I ordered the fried chicken and I took one bite and sent it back. Â It seems like they used the same oil to fry fish & chicken. Â Therefore my chicken had a fishy taste to it.
Luckily, my waiter was very nice and offered to take it back and remove it from my bill and offered me to order something else.
Overall experience was just- OK. Â Will never go back to that location.
Review for breakfast only. Had the breakfast buffet and it was okay but nothing special. It reminded me of something between say a buffet chain and a good continental breakfast at a hotel. It had pancakes, eggs, bacon, home fries, omelet station, etc. The Belgian waffle station with strawberries was a highlight of the meal. Overall, everything was okay but nothing special. For $18 including coffee and orange juice you'd hope for a little more but it wasn't bad. Bring your casino card for a dollar or two off your meal.
Review Source:Been here a few years ago to see a cover band. The place was 1/4 full and the bars empty ... easy to grab a 8$ beer and get back to pretending the band you were listening to was really The Foo Fighters. Overpriced beers but the place seemed ok.
Back again this time to see Shinedown and Bush. man,what a different experience. Started off great,We had decent view of the stage front and center(standing room) but once the sound kicked in ... Holy shit !! Loud as fuck. this is coming from a guy who blares Slayer and Metallica in his car on Max. The sound was so loud that when screaming i still couldn't hear my wife next to me lmao.
Maybe i just reached "that" age and I am starting to mellow out but i was somewhat concerned(still didn't leave my spot... by choice anyways) with possibly causing serious damage to my hearing. A mixture of being blown away by the speakers and constantly bothered by some drunk asshole giving hip checks to my wife pretty much forced us to move. Once we moved the concert just sucked... fought our way to the back,back part of the venue behind the sea of people and apparently behind any speakers... View,sound quality and the atmosphere as a whole is that much more terrible nearly 20 feet away from the stage. How can that Be ?? Its a small venue for God's sake. It sounded like I was listening to a couple of 6x9's out of my bro's honda.... Maybe i'm just too picky. too loud up front and not loud enough in the back.
Hob should invest in a makeover and audio upgrade. It needs it !
I went for the Avant concert here last Friday and ended up having a late dinner there too. Â First the concert.
We had seats on the floor at the far right side of the room (Sec. 5). Â I would not recommend choosing seats to this side since a good part of the stage was obscured from view. Â The show featured Case, Carl Thomas and Avant was the headliner. Â All three guys can really sing but I didn't care for Case and Carl Thomas singing over prerecorded music. Â I feel like the acoustics on my side of the room distorted what we were hearing---maybe a seat in the middle of the room would be a better choice. Â Oh, and a fight broke out. Â Really people? Â Fighting at an Avant concert? Â My biggest complaint was the room temperature--it was FREEZING in there. Â I had a jacket on and I was still cold the entire time. I probably would go to another concert here but would probably give the balcony seats a try.
Dinner in the restaurant was pretty good once we got the food. Â Our orders were taken right away but service was slow and we couldn't figure out how people walking in and sitting at the bar were getting their food before those of us seated at tables. Â But when the food finally came, we were generally pleased.
I've been to the HOB several times for concerts and never had a bad experience. Â The sound is good, drinks are flowing and overpriced (like most concert venues) and there's not a bad "seat" in the house. Â Ticket prices fluctuate depending on the act, but usually I've been able to see who I want for around $35-40. Â
I'll definitely be back to this venue in the future.
Very practical layout for a music venue, where it appears that the balcony provides a very close view of the stage. Â If I see another show here, I'll be sure to stay up there next time.
Needless to say, I was in the pit for the AWOLNATION show on March23 and the crowd was primarily college-aged.  With the harder-rock and the younger-crowd, there was inevitably going to be moshing and crowd surfing, but it must have been the first concert for a lot of people in the crowd because EVERYBODY wanted to crowd-surf and NOBODY knew you need to keep your feet up while doing it.  Needless to say, my fiancée almost got a concussion because of these amateurs.  Any attention directed at avoiding kicks to the back of the head only left you vulnerable to getting hit from the side by a rouge mosher.
I don't know if people need to grow up, or that I'm grown-up, but regardless, Â it borderline ruined the show.
On the plus-side, they do sell 20oz cocktails for $14, which is a good deal once you factor in the casino-premium and music-venue-gouging. Â Maybe the cheap booze was the cause of the rowdy crowd, but at least it also makes them easier to tolerate.
