If you’ve ever been to a casino and signed up for their player’s program you’ve gotten offers. The idea is to get you back in the door where your wallet can be shared.
Hey–that’s their business. This is not a state secret I’m revealing.
Last Wednesday Helaine got an email offer from Mohegan Sun. It was for an event Saturday. Usually these come out far ahead.
Wednesday for Saturday means they were scrambling. Maybe they were forced to lower their criteria. Whatever the reason we were invited to Bar Americain for food, some giveaways and a chance to see Bobby Flay who is feverishly promoting his new book.
“Are you going to tell him you think he’s pompous?” Helaine asked as we mulled attending. I’m a little sensitive in this regard. I promised to be nice.
Helaine registered around 6:00 PM and got two wrist bands. We returned at 8:00 PM to find a short line and a sign on the door. “Closed for private event.” That was us.
Mohegan Sun is a beautiful facility and this is an equally beautiful restaurant. The bar was open and the waitstaff was roaming the room with trays of appetizers. There was a pretty icy display of seafood salads and immense shrimp. At two carving stations chefs sliced the most tender fillet I’ve ever tasted! They also dished out a fried chicken that was moist, tender and showed no internal signs of having ever been near oil.
I watched Bobby move back-and-forth from the brightly lit kitchen into the restaurant. He smiled and stopped to take photos. If he was the guy I perceived from TV it wasn’t in evidence last night.
I’ll let Helaine describe him, because she’s a Food Network habitue: “A little taller, younger looking and better looking than I expected.”
We left stuffed. The food was VERY tasty.
After the fact I got a look at the regular menu. As you might imagine it’s not cheap, but for an occasion I’d go back in a heartbeat.
This is my third Bobby Flay meal. Maybe it’s time I began to value him for his food and not his persona.