When Vicki and I traveled to south Reno to Sushi Moto, we also found a relatively new wine shop called VINO 100. The concept of the shop and tasting bar is to present 100 wines under $25.00. We spoke with one of the two owners, Cathy Blair, and found her to be personable and very knowledgeable about their wines. Despite having only 100 wines, I found their selection to be very diverse, with a wide range of wines from throughout the world. There were some old friends and many wines that were new to me. People are beginning to realize that although many great wines are being produced in California and the West, some outstanding bottles can be found from Chile, Argentina, Spain, South Africa and Australia. Many of these bargains can be found at VINO 100, and it’s great to have knowledgeable people who can tell you about their wines and also give you a chance to taste a few.
I think VINO 100 is worth a visit; it’s located at the corner of South Meadows Parkway and Double R, in the Smith’s Shopping Center.
Last summer reno.com had an in-depth article on VINO 100 — check it out:
http://www.reno.com/article/20060728/ENTERTAINMENT08/60222005
Saturday, December 30, 2006
South Reno Sushi
Vicki and I love sushi, so when a flyer for a new Reno sushi joint came with our revered Reno Gazette- Journal, we decided to give it a try. Sushi Moto is located in a newer strip mall in fast-growing south Reno near the Washoe Medical Center. We were greeted by a bevy of young Asian ladies and we were quickly shown to our seats at the crowded bar. We admired the décor of dark brown walls and a large black and chrome sushi bar. The room itself is large and contains tables where a full menu of Japanese cuisine can be ordered.
The menu is filled with more than thirty-six maki cute and hip named sushi rolls along with nigiri sushi and four hand rolls. Everything we received was well presented, and though our server was a little slow, we managed to go through five maki rolls, three hand rolls and ten pieces of nigiri. Sounds like we really liked it? Well, not exactly. Despite the variety of descriptions, all of the rolls lacked flavor and everything seemed to taste the same. I found myself dipping everything im my bowl of soy sauce and wasabi just to perk it up a bit. Vicki likes hand rolls and said the scallop hand roll she started with was not nearly as good as the scallop-based Jason she always has at Sushi Boat. The nigiri was good, but nothing special. We kept waiting for something to come that would knock our socks off, but it was not to be. As we left, Vicki said, “please don’t bring me back here again.”
The crowd at Sushi Moto was mix of young and hip, with a sprinkling of older folks and some kids. I think they’ll do well because of the atmosphere and the fact that there aren’t many sushi bars in south Reno. All-you-can-eat sushi is $14.95 for lunch and $21.95 for dinner. Our bill with drinks was around $41.00.
To satisfy our sushi cravings we’ll stick to our favorites, Sushi Boat (great prices) and the Atlantis.
The menu is filled with more than thirty-six maki cute and hip named sushi rolls along with nigiri sushi and four hand rolls. Everything we received was well presented, and though our server was a little slow, we managed to go through five maki rolls, three hand rolls and ten pieces of nigiri. Sounds like we really liked it? Well, not exactly. Despite the variety of descriptions, all of the rolls lacked flavor and everything seemed to taste the same. I found myself dipping everything im my bowl of soy sauce and wasabi just to perk it up a bit. Vicki likes hand rolls and said the scallop hand roll she started with was not nearly as good as the scallop-based Jason she always has at Sushi Boat. The nigiri was good, but nothing special. We kept waiting for something to come that would knock our socks off, but it was not to be. As we left, Vicki said, “please don’t bring me back here again.”
The crowd at Sushi Moto was mix of young and hip, with a sprinkling of older folks and some kids. I think they’ll do well because of the atmosphere and the fact that there aren’t many sushi bars in south Reno. All-you-can-eat sushi is $14.95 for lunch and $21.95 for dinner. Our bill with drinks was around $41.00.
To satisfy our sushi cravings we’ll stick to our favorites, Sushi Boat (great prices) and the Atlantis.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
M&M’s Fish and Chicken Shack - Reno, Nevada
I haven’t had much real, authentic, Southern food. Sure, I’ve had plenty of deep fried chicken, fish, and of course ribs, but even though I’ve been in the South, I’ve never been in a real Southern “soul food” restaurant (what the hell is “soul food?”) When I read a review of M&M’s Fish and Chicken Shack in the Reno News & Review a few months ago,
http://www.newsreview.com/reno/content?oid=oid%3A56965
I knew I had to go—the food sounded absolutely great. I got a chance a couple of days after Xmas when my son Matt and I made the sojourn to the restaurant over on Mill Street, where it’s located in a non-descript group of businesses just east of Terminal Way.
You order and pay at the counter, probably because they get a lot of take-out orders (or maybe that’s the way they do it in the South?). Anyway, I order the fried catfish basket with a side of red beans and rice ($6.99); Matt had the fried chicken basket with fries ($6.99)—we also got an order of fried okra ($3.00). Is everything at this place fried? Absolutely not, remember that Southern cooking includes barbeque, and at M&M’s there are ribs, chicken, pastrami, and hot links, all cooked over a wood smoker in front of the restaurant.
