Cafe Augusta - New Word Bistro This is an archive page. Cafe Augusta closed December 31, 2011. Cafe Augusta in Lenexa, Kansas opened in early May of 2009. Cafe Augusta calls itself a New World Bistro. Whenever possible, they offer "hormone, antibiotic and additive free foods, promote sustainable agriculture, use environmentally friendly products, and support local farmers." That is commendable and they should point this out more prominently. I think that Augusta may become quite successful, but I've been disappointed with my first two visits. Perhaps they are trying a little too hard to make things special. The menu is posted on a large board, orders are placed at the counter, and the food is brought to the table by servers who also clear away unused dishes. The descriptions of the dishes on the board seemed detailed at first, but when the food was brought to the table there was a big surprise. The "Bistro Fries" were described as cooked to order fries served with chipotle mayo on the side. There was no hint that they would be topped with crumbled blue cheese, rosemary and garlic. Which doesn't sound bad, I love blue cheese and garlic and would have been quick to order it anyway, but it didn't work that well in practice. I never thought I would say these three words about any dish, but either there was Too Much Garlic or the garlic used had a bad flavor. I still had an unpleasantly sharp garlic taste in my mouth hours after the meal. But this is starting to sound like I didn't like Cafe Augusta, and I do like it. The concept is great and this could become a great addition to the Johnson County restaurant scene. We each ordered sandwiches, which come with the choice of chips or house salad. We tried the Italian Hero (capicola, Genoa, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, tomato, and red onion with balsamic vinaigrette on a baguette) and Michi's Reuben (corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss served on rye with Michi's Russian dressing on the side, broiled and served open faced). They were $8.95 and $9.50 respectively - a bit of a high price point, unless you take the organic and sustain ability into consideration. The hero was our favorite of the two sandwiches. The rye bread under the Reuben was rather tough- it was work cutting through the bread with a butter knife. Otherwise the sandwich tasted good, though I would have enjoyed it more with a more traditional dressing. We both enjoyed the house salad. Two sandwiches, two small salads, an order of fries and two sodas came to $28 before the tip. On our second visit a month later, I ordered a cobb salad. The salad did not have dressing on the side and came rather dry - it was in no way special. My companion does not enjoy sauerkraut and ordered the bratwurst without the sauerkraut. When it came, it came with the sauerkraut, which was mixed with the onions and bacon that came with the dish. This should have been explained when she ordered. Subsequent visits to Cafe Augusta have had similar problems. The interior of Cafe Augusta is pleasant. There is art on the walls in the back of the restaurant and the owners (mother & daughter Micheline Zacharias Burger and Mijanou Burger Cackler) intend to feature the work of local artists in the future. The space occupied by Cafe Augusta was the home of the Genghis Khan Chinese Restaurant which never reopened after a fire.
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