When superstar chef Eric Ripert of New York’s fabled Le Bernardin restaurant came to Atlantic City during the 1980s, he called the dining here—ahem—just a trifle sub-par.

Of Atlantic City restaurants, the good chef observed, “I’m sure … they have a good reason to be there. Myself, I haven’t found a good reason.” He went on to say he expected an experience “more like Monaco,” home of Monte Carlo, the Grand Prix and the royal Grimaldis. (Now who told him that?)

Twenty years later, no one would claim that Atlantic City has morphed into a facsimile of the French Riviera. But with new casino resorts, increased extracurricular fun and some downright sensational dining, it’s on a fast track to five-star status, even among epicureans.

Monsieur Ripert, it’s 2008! Please come back to Atlantic City and mangez, s’il vous plait.

Hidden Treasure

A good place to start is Peregrines’ at the Atlantic City Hilton—if you can get in. This elegant boite, named for the peregrine falcons that light on the penthouse ledge, has just 52 seats, and reservations can be hard to come by, particularly on a Saturday night. It’s worth the wait. Chef Robert LaBoy, who has presided for three years over this busy kitchen, describes his menu as “classical, continental, yet contemporary.”

The centerpiece is LaBoy’s Maine lobster, shrimp and scallop entrée, “a little spicy, a little Spanish,” served up with a traditional Mexican molé sauce, julienned chili peppers and (surprise!) a hint of shaved chocolate. The palm-sized scallops are mouth-wateringly succulent.

“That dish has really become a favorite with our guests,” says LaBoy, with the Hilton since 1991. “The sweetness of the butter-poached lobster and scallops and the tanginess of the red molé come together very nicely; the king crab paella is a perfect accompaniment.”

The splendid appetizers include a lump crabmeat Margarita served ice-cold in a cocktail glass with a tiny scoop of key-lime tequila sorbet, and Australian lamb, pan-seared in seven proprietary spices and grapeseed oil. The lamb recipe—understated, with a hint of black figs, port wine and almonds—is one that diners always want to take home. Does LaBoy ever divulge? “Never,” he says.

Peregrines’ dining room is classic European with dark woods, crystal chandeliers and platinum-tipped china, perfect for special occasions. LaBoy calls it “the best little secret in Atlantic City,” and the experts agree: the restaurant has earned Zagat's highest rating every year, as well as five stars from the American Academy of Restaurant & Hospitality Sciences.

Oceanfront Elegance

Just as opulent, with a menu that is pure self-indulgence, is Roberto’s at Trump Plaza. Under Executive Chef Antonio Campaniello, who grew up in the kitchens of Naples, Roberto’s dispels any notion that a casino restaurant cannot provide a peerless dining experience.

The setting is beautiful, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean; the décor is a restful peach and ivory with stone columns. Soft music—everything from Andrea Boccelli to Italian polkas—provides the appropriate soundtrack.

But of course, it’s the food—an artful fusion of Northern and Southern Italian cuisines—that deserves the applause. “I like to cook in a subtle manner, with freshness, simplicity, plainness,” says Campaniello.

He believes every ingredient on the plate is vital, and no single taste should overpower another. A good example is a bitingly tasty salad of mixed greens, crusted goat cheese, pears poached in port wine, golden beets and sugared almonds; the flavorful interplay of tart dressing, gently sweet pears and tangy cheese is almost symphonic.

Among the delicious appetizers is fried Gorgonzola polenta with sautéed chiodini, porcini and shitake mushrooms in a white wine sauce; an intriguing pasta dish is the pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter, sage, sausage and mushrooms. The chef recommends his chicken saltimbocca, a prosciutto-stuffed, Panko-and-sage-crusted chicken breast in a spinach, garlic and mushroom sauce. Another venerable entrée is the pan-seared halibut in tomato dust and saffron-truffle cream. And upcoming to the menu is the chef’s fettucine al ragu di coniglio, a very light, tender pasta with rabbit.

For dessert, consider the individual soufflés. The vanilla fragole is meltingly good with strawberries, a hot rum-based sauce and freshly whipped cream.

