Chefs Giada De Laurentiis and Stephanie Izard bring taste of celebrity to Hollywood Casino Aurora
The new Hollywood Casino Aurora is providing suburban diners with plenty of star power after opening its doors last week.
The $360 million land-based casino and hotel hopes to draw in people with more than just gaming, offering eateries from well-known restaurateurs including Giada De Laurentiis and Stephanie Izard, among others.
Sorella by Giada is the first Italian steakhouse concept from De Laurentiis, known for her modern takes on classic Italian cuisine. She described the design of the upscale eatery as akin to a “fishbowl,” where guests can see all the action in the open kitchen and in a glass-enclosed pasta-making station.
“This is very interactive in a way that I’ve not done before,” she said following the casino’s opening on Wednesday, June 24. “I’m trying something a little bit different. For me, not only does the food need to be great, but there needs to be entertainment to it all.”
With all the lights and sounds and excitement just outside her restaurant’s door, you can understand why.
“At the end of the day, people want more than just a plate of great food, they want to be wined and dined, they want to have an experience,” she said.
The menu features hand-cut steaks, all served with smoked sea salt, arugula and Giadzy olive oil. A Piedmontese rib-eye highlights the selections, which also includes a 28-ounce Bistecca alla Fiorentina.
Other entrees include Mediterranean branzino, tableside chicken Parmesan, veal chop saltimbocca-Milanese and myriad handmade pasta dishes, including, of course, De Laurentiis’ signature lemon spaghetti.
Sorella by Giada, along with more casual sister eatery, Sorellina by Giada, at PENN Entertainment’s new Joliet casino, are the first restaurants from De Laurentiis in the Chicago area. She said they provided her a chance “to bring my food and my culture to a group of people that haven't experienced it before.”
“I want this to be a place where more than just gamblers come,” she said.
On the opposite end of the casino, Boulevard Food & Drink Hall is home to seven eateries in a casual atmosphere that has its own celebrity chefs.
Chef Stephanie Izard, Food Network Iron Chef and winner of the fourth season of Bravo’s reality cooking competition “Top Chef,” is bringing the tastes of her acclaimed Chicago restaurant Girl & the Goat to the new burger concept Lucky Goat.
She wandered around the food hall during the casino’s grand opening taking in the sights and bites.
“It’s beautiful,” she said of the space. “And there’s so many other great bites (in the food hall). It’s gorgeous, and we’re so excited to be here.”
While she has multiple restaurants in Chicago and California, Lucky Goat and its companion location at the Joliet casino are her first eateries in the suburbs.
“A lot of people (in the suburbs) know of us from the city, so being able to just kind of go in their backyard and offer a bite is great,” she said.
What can diners expect?
“It’s still gonna be the same flavors that we do at Girl & the Goat, you know, like those bold flavors in your face, pickled stuff, a lot of texture,” she said. “It’s all of that happening on burgers and chicken.”
The burgers and chicken sandwiches on the menu include “in your face” offerings such as the Chili Crunch Cheeseburger with American cheese, spicy chili crunch, mayo, pickled red onions and peppers and the Crispy Chicken Sammie with chili-lime spiced chicken, lucky sauce, pickled jalapeno and red onion and cabbage slaw.
Even the sides get the bold flavor treatment. Messy Fun Fries are served with hoisin mayo, caramelized onion, pickled Fresno, pickle relish, scallion and chili lime crunch.
Other eateries in Boulevard include Tabo Sushi by James Beard Award-winning chef Takashi Yagihashi, Urbanbelly by renowned chef Bill Kim, Antique Taco, Five50 Pizza, Pretty Cool Ice Cream and Dailies Café.
Both the Boulevard and Sorella by Giada feature exterior entrances so diners don’t have to go through the casino floor. And both offer outdoor seating.
Another standalone eatery, Red Lotus Asian Kitchen, will serve patrons made-to-order Pan-Asian cuisine, featuring popular noodle dishes.
The new Aurora casino, located off Interstate 88 near the Farnsworth Avenue exit and across from Chicago Premium Outlets, features roughly 1,200 gaming positions, about 220 guest rooms, a retail sportsbook, an outdoor entertainment area, a full-service spa and a roughly 12,000-square-foot event center in addition to the bars and restaurants.