Eating Old School at Angelo's Fairmount Tavern

Birthday Dinners #2 and #4

Yes, you read that correctly. We ended up liking Angelo's so much that we ate there twice during our trip.

We were on a roll after our Iron Room dinner, so we decided to try another off the boardwalk/not in a casino restaurant.

Established in 1935, Angelo's Fairmount Tavern is deliciously old school. It's easy to imagine that back in the day people hid guns in the bathroom and made offers that other people couldn't refuse in this restaurant.

It's also the Winchester House of restaurants. It just keeps going and going in a winding maze of variously decorated rooms. I'm pretty sure that at least some of the decor hanging on the walls has been around since 1935.

We decided to start off with one of the evening's specials, the fried vegetable platter. I know, I know, this was wildly unhealthy, but this is not the restaurant if you are looking for a kale and quinoa salad. We figured when in Rome, or in this case, when in old school, Italian, Atlantic City.

The batter was thin, light, and crispy. There is nothing like biting into a fried piece of zucchini. Hot and crisp on the outside, and soft and juicy on the inside, yum. Our appetizer was accompanied by marinara sauce, and a lemony sauce that went great with the fried green beans.

Of course an Italian meal wouldn't be complete without some fresh, crusty bread, and a couple of glasses of red wine.

Our meals came with a salad served family style. The house dressing was delicious.

For my entree, I went with my favorite Italian dish, manicotti with meatball.

Can you ever go wrong with pasta filled with cheese?  It was tasty, but didn't quite beat out Villa di Roma (Italian Market in Philadelphia) as my absolute #1 manicotti. The meatball was fantastic. Growing up I had a Great Aunt Francis whose meatballs were the stuff of legend. I think what made them particularly good was the crusty, slightly charred outside. The meatball at Angelo's brought back memories of eating meatballs in the finished basements of family members during showers, graduation parties, etc...

Shannon got one of his favorites, lasagna.

There was probably enough lasagna to feed at least two people. It was a good thing our room had a fridge for leftovers. He gave his lasagna a thumbs up.

We would have ordered dessert, but we were incredibly stuffed.

When we ate here the second time with our doing stuff partners in crime Scott and Paulette, we got an order of the cheesy garlic bread. Yes, it was as good as it sounds, and looks.

We also got a carafe of the house red wine. I'm almost always disappointed by a restaurant's house wine, but Angelo's house red was quite enjoyable. Don't be afraid to order it if you go. It's a good amount of wine, and split between four people, it was a great deal.

I've been to a couple of Italian restaurants at the casinos, and none of them even come close to being as delicious and authentic as Angelo's Fairmount Tavern. If you park at Caesar's, it's not too far of a walk, and it is completely worth a visit for some home cooked Italian food and a setting that will make you want to leave the gun and take the cannoli.