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More deets on the upcoming Graton Resort and Casino restaurants: Hard hats aren’t exactly my thing (I mean really, the hair, people) but it was worth suffering a little hat head for a construction tour of the 12 restaurants opening in early November in Rohnert Park. Chef Martin Yan of M.Y. China and countless television cooking shows was touring his 250-seat restaurant on Thursday, which features a completely open kitchen, noodle bar and wok station (you can sit just inches from the action) and will showcase “noodle dancing”, wherein chefs, um, dance with some 75 feet of hand-pulled Chinese noodles on the dining room floor. “It’s theater, it’s like fireworks every day!” said Yan.
“We are bringing 5000 years of Chinese culinary art…for the meal of a lifetime.” More details: Douglas Keene’s DK Wings will feature his take on the game day favorite, with some 30 sauces and Japanese pickled vegetables (noms!) in the Marketplace, which seats 500 and is open 24 hours.
No expense has been spared on the $825 million casino, with luxe touches everywhere including terrazzo floors, backlit marble bars, and a two story marble sculpture that drips ice into a bar at the center of the casino. “It’s like an adult Disneyland,” said tribal leader Greg Sarris. Families and children will be welcome in all the restaurants, with outside entrances (and free parking!) for each of the eateries.
Two surprises: Smoking will be allowed on the floor of the casino though none of the restaurants will allow it. Reps say there will be state of the art air filtration. Also, it may come as a shock (shock!) that the casino will not offer a buffet. Sorry, no $3 all-you-can-eat-prime rib. “This is not a place where food is just sitting out. We wanted something more interesting than a flat buffet,” said Sarris. Penny-pinchers take heart: The Marketplace offers plenty of lower-cost noshing.