Yearning for both a fun and a delicious dining experience to usher in the upcoming Halloween season, we opted for a visit to the Sugar Factory Restaurant in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. This was our second visit to a Sugar Factory eatery. Last year, it was a Manhattan location, celebrating the Christmas holidays. We had such a good time that we thought a repeat should be on our menu.
Like the New York City venue, this American brasserie is a very interesting, large, and quirky restaurant with a varied menu that features crowd-pleasing dishes like burgers, tacos, pastas, stir-fries, and salads, as well as sandwiches, fajitas, enchiladas, waffles, and various other grilled and fried dishes. They also make special seasonal dishes based on upcoming holidays.
Even the pickiest eaters will probably find something interesting to order, and for a more traditional eater, they serve high-end dishes like lobster tails, salmon, and rib eye steak. The dessert section is equally impressive and mouth-watering. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll love their spectacularly designed sundaes and milkshakes, as well as the seasonal special sweets.
On this visit, there were a number of specials based on Halloween, and they didn’t miss an opportunity to spook us out. But to be fair, we ordered from both the standard menu and the Halloween one that featured “unusual” seasonal dishes and special drinks.
Our initial drinks were the Vampire Kiss (coconut rum with strawberry nectar topped with sparking wine) and a Devil’s Margarita (a blend of 818 tequila, fresh strawberry and lime, garnished with gummy bats and spooky eyeballs, served in a cloud of mist produced when liquid nitrogen was poured over the top of the drink). This was served in a skull-shaped cauldron! After the smoke cleared, the drink bubbled away inside the cauldron – a bit corny, but it certainly brought the seasonal thrill to focus.
We started our eating with the “Bat Wings.” They were fried chicken wings tossed in a delicious spicy Buffalo sauce, which gave the wings a nice kick, accompanied by celery sticks and served with ranch dressing in a purple “spider web” basket. The other appetizer was breaded and deep-fried Mac & Cheese pops in a crab-shaped plastic container that looked like a large bronze crab.
The regular menu features some beloved standards such as burgers and fries in every possible configuration, club sandwiches, a King Kong sundae for 6 or 12, and numerous other appetizers, combination dishes, and sweets. There are a variety of items made only at Sugar Factory restaurants. But even the standards are given a quirky presentation, and they were fun to see on the table, as well as fun to eat.
The kid in me almost decided to make caterwauls in the middle of the restaurant, which was seasonally decorated with spiders and spider webs, jack-o-lanterns, skulls, skeletons, and witch hats. Instead, I thought, “What are you thinking?” and ordered a Fuzzy Peach Goblet instead. I’m very proud to say I finished that yummy drink as well!
Service was very good and prompt. Our waiter, Chris, suggested the Shrimp Alfredo – shelled large shrimp with noodles in garlic, butter, cream, parmesan, and Romano cheese. Yummy!
We loved the look of the multicolored drinks. There was a group of six a few tables away from us, and they ordered drinks that were each a different color. When the barperson lined them up for the server, there was a rainbow of colors and tastes right there at the bar top.
We felt full because the portions are of considerable size. But then came time for dessert, and who can resist a luscious banana split?
Giant scoops of strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream with strawberries, caramelized bananas, and chocolate malt balls topped with chocolate, strawberry, and caramel sauce, whipped cream, toasted walnuts, and powdered sugar with a gummy cherry on top! And we also split another delight – S’mores Hot Chocolate!
I thought we had over-ordered (there were only two of us), but it was certainly a spectacularly tasty finish.
The pièce de resistance, though, was the King Kong Sundae – a humongous dessert for 6 or 12. The neighboring table of six, who seemed to be celebrating something, ordered it for their finish. It was so large that I was surprised they devoured every spoonful of it. A valiant effort! As they said, “Too much ain’t enough!”
There are currently 23 Sugar Factory restaurants throughout the country. Whenever I’m in a city where one is located, I’ll make sure to eat there. Kudos to all.
Manos Angelakis is one of the founders, the former Managing Editor for 25 years, the current Managing Editor Emeritus, and Senior Food & Wine Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. He is an accomplished travel writer, photographer, and food and wine critic based in Hackensack, New Jersey. As a travel writer, he has written extensively about numerous cities and countries. Manos has also been certified as a Tuscan Wine Master and has traveled to wine-producing areas in order to evaluate firsthand the product of top-rated vineyards. In the past year, he has visited and written multiple articles about Morocco, Turkey, Quebec City, Switzerland, Antarctica, and most recently the South of France. Articles in other publications include Vision Times and Epoch Times.
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