As a culinary experience for everyone, the four Caesars Entertainment casinos in Atlantic City will be holding their third annual Food and Wine Festival July 28-31.
The four-day festival will feature more than 25 events, from a class on mixing low-calorie cocktails and a cheesesteak competition to cooking classes and hobnobbing with Food Network chefs.
Culinary celebrities scheduled to appear include Patrick and Gina Neely, Guy Fieri, Sunny Anderson, and Robert Irvine.
The Neelys, who have restaurants in Memphis and Nashville and their own Food Network show, will again host Brews, Blues and BBQ at Showboat Casino's House of Blues, where guests can enjoy craft beers, delectables off the grill, and music by blues guitarist Eric Gales. The BBQ showcase will be at 1 p.m. July 30 (admission $65).
"There's a lot going on, but the Neelys event is among the must-gos," says festival director Jon Henderson. "Last year, we found that the blues component was really popular, and we've focused on that this time. It's an event that has a lot of layers - the drinking and the food and the music - and it's in the middle of the day, so people can do that and take in other things as well."
Also participating in the festival will be Caesars, with a cigar gala; Bally's, with an organic wine tasting on the beach; and Harrah's, with a kickoff party and instruction in the Viking Cooking School. For more information, go to www.acfoodandwine.com.
Trump Plaza, the Hilton, and Bally's will open their beach bars on Memorial Day weekend. The Trump Plaza and Hilton bars will be open weekends until June 26 and daily from June 30 through Labor Day. On June 23, the Plaza will host a special party, featuring the Dave Matthews Band Caravan.
