What's Cooking on 1060: José Garces Takes Atlantic City
By Hadas Kuznits
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- "Iron chef" José Garces opens three restaurants this month at the new Revel Resort and Casino, in Atlantic City, NJ. His main one, Amada, has been in the works since 2007.
"And this has all been in the making since then, so it's a pretty significant day to be standing here in my restaurant overlooking the ocean," Garces (in top photo) said this week at the new Amada.
Garces, who now owns 15 restaurants, was asked to open a restaurant at Revel back when he owned just one -- in Philadelphia.
"Yeah, this was on the cusp of really having a great first restaurant, which was Amada. I mean, we had a lot of folks that liked what we were doing, Revel took notice. And this was pre any Iron Chef, James Beard awards, et cetera. They had already believed in me back then."
A lot can happen in five years!
Hear Hadas Kuznits' full interview with José Garces in this CBS Philly podcast...
Download the José Garces podcast (runs 10:41)
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Garces also opened a Guapos Tacos truck and Distrito Cantina on the Revel casino floor. Assistant general manager Danielle DeFalco says they've had to explain the concept:
"People are used to coming in and getting seated by a host and having menus brought to them. It's a more relaxed, fun atmosphere -- and the menu is in Spanish, too, so that's a little difficult for people as well."
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Hear Hadas Kuznits' full interview with Danielle DeFalco in this CBS Philly podcast...
Download the Danielle DeFalco podcast (runs 4:04)
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And by Sunday, Revel's Village Whiskey will be open. Manager Marc Grika says they'll be serving adult milkshakes just like they do at the Philadelphia restaurant.
"For instance, here we have a new one called 'The Revelation.' It's lemon curd, sweet cream, blueberry jam, vodka and tuaca, and really delicious," Grika says.
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Hear Hadas Kuznits' full interview with Marc Grika in this CBS Philly podcast...
Download the Marc Grika podcast (runs 3:05)
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And for this week, that's "What's Cooking on 1060!"
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