A.C. Now: Starrs Rising

Buddakan
Starr hired Standard hotels designer Shawn Hausman to hip-ify and high-design both Pier ventures. To this one, the love child of the Philly and New York locations, Hausman's adding Chinese-inspired nooks and courtyards to the communal table and gilded Buddha formula. On the menu: edamame ravioli, Sichuan fries, shrimp and lobster chow fun, and, more importantly, ginger vodka drinks, mint and apple martinis, and tequila spiked with red chili and cucumber. The Pier at Caesars, One Atlantic Ocean, third floor, 609-674-0100.

The Continental
All you expect — tuna tartared potato skins, giant bowls of noodles, giant-er salads, first-come, first-served seating — plus, an ultra populuxe firepit for sipping Buzz Aldrins and Marrakesh Pops as you watch the waves roll toward the shore. (Um, by the way, the view is pretty much the best common feature of all of the restaurants at The Pier: Screw the private dining areas: Sit up front, and see the beach all the way down to Longport.) The Pier at Caesars, One Atlantic Ocean, third floor, 609-674-8300.

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