Reno-Tahoe

Hello visitors and Reno residents!

It’s time for another installment of ERIN 411!, taking you around Reno-Tahoe to where the locals go and what the locals know!

First and foremost, here is “ERIN 411! The Best of Northern Nevada,” where I went around to my top picks from the Reno News & Review’s annual “Best Of” issue. Let me know if you agree with this year’s winners by posting a comment, or tell me your favorite places around Reno!

Next up, here’s something we’ve got going on that’s a bit alternative, a bit underground, and very wicked. It’s called Keep Reno Dirty, and it’s a house music movement. Reno freakin’ rocks!

Thanks for watching ERIN 411! The Show You Need To Know (because it’s awesome)

The summer entertainment calendar is filling up in Reno, with some great acts rolling into town. Check out ticket and calendar information here and plan a long weekend in America’s Adventure Place.

- Singer Bonnie Raitt, May 23 at the Silver Legacy

- Singer Al Green, May 24 at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino

- Comedian Greg Proops, May 24 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget

- Comedian Carlos Mencia, May 31 at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino

- R&B performer Kanye West, June 5 at Reno Events Center

- Country duo Brooks & Dunn, June 7 at the Reno Events Center

Thursday April 5th, marked the launch party for Reno-Tahoe’s YPN group at the swanky N210. 

With over 500 people in attendance, YPN’s launch party was a huge success. The doors opened at 6pm and a line had already formed around the corner with a well dressed 20 and 30 something crowd eager for the night to begin.

The night was full of networking, food, drinks, and plenty of entertainment including flame throwers, dance performances, and a fashion show with looks from Lodo Loft, Kalifornia Jean Bar, and Reno Envy to name a few.

Photo: Lodo Loft owner’s Amanda Werbeckes and Ashley Machado (center) with YPN members and Lodo Loft models.

With Reno’s downtown makeover and refreshing new editions like The Imperial Bar & Lounge and Divine Ultra Lounge making waves, Reno is quickly becoming the "it" place for young professionals.

My friend Robert was at the YPN party last week and said that "There is undoubtedly a fantastic renaissance going on in Reno"

Watch his video - or take a look at his blog!

The hubby and I have been extra busy lately, not leaving nearly enough time for fun in our lives. That is why on Saturday night, I declared Date Night, full of surprises for the hubs.

We started off at the Siena Spa, where we were treated to a couples massage. What a better way to relax together?! The spa is open until 9:00 pm, so we were able to get their last appointment of the day as a start for our date.

The Siena has a great atmosphere, and some of the best masseuses in town. Before and after our treatments, we lounged in robes in the Serenity room. It was a piece of heaven on earth.

After our massages, we then headed to The Chocolate Bar, a new, hip hang-out located at Arlington and California Streets in Downtown Reno. The hubby ordered a white chocolate almond truffle to go with his white chocolate amaretto drink, while I enjoyed a milk chocolate caramel truffle and a white chocolate peppermint hot drink. The bar is a fun blend of a bar, cafe and a candy shop. I highly recommend it for an after-dinner stop. But don’t make that after-dinner stop too late, as the Chocolate Bar closes around 9:30 pm.

Once we got our chocolate fixes, we headed out to 3rd Street Blues, which is a newly opened and redecorated blues club located on 3rd Street by the Eldorado. The band of the night was Uncle Funkle, a well known local band, that dazzles us with subdued blues, featuring a saxaphone player that played both the alto and soprano sax at the same time.

Once Uncle Funkle went on break, we strolled along the Truckee River Riverwalk until we came upon EJ’s Jazz Cafe. The featured band was a lovely jazz quartet (the name escapes me), featuring a full size bass (the old fashioned kind!), a keyboardist, a drummer and a saxophone player. They nailed John Coltrane’s version of My Favorite Things, and offered a rather romantic setting for our last stop on our date. EJ’s also has a very unique wine list, with older and hard-to-find wines. The hubby enjoyed a glass of Bogle Phantom, which was a very full-bodied and unique petite sirah.

Overall, I’d proclaim Date Night as a success. I think that we may have to do this more often!

