The thing about dining at a casino restaurant is it´s hard to avoid doing a little math, particularly if you´re budget-conscious by necessity or choice.
How much can I spend here if I intend to spend (or already spent) anything at all out there?
Of course, the question might become moot if the casino floor was kind to you and you entered the restaurant to celebrate your good fortune, making price no issue.
In other words, if a nicer restaurant is indeed on a casino floor, it´s a good bet you might be slightly more price conscious.
Accept that premise, and you might agree one of the best things about Rustic Kitchen is the fees are manageable, not necessarily tight-budget-friendly but not so outlandish that the average quarter-slotter is left on the outside looking in.
On top of that, the place looks absolutely beautiful, upscale rustic, if you will, with its Mediterranean/Italian elegant ambience balanced by a number of purely fun features, such as gazillions of wine labels serving as chat-worthy wallpaper.
As for the actual food, what we had was decidedly different, in a good way, than what we´re used to seeing, making Rustic Kitchen a good choice for the slightly adventurous eater. (But, rest assured, the plain or picky can find satisfaction, too.)
We knew we were in for something good from the time a complimentary dish of crusty bread and assertive black and green olives arrived with a lovely little bowl of white-bean paste, a Tuscan favorite. The thick-ish spread, which had a hummuslike quality to it, made us forget about olive oil and regard butter as, pshaw, boring.
Pizzas colored outside the lines, too. They figure prominently in the appetizer menu, so we couldn´t resist sharing one. We chose a portabella mushroom version ($11) and were wowed by both its taste and presentation.
The rectangular pizza, cut into waferlike, crispy squares and served on a thick wooden cutting board, oozed a deliciously tangy, piping hot goat cheese and was covered most generously with onions and the signature meaty ´shrooms. Thyme was a tasty alternative to oregano, garlic or other standard pizza-perker-uppers.
Our only quibble – and it is a quibble – was that the onions were advertised as caramelized but seemed a bit short of that mark in their soft whiteness.
Intriguing appetizers that must regretfully wait for our next visit include fried calamari with pine nuts and jalapenos, veal meatballs and fried risotto balls with basil and black olives.
Main courses left us more stumped than usual, in that far too many choices proved far too tempting. Hearing our server say pasta is a house specialty, and knowing all pasta is homemade here, though, we went in that general direction.
Pasta and clams ($22) starred knots of colorful green basil and pecorino pasta below a nice helping of the babies of the sea (still in their shells, of course), juicy cherry tomatoes and large, sometimes whole cloves of intoxicating roasted garlic. Another delightful dress-up ingredient here was chili flakes, which we´ll note because, curiously enough, one of our menus acknowledged their existence in this dish and one did not. We were apparently the first to bring this to the staff´s attention. (Sorry guys, we edit everything.)
In any case, we have to say it might have been the chili flakes that pulled us toward this dish over, say, the jazzy baked mac and cheese with porcini and truffle oil or the beautiful baked rigatoni we saw served around us in fabulous black-iron skillets.
In other words, the flakes added that special extra touch and were much appreciated.
Our second choice was Agnolotti Dal Plin, or "The Pinch" ($20).
Huge, obviously homemade, paper-thin ravioli burst with a veal and ricotta stuffing and were made absolutely outstanding by a savory Parmesan broth that, to put it perhaps too crudely, was like the perfect middle ground between French onion soup and a decadent gravy. That is to say the broth itself was gloriously thin but tasted rich and meaty, perhaps because of the collection of wild mushrooms swimming within it. (Yes, mushrooms, in many forms, make numerous appearances on the Rustic menu, and about that we have no complaints.)
Again, if pushed to quibble, we can only say the Agnolotti was a bit monochromatic in presentation, and at least one colorful ingredient might have boosted its visual appeal.
Still, this was a dish we´d order again and again, if there weren´t so many other options at which we´re still hoping to have a go. Think a number of standard steaks with inventive toppings paired with Parmesan truffle fries. Or chicken done, perhaps stuffed, to the nines. Or seafood dolled up with all manner of dream ingredients.
We finished things off by sharing that Italian classic called tiramisu ($8), which much to our delight but not, by now, surprise, was served in a martini glass and presented on a fruit-sauce-drizzled tray. The soft, cakelike ladyfingers lined the inside of the glass like shrimp sometimes ring the outside, while the exquisitely light mascarpone filling, which resembled homemade whipped cream in taste and texture, provided the needed support.
A considerable sprinkling of cocoa powder decorated the top and looked lovely, though some pesky airborne particles of it did tax the throat a bit. (Enjoy this one with caution.)
All said and done, sated and happy and already anticipating a most definite next time, one of us got an even better tour of the surprisingly spacious place as we went searching for a restroom.
This was perhaps our only disappointment on the night. A restroom is non-existent, at least for customers. Curiously, we were directed to a casino restroom, which is practically right outside the Rustic Kitchen doors, but had we the need during the meal, it would have been nice to have the privilege of a more private setting.
If our meal weren´t so good, we´d probably have inquired more, even made a small fuss, but that´s the way it goes when you leave happy, we suppose.
Feed us well, and we´ll try to roll with the punches.
IF YOU GO
What: Rustic Kitchen Bistro & Bar
Where: Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, 1280 Highway 315, Plains Township
Call: 570-824-6600
Credit cards? Yes
Handicapped accessible? Yes
Smoking/nonsmoking? Nonsmoking
Other: Locations also in Hingham and Boston, Mass. Cooking-show demonstrations with local chef Kate Gabriele. (Inquire within.) Extensive wine list and in-house wine bar. | 
