Weekender
Before the rise of Las Vegas in the 1950s, Reno reigned as the gambling capital of the U.S. These days, casinos remain, but the city—now flush with tech jobs thanks to Tesla, Apple, Google, and the like—is getting its downtown cool on.
As gateway to Burning Man, Reno boasts serious alt-culture cred. Original Burner sculptures dot downtown’s Neon Line District along Fourth Street, among them a forbidding Mongolian warrior with a skull face and a rearing, kinetic stallion made of found objects. The giant steel lotus blooming outside the Nevada Museum of Art was created by Burning Man attendee and artist Kate Raudenbush, while on display inside the museum is Gianfranco Gorgoni: Land Art Photographs (through Jan. 22), 50 images by the country’s premier documentarian of earthwork art.
Pine State Biscuits loads fluffy biscuits with combos such as over-easy eggs and braised greens doused with hot sauce, and gravy-topped fried chicken, bacon, and cheese. You’ll also find seasonal “Pop tarts” and pie in the industrial-chic space warmed with homey touches including vintage wooden rolling pins on the wall.
Located in the Basement, a small marketplace of local vendors on the lower level of a historic 1933 art deco former post office, Nørdik brims with colorful, eye-catching housewares and gifts. From Iittala’s iconic mouth-blown Alvar Aalto glass vases to Lapuan Kankurit linen tea towels and boldly patterned Marimekko ceramic mugs, virtually everything is designed and made in Finland or Sweden.
Dining options at buzzy Liberty Food & Wine Exchange run from its own butcher shop’s finocchiona salami to thin-crust pizza Margherita from the wood-fired oven, and specials such as a Moroccan-style braised lamb shank. For live music and a cocktail or a pull of local Tahoe Amber Ale, retire to Shim's Surplus Supplies, a onetime surplus supply store where the speakeasy vibe is enhanced by exposed brick walls, pressed-tin ceilings, and an alley entrance (marked deliveries only) at the back of the building. —christopher hall