While on our wine journey, casinos are no stranger to us. If there is one in the area, we often stop by. Luck wasn’t on our side last evening at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, in Pennsylvania; however, dinner at Final Cut Steak House was excellent. Even though it was a steak house, Kathy and I ended up ordering a seafood entree. Kathy ordered Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes. Two large carb cakes were arranged next to fingerling, potatoes, asparagus and espelette pepper gastrique. I was enticed by the Chef’s Feature Menu, offering of Tasmanian Ocean Trout. The fish looked like salmon with an orange color. It was laying on a bed of navy beans, spinach, butternut squash bisque, maine lobster sausage and bacon crisp. The flavors blended together well.

The restaurant provides an iPad with their wine program on it. You can select wine by the glass or wine by the bottle. Since we were both ordering seafood we checked out the white wines. We decided to settle on a 2009 Castle Rock Winery Mendocino County Sauvignon Blanc. I always look forward to comparing a varietal wine with one that I made. My Sauvignon Blanc was made with juice from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. This Mendocino County Sauvignon Blanc was quite nice, a bit more citrusy than mine. It was a great choice for our seafood. It didn’t overpower the delicate flavors of the seafood and at the same time the crisp finish helped cleanse the palate.

We had a great meal and time at the Final Cut Steak House in the Hollywood Casino. Our server Alex, was quite interested in making wine and had a new question each time she returned to the table. We realize that many people do not gamble. Some wine growers told us they don’t go to casinos because they gamble every day they walk out into their vineyard. If you enjoy great food, just walk past the slots straight to the restaurant. You won’t have to gamble on your meal.

Tasmanian Ocean Trout

Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

Cheers
Terry