Interestingly enough, when I posted that huge list of all the restaurants I'd like to try here in Vegas, there were very few breakfast places. Except for one notable exception--Hash House A Go Go. And when reader Clint (some of you might be more familiar with him as Jolly Green Giant) shot me an email last week offering to cover the tab for crossing it off the list, of course I happily accepted his invitation.
Our plan was to meet up at the sportsbook bar at the Orleans at 11:45, and he'd even made a reservation for us at 12:15. He even offered to drive, but since he was kind enough to pick up the lunch tab, I couldn't make him do that too, so we took my truck. The restaurant was a quick less-than-ten-minute drive from the Orleans, and we got there with time to spare. Our reservation wasn't needed--we were seated immediately.
The restaurant itself was much smaller than I expected, and I was surprised to see that the bar up front was notably video poker-free, definitely unexpected in this city. As soon as we sat down, the first order of business was to order drinks. Clint had mango iced tea, while I went with an iced praline latte.
It came in a tall glass with a generous portion of whipped cream on top, and I enjoyed it just as much as any pretentious venti-sized offering from Starbucks, minus all the save-the-planet angst.I had time to check out their menu online beforehand, but was still undecided as to what I was going to order. We saw one of our fellow patrons happily digging his way through a blueberry pancake that was about the size of your average hubcap, and another one eating salad from a bowl so big that it looked like it originally featured fixtures for hot and cold water and a drain in the bottom.
But that's not what I was in the market for. When our waiter listed the daily specials, one in particular caught my attention. It was called a Boston Scramble. It featured potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and cheese, topped with huge crab cake that was drizzled with a horseradish cream sauce, with scrambled eggs, a homemade biscuit, and fruit on the side. It sounded pretty damn good to me, so that's what I went with. It arrived piping hot in a huge iron skillet.
Clint wasn't in the mood for breakfast, and he went with the one-pound double-cheeseburger with bacon, and a side of macaroni and cheese. It looked pretty tasty, too.
Although the food was pretty good, there were a few minor quibbles--the bun on that huge burger wasn't hefty enough to handle the patties, and was pretty much a crumbled mess after just a couple of bites. And the potatoes used in my scramble were cut way too big--I prefer smaller diced home-fry style potatoes, and these were just huge chunks--like they just quartered a bunch of spuds and threw them in the skillet. When the chunks are that big, they don't hold much flavor and it's just like eating huge starch ball. No thanks. Because of that, most of the potatoes remained uneaten after all the veggies, fruit, and other goodies were polished off.
And even though I just took a swipe at Starbucks pretentiousness, Hash House A Go Go is also guilty. Breakfast food is simple food, and they go out of their way to try and add descriptiveness to some ingredients that just sound ridiculous out of context. We all know what Roma tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes are. But they insist on calling all of their tomatoes 'market' tomatoes. Whatever. They were just plain old tomatoes.
But my favorite epicurean adjective was the 'airline' chicken breasts. I have no idea what that means, but they looked pretty much like regular earthbound chicken breasts to me. Reading clownish descriptions like that on the menu reminded me of one of the funniest lines ever uttered by Homer Simpson, in the episode where the navy recruiters/village people were singing their lyrics backwards, loaded with subliminal messages.
To paraphrase--
Lisa: Dad, I don't understand what they're saying--what are they singing about?Heh.
Homer: Oh it's nothing Lisa, those are just nonsense words they put in songs that don't really mean anything, like rama-lama ding dong or Give peace a chance...
Anyhow, minor quibbles aside, it's decent food, aside from the pomposity of the menu. And while the food, service, and ambiance were good, the company was even better while Clint and I had a great visit while noshing our 'twisted farm food'.
Not wanting to eat the equivalent of three baked potatoes, I didn't quite finish all of my meal, but Clint did a little better and earned himself probationary membership in the Clean Plate Club.
The bill arrived, and the total tab came to $35. Not the cheapest meal I've ever had, but not too painful on the wallet, either. Even though the portions are huge, I still don't think it's that great of a value--I still think you get more bang for your buck at the Peppermill. But the restaurant is certainly worth a visit, and maybe even worth a return visit. But next time I'm ordering something without so many damn potatoes.
After our meal, we had an afternoon to kill. I didn't want to come to the table emptyhanded, so I brought along two of my favorite Partagas #10s to smoke, so our next order of business was to find a couple of comfy chairs and some cocktail service, and we headed back towards the Orleans. On the drive back, we made one quick stop for a few minutes of window shopping, and we got to put our hands on a couple of items on those wish lists I posted a few days back.
Once we got back to the Orleans, we headed back to the sportsbook lounge, lit up the cigars, and had a few drinks while enjoying pleasant conversation and the Vegas vibe going on around us.
It was a great afternoon and one of the better days off I've had in the past few weeks.
Oh, and to top it all off, the Cardinals beat the Mets last night, too. That was better than dessert.
Mikey
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