled to a pretty good looking deal at the Chelsea in Atlantic City. 

Weeknight rooms start at $45 for a room and $85 on Fridays. The rooms also come with a food and beverage credit plus $5 drink specials on Fridays. 

So why not book a room and check out Stephen Star’s Teplitzky’s and Chelsea Prime.

Spring Specials at the Chelsea [Official Site]

Michael Schulson’s Izakaya at the Borgata gets a ringing endorsement from Craig LaBan.

With its casually stylish ambience and ambitious small-plate take on Japanese pub fare, this is a departure from traditional casino fine-dining. And, judging from the stunning parade of dishes, from the crispy nori-rice cracker topped with spicy tuna to the silky kabocha cheesecake, Izakaya is also a smashing debut for a familiar name we’re likely to be hearing more from.

Three Bells – Excellent

Izakaya [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Izakaya [Official Site]

Blogalicious visits Teplitzky’s coffee shop at the Chelsea in Atlantic City and comes away with the menus.

Teplitz Blitz [Blogalicious]
Teplitzky’s Photos [Flickr]

Adam Erace visits Izakaya in the Borgata and finds Michael Schulson’s take on a Japanese pub to be a sure winner.

Izakaya [Philadelphia Weekly]
Izakaya [Official Site]