Burning Man 1997 | Hot Spots of Reno

Hot Spots of Reno

by the Fabulous Fiona (with minor additions from Maid Marian and Phil "The Civilized Traaveler" Stripling)

Reno is so close to Hell you can see Sparks. --Anonymous

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So, you're going to Burning Man and will probably stop in Reno on the way. Fortunately for you, I have sorted through all the fluff, and herewith present to you the following options for stops in the Biggest Little City in the World.

If you are West Bound on I-80, you will be hard pressed to miss the new 24-hour K-mart right off of the West McClarren Blvd. Yes, I said 24-hours, they have massive amounts of food, clothing, gardening toys, and block ice. They used to have a machine that dispensed cool kitty stickers, but that has recently been removed. Exit to the right and then take your first right, and another right back over McClarren.

Another easy one-stop shopping exit would be at Keystone when you first get into town. If you turn left at the light, you can find gas stations galore, not to mention a large Raley's Supermarket with a veritable plethora of sunscreen, batteries and ice. If you turn to the right, you will find every kind of fast food imaginable. This is the surgical stop: get in, take care of business, and get out.

Chow

The one, true benefit to living in Reno is cheap food. The casinos are dead convinced that if they feed you inexpensive eats and give you free drinks, you will drop loads of money on their tables and into their slot machines. Little do they know that there are many of us who set foot in the casino only to partake of their meal deals. As you roll into town, you will undoubtedly be accosted by screaming signs extolling the virtues of various round the clock breakfast specials. Here's the abridged and recommended version.

Jim Kelly's Nugget Diner Two words: Awful Awful. The A-squared would be a half-pound slab of cow topped with cheese on an onion roll, accompanied by a humongous basket o' fries. For $3.49. I live for these things. I can't even tell you if the rest of the menu is good because I've never gotten past this. 233 N. Virginia @ 2nd.

Atlantis It's way down on the other end of town, but their buffet is definitely The Best. Prices vary depending on day and time. Well worth the drive. 3800 S. Virginia

Eldorado So you wanna do the buffet thing, but dont want to drive to the other side of town. Fine, be that way. Next best bet is the Eldorado, right downtown. The last time we ate there, I wasn't really impressed, but everyone else seems to love it. Prices vary, 345 N. Virginia

Cal-Neva The Top Deck and the Copper Ledge are undoubtedly the cheapest food in town. Try the .99 Ham & Eggs, or my personal favorite, a 3-egg chili, cheese and onion omelette with hash browns and toast for $1.86. I think they still have a deal where you can show them an out-of-state driver's license and get two-for-one dinner coupons. My girlfriend and I did this, and got prime rib and lobster with all the trimmings for $13.00, and that includes the tip. Quantity, not quality, is the key here. East 2nd and Virginia Streets.

Pioneer Casino Being as this is right across the street from my favorite bar (the Blue Lamp), I end up having breakfast at 2 a.m. here frequently. Between 11 a.m. and 6 a.m., the Country Breakfast with two scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, ham, sausage or bacon, and toast for $2.99 is quite delightful. If you're there on graveyard shift, ask to sit in Nora's station and tip her well. She's the coolest. 221 S. Virginia.

Of course, not everyone wants to eat meat and grease. So here are a few other suggestions for cool eats.

Cool eats

The Blue Heron Reno's most excellent vegetarian restaurant, with that down-home granola feeling. If they have it as a special, the Portabella Mushroom Fajitas are to die for. 1091 S. Virginia. [less than a mile past the Pioneer on the right hand side heading away from I-80]

Deux Gros Nez That's French for Two Big Noses, which aptly describes the owners. The mostly vegetarian menu is all over the map. Killer pie, and a decent cup o' joe (or espresso). All in all, good food in a nice atmosphere. 249 California Ave. [at Liberty. Entrance on the side, walk up a flight of staris. Cool bikes hanging from the ceiling]

Pneumatic Diner Another yummy veggie spot, affiliated with the Deux. I recommend the Bazuka (you'll just have to go and find out what it is....). This is also one of the few places in town which is non-smoking. 501 W. First St.

