TREAT YO' SELF!
'My Husband And I Had Dinner At Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen. For $216, The Meal Was An Incredible Value'
Business Insider's Stephanie Pitera Statile grew up watching "Hell's Kitchen," the Emmy-nominated cooking show in which contestants compete for a head-chef position in a restaurant while being screamed at by the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
When her husband suggested they spend their first anniversary at Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen restaurant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, she knew they'd be in for a great meal.
Ramsay opened the first Hell's Kitchen restaurant, inspired by the show of the same name, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2018. The chain has since expanded to seven locations in places such as Miami, Lake Tahoe, and Washington, DC.
Here's what the couple's experience at the Atlantic City location was like.
[They ordered two specialty cocktails from the bar. Stephanie Pitera Statile/Business Insider]
Hell's Kitchen is inside the Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino. They arrived at our reservation about 20 minutes early and checked in with the hosts.
To pass the time, the couple had drinks at the lobby bar, which featured a list of beer, wine, and specialty cocktails.
Pitera Statile chose the Fallen Angel ($19), which included a mix of gin, peach liqueur, watermelon juice, and lemon. The drink was slightly sweet but refreshing — and really aesthetically pleasing.
[The chefs seemed to be separated into two teams — red and blue. Stephanie Pitera Statile/Business Insider]
One of the hosts escorted us down a winding staircase and pointed out the wall displaying photos of all the show's winners.
The main dining area looked just like the set of the show. They could see the chefs — who were separated into the show's signature red and blue teams — cooking at the front of the restaurant. Luckily, they looked pretty happy, and no one was getting yelled at.
[They ordered the pan-seared scallops and wagyu meatballs. Stephanie Pitera Statile/Business Insider]
They decided to order two appetizers — pan-seared scallops ($29) and wagyu meatballs ($24).
The scallops sat in a streak of pea purée and were topped with braised bacon lardons, pickled fennel, and chives. When Pitera Statile took a bite, the scallop immediately melted in her mouth.
But, for Pitera Statile, the meatballs were the real star of the show. Served with tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and crispy basil, these meatballs were some of the best I've ever had — which is saying a lot since she grew up in an Italian family.
[The lobster-risotto appetizer was a generous portion. Stephanie Pitera Statile/Business Insider]
When Pitera Statile found out they'd be dining at Hell's Kitchen, she looked up the menu and immediately locked in on the lobster risotto ($31). Risotto is one of her favorite meals to order when we go out to eat, so she was really excited to order it.
The dish, which included a butter-poached lobster tail, braised fennel, lemon zest, and Parmesan, tasted incredible.
To read more about the couple's decadent experience at Hell's Kitchen, head to Business Insider.