First, you have to line up.. Two very narrow rope lines distinguish fast from slow seating.. depending on your standing with the Hotel.. gave up twice, waiting on the line but, a third attempt was made and finally, I got in.. went to use the bathroom.. It was filthy and the only sink to wash your hands was not working.. Bathroom sink doesn't have running water.. but they did have soap.. food was Okay.. got served after 30 minutes.. won't be coming back.. recommended if your starving and have no where else to go
Review Source:I have been here twice, Marilyn Manson and for Bobby Brown. The Manson show was in May and it was a general admission  concert that sold out.  It looks like a medium sized concert hall. When its packed, it can be tough to walk around and get to the bar. Drinks are pricey but it's the HOB.
For the Bobby Brown concert there were probably less than 1000 people there so there was a lot of room. It started out as a seated concert but since most of the seats were empty we moved closer to the stage. I think Nemo had something to do with this. Anyway, the acoustics are surprisingly good. Â The sight lines are decent. If you are on the sides, you cannot see the corners of the stage. They do have a balcony but I have not been up there. I highly recommend this concert venue.
All in all, a good place to see a concert.
Ehhhh. I'll start out with finding the actual venue. It's next to impossible. There is no specific directions on where it's exactly located. We only knew where to park because we asked the one person we saw walking on the street. Once we were parked and in the elevator we were clueless as to what floor, how we get there, etc. You guys should make it easier for people to find the venue. Â At least if we go to a show again well know how to get there. I drank Budweiser which was $6 a pop and I knew it'd be expensive but I would appreciated if my beer hadn't tasted like it was skunked months ago. Tasted gross like watered down. I got a coke later and that tasted watery too. The floor was a lot smaller then expected, but the band was awesome, and aside from gross beer and walking around trying to figure out where it was at, we had a decent time. Definitely not my favorite venue.
Review Source:Went here with some friends for dinner before a show at the HOB Venus. Food was half decent, but service was pretty bad - they never even checked in on us. Â
We had a pretty awkward moment with our waiter too..my friend, who's 26 (but looks younger) ordered a beer...the waiter paused for a minute as if he was going to ID him...but then proceeded to fill the order. Â About 1 minute later a manager then came over and awkwardly carded him, as if the waiter had forgotten to or something?? It was really strange and awkward
As for the venue, I thought the setup was a bit weird, and didn't appreciate the bathroom attendant *ignoring* a girl who was pretty messed up on ecstasy in the bathroom. Â Sound quality/acoustics were pretty decent.
The wife and I saw Morrissey here on 1/12/13, the venue was better than I expected. Â It feels like a bigger 9:30 Club (Washington DC) and about the same size as Ram's Head Live (Baltimore, MD). Â Just disappointed that after 11:30 the stop the artists. Â Basically, WTF it's a casino, just because it isn't club music artists can't perform past 11:30PM? Â Odd.
Review Source:Went  to see a show a couple of days ago. It's a cool spot. I bought GE tickets and had a great view of the stage. There IS balcony seating and if you're short and want a good view no matter what, then get balcony seats. The balcony is not far from the stage. you will get a GREAT view, especially in the first row.
Review Source:Went here for my gf's bday on sunday 9/23. Â We ordered the jalapeno cornbread, which was bangin. Took awhile to come out, but we could deal with that. She ordered her bday dinner, and asked for her steak with no pink inside. After waiting for 25 mins, and the manager coming to us to apologize for the wait (we didnt even ask to speak with him) the food finally came out. Her first cut of the steak ooozed med rare with a lot of pink. My entree had crusted over cheese as if it was sitting and waiting for awhile. Manager came over again, after we bitched to server (who was like a ghost for 25 mins) and said he was sorry, but that i could eat my dinner while she sits and watches me eat. Totally classless. In the end we paid for our bottle of wine and app, and will never, ever, ever go back there again. Aaron sanchez, you would be highly dissapointed for sure.
Review Source:*3.5 stars*
A very good venue to catch a concert. Went here with a bunch of people and my gf to catch the Carnival of Madness tour to catch Halestorm and Evanescence. The main area is standing room only with 2 large bars on both corners to get your drink on. The main stage is smack in the middle and the acoustics are very good. There is a balcony area for those who want to splurge. Plenty of elbow room is you were a bit back from the stage.
