Hollywood Casino San Diego Ca - This weekend I was invited to check out one of the restaurants at the new Hollywood Casino in Jamul, California. I choose Final Cut, a casino steakhouse, as our restaurant for the evening.
Hollywood Casino has been open for about a year. This was Jake and I's first visit to Jamul and Casino. It's about a 25 minute drive from Jake - pretty impressive! It feels like a faster ride than going to other local casinos like Sycuan, Viejas or Valley View.
Hollywood Casino San Diego Ca
Final Cut is a short walk from the casino. A friendly greeting helped us locate the restaurant.
Top Casinos In San Diego For A Stroke Of Luck
Final Cut is pretty slick on the inside. It is also well insulated so you don't hear any casino noise outside the restaurant.
There are pictures of various Hollywood icons in the small lounge area by the bar in Final Cut.
The Final Cut also has some costumes from different movies. Here's Superman's outfit plus Will Smith's Independence Day. There were also costumes/dresses from Marilyn Monroe, Halle Berry and the movie Seabiscuit.
We sat right next to one of the floor to ceiling windows which gave us a great view. Jake and I found ourselves looking out the windows quite often, spotting wildlife (like coyotes and hawks) and watching the changing light as the sun began to set.
Super 8 By Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle
Here's the new Final Cut menu, updated just a few days before our visit.
We started our meal at Final Cut with some drinks. On the left, Pomegranate Lemonade Mojito [$7] and Orange Iced Tea [$7]. Both are virgins, by the way. We really didn't want to drink it tonight. Both drinks were delicious. I preferred the Pomegranate Mojito drink (I loved the taste of mint mixed with pomegranate and lime), while Jake preferred the equally delicious orange iced tea.
We were served amuse bouches before the meal. It was a simple piece of boiled potato with a refreshing and cool amount of herb cream on top.
We were given a plate of warm bread to eat while we waited for our appetizers to arrive. The bread was warm and crusty, but the real star was the butter...
Hotels, Resorts & Casinos
Awww... look at the salt crystals on top of the butter! Our waitress informed us that the butter is made in house at Final Cut. Its color was almost pure white and it had a creamy and rich taste with a slight sweetness. We loved spreading the butter on the warm bread. It was heaven!
Our tapas arrived shortly after we devoured all the bread (I guess we couldn't resist). I ordered the shrimp cocktail [$12]. The shrimp cocktail was served on a bed of ice and garnished with lemon wedges and some cocktail sauce. I'm not usually a fan of cocktail sauce, but this stuff was outstanding! It tasted incredibly fresh and was full of herbs. It had a slight sweetness which I enjoyed with my chilled shrimp. I squeezed lemon over all my shrimp before dipping them in a delicious cocktail sauce. It was a great way to start the meal.
Jake chose the Crispy Pork Belly [$12] served with grilled peaches and topped with a bourbon cherry glaze. After taking a bite, he said, "I know exactly what you're going to say about that." I arched an eyebrow and bit. The cherry bourbon glaze added a wonderful sweet flavor to the tender pork belly. It was a bit crunchy - I thought it could be crispier - but overall it was a meaty and tasty bite.
"Like you know me or something," I said as I rolled my eyes and finished the pork belly.
San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco And Las Vegas City Tours
Jake chose the Iceberg Wedge [$10] to go with his meal. I was surprised to see a deviled egg on the plate. Jake told me I didn't like it because it had pickles mixed in. Fortunately, I didn't try it. There was quite a bit of crumbled blue cheese on the plate, but it was a milder blue cheese. It didn't have the pungent taste of a strong blue cheese. The bacon was unfortunately soft and not crispy. Jake only ate half of it. He didn't want it at all.
To go with our entrees, we chose three different side dishes. One of them was truffle macaroni and cheese [$9] which we polished off very easily. The macaroni and cheese is made with sharp cheddar and beans. The truffle element has recently been brought back and I'm glad; The truffle added a wonderful extra layer of flavor that I just couldn't get enough of. The sauce was incredibly creamy - it looked like it was made with pure heavy cream. It had a velvety texture which we both really liked.
Our second side dish was Fire Roasted Creamed Corn [$7]. Later we found out that the corn is made with green chilies, which gives the corn a slightly spicy taste. While the opened green chilies gave it extra flavor, I found the corn a bit out of season. It was good, but not a great meal.
We debated getting potatoes or gratin, but ended up settling for Idaho Baked Potatoes [$8]. We felt we needed something less rich than macaroni and cheese and it was a good decision. A more plain baked potato (yet full of goodness) helped balance out the richness of our meal.
County Of San Diego Board Of Supervisors Approves Agreement With Jamul Indian Village
For my main course, I chose the Stuffed Maine Lobster [$39]. You get half a lobster tail that is stuffed with chopped shrimp, fennel, asparagus and a creamy sauce. I believe it was all topped with a herb panko crust. The crabs were plump and juicy and tasted amazing with the béchamel sauce. The lobster came off the tail easily and I devoured it and ate every bite. Loved the combination of lobster and shrimp here - great for any seafood lover!
One of the specials that night was this 32g tomahawk steak [$75] and Jake knew right away that was what he wanted to order. He asked for the steak to be medium rare. We had this huge tomahawk steak when we were in Chicago and he loved it, so he was really looking forward to this steak.
However, after the first bite, he made a bit of a face. He took another piece and ate it, then offered me one. I ate it and thought, "Well...that's not quite medium rare." The steak was medium well, almost well done, on the outer edges. Jake tried the other side of the stack and got the same result. Disappointed, he told our waitress that the steak was overcooked.
Shortly after, a Final Cut executive came in and asked Jake about the steak. He asked Jake to cut the steak and said, "Isn't that rare?" Jake cut it into pieces and saw the meat and said, "Yeah, it's rare in the middle, but it's better done on the edges." The manager asked Jake if he wanted the steak less cooked than that, and Jake said, "Yes." The manager seems a bit... cold to us. Jake felt like he was being blamed for not being happy with his steak. It left us with a strange feeling.
Eagle Mountain Casino And Hotel In Porterville, Ca (tule River Gaming Authority)
I finished my meal while I waited and the second steak came out shortly after. And... it was rare.
Jake was disappointed. He wanted the steak cooked medium rare and since he said he wanted less cooking, they made him a rare steak. Jake didn't want to argue about it anymore and just ate a few pieces of the steak and took the rest home.
The head chef, Keoni Simmons, came out to talk to us about the steak as well. He wanted to know how he was and what happened. He had a new grill chef and wanted to make sure we were happy with ours. He was incredibly nice when Jake explained what happened. We felt that Simmons was much warmer and friendlier than the manager who came to talk to us. A bit of an odd experience, but Simmons made up for it with his friendly demeanor.
Now it's time for some dessert! The only thing they didn't have was "coffee and donuts" which I probably would have ordered. Huh.
Sycuan Casino Resort, San Diego County @usd
I treated myself to a glass of Taylor Feldgate Port [$8]. I loved the little mug it came in. It tasted wonderful with my dessert bites (especially the chocolate cake).
Jake ordered the blood orange cheesecake [$9], mostly because he knew I wanted to try it. We were surprised to see
Hollywood casino jamul san diego, hollywood casino san diego, casino near san diego ca, barona casino san diego ca, harrahs casino san diego ca, casino hotel san diego ca, casino resorts san diego ca, casino san diego ca, jamul casino san diego ca, pechanga casino san diego ca, sycuan casino san diego ca, viejas casino san diego ca