This past weekend was jam packed with music and great food – another side of America’s Adventure Place.

The weekend started with dinner dinner at Cafe Andreotti in Harrah’s Reno, which was some amazing Italian food. They had an incredible pianist playing during our meal, and it was a very romantic setting. We just discovered this restaurant gem, and I guarantee we’ll be back.

We then checked into our hotel room, where we saw sunset over the Sierras as the lights of downtown Reno came on. It was very picturesque. This is what it looked like (pics taken with my camera phone, so excuse the quality)…

There was a free concert going on in Harrah’s outdoor plaza, which was right below our room. We enjoyed the tunes of John Eddie from our hotel room, and after a few minutes, we decided we had to go down and check out the concert in person.

Later that night, we went to see the Harrah’s topless review show called Bareback. My hubby was extremely excited to see the show (go figure), and I had thought it would be mildly entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they also featured some men in the show, making the show much more than mildly entertaining for me — something for everyone (except the kiddies!). The show featured country songs and dance routines. There was also a great comedian during the intermissions. He did spitting image impressions of Jack Nicholson, Michael Jackson and John Wayne. My

Sunday morning, we slept in, and then had breakfast at Cafe Napa in Harrah’s.

During the day on Sunday, we swam at the outdoor pool and took a nap, getting ready for another big evening. After dinner at Asiana, featuring Chinese, Thai and Japanese cuisine in the Reno Hilton, we went to see Maroon 5 at the Reno Hilton’s outdoor ampitheater.

It was a great night for an outdoor concert. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and we got to enjoy the sun setting over the Sierra Nevadas while we waited for the show to begin.

Oh, and did I mention that my husband is friends with a member of the band?! That’s right. That’s how I managed to get my hands on BACKSTAGE PASSES. And can you believe that right as I discovered we had backstage passes, I realised that my camera phone had completely died?! I went to the gift shop to purchase a disposable camera, because I definitely wanted to document such a momentous occasion.

The show was really good, and ended with some incredible fireworks over the stage. We then went to the backstage access line, and found all kinds of groupies waiting to get in. I had my Backstage Pass proudly stuck to my shirt.

A band representative then came up to the line (where I was about 5 people back from the front), and started lettting in hoards of scantily clad groupies. He’d pick one in the crowd, and then ask how many friends she had, and then girls would pipe up saying six, or eight, and all of those girls that didn’t have official backstage passes like we did were let in.

After at least 30 groupies were let in, they started asking for people with passes. That is when the hubby and I were let in, and we went and found the drummer, Matt. We hung out backstage for at least 45 minutes, and I watched the groupies in awe – it was truly a whole new sub-culture for me.

After so much excitement this weekend, I had to go back to work on Monday to recover! Come check out the gaming and nightlife adventures in Reno-Tahoe for yourself!

I had a great Memorial Day weekend here in Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place. Here are the highlights:

• Had an incredible dinner of lobster and filet mignon at MonteVigna in the Atlantis Casino Resort. This was coupled with a Frog’s Leap Zinfandel, lobster ravioli and shrimp scampi for an appetizer, and black forest cake for dessert. I am so going to have to spend a few extra hours in the gym to work it off!

• After dinner, we enjoyed the Mark Chesnutt concert at the Atlantis. The place was packed, but it was a small room, so it was very intimate. Mark Chesnutt truly has an amazingly talented band.
• The next day, the hubby and I took our three dogs on a hike at Davis Creek, which is a short 20 minute drive south of Reno. It was a beautiful day, and I really enjoyed the fresh smell of pine trees in the forrest. The trail winds along a mountain stream, which was more like a raging river due to all of the snow run off. After the hike, we let the dogs swim in Davis Pond, where they entertained a few families as they retrieved a six foot long stick from the water.

This weekend, the adventure on tap is drag racing at the Reno-Fernley Raceway. It’s me in my 2000 Trans Am Ram Air up against my brother in his 1985 Mustang. I am going to make him EAT MY DUST! I’ll post details and pictures next week!

It was another America’s Adventure Place weekend for Adventure Grrl. We kicked off the weekend with dinner at the Circus Circus in downtown Reno, where we ate some delicious Hawaiian food.

