RESORT REVIEW: Casa de Campo in La Romana Dominican Republic

I had the pleasure of staying two nights at this unique resort in DR.  It ia a huge property that includes three golf courses, three beaches, a separate marina, horse stables (including polo) and a shooting range.  When you book a stay here, each room comes with a golf cart.  It really is that large.  The restaurants at the resort have a la carte pricing but there is an all-inclusive option you can purchase which is what I did.  This makes your stay closer to what it is like a a traditional all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean.    My wife and I were able to try two of the dinner restaurants and had lunch at the same place twice (it was so good).

We arrived about 3PM and hadn't had lunch so we went to La Cana.    They had a very large lunch menu which made it hard to pick

My started was the Salad Nicoise which had some great tasting seared tuna along with anchovies and fresh greens.  The greens were drizzled with a creamy dressing - similar to caesar but not as much garlic which was a great omission since I wanted to be able to taste the tuna.

We also had the steak tartare.  This was a very balanced preparation and the quail egg was a nice touch to add some creaminess to the dish.

For main course, I went with the Flat Meat (I think we would call it Flat Iron steak in US) with garlic and parsley compound butter and a side salad.    I had ordered the steak medium rare and it came out closer to medium.    This has been an issue I have seen at many all inclusives since I think the term "medium rare" gets lost somewhere in translation.  What we later learned to do, was to use the term "less done" or rare and we got the correct temperature.  It is of course possible to have them cook something more if it did come and it was not done enough to your liking.

Even at medium, the steak was full of flavor, and as that compound butter melted it enhanced it even more.  The salad had a light vinaigrette which was a nice balance to the richness of the dish.  I loved the simplicity of this dish.  

My wife's started was the grilled salmon with sauteed vegetables which she had also ordered medium rare.  This also came out more done than she wanted which we think was the same reason the steak had that issue.  No issues with the flavor.  If you are a lover of salmon, you know that the texture suffers a bit as you have it cooked more towards well done.  So a good composed dish - just need to make sure they can cook it to the temperature you prefer.

After an afternoon of skeet shooting (Yes!!  You can do that here!!), we were back in our room and got ready for dinner which was also a La Cana.  My starter was a delicate spinach and ricotta crepe.  It was listed as a main course on the menu but the server let me order it as a starter.  If there is such a thing as crepe mastery, this was it.  The crepe was so thin, yet held all the ingredients together as you took each bite.  And it was served on top of a what I think was a rich bechamel.  Where some bechamels can become gluey or goopy (don't you love fancy words?). ths was smooth and succulent and enhanced each bite.  I also like that the bechamel was at the bottom since the crepe had some crisp browning for texture.  I would order this again and again. 

  

Also had this delicious scallop dish which was lightly sauteed scallops in a cream sauce with green beans and asparagus.  The scallops were cooked perfectly medium so they weren't dry in the middle.  Veggies were a nice al dente for a bit of crunch to the dish.

This seafood risotto was a bit different preparation that I had seen,   More like a stew but had great flavor and tender shrimp.

Dessert time!!   I love a good lemon dessert so had to order this lemon curd over a granola crumble.  The lemon flavor was pronounced and not super sweet.  The "wedges" were thin pieces of meringue.  The only addition I would have made is serving this with a bit of creme fraiche to balance the tartness a bit.  Otherwise a great dessert.

We also tried their version of chocolate melting cake.  It was served with a coffee ice cream and crumble.    It had everything you would expect in this type of dessert which seems to be served at almost every fine dining restaurant.  Seems to be a staple they must all have - somewhat like a caesar salad.

I loved how they served the coffee here with a sample of a few small cookies.

The only picture from breakfast.  Loved the views  and the food was pretty good. They only offer a breakfast buffet at this resort.  There is no a la carte options that we saw.  I found it to be lacking in variety.  Both days we had breakfast it was nearly identical items being served.   Also, the only way to order eggs or omelette was to stand in line for the chef to make them to order.  I love having a chef station for eggs since it lets you get an omelette however you like it.  Or to get those delicious freshly fried over easy eggs so you can soak them up with toast or croissant.  But they had no area for self-serve scrambled eggs or any egg dishes at all you could get yourself.  That is a staple of every other breakfast buffet I have been to.  So if you were looking for a quicker breakfast with some eggs, you would be waiting in line.  The resort was at about 60% capacity and the line was at least 15 minutes to get eggs.  I know - you are on vacation and you should be relaxed and not stress out.  But I think the resort should review how they do this.

My favorite item was the fresh mango.  That has been terrific at most all inclusives I've been at (see my blog about Breathless Punta Cana for more details) and was the same here.