Fresco's Hands down, the best pizza in town. Yeah, you can find a cheaper pie, but why would you want to? 870 S. Center.

Pub & Sub Killer sub sandwiches, decent chicken wings and pizza and burgers. A bit too frat-boy for hanging out, but you're there for the food, not the ambience, right? 1000 Ralston.

My Favorite Muffin and Bagel Few things hit the spot like a bagel and cream cheese on the playa. If you forgot to pick them up before you left town, we've got you covered. 340 California Ave.

China Diner Sometimes you just need to have lots of so-so Chinese food at 3 a.m. This would be the place, open almost all night and conveniently located downtown. 275 West St.

Nightlife

What do you mean you don't want to see Wayne Newton or Gladys Knight? That's okay, neither do we. The good news is that you have options. There's only a couple of them, but they're options nonetheless.

The Blue Lamp Brought to you by Todd Englert, the man behind San Francisco's Albion. It's cozy, the crowd is hip and friendly (I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but it's true) and the Cosmopolitans are wicked. If it's afternoon and you're very lucky, the Divine Miss Stacey Tolle will be your bartender. Live music most nights. 240 S. Sierra. [FYI, The Blue Lamp is near and dear to the Burning Man Project, not only has it served as ticket outlet in 1996, but has become the favorite local watering hole for Burning Man organizers when they haul through town, and is conveniently located across the street from the Pioneer, which has $40 rooms during the week]

Area 51 The bastard child of the Blue Lamp. Todd took pity on us, and decided to give us an option, so now we have two places to go. Area 51 is larger, thus making it the better of the two venues for live music. The spot where all the aliens in town hang out. 1483 East Fourth. [1/4 mile past Fantasy Girls on the left side of the road]

I.claudius Our little scene just keeps breeding. I.claudius is Todd's latest offering, this one a wine, martini and espresso bar which features a variety of art and performance. As the manager says, "This bar's for the grown-ups." It's located right next door to Area 51, and is a good place to cool your heels when the rock 'n roll lifestyle gets to be too much. 1447 East Fourth.

There are a few other bars around town, but the only reason you'd want to go there is if there was a really, really, really cool band playing. To find out about music (and other cool stuff), snag yourself a copy of the Reno News & Review, our local alternative weekly.

Activities and Attractions

I had to rack my brain to think of anything fun or interesting to do in this town. Of course, you can always dress in ticky-tacky tourist attire and go downtown and play a $2 roll of nickels for hours, but we don't have anything like Las Vegas' Liberace Museum which demands pilgrimage. So here's our scant offerings...

I am told one of Larry Harvey's favorite places is the National Bowling Stadium. There is a rather amusing sculpture in the lobby fashioned by the architects wife. Larry is fond of taking unsuspecting friends on a walk to this local shrine.

Accomodations

Prices vary at the local casinos and hotels. You can pretty much count on the fact that rooms are pricer and propertys with a casino. Weekly rates, however, do dip fairly low at many of the casinos on the strip. Don't expect any discounts over the Labor Day weekend.

One tip. Check out the California and Nevada Traveler. It's a small monthly tourist publication distributed free at most gas stations. There is usually a page of coupons for a few motels off of the strip. Last year friends stayed at the Travelodge, with a coupon, on Labor Day for a mere 26.95. Must have a coupon, however.

Titty Bars

[The Burning Man Project disavows any knowledge of strip bars in Reno, however, a certain maiden was once spied skipping down the street with three other organizers in tow, two of which started the Topless Theme Camp, which promises to make an appearance at Burning Man this year.]

The Men's Club Located at 270 Lake Street downtown, this is the most upscale establishment. I've heard that their buffet is the most interesting in town, for the obvious reasons. They do their damndest to be classy (meaning none of their dancers have tattoos). Next down the line would be Ed's Fantasy Girls, 1095 East Fourth. It's the biggest club in town, with up to 50 girls on any given night. Lastly is the Spice House, right around the corner from Ed's at 310 Spokane. You know the kinda place: lots of poles and mirrors, and most likely to get Penthouse Pets on tour.

