Visitreno

[remano]

The Daily Meal Blog rates Reno as their #1 choice of cities that will surprise you in the culinary category. Thing is, they missed some of the best, like LuLou's, 4th Street Bistro (both pretty haute), Brasserie St. James (brew pub with interesting menu), Beaugalais Bistro (poor location on West Street but they're moving soon) and some others. Anybody else have any favorites to add to the list? Here's the article:

http://www.thedailymeal.com/top-10-under-radar-towns-slideshow

[Mammothgambler]

Thanks for the link, Remano! Always good seeing new food info out there.

I have not yet tried the Campo here, but surprisingly enough, they were putting one in Mammoth right before I left, which was kind of surprising seeing how the town was in such bad shape. I've heard it's a step or two above the Olive Garden, but also pricier.

Well, being the foodie that I am, here's a few places I've found outside of the casinos here in Reno since we got here that are definitely worth trying:

1>China Diner on West Street, directly behind the Montage.
http://renochinadinerdowntown.com/
Open each nite until 3 am, little hole in the wall place, very clean, very good, un-Americanized. BIG crispy egg rolls with the bubbly skin that are so hard to find.

2>Giant Burger across from Walgreens and the CoEd Lodge on North Virginia. Never crowded, very big, cheap burgers, and homemade deep-fried zucchini sticks.

3>The Golden Flower on West 5th.
http://www.goldenflowerreno.com/
Best selection of Asian/Pho I've checked out around here - and also open til 3 am! A bit pricier than China Diner but totally worth it.

4>Noble Pie Parlor, formerly Pie Face Pizza Co., on West 2nd, practically in the lobby of the El Cortez Hotel.
http://noblepieparlor.com/
Open very late, good selection of microbrews, and the pizza crust is very unique, with a hand knotted outer crust. The ONLY place I've found around here that real vegetables and pizza toppings vs. canned. They used to have late-nite bingo where you could win free pies and beer, but they unfortunately did away with it.

5>Sup on S. Virginia in Midtown.
http://www.stockpotinc.com
Unique soup/salad/sandwich menu. Everything's homemade, outside porch is dog-friendly, very cool crowd.

Mammothgambler

[stan_allen]

Mg, would that #2 also be known as "Nation's Giant Burger", or is it a different deal?

I had never had "Nation's" until recently, and holy smoke, I was converted as soon as I bit in. Great stuff; it's apparently a big chain here in the Bay Area, but I somehow never got around to trying it until recently. Well, better late than never!

[Mammothgambler]

Right on Stan,

I have heard of the Nation's chain, but this Giant Burger is a privately owned setup, just with a similar name I guess. Definitely worth a try.

Oh, and speaking of burgers - I forgot to include one of my new finds - the McReno burger at Tivoli Gardens at the Eldorado. Jalapeño peppers, jack cheese, Russian dressing, and crispy fried onions. All on a big, square bun, gotta love it! Tivoli just recently redid their menus and for some reason, this item is no longer listed (strange, as it's supposedly been on Food Wars or a similar program)...but it's worth asking for, hands down.

Mammothgambler

[BC Dave]

The only one of your recommendations I'm familiar with is the Gold Flower. I've had the Pho Soup there a couple of times. It was excellent. For those who haven't seen it, it's right behind Circus Circus' 2nd tower (corner of fifth and west).