Throwing a bit of a curve ball with this one. I’ve recently been fortunate enough to discover three really, really good restaurants, and wanted to share them with you. Going a bit far-of-field with these, so here we go…
Bull Valley Roadhouse, Port Costa
Even if you live pretty close (or think you do), you need to reeeeeeeally want to get to this place to eat here. Port Costa is sort of the Land that Time Forgot, and even though it’s smack between Crockett and Martinez, it’s a few miles of very squirrelly roads off Highway 4 to get there. So be warned, go light on the cocktails, or get a driver who isn’t drinking AT ALL.
Anyway, make the trip. Housed in an 1897 building, it almost seems haunted as you walk in, the Victorian furniture and 1890s-era photographs speak to an earlier time as busy shipping port. But aside from the atmosphere, and the trek it takes to find it, the food is phenominal. We went for brunch, which they just began offering the week before, and we both had the chicken and waffles. It was, and I’m not kidding, the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Period. The chicken was juicy, the breading crunchy but not excessive. The waffles were topped with butter infused with their own honey. Yes, they keep bees. Just go.
Credit to my wife for doing the research to find this wonderful place. We were in Reno recently visiting family and looking for a nice place to have breakfast. This is a small space in the Midtown area of Reno, just south of Downtown. What a treat. The atmosphere is great, lots of reused wood and chandeliers of filament bulbs inside of old clear bottles.
You can tell how cool a place is by the crowd. A senior couple sat at one table, another couple with a woman sporting a half-shaved head was at another, a group of maybe seven 20-somethings sat next to us, and an inked-up couple with two pit bulls sat outside. This was gonna be good.
And it was. The food is farm-to-table, locally sourced when possible. I had the omelet du-jour, which that day was strips of sausage with fontina cheese and fresh basil. Outstanding, as were the home fries. If you want fresh, real food and are willing to spend a few more bucks and travel a few blocks from the casinos, go here.
Moody’s Bistro, Bar & Beats, Truckee
This live-music joint in the historic Truckee Hotel takes its food seriously, so seriously in fact that the wait once we placed our order was a bit long. But no matter, we weren’t in a huge hurry and our patio table gave us a chance to enjoy a fine summer afternoon. And the Anchor California Lager was going down very nicely.
Lunch was worth the wait. I had the blackened fish sandwich (red snapper that day) on Ciabatta, with the best fresh-cut fries this side of In-N-Out. The blackening spices were potent without being overwhelming, and the Ciabatta added just the right chewiness. Tremendous. My wife had a wonderful cocoa-dusted tri-trip sandwich, which she also loved, especially the blue cheese crumbles.
All of these places care a great deal about what they serve, and it shows. Make the effort to find and support them.