Archive for the Restaurants Category

A Top Chef Shares Secrets of Mexican Wedding Cookies & Barona Restaurant Month

Posted in Restaurants, Slots, Table Games with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on September 15, 2010 by thebaronacasino

By Executive Chef Jim Phillips

If you’ve been looking for an entirely new way to hit the jackpot at Barona Resort & Casino, September is your month. I’m excited to say that we’ll be dishing out half-off dining discounts for entrées during Barona Restaurant Month at six of our award-winning restaurants.

 

The deal is good for up to two Club Barona members who earn 500 Club Barona myPOINTS within the same calendar day or equivalent table games play. It’s as easy as swiping your Club Barona card at a kiosk and printing out a Barona Restaurant Month coupon to earn the special! This special promotional pricing is only available for guests 18 and over.

You’ll then be on your way to taking a personal tasting tour at the Barona Steakhouse, The Plaza, Sage Café, El Rancho Grande, or the Italian Cucina while taking advantage of the 50 percent off deal. And, you can’t beat Barona’s Seasons Fresh Buffet, offering all-you-can-eat dining, where you can also enjoy the Restaurant Month pricing for both lunch and dinner.

If you decide to head over to our Seasons Fresh Buffet during Restaurant Month, don’t hesitate to try our famous Mexican Wedding cookies. These melt-in-your mouth, nutty shortbread-like cookies are hand prepared daily by our chefs. They are one of the most popular desserts at the buffet where you can also enjoy dozens of other dishes from around the world.

Barona Italian Cucina

A typical sweet served at traditional Mexican weddings, hence the name, these cookies are usually served after the wedding meal as a symbol of hope for a rich and full married life. The butter and sugar symbolize the richness of love and unity while the powdered sugar is said to represent purity.  They are so delicious they are now served a round the world at other celebrations, holidays and any day.

We get many requests for the recipe for these traditional treats.  They are one of my favorites too, and with one bite, you’ll see why. We’d like to share the recipe with you so you can treat yourself to their crumbly-goodness any time:

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Ingredients:

1 lb. Whole butter
6 oz. Powdered sugar
1 lb. 5 oz. All-purpose flour
1 lb. Chopped toasted pecans
½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract

Preparation: Using an electric mixer, paddle the butter until soft. Add all the ingredients and mix until smooth. Form into small 1 inch balls and bake at 350 degrees until slightly brown. Do not overcook. Roll in powdered sugar. Recipe yields four dozen cookies.

I know you’ll enjoy the recipe for the Mexican Wedding cookies and you hope you’ll take advantage of the great deals during Barona’s Restaurant Month!

6 Comments »

Cinco de Mayo Tortilla Soup Recipe

Posted in Community, Events, General Barona Info, Restaurants, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2010 by thebaronacasino

By Executive Chef Jim Phillips

Barona Casino’s Tortilla Soup has always been a winner with our guests.  The recipe has been on our menu since the beginning and we always get requests for it.  So, we thought Cinco de Mayo would be a great time to share it with everyone.  It’s easy to make and is a great recipe to have on hand.  It can be easily customized for your guests and made ahead of time so you can enjoy the fiesta while serving a great dish!

At Barona we love to celebrate Cinco de Mayo too.  This year, we’re serving a variety of Mexican food specials in our restaurants. You can get a family-style Puerto Nuevo Lobster Special with rice and beans for $19.50 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at El Rancho Grande and The Plaza.  And, don’t forget we’ll be pouring refreshing margaritas and cervezas plus more than a dozen tequilas beginning at 5 p.m. at the El Rancho Grande.  Tortilla Soup

In honor of the holiday, we’re also offering a special price of $5.55 at the Seasons Fresh Buffet. The buffet will be available from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for guests 18 and over and Club Barona discounts will apply.

All this on top of the great slots, blackjack, poker and more to cap off your celebration with a Barona moment of your own!

I hope you enjoy the Tortilla Soup recipe and also have a great Cinco de Mayo! And, if there’s a special dish at Barona that you’d like to make at home, please let us know and we’ll do our best to share the recipe on another blog post.

Salud!

Tortilla Soup recipe: 10 servings

Ingredients:

¼ Cup Olive Oil
½ Cup Chopped Onion
1  Jalapeño Pepper
2 Lbs  Chopped fresh Roma Tomatoes
3 Cloves  Chopped Garlic
1 Tsp  Ground Cumin
½ Gallon  Chicken Stock
½ Bunch  Cilantro
1 Tbsp  Chicken Base
Salt  To Taste
Pepper To Taste

Preparation:

In a medium sized soup pot, over medium heat add the olive oil, sauté onions, jalapeño pepper, cumin and garlic until slightly caramelized. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, chicken base and seasoning. Let it simmer for 35 minutes and then add the chopped cilantro and blend the soup until smooth.

Garnish the soup with fried tortilla strips, diced fresh avocado and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

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Welcome to the Barona Resort & Casino Blog!

Posted in Blackjack, Casino Management, Community, General Barona Info, Poker, Restaurants, Slots with tags , , , , on March 5, 2010 by thebaronacasino

By Rick Salinas, General Manager

As one of California’s leading resort casinos, we are very excited to offer our guests an opportunity to explore beyond the casino floor.  Find out how we create the Barona Moments that we have become known for and that have helped us build a strong bond with our loyal guests and the greater San Diego community.

