Casino Pizza & Restaurant II

The world's best chicken empanadas! They are especially delicious when covered in the house green salsa Mexicana, though you have to remember to ask for it. Sometimes they have additional sauces you can try; these are also excellent. The empanadas are so good, I was never motivated to try anything else. I got hooked on these things and was eating up to 3 a day sometimes. I turned many of my co-workers on, who in turn also got hooked. We would all run into each other there, fists full of empanadas. I jones for them and cannot wait to return to Atlantic City to eat them again.

I went to Casino Pizza tonight after being recommended by some Dominican friends. First things first, the place doesn't look like a spanish restaurant if you're just driving by so be careful not to miss it.

There was about 8-10 people inside eating and they were all spanish so I that was the first good sign. There were a couple different empenadas, pasteles, and beautiful chicharrón. We started out with an empenada of pollo con queso (chicken with cheese). I ordered the chivo (goat) with arroz con gandules (rice with beans) and chicharrón. My friend ordered boiled yucca with chicharrón as well. Somehow an extra order of chicharrón came to the table as well so altogether that's three orders of chicharrón sitting at the table...if I didn't have problems with my cholesterol before I probably do now =p.

Ok, back to the food. The empenada crust was great, but the filling was kind of gummy. The chicharrón was good, but it was fried in one long strip and then chopped up. This doesn't allow the fat to render from the chicharrón and often leads to greasy, chewy fat. You can combat this by cutting the chicharrón into chunks first, then frying it. What results is a glorious thing to behold and I'm sorry to say that Casino Pizza didn't get this right. It's ok though, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. The rice and beans were authentic and tasty. The chivo was delicious...stewed for hours until tender. Everyone makes their chivo differently so it's always nice to get something new. There were also tostones that were served with a tangy mayonnaise and ketchup mix. I'm guessing the tang was either lime juice or vinegar.

Overall it was a great meal and I highly recommend you try out this authentic spanish cuisine. Don't be shy just because it doesn't have all the glitz and glamour of a regular restaurant. Some of the best places to eat are in poor areas and sometimes look rough, but you usually eat really well.

Sorry, I didn't get to take pics because I was too busy eating, but I will be going back to eat again.

NOTE ON PARKING: There is parking around the streets, just remember to bring change for the meter..

authentic Dominican, Peruvian, and Mexican food alongside pizza, subs, salads, burgers, wings, fried chicken, and bbq ribs.. quite the diverse and huge menu.. the dining area is very simple and no frills but rather large, a number of tables, a couple of TVs tuned to Spanish language channels. I tried the "Lomo Saltado", chunks of grilled marinated steak with onion and stuff on a bed of rice and french fries, it was awesome. they have tostones, authentic Mexican tacos including beef tongue tacos, papa a la huancaina, pollo guisado, arroz chaufa, ceviche, you get the idea they have the authenticity thing down.. they deliver. good selection of Latin American style sodas such as Cola Champagne. ah important note: the name changed and the new name is QUEEN PIZZA PALACE and the phone is now 609-449-8977.