The attentive service at Roberto’s is second to none. A crew of black-clad waiters hovers solicitously among the tables, anticipating your requests and usually fulfilling them before you ask. This team makes the dining experience especially delightful.

Simplicity amid Excess

The Foundation Room, upstairs at the House of Blues at Showboat, is justly renowned for its décor, an incredible excess of bronzed Buddhas, Oriental rugs, overstuffed ottomans, piles of tasseled pillows and private “prayer rooms,” complete with elephant-headed gods.

Ethnic kitsch aside, the Foundation Room is building a solid reputation around the menu developed by Chef Edward Ledwon, who came here in September.

Ledwon’s credo: “Simple food done great. You see this room, and you think, ‘Wow, this place is really whacked out.’ But the food is contemporary and really simple.”

At a recent dinner to debut Ledwon’s spring menu, the chef served up some favorites: the “signature” filet mignon beef tartar with dried cherries and enoki mushrooms; a sensational saffron sea bass Bouillabaisse with mussels, shrimp and clams; and a grilled Karobuto pork chop in Grand Marnier sauce with a comfort-food essential, sweet potato mash.

A roasted beet salad with baby greens and goat cheese was perfectly dressed in thyme vinaigrette; seared diver scallops with charred tomatoes were big, juicy and sweet; the jumbo lump crab cake with Red Oak salad and Calabrese pepper aioli was delicate yet hearty.

This chef aspires to serve every palate, “from the guy who likes steak and potatoes to the guy who likes foie gras and sweetbreads.” He calls himself “an absolute food purist” who bans bases and synthetics of all kinds from his kitchen. “Nothing is bought,” Ledwon says. “Everything I do is natural.”

Same goes for the desserts, courtesy of pastry chef Deb Pellegrino. On the spring menu is a melt-in-your-mouth Bananas Foster cheesecake and crunchy-good apple cake with fresh berries and cinnamon wrapped in phyllo dough and served with ice cream.

The wine list at the Foundation Room is extensive; the educated servers are happy to help you make the perfect selection.

Steak Central

The Palm restaurant, located in the Quarter at Tropicana, is the place for “big cuts of beef, large sweet Nova Scotia lobsters, and Italian recipes that are three generations strong,” says General Manager Paul Sandler.

The original Palm was a hangout for writers and artists in Depression-era Manhattan. It begat more than 20 locations coast to coast, including The Palm in Atlantic City, which opened in 2005. No matter which locale you visit, you’ll find the same classic “white-tablecloth” steakhouse with tin ceilings, a long cherry-wood bar, and walls filled with caricatures of the stars who’ve stopped by to dine.

What they’re eating: hefty steaks in brandy peppercorn sauce, Tuscan grilled jumbo prawns over a white bean ragout, pan-seared Chilean sea bass filet in Pernod butter, Atlantic salmon and swordfish, and good Italian specialties like veal Martini (with shallots, mushrooms, fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, wine and basil), Tuscan broiled split chicken with lemon, garlic and rosemary, and linguine with clams.

All the seafood is “48 hours from boat to table,” says Sandler. “I’m a diehard Baltimore boy, and we beat the Baltimore crab houses hands down.”

A popular salad is the East Coast Gigi (named for onetime staffer Gigi Delmaestro): it includes shrimp, string beans, tomato and onion tossed in vinaigrette. For the West Coast version, add some iceberg lettuce, roasted pepper, egg and avocado. Or try the Monday Night salad, which, as Sandler says, “includes everything not used up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

Don’t walk away without sampling the incredible Molten Chocolate Cake, a pitch-dark Belgian chocolate confection filled with hot melted chocolate and served with vanilla ice cream.

If you still think Atlantic City dining is nothing but 24-hour delis and all-you-can-eat buffets, read on for a list of good eats all over town.

Viva Italia

CAPRICCO at Resorts. A Zagat favorite, this Resorts mainstay emphasizes fresh seafood (grilled Mediterranean sea bass with Swiss chard, sun-dried tomato pesto and olive tapenade), and classic Italian (their signature is the bone-in, slow-braised ossobucco served with saffron risotto). Chef Steve Klawitter calls his style “traditional Italian with a twist.” For dessert, he recommends the Grandmother Cake, a lemon tart with pignoli nuts, powdered sugar, candied lime zest and fresh berries.