We spent the rest of the morning at the pool.  We had lunch back at La Cana.   I had the one of the most delicious pieces of beef I have ever had.  It was grilled flank steak with frites.  From our lunch experience the day before, I learned to ask for "rare" and it came our perfect for me.  It was seasoned with a garlic butter (maybe the same compound butter from before) and then topped with parsley and garlic.  The frites were so crispy and almost melted in your mouth.  And I had a little mayo on the side for dipping for the Belgian Fry experience!!  Perhaps the only thing I would have added is a small crunchy french baguette.  I would have used that to sop up the delicious juices that came from the flank steak.

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My wife got a chicken caesar which was well made.  Fresh croutons, large pieces of moist chicken and a delicate dressing.  

Desserts were a decent apple crumble with vanilla ice cream and lime sorbet which was my favorite.  A great palate cleanser after that nice lunch.

For our last night we had dinner at La Casita.  This was a restaurant where it really became obvious why you need a golf cart to stay here.  The restaurant was a little town down past the marina.  Several of the restaurants are in this area.  Since it was our first time, we left plenty of time to drive there.  We had to park in a lot just for golf carts and then we walked to the restaurants.  We later found out they have shuttles which we took back after dinner.

We had a great table right next to the water.

I started with the octopus which was served with garlic, sweet pepper and drizzled with olive oil.  My favorite dish of the night.  Octopus was cooked so it was still tender and was well seasoned.

Scallops which came with similar toppings to the octopus.  I guess sitting next to the water inspired us to order seafood.

These were goat cheese balls served with arugula and machego.

Seafood mixed grill.  It was shrimp and caribbean lobster in their shells that had been split and then grilled. Also was grilled calamari. It was tossed with olive oil and lemon after grilling.  Calamari was my favorite since it was still tender.  The shrimps and lobster had suffered a little on the grill and came out dry.    Could have used a side dish of clarified butter but overall a decently cooked dish - that could have been cooked better.

This was the grilled snapper with tomatoes and capers.    The fish was a bit overdone but still had a nice flavor.

This was a passion fruit cake.  I didn't like the flavor of this.

I love a good cheesecake with fruit topping.  I was hoping this would be that dessert.  The cheesecake flavor was lacking, maybe too many eggs were used.  Instead of having a creamy goodness, it was more cake-like.   

We also got a small plate of some great tasting cookies  - seems to be a signature of this resort.

TOP TIPS:

1.  We only had a chance to eat a two restaurants but if you come here, I would avoid La Casita.  It wasn't worth the drive we made.   La Cana had the most outstanding food of the two nights and I hope they still have that Flank (Skirt) steak when you come.
2.  Room service is not part of the all inclusive so don't order that unless you are okay with the  a la carte prices. 

Nickelodeon Punta Cana Restaurants

Nickelodeon invited me to stay at their resort in Punta Cana from August 26th through 29th to experience everything they have to offer.   At first I thought all the restaurants would be focusing on chicken tenders and pizza with a little Spongebob on the side.  Was I surprised at the offerings they had.

Our first night we ate at Verdello which is Nickelodeon's Italian restaurant. At most other all inclusives, the Italian is low on my priority list to try since I find their offerings are mostly generic pastas and other entrees.  Wow was I surprised.   It was one of the best Italian meals I have ever had.  Only surpassed by a meal I actually had in Narano Italy back in 2016.  That will have to be a blog for another day.

Here is part of the menu.

We started off with a well baked, crispy focaccia with pepperoni.  The fresh grated parmesan cheese was a great addition if you wanted a bit more salt.

Let the appetizers begin!!   The standout dish was a tuna carpaccio.  Such delicate, thin sliced tuna that melted in your mouth.  Simply seasoned with arugula, olive oil, black pepper and sauteed shallots.    The server accidentally brought out an extra plate of this to our table.  What would you have done?  We of course felt the kitchen was using us as testing to confirm the consistency.  We couldn't let them down.  That serving was just as excellent.  It was only a few years ago that the sourcing at Mexican, Jamaican and Dominican Republic all inclusives (and probably all of the island restaurants) was not reliable.  Somehow, they are now able to source some really great ingredients.  And it showed with this dish.

Next up was arancini (also known as fried risotto balls).  These were well fried and I appreciated that they were still moist.  I have had so many of these where they use to many breadcrumbs or eggs and the balls are crumbly and dry.  Not in this case.  What I didn't like so much was the red sauce which tasted like the can I assume it came from only a few minutes before.    The sauce was unnecessary in this case but would have been greatly improved if it had been warmed up, had a sprinkle of oregano and salt then finished with some minced basil.  

