Spice House, Fantasy Girls, Wild Orchid, any of 'em are good apparantly.
I'm trying to find out if any of the radio stations are having events on Thursday. I think KRZQ is doing something but I haven't found anything on
their page. Meh.
All the restaurants I mentioned are family friendly. Except for the boobie joints.
The Sushi restaurants are all "you order, we make". This can take a while when there's a rush, but if you go during lunch it's generally pretty quick.
In response to my list o' things:
1) Remember that Mound House is The Prostitution Capital of the United States, and the Moonlight Bunnyranch is supposed to be the best of the best. Trust me, you'll get your money's worth.
2) It is indeed a Christmas thing. Basically a huge grouping of Christmas-themed decorations and lights. With music too. And hot cocoa.
3) Swing: to swap sexual parners, usually significant others or spouses, with another couple for the purposes of sex.
The surrounding areas of Reno are rich and diverse in crap to do. Tahoe is a good place to kill some time, but it's incredibly pricy. Still, Skiiing is kinda fun. Or you could go low-tech, buy a snow saucer from Wallymart and stop at Spooner Summit. Much more fun, and free. If there's snow there.
If you're at all into the old-timey west thing I suggest you head up to Virginia City, though you have to do it before 4pm since everything closes early there. VC is a kick in the pants, though it's right on the side of a hill so expect to get a workout, as some of the streets are at 45 degree slopes. (
At 7,000+ feet no less) A lot of souvenier(sp?) shops, some historic drinkeries (
but you can get a ginger ale, I'm sure) even an old-fashioned shooting gallery and a kickass fudge shoppe. They also offer old-timey photos, which my folks and I had taken. A good place if your friend with kids wants to while away the hours.
Finally, if you go due south from Reno you'll hit Carson City. (
where I live. YAY!) There's even less to do in Carson than there is in Reno, unless of course you want to golf. Carson has a number of high-quality golf courses, which is not that different from Reno save for the key issue for me: cost. Greens Fees are reasonable, more reasonable than the ones in Reno, and we don't have a single course that requires you to be a country club member or some such bulls%$#.
There's also great food in Carson.
Sushi: Two places: The Waterwheel, Kim-Lee/Thai Spice Noodle House. We're not sure which one started the all-you-can-eat sushi thing, but whichever one did it prompted the rest of the sushi places in the area to follow suit. Both are amazing sushi, made fresh when you order it. The Waterwheel also has outstanding Chinese food.
Chinese: Ming's. One of my favorite Chinese places. It was around in my Highschool days until the building they were in was sold and they moved up to Tahoe. Now they're back and just as tasty. They have a Sushi part of the restaurant as well (in fact almost every Chinese restaurant is also a Sushi place in Carson City, and vice versa) but it's not that good. They need to just stick to what they do best: damn good Chinese.
Also, Panda Kitchen, run by a family friend. Equally amazing, but with a smaller selection of food, hence why it's not my favorite.
Italian: Garibaldi's. This restuarant alone is the reason why you should come to Carson. They do amazing, outstanding, unheard of things with food at this restaurant. It's somewhat upscale, very classy, only mildly expensive. Their Bruschetta is to die for, as are their Shrimp Wonton appetizers, and generally any of their main dishes. I cannot stress enough how outstandingly, splendiferously wontacular this place is. Seriously.
Indian: India Curry. Don't let the fact that it's in a converted Godfather's Pizza fool you, or the fact that it's across from a Denny's. This place is damn tasty. I love the Chicken Tikka Masala here, and the Naan. But bring some antacids; their idea of mild will give you a speedy case of Montezuma's Revenge.
Mexican: Tequila Dan's. While generally any mexican restaurant in the area is good -- since we're chock full o' Mexicans -- Tequila Dan's is the most economical of the ones I've found in Carson. Good food, great lunch specials, endless chips and salsa.
Finally, the directions to Pho:
Ait, to get to Pho 777 from the I-80 exit you need a bit of luck, particularly because the streets that are open versus the streets that are closed can change on a daily basis. The easiest way is to take Virginia Street south to 5th street, then turn left. Turn right onto Lake Street, then proceed all the way down to Second street. Pho 777 will be on your left, the block that isn't a triangular empty lot, between a bar and a head shop called "Earth Angel". Kim-son is directly across from Harrah's; there should be a large sign bearing its name where it is. As far as parking goes, you have a few options. You can park on the street, though if it's before 6pm you have to put money in the meter. You can also park in the parking complex one block east on Second Street. This is the parking center for both Harrah's employees and a few of the radio stations (
including KRZQ) but you should be fine.
Now that's assuming Lake Street is open, which it may not be. On several occasions I've tried to get to Pho from the University (
North of where I-80 meets Virginia) and found myself 4 miles away after all the detours I went through. It may be easier to get on I-80 east and take one of the following routes:
Exit onto Wells street and turn right. Go across the bridge, then turn right onto Kuenzli... Kuenzil... whatever. Follow it for a few blocks and you'll be right at the funky triangular intersection where Pho 777 is.
Exit onto Wells street and turn right. Go across the bridge, past KuenzWTF and turn right onto Mill. Keep going until you find the part of the street that's been taken over by the Sienna casino. (
isn't it neat how casinos can do that?) Turn right, go under the "Biggest Little City in the World" sign and you'll be at the triangular intersection. I suggest this path because you can immediately turn right onto the "diagonal" street and park there, which is usually where I wind up parking anyway.
Any other questions, ask away.