Mustang Ranch If you can't get laid on the playa, you can always pull off at Exit 23 on your way home. That's where you'll find this world-famous brothel whose name is synonymous with Nevada prostitution.

Still MORE about Reno...

by The Civilized Traveler, a wonderful site cared for by Phil and Louise Stripling

Keystone Stopping Center
For those of you with some time in Reno, we found a shopping center called the Keystone Shopping Center. It is located just off Route 80, at the intersections of Keystone and 4th or 5th Streets. There is a large supermarket, fast food restaurants, and across the street there are stores for liquor, hardware, RV supplies, and almost all you will need for last minute supplies (if 10,000 other BM'ers have not gotten there ahead of you).

Sierra Trading Post
Sierra Trading Post has a catalog outlet store in Reno for your last minute camping needs. Luckily for you, they are at Airport Square, across from Costco. From I-80, take Highway 365 toward the airport; take Exit 65, East Plumb Lane. Turn right onto Harvard Way. Phone (702) 828-8050; hours are subject to change, but our info says they are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, and 11:00 am to 5:00 pm on Sunday.

Clothing
If you have the time for shopping for appropriate BM attire, we have the following list of consignment shops for your perusal and rowsal. All phone numbers are in the 702 area code.

Changes Consignment Clothing, 467 Ralston, 322-4814
Labels Consignment Boutique, 3350 Lakeside Dr., 825-6000
Katie Magoo's, 912 S. Virginia, 329-8553
The Recycle Closet, 155 Thomas at Center St., 323-2294
Encore Consignment, 410 S. Carson, 885-2595

Motels and Meals
Our requirements for a motel are a clean place to sleep with lots of hot water for showers. We have stayed at the Bonanza Inn, the Travelodge, and the Crest Inn; we regret that we cannot recommend the Crest Inn. The Bonanza and the Travelodge are on 4th Street, within a block or two of almost all the casinos. We have found a booklet at shopping centers with coupons for modest discounts on rooms. If you are lugging lots of stuff in from the car, we suggest asking for a room on the ground floor. We also suggest that you stay in a motel with surface parking if you are going to leave gear in your car. It is easier to hide a break-in if the car is in a high-rise or basement lot, than if the car is visible from the street where people are active all night.

The motels generally have coupons for free (i.e., worthless) trinkets from the casinos, along with meal discounts, advertisements, and the address of the place to get 5 nickels to gamble. Many of the casino restaurants are open 24 hours a day, and the prices are very reasonable. We ate at a couple of casinos, some with buffets where you can go back for as many portions as you like. We did not avail ourselves of the opportunity, though. The restaurants in casinos seem to be aimed at getting the gamblers to stay in the casino rather than providing a pleasant meal. We suggest eating elsewhere, but try a casino and see for yourself. We found several nice cafes on the same street as our motel, some open 24 hours. We liked the food, service, and ambiance there much better than at casino restaurants.

Glacier Mountain Ice, 702-323-5145, off the Keystone exit on I-80.

Sierra RV Rentals, 324 Vine (between 2nd & 4th), 800-972-8760, off the Keystone exit.

Twin City Surplus, East Fourth St. near Sutro off Wells exit from I-80, for your Army Surplus needs.

Costco is on Plumb Lane right near Highway 395 South by the airport. IGA Food is supposed to be a cheaper food store at South Wells about 1.5 miles off the Wells I-80 exit. Don't forget your trashbags and bring extras to help out!

Home Depot at Virginia and Del Monte sells rebar and PVC. Supply One is behind the Atlantis Casino at Peckham and Virginia.

The Melting Pot, 1002 S. Wells Ave., 702-322-9445. Though an import store, they're big supporters of Burning Man so check out what they've got (including the Burning Man book).

Trip BrownJanuary 28, 1998