North Shore Steak & Seafood: a waukegan destination!

***** I am not a casino regular, so I am unaware of the dining experiences that are within the walls of a casino. Years ago, I went to Indiana with a good friend on a sort of regular basis, not so much to gamble, but to see the Cabaret shows ( some great stuff) and enjoy the food. I love watching people in the casino as well, in particular, Jane. She sparkles when she is winning, and while she sets goals for when to stop, they change every few moments.

Tonight, we went to a new casino in Waukegan. Well, maybe it is not new, but new to us, for sure. It is the American Place Casino and is located in the area called Fountain Square ( the old site of Lakehurst Center) at 4011 Fountain Square Place. This is a temporary space while they are building an amazing complex with hotel and more. In this facility, there are several restaurants, of course gaming rooms, slot machines, a comedy club and a buzz of activity. Our dining experiences was in The North Shore Steaks & Seafood, and what an experience it was!

The room itself was abuzz with happy people. This room  is beautiful and our hosts were quite knowledgeable. Our server Alicia made certain that we truly understood the menu. By the way, the menu is lighted and quite easy to read ( no one needs glasses or a flashlight to see the items). For our appetizers we selected two: the fried Calamari ( which was amazing) and the Burrata ( a cheese dish that while tasty was not as zesty as it could have been. BTW, management assured us that they would discuss with the chef).

For our entrees:

Alan had the Ribeye, Vickie, the wild striped bass, Jane, the surf and turf with a petite lobster tail and I thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful Filet with potato fondant ( golden medallions that are as tasty as they are picturesque). The ladies had the Brussels Sprouts that were quite tasty ( I am not one to try, but they were delish!) All of our entrees were amazing and the staff was amazing.

I will tell you that we did not get to the deserts, which looked remarkable, as we had a show to get to and being our first time at American Place ( as Arnold Schwarzenegger might say “we’ll be back”!) had to navigate to the Lighthouse for The Tom Arnold show. By the way, after the show, we did visit the casino and joined the Rewards program. We were awarded $10 in slot money for doing so and after about an hour of playing enjoyed cashing out and heading back into the cold ( it was bitter last night) to head home.

We went home with a full tummy,a wonderful experience and some extra dollars we didn’t come in with. I know we need to enjoy some of the other dining experiences, so we will be back. As for the steak house- a sure winner! ( they do have vegetarian plates as well.

The North Shore is open from 5 p.m.- 10 p.m. Wednesday- Sunday reservations can be made through open table. The casino website www.americanplace.com can also get you there.

The casino is located at 4011 Fountain Square Place in Waukegan. This is the site of the old Lakehurst Center, just south of route 120 Belvedere Road at Waukegan Road ( route 43) with plenty of free parking.