We next tried the burrata.  This is not found on many Italian menus I have seen in the United States so was excited to try it here.  If you haven't had it, I would describe it as if camembert and mozzarella had a child.  True burrata has a soft shell exterior wrapped around a buttery cheese texture in the middle.    When cut it should ooze - like the middle of a well cooked flourless chocolate lava cake.    This burrata didn't live up to what I was hoping for.  While it had good taste, it was more like a standard buffalo mozzarella just slightly softer.  Not a bad dish under a different name - but not a burrata.

Next up was my second favorite dish which was a beef carpaccio.    As with the tuna, this was thin sliced goodness on a plate simply garnished with delicate pieces of parmesan cheese, arugula, black pepper and sea salt.  It also melted in your mouth like the tuna.  Sadly there was not an accidental delivery of an extra plate of this to our table. 

I am very adventurous when dining and always looking to try something new.  But if I have a staple "go to" menu item which I will always order it is mushroom soup.  I just love a great preparation of any mushroom - soup or otherwise.  They can have a meaty flavor without meat.  And in a broth, that flavor seems to get extenuated.   Needs little else except butter and time.  This was a very good rendition of a mushroom soup.  I liked the addition of the rosemary sprig since the warm broth brought out some of that rosemary aroma when it hit the table.  The soup itself didn't have any rosemary in it so I at first thought it was a strange addition.  But it was a brilliant move by the chef.

The first entree we tried was the seafood risotto.  Go on the internet and there will be many chefs telling you what makes the best risotto.  Should it slide across the plate, as says Chef Tom Collichio?     Do you have to stir it on a stove constantly for hours?  Or can it be made in a pressure cooker using some recipe's from Oprah's chef Art Smith?  Do you have to use Arborio rice?  I don't claim to know about any of those things.  Bring me risotto thick or thin.  Pan cooked or baked.   I only look for flavor and doneness of the rice.  If those two things are spot on, then it is a good risotto.  And this one was delicious.  They had used a bright seafood broth to make it and then added in perfectly cooked shrimp and scallops.  The rice was still had a toothy bite which I like.    Chef Tom would not have liked that it would have held up to the Blizzard test at your local Dairy Queen.  But to me, it met my expectations of a good risotto. 

Next was a seared tuna steak with sesame crust and thermidor sauce.  This brings me back to how the sourcing of ingredients is so important and is one of the biggest changes all inclusives have made to have their restaurants be as close as possible to something you would find in your local town.  The tuna was of exceptional restaurant quality.  Cooked perfectly rare and simply seasoned with some salt.  The sauce while good, was not really necessary and would have been better if it was drizzled onto the potatoes which were under seasoned.   At this point in the meal I also took note of all the fresh herbs being used.  I think on our dishes alone must have been at least one bunch of rosemary and 10 leaves of basil.  I will have to do more investigation on where they source the herbs.  Are they growing them since shipping all these herbs would seem to be problematic.  

"First" breakfast was a stop at Doppio the coffee shop.  They made these great tasting donuts.  Somewhere between a raised and plain donut and iced with a thin glaze.  Delicious with the double espresso I had.  And the picture isn't a whole order.  ;-)   I promise I only had one.

Proper breakfast was at the buffet restaurant Sugarcane.  What you will find at most all inclusives in DR and Mexico is they have access to terrific fruit.  I love mango but it is one of the hardest fruits to cut.  You always feel like you are wasting it since the large pit gets in the way.  Somehow, the prep chefs at these resorts have mastered the art of slicing mangos - or it feels that way.  It is the best mango you will ever have.  Juicy and slightly tart, perfect with the vanilla yogurt.  I also made my version of a McGriddle.  It is a waffle with bacon and over easy eggs.  Runny eggs make anything better.   I might consider eating parsnip if it had a runny egg on it.

Lunch unexpectedly started at the pool.  We had a great pool waiter Orlando who saw us getting some chairs and asked if we wanted a pizza.  Well, can you really say no to someone who will get you a pizza?  No - you can't.  Was it the greatest pizza I have ever eaten?  No.  Needed some help with the crust which was a bit soggy.  But this is one of those moments where you have to make sure you have your situational taste buds at the ready.   You are at the pool.  With a great view.  A waiter was gracious enough to ask you if you wanted a pizza.  It was amazing.

Second lunch was at Fresca which is a restaurant next to the second swim up bar.  

We had just had the pizza so we didn't need much more for lunch,  We order crispy noodle asian salad, beef tacos and miraflores ceviche.  The tacos were my favorite.   Well seasoned beef  (I think it was flank steak which always has great flavor) and an asian slaw.  The sweet chili sauce served as the dressing for the cole slaw since it was naked.  

Lots of fresh fish in the ceviche which I loved.  There was simply too much lime juice so any fresh fish flavor was lost.  And the more you ate, the more acid you got.  