SPECCHIO at the Borgata. Modern Italian in a contemporary setting on two levels. The innovative menu includes potato gnocchi with prosciutto, parmigiana, snap peas and leeks; mezzaluna (half-moon) ravioli stuffed with lobster and crab in a tarragon cream sauce; and Colorado lamb chops Scottaditto with Tuscan kale and homemade fruit mustard. Desserts are a delight. Try the chocolate Dieci, a 10-layer chocolate cake with crème-fraiche Chantilly, summer berries and Frangelico.

Claim Your Steak

THE OAKS at Hilton. A gentleman’s retreat with lots of wood and brass, and of course that famous oak tree “growing” right in the center of the dining room, The Oaks offers New York-style steaks and seafood with a memorable 16-ounce cowboy-cut ribeye steak. Plenty of wines and single-malt Scotches to choose from.

MAX’S at Trump Plaza. This elegant steakhouse is renowned for prime Angus beef served up with burgundy demi-glace, foie gras butter and other enticing accompaniments. The seafood by chef de cuisine Gordon Greenlee is just as good—try the herb-crusted Atlantic flounder with lobster cream, or seared salmon and scallops with saffron basmati rice. You’ll be tempted to fill up on the bread, which could be the best in the city. If you can resist, you just may make it to dessert!

GALLAGHER’S at Resorts. Originator of the New York strip steak, Gallagher’s offers succulent dry-aged beef and seafood prepared on an open-flame mesquite grill; the jumbo lump crab cakes are to die for. The original Gallagher’s was reportedly New York’s first speakeasy.

RUTH’S CHRIS at the Walk. Superior steaks top the bill at Ruth’s Chris, but the carnivore’s best friend also features a marvelously fresh ahi tuna, seared and topped with colossal lump crabmeat, then served with red pepper pesto, and even vegetarian entrees like grilled portobello mushrooms on fluffy garlic mashed potatoes with asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes and lemon butter.

International

CUBA LIBRE at Tropicana. Among the most popular destinations at the Quarter, Cuba Libre replicates a ’40s Havana street scene, then conjures up cuisine to match. Chef Guillermo Pernot offers a contemporary Cuban menu full of flavor and flair. Sample the Mariquitas Latin America (plantain and yucca chips with black-bean hummus, garlic mojo and enchilada salsa), or the lip-smacking pomegranate and mango mojitos.

BUDDAKAN at the Pier at Caesars. Famed restaurateur Steven Starr brings an inventive french-Chinese fusion to this temple-like restaurant. Daringly delicious menu items: glazed Alaskan black cod with chili eggplant and black bean relish, crispy calamari with bitter greens and miso dressing, and wasabi-crusted filet. Specialty cocktails include the Bonsai (Grey Goose, cilantro and citrus) and the Geisha (orange Smirnoff with pomegranate and passion fruit). Exotic and appealing.

RED SQUARE at Tropicana. Stroll past a scowling Lenin into Jeffrey Chodorow’s Russian hideaway with red velvet banquette seating, sub-zero vodka lockers and fur coats for cozy dining. Red Square is a cultural and gastronomic “trip” with more than 130 frozen vodkas and so-called “perestroika-inspired cuisine” including an array of fine caviars, the wittily named Siberian nachos (wonton chips, smoked salmon, wasabi crème fraiche and citron caviar) and tasty fish dishes including salmon mousse and dill-seared salmon on puff pastry.

RI RA IRISH PUB at Tropicana. As close as you can get to an authentic Irish pub this side of Dublin, Ri Ra offers sinfully good specials like maple and mustard salmon and a savory chicken pot pie, as well as fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, Beef ‘N Guinness Stew, and a traditional Irish breakfast—“a proper fry-up of bangers, rashers, eggs, pudding…” Translation free.

Seafood by the Seashore

PHILLIPS SEAFOOD at the Pier at Caesars. With award-winning jumbo crab cakes, extra-large shrimp and fresh lobsters (plus sweeping views of the ocean from whence they came), Phillips can be counted on for great seafood and an inviting atmosphere. Try the awe-inspiring peanut-crusted mahi mahi, roasted Australian barramundi with wilted greens, or King Crab macaroni and cheese.

