Destruction Pauses

My the middle of Friday afternoon, it looked like the demolition company quit for the weekend.

( Friday's State of Decay )

Because I'm leaving for the Bay Area on Sunday morning, I won't be able to chronicle the remaining reduction of this neighborhood eye-sore. I'll ask Lisa if she will take a picture a day until it's done, though.

Grate Thyme Brunch

Before heading into Reno-Sparks for a big shopping expedition today, we walked over to Grate Thyme Kitchen, about which I've written in the past, where we both had a fine breakfast. I enjoyed an omelet with chorizo and mushrooms, and Lisa's "standard" bacon, eggs, and potatoes were finely seasoned. Suitably fortified, we headed off to Reno, as we needed to stock up the larder at Fernley House on account of I'm going to be away for several weeks.

John Ascuaga's Nugget: The Steakhouse

We had a major grocery shopping expedition to Reno-Sparks today, punctuated with two casino visits and an excellent dinner at the last sit-down restaurant at John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks that we hadn't yet tried.

( Around and About Reno-Sparks )

Finally, we went to John Ascuaga's Nugget. We were starting to get hungry, but with Lisa having developed what appears to be a dairy allergy, shrimp pan roast at the Oyster Bar is contra-indicated. After a nice run of luck at the Paradise Fishing slot machine (Lisa hit two bonus rounds in a row and walked away with a $16 profit on the $20 buy-in), we decided to splurge at The Steakhouse Grill, the only restaurant (except for the Noodle Bar) at the Nugget we haven't yet tried.

We have to admit we were hoping that William, the bread server/table-setter who was a our "regular" server at the Oyster Bar but who had been promoted over to the Steakhouse after being named Employee of the Month the last time we'd been here, would be there. And sure enough, he was. He seemed genuinely happy to see us and asked that Lisa and I be seated in his section.

As we were going in to the restaurant, Stephen Ascuaga, the Nugget's Chief Operating Officer (and son of founder John Ascuaga), was going out. He said hello to us because he recognized travelswithkuma from a previous time we briefly chatted. Lisa told him how much we continue to enjoy coming to the Nugget.

Lisa and I both had the Filet Mignon; I had the smaller piece because I could have a side dish (possibly the best macaroni and cheese I've ever eaten), while Lisa took the larger serving because all of the side dishes that interested her had milk, cheese, or butter in them, so she concentrated on the meat. And she was very happy that she did. The steaks were excellent.

I recall someone complaining at Renovation that "there was no places good to eat around here," which is simply absurd. There are lots of good restaurants in Reno, and several of them are at the Atlantis. We've never eaten at the Atlantis' steakhouse, which looks great but has prices that have scared us off. The Steakhouse Grill at the Nugget isn't cheap, and we won't be able to afford to eat here that often, but we both had meals that left us full and happy and that we can afford from time to time (particularly after winning $20 on slots to help offset the cost).

Reno-Sparks is bracing for flooding tomorrow as the next in a series of storms moves through. Parts of the Sparks Industrial Area may be under four feet of water. I'm just hoping the water in downtown doesn't get into the Reno Railroad Trench, as my train back to the Bay Area (which is on time at Salt Lake City as I compose this) is supposed to be there at about 8:30 tomorrow morning. Lisa has to take me there tomorrow since there's no transit from Fernley. I'd considered staying in a downtown Reno hotel tonight, but Saturday is not the night for inexpensive hotel rooms in Reno. Maybe if I were going back on Monday instead I'd consider it.