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Dining at Foxwoods isn't much of a gamble

The End Zone motel on Route 1 in Foxboro isn't where you'd expect to find celebrity chef David Burke's chili being served.

But such was the fate for a batch of chili that Burke made for his accountant Steve Charron to take to a Patriots tailgate party last season.

Turns out that Dec. 16 game against the New York Jets was a snowy showdown after a foot of snow blanketed the area. Citing the poor weather, Charron and his wife, who was pregnant, skipped the game and watched it on TV from the cozy confines of the sports pub at the motel. With more chili than he knew what do with, Charron gave it to the folks at the restaurant.

"Everyone there said it was the best chili they'd ever had," said Charron, who is originally from Framingham.

If you want to taste Burke's creations, you don't have to wait for such a serendipitous circumstance. You just have to wait until May 17, when the Burke in the Box restaurant opens at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Ledyard, Conn.

A second Burke restaurant, Prime, opens in June at the casino.

Charron and Burke, a rising Manhattan celebrity chef, were recently at Foxwoods for a media preview and tasting of the soon-to-be opened restaurants. These openings bring to seven the number of restaurants Burke owns. This addition is part of Foxwoods' $55 million facelift that also includes new retail shops.

Burke in the Box is a fast, casual and vibrant eatery with French fries served in a miniature chef's hat and sliders (mini burgers) served in an orange-and-white box. Prime, named after the bull Burke owns that sires all his beef, is a 300-seat steakhouse.

Burke blends his vibrant personality into all his dishes and takes cutting edge to a new level.

He's even used mannequin hands and ostrich eggs as serving vessels.

Some highlights from this night's menu:

Roasted shallot flan served in an egg shell.

Seared yellowfin tuna that was literally a tower of food - potato pancake on the bottom, topped with the tuna topped with lobster.

Dry-aged sirloin from the bull, Prime, and Kobe sirloin. So delicious and melt-in-your mouth is Kobe beef that Burke calls it "ridiculous." "You can't eat a lot. To eat 8 ounces, it's just too much," he said.

And finishing off with items like cheesecake lollipops, a Sam Adams milkshake and chocolate park benches, dessert isn't just another course for Burke, it's a state of mind.

"I make a milkshake out of Sam Adams Utopia. On eBay it's $250 a bottle."

Culinary heavyweights

A culinary explosion is under way in the Connecticut woods and it's not just David Burke.

When the new MGM at Foxwoods casino opens on May 17, there will be two more notable chefs in residence. Boston's Michael Schlow (Radius) will helm Alta Strada, an Italian-themed trattoria, and Tom Colicchio gets behind another Craftsteak. Also, the famed eatery Junior's Cheesecake from Brooklyn, N.Y., is set to open.

Save the date

The Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival, sponsored by Food & Wine magazine, returns for its third year, Sept. 26-28. Along with Burke and Colicchio, chefs Guy Fieri, Ingrid Hoffmann and Jacques Pépin will share their culinary creations.

More than 50 other regional chefs and wine and spirit experts will also be on hand.

Tickets for the Grand Tasting are $150 and are now on sale. Get them at www.foxwoodsfoodandwine.com or by calling 1-800-369-9663.

The Patriot Ledger