Reno Retro-spective
Celebrating the resurgence of retro-style food and drink.
Food lovers may have noticed a resurgence of retro-style finger foods and cocktails recently. Certain snacks and libations regale days of yore, from Mad Men-esque classic cocktails to popular appetizers of the ’80s. Take a trip down memory lane in your own kitchen, using some local inspiration.
Fond of Fondue
Dipping toast, fruit, and veggies into luscious, steaming melted cheese has enticed noshers for decades. You can find inspiration on Reno’s Grafted Whiskey & Wine Bar menu with its melted goat, brie, and blue cheese fondue. Buy a fondue kit to make your own at home with ingredients from local grocery stores. More inspiration comes from Nothing To It! Culinary Center with its recipe for Brie and Mushroom Fondue (find it at Nothingtoit.com). Or make it with melted chocolate, such as the Fruit Fondue recipe from Mena Spodobalski (owner of Evoke Fitness in Reno) found at Ediblerenotahoe.com.
Eggs-citing Options
Fancied-up eggs frequently bring smiling faces to the appetizer table, and they are, too, escalating in popularity. Seek out inspiration at Reno’s Bighorn Tavern, where you’ll find mouthwatering Scotch Eggs topped with spicy sausage, then deep fried and slathered with mustard. Also on the menu are its decadent deviled eggs filled with jalapeño-bacon cream and topped with bacon bits and paprika.
Kim Gardner owns both Bighorn Tavern locations with her two sons, Rudy and Mike Grant.
“The eggs have been on our menu for years. They’re one of the best snacks we sell,” Gardner says. “Not many people can do Scotch eggs right, and we do ’em right.”
Gardner shares a tip for making exceptional deviled eggs at home: Add a little gourmet mustard to the yolks and blend until extra fluffy. Then top with bacon bits and paprika.
Good Ol’ Days
Is there anything more sippable that speaks to the past than an old fashioned?
Maddison Deal, manager and bartender, says guests flock to The Office of Hughes and Porter in Downtown Reno for its version of the classic cocktail. Bartenders make it with brown sugar syrup, creating a molasses-like depth that pairs brilliantly with the smokiness of the bourbon, and also adds a touch of sweetness for rye lovers.
To make your own old fashioned at home, see the following recipe.
When the Kentucky Derby horses run, Chapel Tavern bartenders celebrate with their renowned mint juleps, but the skilled bartenders there can pour prime examples of retro cocktails any time.
A bit further downtown, Pignic Pub & Patio owner Trevor Leppek also serves juleps to sip while you’re sunning on the bar/restaurant’s patio, Southern style.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Kentucky straight bourbon such as Maker’s Mark or Bulleit
- 1 teaspoon or bar spoon table sugar
- 6 spearmint leaves
- 2 young spearmint sprigs
- Cracked/chipped ice
- Julep cup or tall slim Collins glass
Instructions
- Muddle mint leaves and sugar in bottom of cup or glass with spoon. Add chipped ice and then bourbon. Stir with spoon for 20 revolutions or until the cup or glass frosts up. Pack cup or glass with more ice and garnish with 2 nice sprigs of mint, so the person imbibing also gets mint aroma.
Around Reno, nostalgia abounds, not just in the architecture and historic neighborhoods, but within the walls of your favorite watering hole or eatery as well. They’ll help inspire you to concoct retro-fabulous creations in your own kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar simple syrup dissolve 1 cup packed light brown sugar in 1 cup water in a saucepan on low heat until liquid
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- 2 to 3 dashes classic bitters
- 2 ounces Maker’s Mark or Four Roses Bourbon
Instructions
- Stir and serve over a large ice cube, then garnish with an orange slice, maraschino cherry, or both.
RESOURCES
Bighorn Tavern
1325 W. Seventh St., Reno
6135 Lakeside Drive, Ste. 113, Reno
Bighorntavernreno.com
Chapel Tavern
1099 S. Virginia St., Reno
Find Chapel Tavern on Facebook
Grafted Whiskey & Wine Bar
7300 Rancharrah Pkwy., Ste. 160, Reno
Graftedwhiskeywine.com
Pignic Pub & Patio
235 Flint St., Reno
Pignicpubandpatio.com
The Office of Hughes and Porter Bar and Lounge
248 W. First St., Reno
Theofficereno.com
