The Casino

THE CASINO

525 George Street, Sydney

Across from where the liquor store used to be

Not exactly as shown

What a fun evening! Six of us met at the dining room of the Casino for an evening of good food, laughter, and just a bit of gambling. The Casino was decorated for the holidays, so it was a lovely way to end out the year of UAG gatherings. 

Being a gambling establishment, however, there are some things you should know:

1.  the Security Guards are not allowed to have a sense of humour. My joking about checking my ID did not solicit a kind response and my request to take a photo of the Christmas tree in the entrance was dismissed with a lecture about the legalities of cameras inside the main doors.  No smiles, no chuckles, no Christmas spirit there, I'm afraid.

2.  Friday nights during hockey season are extremely busy times in the dining room. It appears that all of the fans eat here first, disappear shortly before the game starts and then come back in waves during the intermissions. We, of course, chose to dine at the Casino on a hockey night, but luckily there was a cancellation.

3.  If you don't have a date for later on Friday night, there is a man standing outside the Casino who will ask you if you've had any luck.  We thought we had just been very lucky and so we kept walking.

So now, I'm sure you're wondering about our dining experience. 

The dining room is set at the very back of the Casino, so that you have to walk through all the rows of noisy and bright machines. By the time you reach the dining area, you are acclimatized somewhat to the sounds and lights and noise of being in a very busy casino. Having said that, the dining area is not conducive to a quiet, relaxing meal. There are two large-screen tvs showing hockey games, all the noise of the machines on the floor just behind, and the announcements made to congratulate winners who use their Casino cards. There is no end to the noise! This must be part of the science of casino design that encourages diners to join the players on the main floor.

King Cole tea served with milk

The first item to arrive at our table was the tea, which I must say, was a treat to see placed before us.  This is truly a crazy time of the year and a cup of tea is a calming way to start a meal.  We also received a basket of rolls and quite frankly, the rolls tasted Like More and we did, we asked for More.

You can see the pitcher and yes, it worked very well - no spillage and the last cup was as good as the first.  The mugs were tall and plain but kept the tea hot through the meal.  

And what a pleasure to receive a basket of milk containers and not those awful coffee creamers. Truly, a thoughtful touch.

The Special

Four of the group ordered the Special, and all four ordered it exactly as shown.  This is pork rounds, stuffed with cashew dressing and served with pineapple sauce and assorted vegetables.  

Just look at the stuffed potato! 

That potato is stuffed with three types of cheeses and bacon bits and it's served as a side, if you can imagine. The big question of the evening was "is my potato stuffing in my potato skin" - a question, unfortunately, which was left unanswered. It certainly does make you think though.

One comment about this meal was that it tasted like Christmas, which is high praise indeed.

Quesadilla with French Fries

The Casino is known for its quesadillas, so I knew my meal would be excellent and it was. Those are large crisp french fries and a very tasty dish of salsa. 

What's nice about this meal is that you can easily take half of it home and leave lots of room for dessert.  And the only noise at my house is the quiet melody of Christmas music. 

Hot Turkey Sandwich with Mashed Potatoes

I don't think I need to say much about this meal - you can see that it is everything a person would want in a hot turkey sandwich. 

And look, not one but two packages of butter for the potatoes!

And yes, it tasted as good as it looks.

So were the desserts as good?  Yes, they were!

Warmed Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocolate Torte

Coconut Cream Pie

As we were finishing up our meal, we realized that most of the diners had left to catch the hockey game, so we relaxed a bit and enjoyed our tea.  Our waitress was long-time employee Mabel and dear Mabel did her very best to keep up with all of the orders, but I'm sure she was happy to see the room get a bit quieter too. At one point, we had to ask Arthur, a young gentleman who was clearing the tables, to get us part of our order.  But really, overall, it was a very enjoyable evening.

We had to walk back through the aisles of machines, so some of the group tried their luck. Certainly, the machines are colourful and loud and do entice a person to sit for a moment. And who knows...

Let me take a moment to thank all of the UAG members for their patience this year as their meals were photographed and comments requested - you are just a great group of people and it's been a blast.

I wonder where 2014 will take us?!