Fun and Gaming

Best place to take a driving test

Fallon Department of Motor Vehicles 973 W. Williams Ave., Fallon (775) 423-4316
Remember the good ole days when a visit to Reno’s Department of Motor Vehicles would take all day, people were crabby, and the seats were hard? There was a popular revolt, and the state modernized the office, which made the DMV a much friendlier place. Well, these days, teenagers and other people who have to take a driving test aren’t feeling particularly friendly toward the department. With only five driving-skills examiners at the Reno DMV, potential license holders have to wait at least six weeks to get an appointment. But Northern Nevada is smaller than you might imagine, and Fallon, where the wait is 10 days, is only an hour away. But, hey, at least we got our registration rebates! (Word to the wise: People who show up without an appointment may get a test anyway if there’s been a cancellation.)

Best place to bust a gut

Taste of India 315 E. Moana Lane, 825-3008
This may sound like the title of a bad review, but that is far from the case. Eating at Taste of India is quite the treat, what with the great deal of the lunch buffet and multi-course dinner specials that cater to vegetarians. A hearty samosa, tasty lentils, rice, a variety of curries, garlic naan and tamarind sauce are awesome going down, but the aftermath usually becomes the main drive of toilet humor among dining friends. What fuels these bathroom pyrotechnics is overeating, for sure. It might be a somatic response to the volatile red color of the aloo vindaloo. It may just be Western stomachs, an issue that can only be remedied with repeated conditioning that consists of a rigorous routine of garam masala and other spices. Taste of India will help us with that. Since our readers voted Taste of India a strong number two for Best Indian restaurant, maybe we’re not telling you anything you don’t know.

Best place to lift your spirits

Enoteca Siena Hotel Spa Casino, One S. Lake St., 321-5831.
Not that we’re likely to frequent bars in casinos (even after a rough day at work), but the Enoteca in the Siena is more than just a bar. Featuring more than 35 wines by the glass and more than 300 choices if you brave the entire bottle, Enoteca is where you go to test-drive a new wine on your palate. The snappily dressed bartenders are always happy to suggest wines to go with any state of mind or income: sad and poor, celebratory and indiscriminate, or any combination in between. Sometimes Enoteca features live music to go along with its muted décor and smoke-free environment. However, most times, it’s nice to take your wine of choice up to the patio, watch the sun set as the Truckee River rolls by and let the sound of running water—coupled with the dark, full-bodied flavor of well-aged cabernet—cure what ails you.

Best RG-J columnists who aren’t Cory Farley

Howie Tune and Guy Rocha
We don’t often recommend a reading of the folks across town, but Reno Gazette-Journal columnists Howie Tune and Guy Rocha are worth the trouble—if you happen to find a copy of the newspaper lying around somewhere. Their RG-J columns do a lot to remove the cloud of fakelore and Chamber of Commerce boosterism from history and, unlike high school history textbooks, they usually check their columns for accuracy before publication.