Augustus Cafe [Las Vegas]

First off, you shouldn't expect to eat in any casino restaurant (and I'm not talking about a place you could call a joint/diner/cafe) without overpaying for what you get. Augustus in Caesar's is no exception and you're looking at $15 burgers, $11 quesidillas, $9 cups of soup, and $20+ if you want an actual entree.

Hell, you dont even get a free basket of bread if you order anything that can be construed as a lunch item (appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, burgers). That is, unless your waitress is sweet enough to bring you one on the sly. We understood why it was such a big deal only after we devoured our zucchini bread muffins and egg&bacon breakfast rolls. Nothing could have been more soothing for our hangovers than the essence of breakfast captured by our single bread basket.

There was nothing special about the burger or Reuben sandwich, which were both markedly mediocre. My SO asked if he could substitute the potato salad his burger came with for mashed potatoes and our waitress responded by saying, "Oh, the potato salad is really only a garnish. It's not substantial at all." LOL. Leave it to Vegas to serve a $15 burger only adorned with a pickle.

On the other hand, the French onion soup was a whole other story, better left for Sheepathon to tell.

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Augustus Cafe's French onion soup offers a gooey, stretchy layer of cheese that others could only dream of attaining. The stock is rich, beefy, and flavorful, while the amount of bread inside is not overwhelming, but is more than just a few morsels that leave you wanting more. The soup is delivered in a small white ceramic bowl ornamented with a lion head that somehow makes the $9 price tag seem more worthwhile. Bottom line, if you’re going to Vegas and have got a few minutes for a soothing meal, the hot, steamy, delicately flavored French onion soup, complete with perfectly browned cheese, will go a long way.

--Sheepathon

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Augustus Cafe
3570 Las Vegas Blvd.
Caesar's Palace
Las Vegas, NV 89136
(702) 731-7110

Daily Cafe [Portland]

Daily Cafe is located in the trendy Pearl district of Portland, which is one of those revived warehouse areas a la NYC's Meatpacking district. The modern space is painted in vibrant oranges and reds and is a dose of sunshine waiting for you on a Sunday morning. Not too busy or noisy, it is a good place to bring the family on a warm weekend.

Sunday brunch at the Daily Cafe involves a three-course prix fixe at an affordable $12.95. We started with a basket of pastries that included a cranberry scone, banana nut muffin, and cheddar cheese biscuit--all of which were fairly generic and dry.

Our appetizers came after our entrees and weren't memorable interpretations of apple cobbler or granola. The standouts were our entrees of baked Portuguese eggs with choricou and kale and smoked salmon omelette. In both case, our eggs were cooked to perfection and well seasoned.


Daily Cafe in the Pearl
902 NW 13th Ave
Portland OR 97209
(503) 242-1916

clarklewis [Portland]

When clarklewis opened a few years ago, it earned critical acclaim for its innovative take on organic Northwestern cuisine. As an out-of-town foodie from the Bay Area, I would agree that it lives up to the best of them in San Francisco.

The clarklewis menu is unconventionally horizontal, listing menu items and descriptions by their ingredients only. This introduces an element of surprise as you anticipate what a crostone with farm egg, frisee, sage roasted chanterelles, duck sugo, and aged balsamic is going to taste like as it awakens your taste buds with the subdued tartness of a sauce that you cant enough of. Or when you start to ponder the chewy texture of cavatelli with strawberry beef cheek bolognese.

All of the dishes on the clarklewis menu can be ordered in small, large, or family-sized portions. Each of our six dishes was unexpected and dazzling.

Make your way over to the retro woodgrain bar (if only to find enough light to read your menu). The entire dining room is flanked by open-air windows on either side, which makes for an enjoyable early autumn dinner when the air is crisp and still warm.

clarklewis
1001 Se Water Ave
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 235-2294

Voodoo Doughnut [Portland]

This was probably the most hyped up I got over any eating establishment that we planned to visit in Portland. Voodoo is one of those late-night cult favorites that you make sure to hit after a long night out. It has an underground urban vibe and the dark emo kids sitting outside only help to complete the vibe. It is as much an icon of Portland as is the its greenness and for the novelty alone, you must make a stop here on any trip to the area.

There seems to be an endless selection to choose from and all with whimsical names for your ordering. There are no pretenses here. If you order the "Cock-n-Balls," you're going to get a triple-cream, chocolate covered doughnut that indeed looks a like a cock with a pair of balls. The doughnuts are baked in bulk, which means that when you come in at midnight, the cocoa puffs on your Triple Chocolate Penetration are gonna be stale. The raised donuts aren't as fluffy and light and the cake donuts, a bit dry for my taste. The confections are achingly sweet, so make sure you grab a cup of coffee to dip yours in. I recommend the ODB

The store also holds monthly events, but I wasn't around in the Spring to check out the annual cockfest. " Hey boys!! How many doughnuts can you stack on your dick?? Enter the Annual Cockfest to find out. " Tasty indeed.

Voodoo Doughnut
22 SW 3rd Ave
Portland, OR 97204
(503) 241-4704