Ever since Capriccio at Resorts Casino-Hotel served its first customer on May 26, 1978, Italian restaurants in local casinos have pretty much followed two formats: High-end, full-service salons and grab-’n’-go-pizza joints. And then there’s LaScala’s Fire inside Ocean Casino Resort.
Operating since last summer near the entrance to Ovation Hall, LaScala’s Fire is an Italian horse of a different color as it blends the casual vibe of a pizzeria (and yes, a variety of pies are offered) with the kind of upscale fare found in other gaming halls’ high-end Italian eateries — but without those rooms’ second-mortgage price points. For instance, the angel-hair pasta with jumbo lump crabmeat clocks in at $30; a similar dish — but with shrimp — at another casino dining room is priced 50 percent higher. The most expensive item is the seafood fra diavlo entrée, which costs $36 (you can pay that for an appetizer in some local places).
The atmosphere inside the space is energetic and upbeat with the clean, modern, black-and-white motif punctuated by the open kitchen in the rear and huge black-and-white glamour portraits, the subjects of which include Sophia Loren in her prime and Alisha LaScala, wife of company founder Rob LaScala.
Actually, the room has a couple different personalities, suggested General Manager Betty McHugh, a local casino-dining legend who has been part of the scene for 40 years (most memorably as the “hostess with the mostest” who supervised the old Nero’s Steakhouse at Caesars Atlantic City).
“What happens is, if you want to come for lunch, we open at noon every day, which a lot of places in Atlantic City don’t.”
Things are pretty mellow at that time of day, as they are for dinner Monday through Wednesday. But that’s not the case later in the week.
“Thursday through Sunday, there’s a DJ, so dinner gets a little bit rock & roll,” advised McHugh who posts videos of the fun on social media. “People are singing and dancing and having a ball. It really gets a little loud for dinner.
“Thursday at 6 o’clock, the music starts, and the bar is usually packed on the weekend. People are just dancing to the music. It’s a fun atmosphere.”
According to McHugh, despite the disco action, the philosophy driving the restaurant — one of several LaScala’s Fire outposts in South Jersey — is what she described as a family vibe.
“LaScala’s Fire is about bringing people together over great Italian food,” offered the vivacious blonde with a megawatt smile. “It’s simple, it’s authentic and it’s made from the heart. We want each guest to feel like they’re sitting at our family table, not just dining out.
“I’ve always been like that my whole life, you know, I just to make you feel like you’re actually at my dining table.”
On the menu
As for the kitchen, the emphasis is on traditional southern-Italian, “red gravy” kinds of dishes (but not exclusively as you’ll see below). There are 11 pasta dishes on the menu, including such staples as gnocchi, ravioli and baked lasagna.
Among the entrees are the aforementioned seafood fra diavlo (with the heat customized to the customer’s tastes), veal and eggplant parm, grilled salmon and chicken marsala. Interestingly, there are no beef dishes offered.
However, to these taste buds, the must-have item is the ricotta board appetizer. It’s a heaping helping of a decadent ricotta-cheese/honey spread that one slathers on warm-from-the-oven pieces of wonderfully seasoned pizza crust. Talk about a party in your mouth! This alone is worth the trip.
An unexpected offering
Without question, the most surprising aspect of LaScala’s Fire is its extensive Japanese menu (yes, you read that right, Japanese!).
So, what in the wide world of sports is an ostensibly traditional Italian joint doing serving edamame, dumplings, and sushi rolls with names like “Burning Rainbow” (tuna, salmon, avocado and spicy mayo over a spicy tuna roll) and “Spicy King Blossom” (shichimi, scallion, spicy crabmeat salad over king crab, cucumber and avocado roll)?
According to McHugh, it was an idea Rob LaScala had for another LaScala’s Fire outlet that obviously gained enough traction to export the concept to other stores. “They first started with the sushi in Marlton,” she explained. “What they did was they hired a [sushi] chef, and what he does is he hires his own crew. So, it’s a little different. They actually bring in their own crew, and they have a little sushi area set up in the back. It’s really, really special.”
For more, go to theoceanac.com/restaurants/lascalas-fire.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
