Food: $1.99 buffets not the only fare in town
By Jon Gubman, Outpost staff
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The healthy alternative |
A quick look at the numbers show that Reno's restaurant industry is thriving. The Nevada Business Directory for 1997 lists 567 restaurants in the Reno/Sparks area.
Brian Bonnenfant of the Small Business Development Center says Department of Taxation records from June 31, 1995, to June 31, 1997, show a 41.5 percent increase in the taxable sales for Reno eating and drinking establishments. The local restaurant industry's total taxable sales equaled more than $560 million in 1997. And the industry employs 8,600 workers.
While casino buffets certainly account for a portion of these numbers, many alternative establishments offer fine food and cover the spectrum of tastes. Want good quality vegetarian food? How about a spicy Indian dish? Continental cuisine more to your liking? No problem. Even the most discerning of palettes can be satiated at one of the many fine restaurants in Reno.
Craig Malin, a waiter at the Iron Sword Restaurant who has worked in Reno's restaurant industry for more than seven years, sums it up.
"Yeah, we get a lot of tourists who come in expecting cheap, $1.99 steak and lobster dishes and are disappointed when we don't offer that," Malin says. "But locals, the majority of our business, come because of the quality of the food we offer."
In an effort to dispel the Reno-only-has-cheap-food myth, we selected three restaurants that show the variety of food available in Reno. The Blue Heron is an example of healthy, vegetarian cuisine. Shalimar demonstrates the availability of top-notch ethnic dining. And four-star, fine dining is exhibited by Bricks.
So leave the $1.99 steak 'n lobster and all-you-can-cram-in buffets to the tourists and try a taste of the real Reno.
copyright 11/15/97 Nevada Outpost
http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost
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