New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
MGM touts its attractions, food offerings
Remember the Plainfield Dog Track? You drove an hour to watch greyhounds chase a fake rabbit and each race was over in about a half-minute. Connecticut’s casinos made that place a distant memory.
Today impressive technology makes the modern casino an alluring whirl of flashing lights, video and sound. But without fine food, hotel and entertainment options, not to mention solid ties to the surrounding community, all you have is a sad slots parlor somewhere.
The state’s massive casinos, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, know this, and they not only sport large theater and arena facilities but they have diversified with convention business as well as thrill rides, racing karts, business and community partnerships and alluring national and local chain restaurants.
Tornado-raked Springfield, Mass., meanwhile, welcomed a reset of its downtown fortunes, endured a long siting process and staked a proud market flag in late August with $960 million MGM Springfield, featuring many hungry slot machines but comparatively few restaurants, non-gaming attractions or show venues. That makes the ones they do have critical for return customers, along with any smart additions to their property downtown in the next few years.
We were there at the opening and returned recently to try out a few of those attractions and restaurants:
1 A great thing about MGM is how it has employed many people from the city, surrounding towns and Connecticut. But the absolute best feature is how architects, designers and MGM planners have weaved in elements of Springfield’s industrial and literary history into its hotel, bars and industrial-chic design elements.
For instance, the only image of Springfield-born Theodor Geisel of “Dr. Seuss” fame hangs on the bar wall in MGM’s Chandler Steakhouse (where the chef is “Hell’s Kitchen” season 14 winner Meghan Gill). The name of the restaurant comes from the 1846 Union House/Chandler Hotel, and part of the signs on that building were preserved in the lobby of the new hotel.
At TAP Sports Bar, which borders the outdoor Armory Square, you can
see the original wood floors from the childhood home of Geisel. The ceiling to the left of TAP’s entrance, meanwhile, features reclaimed floorboards and nails from the former YWCA building in the city.
In the square outside sits the 19th-century, turreted Armory building, now used for special occasions and, starting in January, as a venue for the Roar! Comedy Series. Comic Roy Wood is up first Jan. 4 and 5.
The High Gothic-style church on the property was moved to one end of the plaza (not a brick was lost in the move, said an official) and now houses Kringle Candle Emporium. Tourists to the Bay State know that Kringle is based in Bernardston, up I-91 a ways and north of the iconic Yankee Candle.
The new, tech-savvy hotel’s interior walls are decorated in dark, comfy colors with nods to the city’s literary history, which includes Emily Dickinson and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. You may see hotel pillows with Dickinson quotes or notice excerpts from her work spelled out in carpets in the corridors. The lobby bar in the 250-room boutique hotel has a 1925 Western Union Stock Ticker and other nods to the past.
But on to the food and other attractions.
1 We didn’t try the sevenscreen Regal Cinemas at MGM, but there’s an upscale bar and all-recliner seating in the theaters.
1 The South End Market food hall sits on a raised platform in one corner of the large casino floor. Seven counters serve lobster rolls, grilled meals, wine, espresso and noodle dishes. We found a surprisingly good bacon and egg sandwich at Bill’s Diner that was large, omelet-moist and served on a tasty pretzel roll.
1 TAP Sports Bar is deceiving in size. Its entrance is tight but it just fans out and keeps going — a busy place during the Red Sox run recently. In the back are 10 bowling lanes, which we weren’t able to try because of their popularity. There is a small arcade sandwiched in the middle that includes a very popular shuffleboard table, a manager noted. He said bowling lanes were booked on weekends for weeks ahead so you might want to reserve one for a weeknight.
1 We did try the Topgolf Swing Suite, located in the retail area near Kringle and the apparel shop for Indian Motorcycle. Patrons rent out one of the three suites that include a nice couch, table and golf platform, and use clubs available in bags to one side to hit balls into a simulator screen. We hadn’t swung a club in a while so it was pretty gnarly, but the lobby furnishings and service were very pleasant. You can also order drinks and bar food (prepared in nearby TAP).
1 Cal Mare is the Italian restaurant on site — casual and bright (but do position yourself so you’re facing the restaurant’s interior and not the flashy slot machines to one side). The prime beef carpaccio was unusually large with a generous bed of meat over arugula. The linguine vongole was lemony and fresh-tasting but with an overly thin noodle and not Pay attention to the wording for the lasagna rotolo in a Bolognese sauce. As the Italian word “rotolo” suggests, it’s not your mother’s flat, layered lasagna but is served in little rolls, like manicotti or spring roll sections but standing up in sauce in an attractive silver pan. The layout is strange but, thankfully, the taste was quite good.
The eatery also has a counter for walk-up (not New Haven style, alas) pizza. The wine list is deep but a retail wine area at the restaurant’s street-facing side has been discontinued and the space is being repurposed.
1 Kringle Emporium is like nothing we’ve seen in Connecticut in one place: fragrant candles and other products, a food counter with uber-rich desserts and a lineup of beer. It’s a pleasant stop, especially in warm weather when you can sit at a table overlooking the Plaza (site of summer concerts and a winter skating rink opening soon).
1 The bars around the property include the relaxed Commonwealth, in a central area of the casino floor, and the hotel’s Lobby Bar, which has themed drinks made with New England spirits. It’s a great place for a leisurely cocktail and chat with a friendly bartender.
MGM, battling with the Connecticut casinos for gaming dollars, is already planning additions to the food and attraction lineup, notably a Wahlburgers eatery from the famous Wahlberg brothers. But that’s late next year, and in the meantime there have been only a few big-name MGM shows at nearby Mass Mutual Center. So the property’s success here will rest on accessibility (parking needs to stay free), continued gains in restaurant quality, more and bigger entertainment attractions and superior service — a tough but doable task.
An MGM spokesman said CTRail makes it very easy to get to MGM from New Haven County. The train drops you off at Union Station in downtown Springfield and then it’s a five-minute walk up the street. There’s also a free shuttle from Union Station.