French Fry Diary 209: Reflections, Harrah's, Atlantic City

I had been here before, more times than I want to admit actually, but when I came to Reflections the last time it was for breakfast, and at that time had seen a sign for bottomless fries and vowed to return. It took a long time to come back, but then again, those of you who know how I feel about casinos, you know that's a good thing. Sadly, the menu has changed since then.

On the good side, our waiter, Joseph, was extremely helpful, courteous, friendly and knowledgeable. He knew his stuff and got our orders quickly and accurately, always a plus and high marks as far as I'm concerned. He even taught us about the cooking term "Pittsburgh well" which means well done inside and blackened outside as well for beef. Good to know for future use.

Unfortunately, while my burger was near perfect, the fries were much less so. These regular cuts were deep-fried, battered Invisicoated crunchies. Hot and very crispy on the outside and what potato was left inside was soft and hot as well. I ate less than a third of the generous portion on my plate. Not good fries in my opinion. If you need fries at Harrahs in Atlantic City, and can't leave the casino, go to The Deli.

French Fry Diary 97: Reflections for Breakfast, Harrahs, Atlantic City

Reflections is one of the main casual restaurants at Harrah's in Atlantic City. Again, as with any trip to the casinos, there is the problem of when any given restaurant is actually open. The hours are so sparse and confusing that each restaurant has a sign in front of it with its hours for that particular day. I kid you not, it’s that bad. I have an image in my head of a monkey with a hat full of numbers and that’s how the opening and closing times are chosen.

I’m beginning to think that there is really only one dining and kitchen staff here at Harrah's because when I called the concierge to find out what was open for breakfast – Reflections was our only choice. And when confronted lightheartedly with my monkey analogy, the man at the end of the phone became Queen Victoria with a "We are not amused" attitude. Gotta love Harrah's.

Breakfast, I ordered pretty much my regular, including home-fried potatoes and bacon. These breakfast potatoes were diced potatoes, well cooked and not greasy, and soft and tasty. Actually very good breakfast potatoes for this type. There were mystery strands of grass throughout them though that I could not identify. Harmless but unidentifiable.

The bacon however was mostly inedible, crispier than kettle cooked potato chips. That’s the petrified bacon to the right of the potatoes there in the pic. After mentioning it to the waiter, these charcoal crisps were replaced by slightly less crunchy bacon. Sigh. This must be how the chef cooks bacon I suppose. If I come back for breakfast, maybe I’ll just ask for my bacon raw and see what I get.

Speaking of coming back, I probably should, though for dinner or lunch next time. The menu mentioned something that made me perk up immediately – 'endless fries.' Next time, friends, next time.