My least favorite was the asian slaw.  I loved the fresh, crispy veggies but the asian flavor was not as pronounced as I would like.

And did I mention they make great passion fruit mojitos?  I never order a mojito but these looked so good and were delicious.  Passion fruit is usually on the tart side.  I don't like sweet drinks (unless an Old Fashioned counts!!).   So the passion fruit really toned down the sweetness. 

Dinner tonight was at Sugarcane which was a buffet.  They had many freshly prepared items including whole fried fish which is one of my favorites.  It is another mushroom soup. If it is on the menu, I will order it.  This was talapia and perfectly cooked so it was still moist.  I know many people are turned off by seeing the whole fish and would never get it.  If you love fish, you have to try this.  If you are a steak lover, you know how a T-Bone steak tastes so much better because the meat gets additional flavor from the bone.  It is similar for a whole fish where I think cooking the fish intact really seals in the flavors.   I also had a burger since I wanted to try the "slime" sauce (this is Nickelodeon after all).  Slime sauce is nothing more than ketchup.  Some of you will remember about 20 years ago Parkay started selling colored margarine so more kids would try it.   Terrible idea. I think this is Nickelodeon's take on this.  It tasted fine and I see where it could be fun for some kids.  Just don't let them bring the bottle to the table or they might get an inkling to slime you!!

We had lunch the last day at BRGRSPH which is their burger bar.  It is set up like a food truck but is inside and air conditioned.  You have to believe me - even though I have not a single picture of them - the burgers were outstanding!!  Well seasoned and cooked to order (you can get medium rare if you want!!).

We did manage to try a few appetizers as well.  A very nicely prepared wedge salad.  Would have been better with blue cheese (aren't most things?) but I liked the ranch they used.   Crunchy bacon on the top.

A trio of beef tacos.  The green chili salsa was quite excellent with great balance of acid and heat.  Loved the presentation of the guacamole.

They serve the fries in little shopping baskets!!   And they were crispy and hot when they came on the table.  I so wanted to take one of these baskets home.  How great to use these at home for serving almost anything.  

I tried two desserts.  Both were decent but needed some help.  The cheese cake sundae had great presentation in that fun cone.  Had nice pieces of soft cheesecake and crispy meringue.  Loved that part.  They were on a large bed of vanilla cookie crumbs - way to many to be edible.  I didn't care for either the chocolate or berry sauces.  Would have liked some kind of fresh berries in a sugar syrup.  I know they had raspberries on the buffet so it could happen.  I only ordered the apple fries since they came with a side of cheddar cheese ice cream.  Now who has ever heard of that?  Well, I hope we start hearing more about it.  Growing up as a kid, my mother always served sharp white cheddar cheese with apple pie and I loved it.  As I grew up to adulthood, I learned not many people had ever heard of this.  So how great to see the chef had paired these together.  A flashback to childhood!!  While the apple fries were a bushel or two from having enough apple flavor, the cheddar ice cream was so good!!  It was a mild vanilla ice cream with grated cheddar mixed in.  Perhaps not great by itself, but terrific as a complement to apples.

Our last dinner was at the asian restaurant Wok Wok.  It started with a very creative and tasty presentation of sushi.  My favorite was the spicy tuna.  There was also a mango and salmon.    Not pictured was a great seared tuna that had oyster sauce.  We ordered more of that.

Seafood stir fry which I thought had great flavor.  Reminded me a bit of the great risotto I had at the Italian restaurant on the first night.

The chicken pad thai was my least favorite.  I guess they really like fish sauce in their interpretation since that is all you could taste.  No peanut, thai chili or chicken flavors.  If that is the chef's choice to use that much fish sauce, I think this item will be returned mostly uneaten most nights.

The evening ended with a great presentation of small desserts.  The white truffles were really good.  The others were also quite good although none of them were inspired by asian flavors.  I would have greatly preferred a dish of ginger or green tea ice cream. 

TOP TIPS:

1.  Favorite restaurant was the BRGRSPH bar.  It shouldn't be hard to make a great burger but so many placed fail.  They know how to do it here.    We were lucky since they opened it one day for lunch since they had closed the beach restaurants due to Hurricane Dorian.   It is normally only a dinner place.    Ask when you check in what the hours are.

2.  In hindsight I would have tried to have a progressive dinner.  You could start with some sushi at Wok Wok.  I don't think their entrees are great so can be skipped.  Then jump to Verdello for either of the carpaccios (or both!!) at Verdello.  Then pick a risotto.    If you are a meat eater, the server highly recommended one of the steak dishes. We didn't order that since we thought we already had enough with  the other items.

3.  With the hurricane pending, they cancelled the characters breakfast they have.  I would recommend you do that one day.  Check the schedule for the days.