DOCK’S OYSTER HOUSE on Atlantic Avenue. Owner Frank Dougherty says this AC favorite started in 1897 as a “down-and-dirty oyster house.” Four generations later, the Doughertys still serve up exceptional seafood: super-fresh, and superbly but simply prepared. The raw bar includes a dozen varieties of oysters (try the sampler to taste each one); the lobsters are gigantic—up to eight pounds. “We hunt down the best products,” says Dougherty. “I try to have King crab in season, and we have great steaks and rack of lamb too.” There’s also a wine room on two floors with 3,000 bottles to choose from. Taste the tradition.

SEABLUE at the Borgata. Michael Mina’s amusingly creative sensibilities come through in offerings like lobster corndogs with mustard, Gulf prawn “poor boys,” and English pea soup with grilled prawns and crème fraiche. The entrees include a fabulous two-pound Maine lobster pot pie, phyllo-dusted Dover sole with Dungeness crab brandade, and “chips on fish” potato pompano with onion puree. Oysters are huge, up to four inches in diameter. The room is colorful, comfortable, rich.

RAISING THE BAR

By importing celebrity chefs, Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa has arguably set the standard for fine dining in Atlantic City. The addition of Michael Schulson, who will open Izakaya at the Water Club in June, is another jewel in the crown.

Nicolas Kurban, vice president of food and beverage, says, “There will be nothing like it in the United States—the whole level of dining is unique and amazing, with two Italian restaurants, one fine dining and one trattoria, Michael Mina for seafood and Bobby Flay for steak, Old Homestead, Wolfgang Puck—other than Mexican, we have every cuisine you can dream of.”

Asked how much oversight these busy chefs bring to each location, Kurban describes them as “very hands-on.”

“They all come here once a month or so and spend a lot of time in the kitchen.” When not in the area, they rely on “fine-palated” executive chefs who “understand the culture, and understand what food and beverage is looking for.”

A breakdown of the celeb culture at Borgata:

BOBBY FLAY. Flay adheres to the classic steakhouse tradition with a Southwestern twist and relies heavily on local produce for a top-of-the-line, very masculine experience. Kurban hails his spice-rubbed steaks like Filet Mignon Louisiana with crawfish and Béarnaise, and the luscious Philly-style strip steak with provolone and caramelized onion. Great sides: smashed baked potatoes with crème fraiche, goat cheese and green onions. Enough said.

WOLFGANG PUCK. Here’s to Wolfgang Puck, who stands tirelessly on the line each year at Borgata’s Women in Wine event, serving up his own delectable steaks, and chatting easily with each breathless fan. The chef whose brash, creative style made Spago a household word is in rare form at Wolfgang Puck’s American Grille. Who but Puck could have imagined cauliflower soup with golden raisins, almonds and curry? How about pan-roasted New England cod with shrimp, bacon, garlic spinach and potato puree? Pure yum!

MICHAEL MINA. The 2005 Bon Appetit Chef of the Year is synonymous with sensational seafood-plus. In addition to the Prince Edward Island mussels and bay prawn ravioli, Mina does a mean Kobe short rib with Moroccan-spiced barley, dried fruits and Devonshire cream, Georges Bank swordfish, and free-range California chicken.

MICHAEL SCHULSON. Izakaya is described as “a modern Japanese pub,” with what Schulson calls “a contemporary interpretation of Japanese fare.” Expect tempting cocktails and sharable plates (making this an ideal after-hours spot), lots of sushi and tea service. Menu highlights: poached sweet shrimp with sake Cherry Bomb; lobster ramen with lemongrass and tobiko; and tuna tartar with smoked ponzu and hamachi salad.

GEOFFREY ZAKARIAN. The renowned Town and Country chef has developed a fabulous room service menu for the new Water Club, including filet of bison, braised lamb shank with basmati rice and pomegranate, and a rib-eye dry-aged beef chop with potato puree and field mushrooms. With choices like these, you may never want to go home.

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