Jess and I have been to Atlantic City on an annual basis for the last couple of years now, the tradition really started when one year for her birthday I surprised her with a getaway weekend at the Borgata (which is ironic and funny because neither of us likes to gamble) and ever since then it has become our tradition to visit the Borgata annually for her birthday.
Atlantic City is really known for their casinos but not really known for their food so unfortunately for us, our choices were extremely limited whenever we are there. After a couple of bad/overpriced restaurant experience in AC, I have decided to hunt for some truly delicious and that’s when I miraculously found Kelseys (I lied, I looked it up on Yelp but still I take full credit on braving out into new restaurant 😉
Woohoo I'm back!
Just a disclaimer, this is based purely on my passion for delicious food to satisfy my stomach, I did not get pay or receive any benefits from the restaurant for the review.
Kelsey’s is a soul food restaurant that does some mighty fine soul food, you know fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, shrimp and grits, etc, the comfort food. On the weekdays, they serve a regular a la carte menu but on the weekends (Saturday and Sunday) they have an all-you-can-eat brunch and folks this is when things get EXCITING!! (My heart is pounding as I’m writing this)
Chant with me- AYCE AYCE AYCE!
Restaurant map- In the front you got the omelet and pancake station, toward the back you have the hot food station which is stocked with 15-18 of the most delicious soul food you will ever have. You choose you own destiny!
Omelet and Pancake made to order!
There are a few things you must try when you are here at Kelsey’s and they are grits, fried chickens, collard greens and biscuit and turkey gravy.
The grits here were to die for, I can’t remember how many plates of grits I got. To start, I’m not a fan of grits because most of them are usually gritty, chucky, flavorless and not very smooth. In Kelsey’s you can expect the exact opposite, I don’t think I want to know how much butter and cream is in this grits but boy are these grits silky smooth! They are creamy, flavorful and compliments perfectly with the heavily flavored shrimp gravy. This is a must try dish folks!
Make this your prime objective. SHRIMP & GRITS
The fried chicken here is simply amazing! Super crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Don’t you just hate chicken breast that is dry and flavorless. You won’t find that dry and flavorless chicken at Kelseys and you even get to choose the pieces that you want, so if you are not a breast kind of person, try legs 😉
Collard green- I don’t eat much veggies so when you see me down plates after plates of collard greens, you know there either is something wrong with me or these collard greens are damn good! It’s probably a little bit of both since I must be delusional from eating too much food. These are southern style collard greens here and it only means one thing- BACON!!! It’s probably cooked in bacon grease but let’s just pretend we don’t know about that part shall we? The bacon adds so much flavor to the collard greens and since it’s soaked in bacon fat juice, it’s extra tender, melts in your mouth and go so well with that piece of chicken you been munching on.
That fried chicken is toward the end of the line- save the best for last!
Biscuit and gravy- Again totally go against my #1 rule when eating buffets- carbs. I never take biscuit and gravy, in fact it took me 3 visits to finally try it because Jess was really love it. This is a traditional southern dish and you know they can’t mess this up. The biscuit is soft, fluffy, buttery and a perfect bite size (if you are watching your figure) and the gravy was light, creamy and filled with bits and pieces of turkey sausage. The result of the two combined was a flavor overload, savory and sweet, melts in your mouth experience with a hint of honey after taste. YUMMMY!
Everything else were delicious too, but above 4 items are usually my main focus when I’m here.
A happy and satisfying brunch before heading off to lose all my money.
Pricing- As of April 2017, the price for the Saturday buffet was 20 dollar excluding tax and tips, I say this is a fabulous price point consider most places in AC will set you back at least $15-$20 per person and it is probably not even quality food.
Overall: Love Kelseys! It’s been one of my favorites whenever I travel with friends to AC. A word of advice, do not try to drive long distance after you have Kelseys because that food coma will hit you hard! Another word of advice, do not let ethnicity be a factor, sure people might look at you wondering why you venture into Kelseys but let me assure you, everyone there is super chill and you know food is just like love, it knows no boundaries when you are there, say hello to people around you, smile and know that they love food just as much as you do!
They got live gospel music here during Sunday brunch! Heavenly food with heavenly music!
