Friday Cocktails: Saggio

Living in New York, a boozy weekend brunch is a given. After reveling into the wee hours, you can take a quick catnap and roll into the neighborhood diner be-spectacled and baseball-capped for an omelette and a screwdriver. But in Las Vegas, the real city that never sleeps, this languid, alcohol-infused Sunday morning meal was something that, until recently, I had never experienced—normally the $2.99 steak and eggs midnight special is what fuels gamblers and club-goers alike. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a kicked up version of my favorite meal in, of all places, a nightclub. By day, Lavo, a see-and-be-seen nightclub in the Palazzo hotel and casino, serves up serious food with cocktails to match. The usual brunch supects, such as frittatas, lox-laced matzo brei, and mile-high blueberry pancakes were served alongside tricked-out burgers, salads, and massive one-pound Kobe meatballs with whipped ricotta. The cocktail menu boasted a half dozen riffs on the classic bloody Mary and numerous sugary dessert martinis, but what really whet my whistle was the Saggio—verdant, muddled sage leaves shaken with white cranberry juice and blueberry-infused vodka. Sweet and fizzy, it was heaven to drink while devouring lobster benedict. It was on my last sip that I noticed the Treasure Island casino's pirate ship sail into view, magnified at the bottom of my glass—only in Vegas!