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Reno Recommendations & Reviews


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Okay..We've searched the threads in the Southwest...Nothing on dining in Reno!! There must be something?! We'd like recommendations on ANY cuisine, preferably local hangouts vs. hotel/casino restaurants. But if that's all you can recommend, okay! Reno is a fairly large city so let's going!! Please help!!

Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant. http://www.libertybellereno.com/ :biggrin:

Bruce Frigard

Quality control Taster, Château D'Eau Winery

"Free time is the engine of ingenuity, creativity and innovation"

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

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SJE, I usually go visit my friends in the Carson Valley (Carson City, Gardnerville, Minden, Genoa), which is about a 30-40 minute drive south from Reno.

If you don't mind the drive, there's a great local Basque restaurant called JT's along the 395 (west side) in Gardnerville. For the price of the entree, they serve soup, salad, beef stew (or tongue), your entree with fries, beans, bread, and ice cream, all served family style.

As for Reno itself, I'm not too familiar. Reno does have a Trader Joe's & a Wild Oats (sort of similiar to Whole Foods Market), if you need to pick up some items. I have some friends coming into LA this week from Carson Valley, Nevada. Let me check with them & I'll get back with you.

winesonoma, I'm gonna have to try that Liberty Belle next time I get up there. Thanks!

Russell J. Wong aka "rjwong"

Food and I, we go way back ...

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http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=44734 <-- Go figger, the Reno thread is in California. Leave to Yankees to redefine geography. :raz: (Reno is an hour from Tahoe.)

I wrote up two places that are DEFINITELY among the cream of the Reno crop: La Vecchia and Oceano, which is a seafood place at Peppermill casino. I had done my research, believe me, at Chowhound (fairly worthless--there is someone there who simply does not get the idea that La Vecchia is not the same place they say sucked; I think it's a not very bright person there pretends to be an expert just for being a Reno resident), also Google and so on. Let my research benefit you.

We also tried a wine bar in Reno, the name of which escapes me, but it's very prevalent in searches on Reno. The owner and wines were great. The restaurant, alas, at our meal, provided food that was oversalted. I assume the chef was a chain smoker. We commented on it, and the owner liked the food salty. Ah, well. (You can always add more, but you can't add less.) This place is on the same thoroughfare as the Peppermill, on the same side of the street, but not as far down.

I have more photos of La Vecchia, somewhere, and will send you links to that, and to a longish report I wrote up, if you like. (Anyone can PM me who wants the report; it's off-site and I can't link to it here.)

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http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=44734 <-- Go figger, the Reno thread is in California. Leave to Yankees to redefine geography. :raz: (Reno is an hour from Tahoe.)

I wrote up two places that are DEFINITELY among the cream of the Reno crop: La Vecchia and Oceano, which is a seafood place at Peppermill casino. I had done my research, believe me, at Chowhound (fairly worthless--there is someone there who simply does not get the idea that La Vecchia is not the same place they say sucked; I think it's a not very bright person there pretends to be an expert just for being a Reno resident), also Google and so on. Let my research benefit you.

We also tried a wine bar in Reno, the name of which escapes me, but it's very prevalent in searches on Reno. The owner and wines were great. The restaurant, alas, at our meal, provided food that was oversalted. I assume the chef was a chain smoker. We commented on it, and the owner liked the food salty. Ah, well. (You can always add more, but you can't add less.) This place is on the same thoroughfare as the Peppermill, on the same side of the street, but not as far down.

I have more photos of La Vecchia, somewhere, and will send you links to that, and to a longish report I wrote up, if you like. (Anyone can PM me who wants the report; it's off-site and I can't link to it here.)

The whole State of Nevada is a Goddamn salt mine. I spent a week there in July and had swollen ankles till Labor day. Should put a SYSCO truck on the state flag. :raz::raz::raz:

Bruce Frigard

Quality control Taster, Château D'Eau Winery

"Free time is the engine of ingenuity, creativity and innovation"

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

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(I personally don't think Reno really belongs in the Tahoe sector, myself, any more than San Jose belongs in San Francisco, and SJ is even closer to SF than Reno is to Tahoe. But whatevah. It's not that big of a deal.)

South Jersey Epicurean: I finally remembered the name of the wine store/restaurant. It's Viaggio. I will definitely give it a second shot while I'm there next: the chef might have just had an off night. It could happen to anyone. You can tell from the website that it's a nice space. Worth a stop just to sit and have some really good wines by the glass. The owner is very friendly and (I think) knowledgeable.

Also, for what it's worth, Reno's only Master Sommelier is at the Siena casino (I presume he's still there), where we always stay (and if you had a Princess and the Pea butt like I do, you'd only want to stay in those famous beds, too). We're going to Reno soon, laden with all kinds of perqs from the Siena, some of which include dining credits. I will report back.

Siena web site

Lastly, I really like the CheapoTravel.com websites for the skinny on Las Vegas and Reno. They're funny, and they're not really all about being cheap, but in delineating what is and isn't worth the money.