Be prepared to pay a lot for drinks (stadium pricing).
Bathrooms are ample unless it's in between sets.
When I'm in Atlantic city, i try not to be sober but not wasted. If there is a time where I am completely wasted and I was staying at the show boat and I needed to get food in me before I died of alcohol poisoning, I still wouldn't go to the of blues for food. I would rather puke up an organ and crawl out to the boardwalk to experience the horrid service we received.
Here's my explanation. It was July 4th 2012, my friend drove up 2 hours to me and than we drove another 2 hours to go to AC. We've been to the show boat earlier this year for the Garbage concert (which was amazing) so I felt more comfortable being somewhere I'm slightly more used to. We decided to give the restaurant a try. Our servers name was Shariful, an older gent who has no respect at all. Maybe it was because my friend and I had slightly abnormal hair, maybe it was because we were younger so he felt as if we didn't deserve respect, I don't know but he was an ASS HOLE. If I'm ordering and ask for something not to be on my burger, you don't tell me that I can take it off myself. I work in the food industry so I'm extremely polite and nice to servers but seriously dude?! You don't tell a customer to do it themselves. Strike one.  So, we were the first table seated around us, my friend and I, than a family of 9 came in with 4 adults and 5 young children. A family of 3 was than seated next to us on our right with one younger child. Another family was than seated to our left, 2 adults 1 teenager. We ordered before any of them was even seated. Guess who got their food first? Wasn't us. We were actually the last one. My friend and I ordered the same thing, two juicy goosey burgers. What could take so long? Strike two. When we received our orders, I immediately took out the jalapeños and took a bite of one of the french fries. I almost chipped a tooth and I wish I was exaggerating. It was dreadful! My friend knew I enjoyed my fries so he switched with me and tried finding some edible fries in the lot, nope, all burnt. We were starving so I let that slide, i assumed it was a long day for the cooks so I let it go. Than I bit into my burger. I didn't know that medium was suppose to be extra crunchy. Oh wait, i worked with burgers, their not suppose to be. I couldn't even get a full bite in! Strike 3. I immediately push the plate away from me and waited for the server to come over to ask how we're doing. Nothing. Never came over once. He eventually showed up when my friend left the credit card on the table in plain sight. Didn't say anything to us and just gave us the check and walk away. There is almost two full plates of full uneaten on the table and your not even going to make a comment? Okay sir. Strike 4. At this point, I was tapping the table in frustration. Not loudly enough where I was disturbing the tables around us but enough where you knew I was annoyed. My friend put the credit card in the black leather check thing and stood it up by the edge of the table so the server can grab it. As he was cleaning a table, his arms filled with dirty dishes, he passes by our table on the way back to the kitchen. Instead of saying excuse me to my friend, he reaches across the table in front of my friend's face and grabs the check and walks away. Strike what 5 now?! Seriously flipping 5. Now I tip everywhere. Dairy queen? I give tips. Chinese take out? Tips. Like I said, I work with food, tips is where the real money is. But I was so angry I didn't want to tip him. I tip Chinese take out when I pick it up for goodness sakes!!!! For me not to want to tip you is completely outrageous and the server had to piss me off. Instead d a tip, I listed what he did wrong on the back of the receipt. That's my tip for you Shariful, if you hate being a server, find a different job because obviously you hate your job so much you take it out on the customer. The only reasoning I didn't complain to the manager was because my friend didn't want me to make a scene and remain pissed off. Even if they gave us a gift card, we would've given it to the drunk on the boardwalk. Never again will we ever step foot in that gosh awful place! I bought French fries at one of the vendors cause my friend and I both had work in the am the next day and we had a long drive home. Seriously Shariful, your awful at being a server. Do the restaurant a favor and quit and maybe than the restaurant will get better reviews. If I could give it 0 stars I would. Just because of Shariful.
Went to the Worship Surf Bar for lunch. The service was slow and the waitress kept on blaming everyone but herself (first the bar, then the kitchen). No offense ma'am, but we don't give a shit whose fault it is. It is what it is. It's your job to bear the brunt of others' mistakes. Sucks, but that's the way it is sometimes...
That being said, the food was surprisingly good here. I was expecting rather mundane pub/bar fare, but it slightly better. My chicken sandwich was served on a really good bun (as was my friend's hamburger was) and the veggies seemed fresh.
