A couple-a things

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

I’ve got two things on my mind this week, and I’ve got to squeeze them both into one note.

First, I was alerted by the folks at that kick-ass Indian restaurant on Virginia Street, India Kabob and Curry, that somebody came in asking for free food and purporting to be a restaurant reviewer for the Reno News & Review. She took notes and generally made herself a pain.

If someone comes into your bar or restaurant or business, claims to be a reviewer for the Reno News & Review and asks for free stuff, don’t hesitate to sit them down, make them comfortable (if you are particularly spiteful, you might give them what they ask for), and then call the police. They are frauds. If you have any question, you might call me, 324-4440 ext. 3525. I can tell you that if I meet somebody who’s falsely claiming to represent us, the results will be ugly.

Our reviewers do not announce their presence, and they pay for their food. The one exception to this is our photographer, who may take a picture of food but will not consume it. Sometimes he’ll ask if an example of a certain dish is available for a photo, but again, he will not eat it unless he pays for it.

Yuck. That kind of stuff makes me feel like I need a shower.

Along other lines, it’s Best of Northern Nevada time again. The sample ballot is on pages 25-28. But remember, it’s only a sample ballot. All our real balloting is on the Internet. We moved to this method because we are trying to figure out a way to prevent ballot-box stuffing. I know it’s a pain in the ass, but we are really trying to get the true results as to who is actually the best whatever in Northern Nevada. So please, go online and do the thing. If you don’t mind, it’d be better for me if you do it sooner rather than later, and I’d appreciate it.

There are a couple categories on the online ballot that don’t appear on the sample ballot—just one of those little details that show we care.