SUNDANCE BOOKS AND MUSIC: ANOTHER ATTRACTION FOR NON-GAMBLERS IN RENO

Reno is widely known as a casino town, but where can you take visitors who don’t care to gamble?  I’ve previously blogged about a few noteworthy educational attractions for kids of all ages, such as the Wilbur D. May Museum at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, the Animal Ark wildlife sanctuary, the scenic campus of University of Nevada, Reno and the free pipe organ concerts at Trinity Episcopal Church near the Truckee River.

But how is it that I’ve so long overlooked Sundance Books and Music?  This independent book store has apparently been a Reno institution for 25 years, although not always at its current location, 121 California Ave. (the corner of California and Sierra).

This magnificent building, dating back to 1906, was home to a mining magnate and store owner named William Levy.  What a wonderful way to repurpose an historic residence.

Sundance Books and Music has a wide selection of new and old books, CDs, vinyl records, greeting cards and gift items, artfully arranged in themed rooms. 

I love collecting cookbooks and the shelves at Sundance offer many titles that I haven’t seen at Reno’s Barnes and Noble, including some that focus on Northern Nevada families and their culinary traditions.

Bookworms and history buffs could spend a long time browsing at Sundance, admiring the handsome environment as much as the wares.

The surrounding neighborhood is a gem, too.  It’s just south and west of downtown, but noticeably cleaner, quieter and more civilized. While some online reviewers have described this area as Midtown, I think it’s much more aligned with Reno's artsy “Cal Ave” district.  

Within easy walking distance of Sundance are the Nevada Museum of Art, Arte Italia and an array of family-friendly coffee shops and restaurants, including Newman’s Deli, Rubicon Deli, Blue Plate, My Favorite Muffin and more.  

For more information, visit http://www.sundancebookstore.com/  and

http://www.visitrenotahoe.com/reno-tahoe/what-to-do/arts-culture/art-district

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LITTLE HOUSE ON CENTER STREET IS A BIG TREAT IN MIDTOWN RENO

Midtown Reno is an evolving neighborhood, the type of community that could someday be a darling of food and travel magazines like Sunset, Cooking Light and EveryDay with Rachael Ray.  Every new "sweet spot" like Little House on Center Street brings Midtown a notch closer to being a rave-worthy destination for both townies and tourists.

Located at 725 S. Center St., the restaurant opened two-and-a-half months ago, according to our cheerful server.  This clean, bright and very homey space has an open kitchen and lots of inexpensive choices for breakfast or lunch.  It’s open daily, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

Little House On Center Street on a sunny Friday, about noon

On a sunny Friday, about noon, my husband and I nabbed a prime table in front of the big picture window.   Seated near us were small groups of folks in business attire, a couple of “ladies who lunch,” some college students and two families with young children.  (Attention, parents: The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum is just up the street!)

Several parties were dining at outdoor tables, too —and the street scene was lively, yet laid-back. 

It’s crazy how different Midtown looks and feels when you’re not smack-dab on the main drag, Virginia Street.  Staunch Renoites might bristle when I say this, but at Little House On Center Street, I didn’t feel like I was just shy of downtown Reno.  And that was refreshing.

Getting back to the food at Little House, I ordered the California Street Omelet, made with tomatoes, onions, jack cheese and avocado.  Coarsely-grated hash browns and wheat toast accompanied the pleasingly plump and fluffy egg creation, for $7.99.

Little House's California Street Omelet with potatoes (wheat toast not pictured)

My husband chose the also-substantial Ortega Burger ($9.25) featuring bacon, green chile, jack cheese, mayo, onion, lettuce and tomato. He opted for fries on the side, but a salad could have been an alternative.

Little House's Ortega Burger with fries

A couple of iced teas set us back an additional $3.50.

While thoroughly enjoying our fresh-tasting meals, I noticed a sticker on the window, saying that Little House on Center Street is a member of the Creative Coalition of Midtown.