Lastly, I'd avoid getting a cocktail here. They were a little too sweet.
So in sum:
Food: 4-5 stars
Service: 1 star
Drinks: 1-2 stars
Really, we drove 4 hours to get to AC? And then when we get here, the venue is a bit disappointing. But luckily, the concert we came to see was AWESOME.
The HOB is located inside a behemoth of a building, like a mall complex. I'm not a big fan of malls, but that is besides the point. The HOB is on the second floor and on the first floor, you can find casinos, gambling, and all sorts of non-vegetarian friendly places to eat. Yuck.
We get here close to 8pm but we were told that GARBAGE would not come on stage until 10pm. Sweet, we now have time to eat. Too bad, we had only limited options.
HOB is a spacious venue, with a few TV screens around and you can get a pretty decent view of the stage anywhere on the floor. The drinks are pretty boring and just as expensive as NYC.
I'm not really a big fan of AC and the entertainment it provides, but the GARBAGE concert was really good. I would die for you...I would lie for me...I'm only happy when it rains...I'm only happen when it's complicated.
BTW, Garbage has a new album out, entitled, "Not Your Kind of People."
I came here for a Skrillex show back in July. The actual venue was a bit tricky to find. Â Once you enter the casino from the boardwalk, you go up the escalator, make a right and you're there.
The best thing about this venue is that you can come and go as you please. Â When you leave they give you a stamp on the hand and you can gamble at the casino downstairs, or go to another bar right next to the casino, watch TV etc. Â
The bartenders served really strong drinks and big shots, and it wasn't overpriced like a regular concert venue. Â The sound system was on point, Â but the lighting was the regular house lights.
I went here for a Jonny Lang concert and was pleasantly surprised. Since I hate fighting to keep my spot in GA, I opted to purchase seats in the second row of the balcony. For those who aren't familiar with the artist, he's a blues guitarist, meaning this isn't dancing music. The extrememly intoxicated people in front of us, however, decided to start grinding to a slow song about a broken heart. Since his guitar solos run on and on (sometimes upwards of 10 minutes), I (and the other patrons around me) grew fed up enough to complain, as these crazies were blocking our view of the stage. Someone from the managerial staff immediately recitifed the issue, and thankfully, the drunkards politely did sit down and stayed that way for the rest of the show.
It was a pretty neat little venue, and I wouldn't hesitate to return for another show. Reserved seating is definitely the way to go!
When you get there, see if you can spot the hilarious misspelling of Rihanna's name actually PAINTED on the wall outside! Someone didn't feel like checking Google to make sure they did it right....! I wonder if the management actually ever caught this!
Love love love this venue. Came here with boyfriend for the Social Distortion show and it was my first time here! We had tickets for the upper level, which was reserved seating. We made the right choice!!
Super cool atmosphere in this place. Little bar kiosks set up all over and drinks are pretty reasonably priced for AC. The drinks we got from the little pop-up bars (downstairs on the casino floor and upstairs by the entrance to the venue) were strong!
Staff was a little less than friendly, but that's probably because they're used to dealing with drunken idiots all the time.
I love that they show not-so-mainstream acts here. I love the more personal feel of being in a smaller venue with mostly general admission standing room. Definitely a cool vibe and atmosphere. Showboat was really cool too. This is definitely a solid spot to see some awesome acts!
First off, let me say I have never felt more comfortable waiting on line for a show to begin in my life! Ridiculously spacious lobby, carpet floors and a huge clean bathroom right across from the doors, holy shit! Not to mention the bar/restaurant and casino downstairs, and the beautiful beach view outside; this place is heaven compared to any other venue I've been to. Â
After getting completely hammered at the bar downstairs I was given a pretty sweet "Cut the Line Pass" for the HoB, so yeah, getting drunk paid off this time.
Once inside, the general admission floor looks fairly decent in size with a theatre-like appearance and balcony seating above. I was able to grab a spot on the rail to check out Bush on their 2011 reunion tour - fucking epic! The sound was surprisingly good for a hard rock band that use fuzzy distortion pedals and what not pretty often.
The security wasn't an issue at all, and weren't throwing people around and all that. nonsense you see in pretty much every single venue in NYC. Â In fact, once Gavin Rossdale climbed into the crowd of screaming demon-like women, security pretty much let them violate him.