CheapoTravel.com's Reno site.

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  • 1 year later...

Hey all,

I'm going to be in Reno for a few days next month. Does anyone know of good places for dim sum and/or lobster in the area?

I read that there was one dim sum restaurant called the One on North Virginia St. and an all you can eat lobster buffet at the Boomtown.

Comments? Opinion?

Thanks much

Dumpling

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A trip to reno is never complete with out some soup noodle from pho 777( on 4th Street I think, right downtown) and the awful awful (a hamburger called so because its awful big and awful good) in the nugget casion on north virginia street. I used to go to Louis Basque corner and remember loving it (although it was a long time ago). They have a different menu everyday, all the seating is family style and they just serve you what they are making that day. Have a good trip and remember, you have to bet big to win big.

Edited by chankonabe (log)
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  • 3 weeks later...

I was recently in Reno (which I learned was the "biggest little city in the world") and didn't really know where to eat. I wanted to enjoy a good meal in a small place, away from all of the casinos. I was meeting my father from the east coast, who was there on business, and we wanted to have a nice dinner.

I found exactly what I wanted with Lulou's, a small restaurant on South Virginia and Vassar St. (?). It was perfectly lovely.

The chef and his wife run the restaurant. She's front of the house and is quite a charmer ( at least my father thought so ). Nevertheless, they know what they are doing and the formula works. The service was impeccable.

The kitchen is open but alas, there are no seats right beside it. So I had to crook my head a couple of times when the culinary goings-on caught my eye.

My father and I looked over the menus and at first I was a little daunted by the sheer number of offerings. But what I chose, as was the case with Dad, was superb. The menu runs the gamut (we started with some Asian-inspired fried calamari with cilantro and lime and finished with an apple crepe and house-made ginger ice cream). But it is all good. My dad had Niman Ranch lamb with a side of some very rich risotto. I thoroughly enjoyed a perfectly cooked medallion of veal tenderloin with another, very rich side of mac and cheese with cepes!!!

The chef cares about what he serves his customers. Most of the menu is filled with organic produce and sustainably raised products.

The wine list was good by me. Mostly west coast American but not exclusively. I'm no wine connaisseur by any means but it served our purposes just fine. I began with a vey crisp Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (Marlborough) and my dad enjoyed his Quebecois Fin du Monde, although I'll have to say that the bartender butchered the pronunciation (details, details - and out of fairness, my father butchered the pronunciation of half the menu). We moved onto a good Pinot from the Wilamette valley and enjoyed it until the last drop.

When all was done, I was sad.

I don't know any higher praise than that.

Thanks Lulou's for a wonderful meal! When in Reno, do as those in Reno ( I found out about the place from the helpful people at the local Williams-Sonoma). And get thee to Lulou's.

Cheers.

"Champagne was served. Emma shivered from head to toe as she felt the iced wine in her mouth. She had never seen pomegranates nor tasted pineapples..." - Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

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  • 6 months later...

If you happen to be in the Carson Valley (Carson City, Minden, Gardnerville), there's a really good Basque restaurant called J.T.'s along the 395 in Gardnerville. All the locals go there. It's a bit of a drive from Reno, about 45-60 minutes without traffic & snow.

Russell J. Wong aka "rjwong"

Food and I, we go way back ...

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  • 9 months later...

Here is an update on the Reno dining scene. There are many corporate and casino/hotel restaurants and I am sure that they could be very good and very enjoyable but as other diners have posted here my partner and I chose to dine at small locally owned independent restaurants. One that has been mentioned in this forum before is Lulou's. We almost didn't get to dine there. It's a small place and we dropped in on a Wednesday night at 6:30 only to find it full and a one hour wait. Coleen, who runs the front of house, was very apologetic that she couldn't seat us in a more timely fashion but recommended another restaurant. She even went so far as to call the other restaurant (its owned by friends of she and her husband) to see if they could take us. The answer was yes and we were set. We did make reservations for Thursday night at Lulou's. So it was off to the other restaurant called 4th Street Bistro. It is a charming smallish cottage set on a hill above Reno. It is decidedly French bistro in setting and in cuisine. Very cozy and warm and inviting. Carol Wilson the manager/owner greeted us and made us feel welcome. The service was excellent and so was the food. Fresh and simply prepared in the French manner. We would definitely go back there in a heart beat. The next night it was back to Lulous. In decor this restaurant is a polar opposite to the 4th St Bistro. Lulou's is slightly larger and very hard edge trendy/sophisticated (not my first choice of decor as you can probably tell). The food and the service, however, were excellent, although I did think that the wine list was a bit high priced for some less than excellent wines. Would we go back there again. As I said before in a heart beat. The next day we had lunch in down town Reno at a place called the Wild River grill. It's located along the Truckee River just a few blocks for the major hotel/casinos. Our lunch and the service were very good. All of the restaurants have web sites with their menus on them.

Edited by FWED (log)

Fred Rowe

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  • 6 years later...
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