Category Archives: Reno

Betting on a Great Breakfast at Peg’s in Reno, Nevada

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Piping hot breakfast at Peg's Glorified Ham n Eggs in Reno, Nevada

Piping hot breakfast at Peg’s Glorified Ham n Eggs in Reno, Nevada

Free drinks aren’t the only inducements to lure gamblers in the door at Reno, Nevada casinos. “Breakfast for $1.99” trumpets one freeway billboard. “$5 steak and eggs”, boasts another casino sign.

Reno casinos practically give away food to get you in the door. But you get what you pay for

Sorry, but I’m devoting my precious stomach space to places held in high esteem by locals and online reviewers. Which leads me to Peg’s Glorified Ham n Eggs, on the south edge of downtown.

Peg's is a bright yet cozy breakfast spot

Peg’s is a bright yet cozy breakfast spot

I zero in on a huevos rancheros skillet, featuring two poached eggs, crispy hash browns, whole pinto beans and a piquant slaw, all of it well executed. What’s unique is the 12-inch aluminum serving dish (like a deep pizza pan), heated under a broiler to keep everything piping hot, the way breakfast should be.

At $9.50, it’s more than a minimum blackjack bet. But with a much richer payoff.

Peg’s Glorified Ham n Eggs
420 South Sierra Street (two other city locations), Reno, Nevada
Daily 6:30 am-2 pm
Peg's Glorified Ham n Eggs on Urbanspoon

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Crossing the Rubicon for a Great Tuna Sandwich in Reno, Nevada

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Rubicon Deli owner Cheri Corsiglia presents my half tuna sandwich

Rubicon Deli owner Cheri Corsiglia presents my half tuna sandwich

It can take considerable online sleuthing to determine where to dine on a road trip into unknown territory. And then there’s the anguish of guessing if a four-and-a-half star eatery should take precedence over one with four stars. Sometimes, it just seems so arbitrary, with a good chance I’ll never be back to check out the close competition.

So, it’s a tremendous relief when I can simply ask Mark Trujillo, owner of the sterling Hub Coffee Roasters, which of several Reno, Nevada sandwich shops I should check out. Without a second’s hesitation he answers: “Rubicon Deli, a hole-in-the-wall in MidTown. And get the spicy tuna sandwich. It’s fantastic.” Done and done.

The Rubicon Deli is a no-frills sandwich shop that concentrates on great food

The Rubicon Deli is a no-frills sandwich shop that concentrates on great food

I just cross to the Rubicon counter and present my order to long-time owner Cheri Corsiglia. My only decisions are the type of lovely house-baked bread (I go with jalapeno jack in keeping with the spicy theme) and whole ($10.49) or half ($7.49). The half sandwich is still so loaded with albacore tuna salad, pepper jack, pepperoncini, avocado and fixings that I take half of it with me for a second lunch.

Spicy tuna and a complementary wee cookie

Spicy tuna and a complementary wee cookie

I rarely order a tuna salad sandwich. What launches this into the stratosphere is the quality albacore, the kick-ass habanero mustard and the great, soft bread with its slight cheesy crunch.

Thanks, Mark. And thank you, Cheri.

Rubicon Deli
445 California Avenue, Suite B, Reno, Nevada
Monday to Saturday 10 am-4 pm, Sunday 11 am-4 pm
Rubicon Deli on Urbanspoon

Fabulous Hub Coffee Roasters Off the Beaten Path in Reno, Nevada

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Mark Trujillo runs cool Hub Coffee Roasters near downtown Reno, Nevada

Mark Trujillo runs cool Hub Coffee Roasters near downtown Reno, Nevada

Reno, Nevada may seem well removed from coffee epicentres on the west coast. But don’t tell that to Hub Coffee Roasters owner Mark Trujillo.

He’s plugged in to many of the important players in Portland and San Francisco as well as tiny outliers in places like Lander, Wyoming. Indeed, he often collaborates with other “smaller fry” to acquire world-class crops of direct-trade beans. In the relatively small world of so-called third-wave coffee, it seems everyone knows everyone else.

Mark’s crew is also doing a bang-up job roasting and precisely brewing and pulling carefully-weighed shots at his two coffee houses, both old brick garages in MidTown Reno. And he obviously has a great nose, describing a single-origin espresso as having notes of a just slightly singed crust on a pumpkin pie. Me, I’m just happy to sip and chill.

This is where the magic happens

This is where the magic happens

Hub Coffee Roasters
32 Cheney Street and 727 Riverside Drive, Reno, Nevada
Weekdays 6 am-5 pm, weekends 7 am-5 pm
The Hub on Urbanspoon