Although I've only been to the HoB one time, I would definitely recommend going to a show here if you are in the area.
Band seen: Bush - August 4th, 2011
*Foundation Room*
It was the coolest spot in the HOB, and were not talking makeup here, lol! This place is heavy on Middle Eastern motif, with statues of Hindu Deities. The DJ's and the music was poppin' that nice Saturday Night. People in their 20's and early 30's.The drinks were bold and delicious. Everything about this place screams fun celebrating fun. Anyway I simply had a great time and I love the Foundation Room.
I wish I could review the restaurant and the concert venue separately but since I can't I will average the stars and give them a 3.
The restaurant: 2 stars
I think this is generous. The only reason I'm giving them the second star is because our server was really nice and took my friend's food allergies seriously, which a lot of waiters don't. The food was terrible. I had the Cobb salad which was missing some of the ingredients listed on the menu. It was basically just iceberg lettuce swimming in dressing. Even worse was my friend's "roasted" vegetable wrap. Roasted was in quotes because it was really just nasty old raw veggies with some globs of cheese and a puddle of dressing at the bottom. Dinner was cheap and convenient though so I guess you get what you pay for.
The concert venue: 4 stars
What a great place to see a show. A small intimate venue where nobody has a problem seeing the stage. Sometimes small venues get really packed and are just a mess of hot, sweaty people pushing one another. Totally not the case here. The House of Blues AC has a really cool vibe and offers a great setting to really experience a band.
Just a side note... I'm not sure if it was the venue, the act (Third Eye Blind), or the fact that we were in AC, but there were an inordinate amount of people making out during the show. I mean like really going at it in the middle of the crowd. Super bizarre! It was gross, but it didn't ruin my time!
Also, bonus points for the "Back Stage" bar downstairs in the casino portion of the HOB. They bring in some really good cover bands and attract an entertaining crowd. It was a fun way to end the night.
The best spot to catch a concert when hanging out in Atlantic City for the weekend. Have seen a few here over the years - Godsmack, Papa Roach, Billy Idol, Heaven and Hell - and have had a great view no matter where I was standing. Most concerts are general admission and seating so get there early and claim your spot as everyone jockeys for position and will fight to the death to hold onto that little piece of real estate that they are standing on!
There are two levels for this place, and if you are lucky enough to get the top level along side the railing there is seating and a prime view. Lower level in front of the stage is standing room only. Sound acoustics are actually pretty good. Bathrooms are relatively clean for a rock venue during a crowded show. Drinks are overpriced all things considering. Get your drink on in the casino first as it is a bit cheaper that way. Cool decor centering around a jazz and blues motif.
The House of Blues is situated inside the Showboat Casino. It's located right off the Boardwalk and also includes a House of Blues rocking casino area with a DJ or live bands playing on the weekend, hot female go-go dancers, a poker room, a restaurant featuring Southern style cooking, a multi-level concert venue, Club Worship nightclub, and the Foundation Room which is a private membership club.
Just a lot going on here, and a great way to spend a weekend gambling, eating, and rocking out!
First time at the House of Blues restaurant, it was pretty good.
We had a party of 7 plus an infant so we had to wait a little bit. Â We also compounded the issue by requesting three separate checks.
After asking the waiter if the chicken rice soup was spicy and he said no, I ordered that and the full rack of ribs. Â My wife ordered the open faced turkey sandwich.
The soup was good (I've found most of the CET property soups to be good) and the ribs were pretty good as well. Â They weren't totally, "fall off the bone", but close enough. Â They were tasty and made a mess.
The service was not great, my drink sat empty for a while until we could flag him down (and it wasn't that crowded at the time).
It was good, but like all (or most) casino restaurants, it was a bit pricey for what we got, the total was in the mid $60's.
I'd consider going again if we were in the area. . .
I came here for two things, good music and a good time, and those are exactly what I got. Forget the restaurant it's all about the venue!
I went here New Years Eve to see Maroon 5 perform. The concert was scheduled to start at 9pm, but upon entering, we were greeted by 2 hours of DJ Vito G trying to keep the crowd entertained. It felt like it dragged on forever, but at 11pm on the dot the band came on and it was the greatest concert I had ever been to. The sound carried through the venue nicely and I liked the production values. We even counted down the new year with the band.
