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If you're a breakfast lover, how could you not love a restaurant with a name like Americana Café?  In addition to a name that evokes images of hot dogs, mom and apple pie, consider these other all-American qualities:  a) Diner cuisine is served  b)  Located in the "Biggest Little City in the World  c)  It's located in a world-class hotel/casino d) The restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch.  Yes, it's true, although Circus Circus is a 24/7, world-class destination, and a gambler's playground, Americana Café keeps diner hours of 06:00 to 14:00, so you know they must be serious about breakfast.  During our visit to Reno on Monday, September 6, 2010, we just had to sample a world-class breakfast at Americana Café, and post a write-up on our web site.

Photo:  Sharlene is looking at the breakfast menu, posted in front of Americana Café, located on the Mezzanine level, within the friendly Circus Circus hotel/casino.

Americana Café is located within the friendly Circus Circus hotel/casino on the second floor, which is a three block long promenade that connects Circus Circus with Silver Legacy and El Dorado casinos.  You can walk the promenade and eat, shop, take in the sights of three casinos, and even flirt with Lady Luck if you're so inclined, without even stepping outside to the sometimes-harsh Reno weather.  You can't miss Americana Café, as it's located on the mezzanine, near the Midway, where the children like to play, and frequently spend more money on the prize machines than their parents do on the one-arm bandits.  (I know, as a parent, I've been-there, done-that too many times to think about...) Americana has their menu posted in front of the restaurant, complete with prices, and looking at the menu, you'll not only find quality diner choices, but you'll note the prices are truly affordable.  If you're a fan of American diner cuisine, the menu at Americana Café will put a smile on your face.

Photo:  This panoramic view only shows a small portion of the huge dining room.  As you can see, it's very clean, modern and comfortable.

Photo:  A peed into the very busy kitchen.

Photo:  Rosa has just placed our food on the table, and is heading back to the kitchen to get my bowl of breakfast gravy.

You walk into the restaurant, and you're greeted by a friendly greeter, who gives you a smile, a warm welcome, and will seat you at a booth or a table.  We arrived early on this holiday Monday morning, and the restaurant wasn't full, but by the time we left, lines were forming outside, so on weekends, consider arriving early.  Our greeter seated us at a booth, to the rear of the spacious dining room... actually, spacious isn't the right word, as the dining room his HUGE; the dining room can seat a couple hundred people easily.  Our friendly server, Rosa, place menus on our table, and a pot of coffee, as Americana Café operates on the place-the-pot on your table and you pour-your-coffee in real-time... I'm not sure if I like the format where the coffee server comes around every few minutes with a fresh pot to replenish your coffee mug, or the format that Americana offers.  Whatever the case, there were plenty of packages of cream to dilute my coffee a bit, so that helped to make Sharlene happy campers.

The menu lives up to the name of the restaurant, as it's a pure slice of Americana, and features all of your breakfast favorites.  As you would expect, the menu features a wide array of breakfast classics, combination plates, and lots of good ol' American breakfast comfort food.  There are lots of choices... more than enough choices to satisfy the desire and hunger any breakfast connoisseur.  Sharlene chose pancakes, bacon and eggs, while I chose my not-so-hungry de facto standard of fried eggs, hash brown potatoes, sourdough toast, with a cup of breakfast gravy on the side.  How can you eat breakfast without gravy?

Photo:  Shalene's breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and a slice of melon for garnish.

Photo:  My de facto standard breakfast of hash brown potatoes, fried eggs, sourdough toast, coffee, and a bowl of gravy on the side.  My breakfast was delicious, and cooked perfectly.

Service at Americana Café is very fast, as it seems that I'd not even finished snapping a few kitchen and dining room shots before our friendly server, Rosa, was placing our orders on the table.  The presentation of Sharlene's breakfast was quite unique, as she received two medium-size pancakes, with the eggs placed on top of them, with the bacon to the side, and a slice of melon as garnish.  My plate was decorated in a similar fashion, complete with the honeydew melon slice on the side, but with a GIGANTIC add-on:  A cup of delicious breakfast gravy.

Photo:  Rosa snapped our photo, as Sharlene and I are about ready to enjoy our delicious breakfasts.

Sharlene and I enjoyed our breakfasts.  I can't say there is anything spectacular about Americana Café, but the food and the service are great, the portions are ample, and the price represents a good value.  Unlike the mass-cooked, heat-lamp style casino breakfasts, Americana Café prepares each meal individually, and its served to you in a sit-down restaurant style, unlike a buffet or cafeteria atmosphere so prevalent in many Reno casinos. Americana Café serves great food at a reasonable price, and represents a great value in Reno's breakfast dining scene.

Americana Café
Circus Circus Hotel and Casino
Mezzanine Level
500 North Sierra Street
Reno, NV 89503
775 329-0711


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