photos by Asa Gilmore

BJ’s Nevada Barbecue

BJ’s Nevada Barbecue in Sparks — known locally for 38 years of delicious food and deep-rooted community involvement such as mentoring culinary students and supporting first responders — was honored nationally as a 2025 Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp Small Business Hero. The recognition came with a surprise $20,000 check, which was presented to owner and chef Jay Rathmann on April 25, 2025. Intuit team members will join Rathmann and his team at BJ’s on May 8, 2025, to further honor his contributions to the community. Photo by Asa Gilmore

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High Desert Herbs

Yerington may be known as the Onion Capital of the West, but over the last few years, there’s been a new — and better-smelling — crop blooming in the small town.

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Rebuilding for Resilience

Pivot, adapt, innovate — these were the words the food industry lived by when March 2020 arrived and the world as we knew it came to a grinding halt.

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Raising the Big Three

Located about an hour north of Reno, the family-run, 500-acre ranch hugs the north end of Honey Lake near the small towns of Janesville and Buntingville in Lassen County, Calif. The ranch has sweeping views of Honey Lake Valley and Thompson Peak, and it’s filled with the sounds of birds and the bleating of young lambs.

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Appetite for Absurdity

Beer is a well-used secret ingredient employed by everyone from celebrity chefs to backyard grill masters. But it is never utilized more than by the men of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus.

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Culinary Kudos

Having grown up in the restaurant business, Jay Rathmann always has had a fondness for both delicious food and the hard work that goes into its preparation.

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