This place is tiny, like the size of a high school gymnasium. There are two levels: an upper level where there is seating and the ground level that sits below the upper level and is standing only. We were on the ground level and pretty close to the stage. It's worth noting that you'll wanna get in early so you can get close to the stage, as people will defend their spots to the death! Bars surround the entire venue so alcohol isn't an issue here. The decor was nice, everything seemed inspired by early American jazz and blues.
Your experience here will depend entirely on who is performing. Being that Maroon 5 is my favorite band and they interact so well with the crowd, my time was phenomenal! Because of the size of the venue, you will have a chance to be much closer to the performers than you could ever hope to be at a regular concert. I can only hope that more of my favorite artists will perform here as I will come back every time!
After a 3 hr wait in line for The Amazing Race Casting Call, my friends and I decided to have dinner at the HOB. While standing in line, we had a chance to review the menu and choose what we were going to have for dinner. After our taping, we ran up the boardwalk only to find that the House of Blues was closed. What kind of stuff was that??? Ugh (in my Charlie Brown voice) !!
Maybe next time!
So I had my first adventure here last night. Â I went to college just up the road at Stockton about a decade ago, but it's AC. Â It was always a poor mans Vegas to me. Â I must admit though, I never had been to the Showboat and it's actually very nice. Â Kinda Vegas esque.
We went to the Benjamin Burnley (Breaking Benjamin) acoustic show. Â The venue was phenomenal. Â We had seats up top which were perfect. Â The sight lines were awesome, the sound was great. Â Of course Ben sounded tremendous.
The bars are fairly cheap before going into the concert hall, but inside they are very expensive. Â Plus going from Absolut vodka to Svedka is not good.
I came to Atlantic City for my dad's birthday. He likes gambling, but I don't. So I spent most of my time shopping at the local outlets while my dad gambled.
In the meantime, my uncle napped (as he had trouble sleeping the night before in New York due to the fact some drunk couple fought all night and then proceeded to make everything "right" by banging the headboard of their bed against the wall where my uncle sleeping on the other side).
Gross anecdote aside, when it was time to eat, all three of us ended up here. And we were satisfied. The (bottled) beer was cold and delicious. The (corn) bread was hot and delicious. The shrimp diablo plate had some decent spice, plenty of savory-good-sized shrimp, and tasty, but slightly salty scallops too. The jambalaya was also pretty good. The andouille sausage inside of it was excellent. It was big, spicy and juicy in my mouth.
That's what she said!
Bad joke aside, the food was good and so was the service. The server lady was friendly, and most importantly, efficient. No screws up on her part. Well done.
Overall, a 3.5 star "chain" restaurant experience. I would definitely come here again.
By the way, they have live music shows here too. Maybe I can catch a show next time.
I was here in August to see the Gov't Mule show. It's located just off the Boardwalk towards the end of the strip. The interior entranceways are plush and make you feel like you are in a hotel instead of a music venue. The security guys are on the more zealous side. My backpack, which contained a book, my mp3 player, and a coat was refused. So I had to deposit it at Showboat and pay a baggage fee. Once that was accomplished I was allowed to proceed in.
The main floor has 2 bars to either side of the main stage, if I"m remembering right. The Gov't Mule vendor and an environmental group that was traveling with the band was set up just next to the staircase. I went up to the 2nd floor, after showing my ticket to the security guard. The seats in the balcony area were nice and they had two very fetching young ladies taking/serving drinks to the balcony area concert goers. The bathrooms were immaculate until towards the end of the show. The concert sound was superb and the lighting was also top notch.
Good seats, great sound, great lighting. I'll be back the next time one of my favorite bands is playing here.
Crappy venue. Bad acoustics. Disorganized. Over-priced tickets & refreshments.
When I went here for a concert the venue was so disorganized that they booked musicians that used lots of smoke machines in their performance but were too stupid to turn off the smoke alarms. So we sat & waited for over an hour & a half before they told the audience what was going on. I figured it out way before then because the strobe emergency lights were going off along every wall near the exits. Just a small clue that something was amiss. But since they did not have their act together they fire department had to come out & check everything all the while keeping everyone in the venue. The the stage manager came out trying to blame it on the fire department. Just plain stupid.
The acoustics suck & it seems like they crammed as many seats in as possible not thinking about the layout & when to stop putting seats on the side because of the completely obstructed views of the stage. Once again, just plain stupid.
The food & drinks were over-priced even for a casino venue.
