Nightlife

Editors’ Picks

Best midweek jam session

Hump day can be hard, you know, depending on whether you’re the glass half full or half empty type. But if you’re a sufferer of the “Wednesday Evenin’ Blues”—and you’re 21 or older—there’s an event that’s perfect for you. Live Blues Wednesdays happens weekly between 8 and 11 p.m. at the Saint, 761. S. Virginia St., in midtown. Tristan Selzler of the Reno Jazz Syndicate hosts. Sit-ins are encouraged, and the event provides a fun opportunity to watch members from myriad local acts jam together. It’s also a great scene for dancers and usually draws in a fair number of students and instructors from local dance schools.

Best bar with a split personality

Just about a block south of the court house, you’ll find RedRock Bar, 241 S. Sierra St. It’s located, funnily enough, right next door to the offices of a drug and alcohol counseling service. GenXers who hang there sometimes like to recall when it was the Blue Lamp—apparently one of the few hip places Reno could boast in 1990s. Today, it’s one of many. But RedRock isn’t like a lot of the other hip bars in town. There’s no trendy, industrial décor, no focus on local brews or specialty cocktails. In fact, part of what makes RedRock a standout among drinking establishments is the fact that it’s a bar without a theme. Those who know it might even go one step further and call it a bar with split personalities. RedRock actually has two floors, and it’s this split-level design that lends to the feeling of multiple bars in one. It’s not unusual to find a crowd of chain smokers in the basement, listening to country, drinking domestics and dominating pool tables, while upstairs—where smoking isn’t allowed—another group sips martinis and listens to the owner’s playlist of EDM covers of disco’s greatest hits.

Readers’ Picks

Best all-ages spot

1. Holland Project

140 Vesta St., 742-1858

2. The Eddy

16 S. Sierra St., 316-8969

3. Wild Island

250 Wild Island Court, Sparks, 359-2927

Best bar

1. Reno Public House

33 Saint Lawrence Ave., 555-5663

2. Chapel Tavern

1099 S. Virginia St., 324-2244

3. Pignic Pub & Patio

235 Flint St., 376-1948

Best beer selection

1. Piñon Bottle Co.

777 S. Center St., 367-1211

2. Beer NV

15 Foothill Road, 448-6199

3. Craft Wine-N-Beer

22 Martin St., 622-4333

Best bowling alley

1. Grand Sierra Resort

2500 E. Second St., 789-2000

2. Wild Island

250 Wild Island Court, Sparks, 359-2927

3. High Sierra Lanes

3390 S. Virginia St., 825 1048

Best comedy club

1. Reno-Tahoe Comedy/Pioneer Underground

100 S. Virginia St., 322-5233

2. 3rd St. Bar

125 W. Third St., 323-5005

3. Laugh Factory

Silver Legacy, 407 N. Virginia St., 325-7401

Best concert venue

1. Cargo Concert Hall

Whitney Peak Hotel, 255 N. Virginia St., 398-5400

2. Reno Events Center

400 N. Center St., 335-8800

3. Holland Project

140 Vesta St., 742-1858

Best dance club

1. Club Sexy Movimiento

Millennium Night Club, 2100 Victorian Ave., Sparks, (510) 300-7902

2. LEX Nightclub

Grand Sierra Resort, 2500 E. Second St.., 789-5399

3. Edge Nightclub

Peppermill, 2707 S. Virginia St., 689-7444

Best dive bar

1. Shea's Tavern

715 S. Virginia St., Reno, 786-4774

2. Wonder Bar

1195 S. Wells Ave., 322-7965

3. 3rd St. Bar

125 W. Third St., 323-5005

Best gay hangout

1. 5 Star Saloon

132 West St., 329-2878

2. The Patio

600 W. Fifth St., 323-6565

3. Carl's Saloon

3310 S. Virginia St., 829-0099

Best happy hour

1. Flowing Tide

10580 N. McCarran Blvd., 747-7707

2. 3rd St. Bar

125 W. Third St., 323-5005

3. St. James Infirmary

445 California Ave., 657-8484

Best karaoke

1. The Point

1601 S. Virginia St., 322-3001

Best Latino bar

1. Millennium Night Club

2100 Victorian Ave., Sparks, (510) 300-7902

Best microbrewery

1. Great Basin Brewing Company

846 Victorian Ave., Sparks, 355-7711

2. Imbib Custom Brew

785 E. Second St., 470-5996

3. Under the Rose

559 E. Fourth St., 657-6619

Best neighborhood bar

1. Pignic Pub & Patio

235 Flint St., 376-1948

2. Pub N' Sub

1000 Ralston St., 322-8540

Best place for a first date

1. The Glass Die

675 Holcomb Ave., 384-1456

2. Picasso & Wine

148 Vassar St., 453-1168

3. Downtown Riverwalk

Best place to buy sexy underwear

1. Chocolate Walrus

1278 S. Virginia St., 825-2267

2. Victoria's Secret

5000 Meadowood Mall Circle, 828-2785

3. Adam & Eve

7520 Longley Lane, 852-1162

Best place to cure your hangover

1. Coach's Grill & Sports Bar

1573 S. Virginia St., 329-2202

2. Gold 'N Silver

790 W. Fourth St., 323-2696

3. Reno Nugget

233 N. Virginia St., 323-0716

3. Shea's Tavern

715 S. Virginia St., Reno, 786-4774

Best place to have sex in public

1. Shea's Tavern

715 S. Virginia St., Reno, 786-4774

2. Burning Man

3. Lake Tahoe

Best place to hear loud music

1. Shea's Tavern

715 S. Virginia St., Reno, 786-4774

2. Holland Project

140 Vesta St., 742-1858

3. Cargo Concert Hall

Whitney Peak Hotel, 255 N. Virginia St., 398-5400

Best place to watch Monday Night Football

1. Coach's Grill & Sports Bar

1573 S. Virginia St., 329-2202

Best place to watch movies

1. Galaxy Luxury + IMAX

1170 Scheels Drive, Sparks, 313-0118

2. Century Riverside Theatres

11 N. Sierra St., Reno, 786-1743

3. Cinemark Reno Summit Sierra

13965 S. Virginia Street., 851-4635

Best strip club

1. Men's Club of Reno

270 N. Lake St., 786-7800

2. Fantasy Girls

1095 E. Fourth St., 322-2582

3. Wild Orchid

Ponderosa Hotel, 515 S. Virginia St., 324-1010

Best trivia night

1. Ceol Irish Pub

538 S. Virginia St., 329-5558

Most romantic bar

1. Death & Taxes

26 Cheney St., 324-2630

2. St. James Infirmary

445 California Ave., 657-8484

3. Wild River Grille

17 S. Virginia St., 284-7455

Best sports bar

1. Coach's Grill & Sports Bar

1573 S. Virginia St., 329-2202

2. The Stick

95 N. Sierra St., 360-5799