Eat it up

I don’t know about you, readers, but it’s been a busy year here at the RN&R. Personally, between some lengthy days at the office and keeping up with the city’s comings and goings, I’ve found the idea of spending hours turning an expensive grocery list into my usual semi-decent dinners less than appetizing lately—so I’ve been eating out more often than not. In the past year, I’ve come to recognize how lucky I am to be living through Reno’s culinary renaissance, where it seems like no matter where I go or what I’m in the mood for, the hard working staff in both the front and back of the house—and occasionally, a friendly Uber Eats driver—never leave me disappointed.

Eating out every day, however, gets real expensive, real quick. And while that’s a budget I more than happily break on occasion, Reno’s one of those towns where smart diners can find delicious food for a few dollars a day. Check out page 4, where contributor Nicole Szanto did exactly that—put together a full day’s breakfast, lunch and dinner from Reno restaurants for just 12 bucks.

Speaking of cash-strapped, students at the University of Nevada, Reno, might be used to a shoe string budget, but new students, transfers or the perpetually library-bound might not know that there are great places to eat—and more than a few Reno traditions—within walking distance of campus. On page 14, RN&R writer and current UNR student Kirk Geller lays out a student’s guide to getting a meal from somewhere other than the cafeteria.

As previously established: there’s a lot of great places to eat around town—so many that they keep our food columnist, Todd South, pretty busy with his weekly entries. But it seems like every other week that Todd is visiting a new and delicious taqueria, food truck or other example of the valley’s Mexican and Latinx offerings, so check out a collection of some of his best writeups on the subject on page 11.

Finally, we’ve been conditioned to believe that eating anywhere with cloth napkins and metal cutlery should be a group occasion. That is to say, plenty of people might read about a restaurant and mentally bookmark it for their next date night/great aunt’s visit/rendezvous with a secret agent (you know, for example). However, Associate Editor Jeri Chadwell has learned that life’s simple pleasures are sometimes better enjoyed solo, and a dateless dinner can be an exercise in personal and culinary freedom. Check out her piece on ordering a table for one on page 7.

That’s all for this year’s menu of dining stories and I hope you find something you like in the following pages. Or, at the very least, you’ve got an idea of just how many options are available in town lately—for whatever suits your taste.

Best regards,