I love brunch. Every once in a while, I jump off my diet to indulge in a stack of fluffy pancakes with berries and fancy syrup, a cheesy mess of huevos rancheros, and eggs Benedict smothered in creamy sauce. My brunch feasts usually include a sparkling cocktail with fresh juice. Brunch is a popular pastime in Reno-Tahoe, so in this issue we profile several great restaurants and dishes to try. We also offer suggestions for brunch cocktails you can make at home.
Speaking of brunchy foods, I ate my weight in savory and sweet crêpes when we were in Paris last year. (I know how lucky I was to enjoy this trip before the pandemic hit hard, locking down travel for nearly everyone.)
A great brunch might also feature a basket of croissants. A flaky croissant was the star of each morning in Paris. The bakery just steps away from our flat won best croissant in the city every year. But you don’t have to travel to Paris for a great croissant. We have several bakeries here that produce delicious renditions, including one Reno bakery that mimics the very croissant we had in Paris!
The sweets in Paris were pretty mind blowing, from gourmet chocolates, caramels, cramique pastries, and macarons to merveilleux (addictive meringue-and-cream treats topped with nut or chocolate shavings), tarts, éclairs, and pâte de fruit jellies (my favorite). We have tasty confections in our area, too. There’s even one new shop whose owner has a tie to Paris. See our story on local treats for Easter.
In this issue, we also focus on food, farming, and gardening research and education. See our stories on the brilliant minds at University of Nevada, Reno, who are improving the way the world eats; Desert Farming Initiative’s benefits to students, small-scale farmers, and backyard gardeners; local agriculture educators; and a national gardening consultant and author of bestselling gardening books who calls Reno home.
In time for Earth Day, we also turn our attention to several earth-conscious efforts in Reno-Tahoe, including curbing the use of plastics and a herculean undertaking to clean up Lake Tahoe.
You’ll find all of this and much more in these pages, including Home and Health & Wellness guides. And we have more news to share. On the digital side, we are excited to announce the launch of our new website (Ediblerenotahoe.com). It’s a great resource for recipes and community food, drink, and farmers’ market guides. You’ll also discover more than a decade of content to explore. This is our 11th year of publishing edible Reno-Tahoe. Can you believe it?
À votre santé!
Amanda
About the Cover Wood-fired pancake topped with sweetened condensed milk and fresh berries at Liberty Food & Wine Exchange in Reno. Photo by Candice Vivien