The Sexiest Man Alive and I were one hour late to Elvis Costello's New Year's Eve Show at House of Blues this past Monday. We had balcony tickets-- tickets we had no use for, as we strolled right into the venue, and slid right into the best empty seats we could find, clutching the teeny tiny vodka gimlets we grabbed at the balcony bar.
While we were sure to get our groove on to the five songs we managed to catch, most of the crowd was catatonic. But no matter. House of Blues is a hot little venue nestled in the bizarro world that is Showboat. I'm looking forward to getting back for another show-- and to sample the fare.
(My review of House of Blues -- Atlantic City is based entirely on the restaurant side of things, as I've never seen a show there, or perfomed karaoke. Â Sorry. Â But I promise it'll be a very fine review nonetheless. Â And sort of succinct.)
The Good:
- The Prices -- For a big Atlantic City themed restaurant, the prices at House of Blues are very reasonable. Â And the portions are quite large.
- The Crispy Catfish Nuggets with Sweet Potato French Fries and World Famous Spicy Tartar Sauce -- Now that's good stuff! Â Technically, it's an appetizer, or as House of Blues likes to call it, a "First Flavor". Â It comes in a brown cardboard "takeout" box, which is kind of unique and it costs only $7.95 (I think). Â It's a lot of food and it's usually what I get for my entree.
-The Mood -- It's as if everyone is in a good mood at House of Blues. Â Everyone's just kind of mellow. Â And I like that. Â An example of what I'm talking about came about a year ago, when my wife and I were dining with my father-in-law. Â A gentleman sitting next to us must have been comped a gagillion coupons for House of Blues and gave us $40 worth of coupons for our meal. Â Pretty cool.
The Not-So-Good:
- The Crowds -- House of Blues is usually very crowded. Â On at least one occasion, our party had to wait nearly an hour and forty-five minutes to be seated...And I was hungry!
- The Service -- Â I don't know what it is with me and the service at Atlantic City restaurants, but damn! Â I've been to House of Blues three (or four) times over the past year and I haven't once been satisfied with the service at our table. Â Seriously -- the only place that I've been to on the boardwalk with consistently good service is Ri Ra at the Tropicana. Â I don't know...Maybe I'm just cranky.
- The Music -- (Please. Â Don't get me started talking about music, because I won't shut up. Â Just ask my wife.) Â It's just that a place called House of Blues should be playing "the blues" over their speaker system rather than the dodgy Top-40 crap that pops up from time to time. Â Urghh.
(Note: Â I apoligize from not keeping this review as concise as I had promised in my introduction. Â I'm trying...I really am...)
Before visiting the House of Blues, I had only two destinations in AC, the Borgata and The Quarter at the Trop. Â Now that the HOB has rolled into town, I have a third stop.
The HOB is part of the Showboat Casino, but has it's own entrance off the boardwalk. The music hall itself is large, offering general admission tickets for the lower level, and reserved seating tickets for the balcony level. Â I imagine they can pack a couple thousand people in this place. Â The bar was an easy commute from the stage area and the service (I found) was rather speedy. Â I saw the Femmes here, and overall, I think it's a pretty cool venue.
Also located within the HOB is a restaurant (featuring Southern-inspired cuisine), a three-level nightclub (Club Worship), a casino, and a private club (The Foundation Room).
Woah, where did this place come from?
A far cry from the empty space in Showboat that it replaced, The House of Blues is one of the hippest places on the Boardwalk strip for anyone under the age of 40 to hang out. Â Featuring a blasting sound system, brand new tables and slots, a packed bar, a restaurant, and a place for shows the house of blue is unlike anything else in Atlantic City, less the Borgata, in fact, The House of Blues offers an experience a world away from the rest of the Showboat that it's located in.
If you have ever been to AC you would have noticed that the ages of almost everyone seems to be in the senior levels and the general energy of the casinos seems to be very low. Â Unlike a Vegas casino, Atlantic City normally offers up bland slots, little if any music, and bland bars filled with people smoking and hoping to win back their social security check money.
But not in the House of Blues. Â It's the youngest crowd on the Boardwalk and offers up the most fun for those not wanting to wander out to the Borgata (and by wander I mean drive or take a taxi because I doubt you'd make it between the boardwalk and the Borgata in once piece, but thats a whole different discussion).
When I go back to AC I will be partying here.
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