Blackjack and tacos

Published April 25, 2016 by Paula C. Squires

Just months away from its anticipated opening in the fourth quarter, MGM National Harbor has announced four new dining concepts for itsresort and casino, and none of them include the traditional casino buffet.

Instead, the new $1.3 billion resort in Prince Georges County, Md., plans to please visitor palettes with Ginger, a Pan Asian restaurant; TAP Sports Bar, Bellagio Patisserie, a European-style pastry shop, and National Market, a casual food market experience. The first of its kind in the MGM Resorts International culinary portfolio, the market will offer ten venues, with indoor and outdoor seating that overlooks the Potomac River.Among those venues will be Amo Los Tacos, Bahn Mi Vietnamese Kitchen, Honey’s Fried Chicken & Donuts and Zizi’s Pizza.

The something-for-everyone dining concepts are an addition to the resort’s three restaurants by celebrity chefs. José Andrés will oversee his first seafood restaurant, Fish, a concept focused on locally sourced ingredients, Ethiopian-born and Sweden-raised chef Marcus Samuelsson, acclaimed for his New York City hotspots, will be at the helm of Marcus, a restaurant offering comfort food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Adding local flavor to the mix are brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, natives of Frederick, Md., who will run Voltaggio Brothers Steak House, their first restaurant together. The menu will highlight regional specialties.

MGM National Harbor’s newly appointed Executive Chef Jason Johnston played a role in the development of the new food offerings. Johnston joined the MGM National Harbor from Las Vegas where he was executive sous chef at the AAA Five Diamond Bellagio Resort & Casino.

MGM’s 24-story, 308-room resort is part of the National Harbor mixed-use project, located just over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which connects Northern Virginia to Prince Georges County.