Like-minded artists and small business owners in the Midtown area are collaborating on special events to promote neighborhood pride. Among upcoming shindigs, the coalition will host a Spring Fling from 5-9 p.m. this Friday, April 25 (2014).  For more information about this and other scheduled happenings in Midtown, visit http://creativecoalitionreno.com/

For information about Little House On Center Street, call (775) 737-9598 or visit

http://littlehousereno.com/

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PINING FOR POLISH CUISINE IN SOUTH RENO (PART 3)

Holidays inevitably spark memories of unique foods which were traditionally served by your family — and Easter is no exception.

On a recent shopping trek through South Reno, I spotted a couple of hard-to-find items that were always on my Polish grandparents’ Easter table when I was growing up in Chicago.

At Cost Plus World Market, 4987 S. Virginia St., I saw a jar of the red beet-horseradish that my Polish grandfather used to make from scratch. He called it chrzan (pronounced like “shaan”).  

Red beet-horseradish, imported from Poland, available at Cost Plus World Market in South Reno

Oh, the eye-stinging fumes from the grating of the horseradish!  No wonder he tackled this chore in the basement, with the windows wide open and a fan operating at full blast.  In any case, in Polish households, this red beet-horseradish mixture is a popular condiment atop hard-boiled Easter eggs, ham and Polish sausage.

The brand sold at World Market is Cracovia.  The jar (1 pound, 7.63 ounces) sells for $2.99.

And in the same section of World Market, there were a few other food products imported from Poland, including dill pickles and pickled cabbage and mushrooms.

At South Reno's location of WinCo Foods, 9750 S. Virginia St., I bought a loaf of Sweet Raisin Bread made by the Eurobake bakery in Portland, Ore.  The 19-ounce loaf cost $2.89.

Sweet Raisin Bread, reminiscent of a Polish bread, found at WinCo in South Reno

My mom, who was born in the U.S. but speaks fluent Polish, calls this type of bread plecionka (prounounced “ple-CHOON-ka”).  I’ve also heard it called “kukielka” (“koo-KEL-ka) or chalka (“howka”).

It is similar to challah bread, a dense egg-twist bread that is shiny and dark on the outside, light yellow and tender on the inside.  And this version contains raisins, although I would prefer a lot more of them.

I guess I could put “learn how to make plecionka” on my to-do list.  In fact, I messaged the Nothing To It Culinary Center, 225 Crummer Ln. in South Reno, to ask if they’ve ever considered offering classes about Eastern European cuisine, such as Polish.  I was told that they might conduct such classes if there’s sufficient interest.

For more information about Nothing To It, call (775) 828-2628 or visit http://www.nothingtoit.com/

For more tips on where to find Polish foods (or reasonable substitutes) in South Reno, look for my previous blog posts, PINING FOR POLISH CUISINE IN SOUTH RENO (PARTS 1 AND 2).

Also, an UPDATE!  Thanks to my mom in Chicago, I discovered a Polish cooking show called "Poland On A Plate," sponsored by Krakus Ham.  This gourmet Polish ham is not sold in Reno, but the series presents many traditional Polish recipes and Polish twists on American favorites.  The series is hosted by the lovely Basia Brown, with guest appearances from some of Chicago's prominent chefs.   

Here's a link to some (English-language) videos on Polvision, Chicago's powerful Polish-language TV channel:
http://www.polvision.com/program/poland-on-a-plate

And here's the home page for Poland On A Plate, with more information about the series and more recipes:  http://www.polandonaplate.com/Poland_on_a_Plate/Poland_on_a_Plate_Home.html

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WHEN MICKEY ROONEY VISITED UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO

I have known, for a while, that the lovely campus of University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) was the setting for a number of Hollywood movies in the 1940s.  Today, with the news about the passing of film legend Mickey Rooney, I remembered that one of those movies was Rooney’s “Andy Hardy’s Blonde Trouble.”

This link from UNR tells more about this movie and other college capers that were shot on the campus during that era:

https://knowledgecenter.unr.edu/digital_collections/exhibits/university_history/events/silver_screen.aspx

What fun it would be to know where else Rooney and co-stars from “Andy Hardy’s Blonde Trouble” spent time in Reno, during the making of that movie.

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