Being a local of Atlantic City, I feel like it is only appropriate that I help out everyone with Electric Adventure and leading up to the festival. With this, I’ll be continuing my plan for putting out a series of posts to help you completely get prepared for this festival. Let us be your liaison for this amazing festival and we’ll get you through smoothly for the most enjoyment. Before we start, if you don’t have tickets, buy them here. If you’re looking for hard tickets, contact our friends, @bashconcepts.
Now that you found a place to stay, the next thing you’re probably worrying about is food and drinks. This is much easier than finding a hotel because there is a plethora of places to eat and get something to drink and I’ll help you do it on a budget. What is great is that you’ll have plenty of choices. So without further ado, here’s our tips and such.
1. If you’re on the island, you’re paying an upcharge
This is the mindset you should go in when coming to Atlantic City. The majority of everything is a little bit more expensive due to convenience and the fact that the city makes the majority of the money for the year in the summer months. There are deals, you just have to look for them / know where to go. That’s where we come in.
2. Eating in the Casinos
If money is no worry, go ahead and eat in the casinos. There are some great places by some of the best chefs in the world. Each casino has a number of restaurants that they consistently promote because they are that good. You really can’t go wrong with that. They’re extremely delicious, but prepared to spend quite a bit unless you’re splitting appetizers.
3. Buffets are worth it
If you’re looking to get a ton of food for your dollar, casinos are still known for their buffets. They aren’t very cheap, but if you look at it for the amount of food for your dollar, it is going to go very far. Some of the best ones (in my personal opinion) are in Harrah’s and the Borgata. That said, it is still a bit pricy, but this is if you wanna go all out on just everything from pizza to seafood. Would I recommend it for festival time? If you don’t eat all day and plan to do a single meal, yes.
4. Some of the best food is outside of the casinos
I don’t know the best way to do this without just listing places. So the plan here is I am going to list a bunch of places of where the best places are in Atlantic City that are relatively cheap. They are ones that I personally recommend that I go to.
- Tun Tavern – They make their own beer. Very tasty
- Wingcraft
- Tony’s Baltimore Grill – Best pizza in
Atlantic Cityever, hands down. - Tony Boloney’s – Best speciality pizza ever. They also have some great subs.
- White House Subs
- Chickie’s and Pete’s – Technically inside the casino, but cheap.
- Hooters – Technically inside the casino, but cheap.
- Perfectly Innocent Amusement Co.
- Back Bay Ale House
- Vagabond Kitchen and Tap House
5. Good food is also a short drive away
Once again, here is a small list of places that are relatively short distance away that are really good. They’re cheap and worth the short drive.
- Pierre’s Pizza
- Geno’s Pizza
- Charlies Bar
- Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar
- Caroline’s by the Bay
- The Anchorage Tavern and Restaurant
- Smitty’s Clam Bar
- Clancy’s By the Bay
- Grilled Cheese & Crab Cake Co
- The Windjammer Diner Bar Grille
6. Don’t, I repeat, Don’t Buy Alcohol on the Island
The moment you drive over a bridge onto the island, you’re going to pay a premium on beer and alcohol. I highly suggest buying it from where you live and bringing it in a cooler or stopping at practically any liquor store prior to going over the island. This follows rule 1, but I have to specify because the upcharge is very noticeable.
7. Cheapest drinks are at the Casinos*
I put an asterisk because there is a bit of a limitation to this. If it is busy, the amount of drinks decreases so put in for two or three drinks at a time. What you need to do is sit at a penny slot machine. Put in like $5 (because support the damn casino and it is worth it) and play the absolute minimum. A waitress will come around and ask if you want drinks. These are free. Be sure to ask what they have because they’re limited but you’ll still get good things. TIP YOUR WAITRESSES. They’ll treat you well. This goes with any game in the casino.
8. Cheap bars tend to be the most fun bars
This will be my third list for you. Here’s a list of bars that you’ll have tons of fun at while getting cheap drinks.
- Mountain Bar
- A Dam Good Sports Bar
- Ri Ra
- Wet Willys
- Chickie’s and Pete’s
- Ducktown Tavern
- Maynard’s Cafe
If you have any questions or anything, feel free to comment, message us via the contact form, or Twitter.