Barona Casino - San DiegoWhy are we blogging? Based on feedback from our guests, we’ve discovered that there are many people interested in knowing what goes into operating an entire casino, resort and golf course.  So, here we’ll take you beyond what you see in our advertising, in the headlines and on our web site.

Here you’ll get to know some of the key staff that develop our exciting games, create the food in our restaurants, manage our environmental programs, deliver our renowned customer service and help us raise awareness for the charities we contribute to.

What’s the story behind the wave you get when you drive up to Barona Casino?  What goes into the development of our slot machines and table games?  How does our culinary team create the mouthwatering dishes served in our restaurants?  Who are some of the key staff members that deliver amazing customer service? What are some of the innovative programs Barona has implemented to protect and preserve our environment?  Most importantly, what actually goes in to operating one of the most successful casinos in the United States?

That last question is really the first chapter in our story.

The reality is these Barona  Moments don’t just happen.  They are the result of the vision and strategy of our owners, the Barona Band of Mission Indians, and hundreds of creative and talented staff members.  At Barona, we are always generating ideas from far above the 30,000 foot level.

Barona Casino iTable Chipless GamingOur plan to deliver the ultimate gaming experience is comprehensive, detailed and continually evolving.  That’s why we believe that everything you see, touch, smell, hear and taste at Barona is superior to any other casino out there.  And, our customers think so too as demonstrated in our hundreds of awards, including our second   J.D. Power & Associates award.  For two consecutive years, the prestigious organization has ranked us “Highest in Satisfaction in the Southern California Indian Casino Gaming Experience” based on feedback from casino customers from across Southern California.  We are humbled by this honor and encouraged to raise the bar even higher.

And, most of the strategy and operations are happening behind the scenes. The reality is there are many more behind the scenes stories at Barona that are never told but our guests want to know more about.  This blog provides a forum for us to share them!

This is just a starting point.  If there’s something you really want to know more about at Barona, please let us know.  We invite your comments and ideas.

We appreciate your feedback as it makes us a better business and a better partner.

For everyone at Barona, our blog is an exciting new way for us to get to know each other better.

Let’s get started!

15 Comments »

Hail to the Chefs…

Posted in Restaurants with tags , , , , , on March 4, 2010 by thebaronacasino

By Jim Phillips, Executive Chef

Barona Casino ChefsIt has been an exciting time here behind the stoves at Barona Casino.  Our talented culinary team has been working hard creating new dishes and special promotions to tempt your palate.  I hope you’ll visit us sometime soon to enjoy the menus we have created just for you!  Not only do I personally stand behind every dish but each of our restaurants offer menus at an incredible price and value.

Before I get into an overview of the restaurants, let me tell you about two exciting promotions we have going on.  The first is we are serving up New York Strip Steak & Eggs every Monday through Thursday.  This is a classic casino combination at a nostalgic price: $1.99 between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.  It is served in Sage Café and you can also order Steak & Eggs right to your table game or slot machine through our gameside dining.

And on Sundays we are now offering a Barona Champagne Brunch in the Italian Cucina from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.   It is only $19.99 per person or $24.99 if you’d like to enjoy the amazing selection of dishes with champagne.

Now…on to the restaurants.

Seasons Fresh Buffet, formerly known as The Ranch House Buffet, continues to serve seasonal selections alongside the daily internationally-inspired menu.  Guests can also enjoy a la carte dishes in a casual setting overlooking Barona’s beautiful valley and award-winning Barona Creek Golf Club at Sage Café.

SteakIf you’ve visited Barona recently, you’ve probably noticed that our steakhouse has moved into a bigger and more deluxe space right next to the new Italian Cucina and Seafood Plaza restaurants in the Barona Oaks Dining area.  If you haven’t been to the new steakhouse yet, I think you’ll find it is really a special place.  The design is sleek and modern and the steaks really sizzle!

Duncan Firth, the Chef de Cuisine, uses only top-quality hand-cut meats, fresh seafood and locally grown produce some handpicked from our very own organic chefs’ garden.  Many of the meats are also dry aged in-house to produce the moistest and most tender steaks possible.  Our wine list has also been acknowledged as one of the best in San Diego by Wine Enthusiast.  And, what’s a steakhouse without a martini?  We’ve got a list featuring classic to modern martinis and even a martini flight if you’d like to sample a few.

We’ve also opened an authentic Mexican restaurant in the space formerly occupied by the steakhouse.  El Rancho Grande is now dishing up authentic Mexican fare such as tamales, ceviche and carnitas.  We also offer festive specialty margaritas, as well as an extensive “cervezas” or beer list. “And for those who like to sip tequila straight up, the restaurant offers more than a dozen tequilas. The Blackjack Margarita in particular is one of my favorites.  Here’s a link to the recipe if you’d like to try it at home.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our Food Court where you can grab a quick cup of coffee, a slice of pizza or a taco from Rubios.  And, don’t forget Ho Wan which stirs up some of the best noodles you can twirl around a fork.

14 Comments »

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