by Elizabeth Margerum and Kristen Power Outpost contributors
"Nine out of 10 vegetarians don't eat here," flashes the sign to customers at downtown's Nugget Diner. It's good for a quick laugh, that is, if you can find it.
The Awful Awful Burger is a bargin at $3.50 |
Tucked away in Douglas Alley near Fitzgerald's, this greasy-spoon, red-stool, hole-in-the-wall diner serves up inexpensive meals at any hour of the day. The only catch is that you can't be craving an arugula salad with raspberry vinaigrette. You won't find that here.
This diner is all meat, baby: from the chicken fried steak, biscuits and gravy, and fish and fries, to the Awesome Dog and the Awful Awful.
You also can't be looking for ambiance. The Nugget Diner is a classic burger joint. All the food is cooked on grills right in front of the customers. There aren't any booths to sit at; twenty-two stools line the mirrored back wall and the front counter, taking up more than half of the precious space. The whole diner is only about 20 feet by 40 feet.
We recommend that you leave the kids at home. The smoke saturated air, close proximity to the casino and lack of any seating besides tall stools may make your dining experience a nightmare.
The crowd at the diner is eclectic. Preppy college kids mix with casino employees; tourists sit alongside people that appear to be homeless.
But at the Nugget Diner no one seems to care who they're sitting next to.
It's all about the food.
On a recent trip to the Nugget, we were astonished as half the people there ordered the Awful Awful--the diner's well-known, award-winning, half-pound hamburger.
This got us to talking. Do people even look at the menu? With a sign on the wall for nearly every entree, menu perusal isn't a requirement. But that still doesn't answer why the Awful Awful is so popular. Does the burger deserve this fame, or is there a little-known rival? We decided that the only way to answer that question would be to try out both the Awful Awful and the Awesome Dog.
Oscar took our orders. Oscar always takes the orders, runs the cash register, and keeps the cook and busboys on their toes. Never have we been there when Oscar hasn't. On this visit, Oscar scolded a server for throwing a french-fry at us when our sodas were ready.
While we waited for our meals to cook we skimmed the many newspaper articles that hung on the wall, dedicated to this fine diner, and of-course the Awful Awful. Our meals were done before we even had a chance to get through them all.
Incidentally, speed is another thing the diner is known for. Casino employees can order a meal and eat it at the Nugget on a 20-minute break.
The Awful Awful lives up to its name. It's awfully big, awfully good and best of all (for college kids anyway) awfully cheap.
The burger comes with all the trimmings: lettuce, tomato, onion, cheeses and thousand island dressing all on an onion bun.
When you order the half-pound of cow they throw it on the grill, flames shooting up like Old Faithful. Once cooked to your desired level of doneness, it's trimmed and set before you. The burger is juicy, very tasty and costs about the same as the flavorless flatty-patties you'll find at those cheesy, chain locales.
The fries are served in a basket, but it might as well be a feeding trough. They look like they weigh more than a half pound, and there is easily enough food for two people. The fries are seasoned with (Lawry's) Seasoning Salt and parsley flakes, but don't try this at home because it won't be the same.
The meal changes in at $3.50--a real good, real cheap meal. For fries alone, the a-la-carte menu lists them for $1.95.
The Awesome Dog rivals the burger for $1.99 |
Still, an even cheaper meal looms in the ranks. The Nugget Diner's Awesome Dog is the epitome of tube meat. It is a full foot in length, split almost in half lengthwise and flame-broiled open-face on the grill. Perfectly charred and served on a grilled bun with chopped yellow onions, relish, ketchup and mustard, it is difficult to fit an entire bite in your mouth.
The dog is served alone in a parchment-lined basket. That is the only way it can be truly appreciated. The Nugget's seasoned fries are too powerful, coleslaw too soggy. The only thing that compliments this truly awesome dog is a soda.
At just $1.99 it is a bit more expensive than the polish dogs at Costco or the heat lamp hot dogs at the movie theaters, but it's worth it. The Awesome Dog is a quality hot dog, containing at least as much meat as its rival, the Awful Awful.
When we left the diner, rolling off our stools and stumbling out the front of the Nugget Casino, we were stuffed. We couldn't take another bite. Well, maybe just one more french fry.
Posted Sept. 29, 1998
Copyright 1998 Nevada Oupost