Atlantic City has plenty of events to explore this — and every — summer.
Whether it’s the Atlantic City Air Show, the Mardi Gras on the Boardwalk musical events on Kennedy Plaza, fireworks from North Beach or rocking with The Who at Boardwalk Hall, this summer seems even more special than recent ones.
One event that can’t be missed — and it’s an event that is quickly becoming a summer tradition — is Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa’s Summer Social, a fun, delicious bash that takes advantage of the best season of the year by combining Borgata’s stunning outdoor pool location with its amazing restaurants and their personalities along with some live music and libations to create a perfect summer soiree.
Part of the ongoing Savor Borgata series, this year’s Summer Social — 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 27 at the resort’s outdoor pool — is themed La Dolce Vita, and Borgata Director of Food and Beverage Robert McIntosh assures “the sweet life” will be delivered in a major way.
“We are just trying to kick off the summer, and we’re kind of switching it up a little bit this year with the La Dolce Vita theme,” said McIntosh, who noted last year’s event featured a South Pacific theme. “We’re focusing on the flavors of Italy and the coastline of Italy. We’ve got a whole bunch of fun things happening out there, so we’re very excited about it.”
While most, if not all, of Borgata’s signature restaurants will be represented at the $125 -per-person party, one of their acclaimed chefs will take center stage as Iron Chef and James Beard Award-winning Chef and Entrepreneur Michael Symon will be the featured host. Symon, the creator of Borgata’s fantastic Italian restaurant Angeline, is always gracious with guests to pose for photos or share a quick conversation.
“Michael will be out there actually serving his famous porchetta sliders. They’re outstanding,” McIntosh said. “Michael is just a great partner with us. He’s probably the most down-to-earth, nicest guy that you could ever meet. And we’re thrilled to have him. He hosted last year, as well, and he enjoyed himself thoroughly. He said he couldn’t wait to come back and do it all over again. He loves to make those porchetta sliders for these special events. So, this is like a once-a-year opportunity to try out Michael’s porchetta sliders. We’re excited.”
Admission includes a variety of cuisine celebrating the flavors of Italy’s beloved coastline, from modern to classic presentations, along with specialty cocktails crafted by Patrón, St. Germain, Angel’s Envy and more, live music to dance to and more. Other than those porchetta sliders, expect to feast on about a dozen or more items, including arancini, octopus, pizza, flatbreads and, of course, pasta!
“We’re going to represent all of our outlets here at Borgata featuring Italian dishes from the coastline of Italy,” McIntosh said. “We’ll do fresh seafood and all sorts of Italian street fare around the pool. We’ve got things all around the pool going on with activations. We’re even going to do a little bit of a catwalk out there for some of our vendors here that we deal with —Maceoo and Hugo Boss — doing a little fashion show over the pool, plus live entertainment. We’ve got a lot of things going on out there. It’s always a great time. We had a great turnout last year, and this one’s even going to be better.”
There are also a limited number of $175 VIP tickets available that will include an hour early entry. Both sessions are expected to sell out.
Even the live music and entertainment elements are over the top.
“We go all out here at Borgata,” McIntosh said. “We’re going to have an Italian orchestra out there playing some music for us. We’re also going to have a strolling accordion player. We’ve got everything from stilt walkers to Italian entertainment … a whole bunch of things planned.:”
It should be a spectacular summer for Borgata, which also recently debuted a stunning high-limit gaming room and bar with a dedicated area for Asian gaming in its former Gysy Bar location. It is adjacent to Noodles, a gorgeous noodle bar and Asian restaurant that will take the place of the former Noodles of the World. Borgata also debuted a new B Bar, its casino-floor lounge that boasts a luxe atmosphere, gaming terminals at the bar and amazing cocktails.
Borgata also boasts a fun entertainment lineup this summer, including the Allman Betts Band on Saturday, Def Leppard on June 28, The Disco Biscuits on July 4, The Black Keys on Aug. 9, Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band paying tribute to The Boss on Aug. 23, Maxwell on Sept. 5 for Labor Day weekend, and many more.
The Savor Borgata Summer Social will be held 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 27, at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa’s outdoor pool. Tickets are $125, or $175 for VIP, which features entry at 7 p.m., private cabana seating and personalized butler service. Go to TheBorgata.com for tickets.
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