We were then treated to the circus act of J.R. Johns and his ‘clever canines’. I like to call him the dog man. He does all kinds of tricks with numerous dogs, from a Great Dane to a Jack Russel Terrier and a black lab. The dogs do hand stands, back flips, magic tricks — you name it! Even though it’s a show for kids, all of the adults in the audience were enamored with the dogs. It’s hard not to be, I mean look at this:

After dinner, we headed to Brew Brothers in the Eldorado, where we danced to an incredible band from Arizona called Tate. They were playing all of today’s alternative hits, and I sang along to every song!

We crashed in our mini-suite at the Circus, and on Saturday, we headed to Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe for another day on the slopes. The hubby made it down a gnarly bumps run, and then as he skied onto a catwalk at the bottom of that run, he did an impressive fall. It was hilarious!

The trees were all flocked with snow on Saturday, making for some very scenic views.

After skiing, we re-fueled on Thai food at the Thai Royal House (pumpkin curry is to die for!), and then we headed to the Reno Hilton for a dance party featuring the disco cover band Bootie Quake out of L.A. We pulled out our best disco moves, and danced until our poor legs just couldn’t take anymore.

On Sunday, we slept in to recover from the night before, and then headed to Prison Hill Recreation Area just outside of Carson City for a bit of hiking. When you reach the summit of Prison Hill, there is an incredible view of Carson City and the Sierras. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera that day, so you’ll have to take my word for it. Beautiful!

Stay tuned for stories from next weekend, when I’ll be skiing three days in a row… Can my legs take it?!

Adventure Grrl is back, and man, did I have a true America’s Adventure Place weekend.

It all started on Saturday, when the hubby and I ventured back up to Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe. It had snowed a few inches on Friday, so we were treated to what the hubby was calling ‘dust on crust’ conditions.

We went back to ski the Chutes, and honestly, I think I was getting a big ego because I had skied them so much last weekend.

But just when you start getting over confident, the Chutes will serve to knock your confidence right back down a notch.

That knock was a double diamond trail known as Detonatator. (See the trail map here.) I skied in there thinking I was tough stuff, and next thing I knew, I was on a really steep pitch, looking at about a 6 foot wide path between a rock and a tree.

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I won’t claim that I got down Detonator with any style or grace at all… I had to take the wimp’s way out to get around that hairy part, but all in all, it was still a great time.

After skiing, we went to see the Sled Fest 2005 freestyle snowmobile competition, where guys were doing back flips on their snowmobiles.

Back flips! How insane is that?!

Anyway, we left Mt. Rose and headed into Downtown Reno for a night on the town. We had a lovely early Valentine’s Day dinner at Roxy’s. Mmmm….. Mushroom raviolis, lobster, and a bottle of wine later, we were ready for the magic show of Darren Romeo, presented by Siegfried & Roy. Darren Romeo is called “The Voice of Magic” because he sings his way through the magic show, and he has an incredible voice. Not hard on the eyes, either!

Here we are at Roxy’s… Notice the dog chef painting that observed our meal:

On Sunday, the hubby and I headed for Alpine Meadows. A storm happened to blow its way in, and at times, it felt like we were on an expedition to Mt. Everest instead of skiing… But, with the right clothes and a hunger for fresh tracks, skiing in a storm can be quite enjoyable.

Here is the chairlift, which looks like it was taking us up into the clouds:

Another view from the lift. Brrrrrr!!!!!

After skiing, we treated ourselves to a Couples Massage at the Cal Neva Resort Health Spa in North Shore. The massage room was overlooking the lake, so we enjoyed the sunset, and then some true pampering. We then hit the hot tub, and practically collapsed into our beds at the Cal Neva. Here are some pics:

Here’s me being a dork and taking my picture in the mirror of our room:

Here is the view from our room:

The thing I love about the Cal Neva Resort (besides the incredible views) is its rich history. The resort was owned by Frank Sinatra, and was frequented by the Rat Pack and the likes of Marilyn Monroe. The resort has an old Tahoe feel, making me feel like a Hollywood A lister back in the 50s.

OK, maybe not an A lister, but you get my drift.