Patsy’s Restaurant
Address:Atlantic City Hilton, Atlantic City
Phone: 347-7111
Details: Liquor license, credit cards accepted
My appetizer, a stuffed artichoke heart, was similarly delivered in a wide bowl with a bit of the natural juices accompanying. What we really appreciated here was the offering of a discard dish, in the same manner as is common with shell-on seafoods, allowing us to scrape the delicious outer leaves and then be easily rid of them.
The stuffing, a smooth blend of breadcrumbs, sliced black olives, garlic, capers and anchovy, also provided the requisite levels of salt and seasoning necessary.
Dark green and impeccably fresh, the artichoke’s inner folds were fork-tender and luscious. We’re guessing that this most favored vegetable of Italians was boiled or steamed to begin the cooking process, keeping moist, then filled with that savory stuffing and finished in a low-roasting oven.
The result was a complex, meal-like portion, rewarding diners for digging within to locate that amazingly soft treasure of a center.
The directory of entrees at Patsy’s is long and thorough. Touching on all the standard items one would expect from southern Italy, it then adds the unique — like traditional tripe stew and two different liver recipes.
We chose one item from the pasta section, a trio of ravioli: lobster, spinach and mushroom. With two huge, outsized stuffed diamond shapes of each, the plate was artfully conceived into a pretty, overlapping geometric design.
Dining and Cooking