Christmas 2007: Our first Christmas in South Jersey. Christmas Eve was spent with daughter and SIL. Christmas Day they were going to his parents house.

Christmas morning, we have a nice breakfast, sipping coffee, open presents. Wife makes lots of phone calls, I'm tinkering with a present I got. No rush. Early afternoon, watch TV. Then the question; where should we go for dinner. I call a few places...no answer. Wife says she'll cook something. We go to three supermarkets - closed. We weren't in New York anymore.

I suggest an AC casino restaurant. Response: I'm not spending Christmas in a casino! We wound up at Carmines in the Tropicana Quarter (attached, but not in the casino). If you have not been to a Carmines, their portions are monstrous. We figure one entre and salad will do. I ask for the smallest appetizer - stuffed mushrooms, meal in itself. We agree on the Porterhouse for two. It was listed as market price and we didn't ask. It was Chrismas.

In summary, we had a $75 steak that must have weighed 7 lbs. And a pleasant meal with happy people all around us...even the waitress. We ate steak and salad all week. So when the talk of what-are-we-doing-for-Christmas comes up, I can't resist...Lets go to Carmines!