We sat down with our drinks and the okra came first. Hot, right out of the fryer, these things were amazing. They were like little green nuggets, breaded and light as a feather. Never had ‘em before, sure will again.
My fish came before Matt’s order as it takes a little longer to fry the chicken. The pieces of catfish were breaded just like the okra, light, moist, and flavorful. They came with red beans over rice and collard greens with little pieces of ham in it. I nibbled at the food and tried to wait until Matt’s chicken came, before digging in. Then the waitress came up and told me they had mistakenly given me a plate rather than a basket. Apologetically she asked me if I wanted her to take it back and bring a basket instead—sure, I’ll give up this nice plate that includes an extra side, for a basket—no way.
Matt’s chicken was all wings, fried in pieces, minus the tip section. It was done perfectly, crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. It came with some very good thick-cut fries. He made quick work of this—I helped with the fries.
Before we left, I offered to pay the difference for the plate I’d received when I had ordered the basket. The two young ladies at the counter absolutely refused to take the two dollars I had in my hand so I put it in the tip jar and was thanked profusely—with giggles.
Needless to say, Matt and I were somewhat comatose as we left the restaurant, walking out the door into the cold and rainy afternoon. We’d agreed that we’d probably never eat again, or at least not until dinner. In particular, I was worried that somehow I was diminishing my girlish figure, particularly since I'd been fasting over the Xmas holiday.
As we stepped outside, Mitch Moore, the owner was tending the barbeque. The racks of ribs, chicken, and hot links looked fantastic and smelled even better. His barbeque is set up just under the edge of the drippy roof and he said this made his job a little difficult—good thing it doesn’t rain too much in Reno.
Matt and I agreed that a steady diet of this kind of food would probably cause premature death, but on the other hand, there’s still a lot on the menu that I need to try. That would include the barbeque, the fried oysters, the seafood gumbo, and many other things—the peach cobbler and sweet potato pie must be great desserts if one could be disciplined enough to leave room for it. I can’t wait to go there with Vicki, Tom King (Floridian) and Gailmarie (MFA, Arkansas).
http://www.newsreview.com/reno/content?oid=oid%3A56965
I knew I had to go—the food sounded absolutely great. I got a chance a couple of days after Xmas when my son Matt and I made the sojourn to the restaurant over on Mill Street, where it’s located in a non-descript group of businesses just east of Terminal Way.
You order and pay at the counter, probably because they get a lot of take-out orders (or maybe that’s the way they do it in the South?). Anyway, I order the fried catfish basket with a side of red beans and rice ($6.99); Matt had the fried chicken basket with fries ($6.99)—we also got an order of fried okra ($3.00). Is everything at this place fried? Absolutely not, remember that Southern cooking includes barbeque, and at M&M’s there are ribs, chicken, pastrami, and hot links, all cooked over a wood smoker in front of the restaurant.
We sat down with our drinks and the okra came first. Hot, right out of the fryer, these things were amazing. They were like little green nuggets, breaded and light as a feather. Never had ‘em before, sure will again.
My fish came before Matt’s order as it takes a little longer to fry the chicken. The pieces of catfish were breaded just like the okra, light, moist, and flavorful. They came with red beans over rice and collard greens with little pieces of ham in it. I nibbled at the food and tried to wait until Matt’s chicken came, before digging in. Then the waitress came up and told me they had mistakenly given me a plate rather than a basket. Apologetically she asked me if I wanted her to take it back and bring a basket instead—sure, I’ll give up this nice plate that includes an extra side, for a basket—no way.
Matt’s chicken was all wings, fried in pieces, minus the tip section. It was done perfectly, crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. It came with some very good thick-cut fries. He made quick work of this—I helped with the fries.
Before we left, I offered to pay the difference for the plate I’d received when I had ordered the basket. The two young ladies at the counter absolutely refused to take the two dollars I had in my hand so I put it in the tip jar and was thanked profusely—with giggles.
Needless to say, Matt and I were somewhat comatose as we left the restaurant, walking out the door into the cold and rainy afternoon. We’d agreed that we’d probably never eat again, or at least not until dinner. In particular, I was worried that somehow I was diminishing my girlish figure, particularly since I'd been fasting over the Xmas holiday.
As we stepped outside, Mitch Moore, the owner was tending the barbeque. The racks of ribs, chicken, and hot links looked fantastic and smelled even better. His barbeque is set up just under the edge of the drippy roof and he said this made his job a little difficult—good thing it doesn’t rain too much in Reno.
Matt and I agreed that a steady diet of this kind of food would probably cause premature death, but on the other hand, there’s still a lot on the menu that I need to try. That would include the barbeque, the fried oysters, the seafood gumbo, and many other things—the peach cobbler and sweet potato pie must be great desserts if one could be disciplined enough to leave room for it. I can’t wait to go there with Vicki, Tom King (Floridian) and Gailmarie (MFA, Arkansas).
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