photos by Jen Schmidt

  • Sage Leaf

    We are excited to announce that Sage Leaf restaurant, located in Incline Village, is opening a second location in the soon-to-be-vacated space held by Laughing Planet in Midtown Reno. Laughing Planet is closing permanently and leaving the location on Tahoe Street at the end of July. Shane and Lara Hammett, owners of Sage Leaf, will receive the keys in August and hope to open in October. The Hammetts met in 2007 while working at the Napa Valley Grille in Yountville and they worked around wine country before moving to Lake Tahoe in 2011 and opening Sage Leaf. Shane also is the restaurant’s chef and sommelier. The couple prides themselves on using local, sustainable, and humanly raised products, including Niman Ranch and other small purveyors, and have a commitment to family-owned farms and sustainable agriculture. Menus feature seasonal and fresh ingredients. Photos by Jen Schmidt

  • Drag Wieners

    Sharpay Evans-DeLeon and Sofia Evans did more than pose for our cover shoot. The drag queens also took time to share with us their preferences when it comes to the quintessential summer treat: the hot dog.

  • Al Fresco Dining

    When it comes to food, Chris McNamara is what he likes to call “an opportunivore.” Though the big-wall climber and ex-BASE jumper once scrounged leftover pizza from tourists at Yosemite’s Curry Village during summers, the South Lake Tahoe entrepreneur now snags leftovers from the plates of his two children, who enjoy riding shotgun on their dad’s mountain bike and flying across the kitchen on a custom-rigged zipline.

  • Hoppy Place

    “Hey, Emma, have you met so-and-so?” is how Greg Speicher often introduces me to other locals at his redwood slab bar before cracking open a fun beer for all of us to taste. Welcome to Speicher’s living room, aka Donner Creek Brewing.