Planning Christmas Dinners

Given we couldn't really go away this Christmas season, my aunt and grandparents decided they would spend the holidays in Atlantic City at the Borgata Resort and Casino.

Now, that's typically not a scene for a family with a young 3 year old toddler, but my family definitely leans into the unconventional.

Dec 24-25 - Atlantic City
Dec 26-27 - Philadelphia

But since we'll be away from home on the 24th and 25th, my father started planning ahead already about where we'll be eating those nights.

Instead of a home-cooked Christmas dinner, we'll be dining out at some overpriced hotel buffet or Atlantic City restaurant. But at the very least, we'll have reservations and a good idea of  which off-site places might be open for lunch during Christmas.

After emailing them, it looks like the famous White House Subs will be open until 4PM on Christmas Eve, but closed on Christmas Day at both locations. So we'll likely either get it on Wednesday for a late lunch as we head into Atlantic City or wait until Friday for lunch as we head to Philadelphia.

Then for our Christmas eve dinner, we'll be having an early 6PM dinner at the Asian themed mega-restaurant Buddakan Atlantic City. I think that makes poetic sense for me. After all, I'm half Asian / half Jewish.

The actual day of Christmas is a bit up in the air. Most likely we'll have to stay in the Borgata as I suspect most places will be closed for the holiday. Fortunately, they have a few different options - though I suspect they will all be overpriced and nothing to write home blog about.

But that evening, we have another 6PM seating at the Chart House, an upscale chain seafood restaurant. While you likely won't find this on any Foodie Blog or in NY Magazine, the Chart House franchise has special meaning to my parents.

Several years ago, when my mother was visiting New York (and America) for the very first time, my father took her for a dinner at the Chart House in Weehawken, NJ that overlooked the Manhattan skyline.

He told her how as a young child growing up in New Jersey, he would always anxiously look upon the great New York City from this very point across the Hudson River and dream about living there. And since that dream had come true, he wanted to go after his new dream - of marrying the woman who would become my mother.