Submitted by Karl Breckenridge
A day or two ago we trotted out an old standby column topic for our This is Reno readers – we called it “Faded Menus” and offered it with the full knowledge and disclosure that one never got all the closed restaurants on the first time through, and a revisit would be inevitable. True to form, it became so, so away we go to some other favorites….:
Our old buddy Nan Johnson started things off: “Bundox?” (Jan’s a woman of few words.)
Owners Bud and Cebe Loomis named the joint on Lake and West First Street after a faraway, mythical place evocative of Xanadu known better in the Philippines and pronounced “Boondocks.” The Loomises had an extensive collection of Chinese artifacts which were displayed at the restaurant/lounge and in the rooms of their adjoining motel, the River House. The Bundox was incredibly popular in the mid-19th century. Whatever happened to its huge, decorative brass doorknobs? Who knows…
An element of Faded Menus Reduxes are comments about places we didn’t forget. Here’s a couple:
Dan Hinxman asked “Is Les Lerude (the downtown Wigwam) related to Warren Lerude?” I started to respond, but thought the better of it knowing that Warren himself could and would do it better and wordier.
The Big Dude did not disappoint. His response, worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, hell, he’s got one of them already:
“Les Lerude’s Better Foods–We Close Sundays and Go Fishing–Home of the Hot Apple Pie and Vanilla Cream Sauce–Not Recommended by Duncan Hines–Wigwam Coffee Shop–Second and Sierra streets, northeast corner–where Warren Lerude couldn’t master the milkshake machine or the dishwasher machine and therein Peter Principled out of the restaurant business as a teen-ager and tried something different, journalism, where he still struggles daily in one form or another…”
Another who didn’t disappoint was our favorite man-we-love-to-hate, umpire Chris Healy, noting the bacon-bit dressing that the Liberty Belle used on their spinach salad. Asking permission to use his and wife Carol Chase Healy’s name in the paper, he reminded me that Carol had achieved the dream of every Reno High chick, to marry a guy from Manogue. That alone ought to get the ol’ mailbag filling…
Yelp: List of curbside, takeout & delivery establishments
Ralph Langley sent a scan of a program for one of the most memorable evenings we could ever spend at the Liberty Belle – a program of The Drunkard – the Bella Union Players’ rendition of an old Vaudeville play replete with Barney Hatton’s ominous chords on the piano and a “he tied her to the railroad tracks…” moustache-twisting segment. The play ran when the south wing of the Belle opened in 1966. You’ll read more of it here, and we say thanks, Ralph…
Dan Rider and Sonny Thompson voted for the Glory Hole which I rapidly seconded and added to it the Villa Roma and Washoe., which occupied the same West Fourth Street building before and after the Glory Hole (in our buddy Curtis Worrall’s Whispering Vine present location).
Lynnae Hornbarger, Ted (Digger) Williams and Gretchen Dermody reminded us of Siri’s on East Fourth Street (Gretchen also mentioned Vario’s).
Image: Bob Conrad
Reno’s leading tenor voice Lauren House piped up with the Choy family’s Chinese Pagoda in Sparks; I’m surprised in the same vein that none mentioned the Yup family’s Sun Café on South Virginia Street. Or across the street, the bygone Famous Murphy’s. (And to save you all the trouble, the names you’re groping for are Hobo Junction and Hungry Tiger.)
And no nominations either for Bailiwick’s, usually a contender in these Faded Menus outings. C’mon, folks; what’s happening to us??
Sharon Zialeah Flagg wants some escargot at Mimi’s Hideaway, and a half-dozen votes came in for the Spaghetti Factory in the one-time church on Vassar and Wells, that I always thought was Sid Stern’s in-your-face to the Catholic Church.
Back to the Liberty Belle, George Hatjakes wonders how the Air Guard ever got an airplane off the ground on “Air Guard Friday” at the Belle. And Mike Reid admits that their dollar-a-rib plate could keep him on the ground also for two or three bucks. And I’m entitled to a memory also; how ‘bout a chocolate sundae in the little silver bowls, served up by Alice with her million-dollar smile? And speaking of people, Gretchen mentioned Gitta the camera lady – I feel a column coming on there, of the people we remember from the Faded Menus…
The Gold ‘n Silver got a couple mentions – let’s be clear on the concept: A ”Faded Menu” is from a restaurant that has closed for keeps, unlike the G&S and every other restaurant the valley has now.
Let’s hope that a year from now I have no more “Faded Menus” to write of, following this weird period we’re going through now. I could go on forever with the stuff of restaurants, barkeeps, pianists, photographers, parking valets of old, waiters, and other stuff of the industry, but Steve Capurro and Russ Ferretto are getting hungry all over again so we’re going to say so long, proschai, adieu, aloha, auf wiedersehn, goodbye and farewell for today, but most importantly, be safe huh?
Submitted opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of This Is Reno. Have something to say? Submit an opinion article or letter to the editor here.
Karl Breckenridge
Karl Breckenridge was slowly going nuts. So he decided to help out This is Reno by writing a daily out-of-his-mind column for the duration of the coronavirus shutdown. Now that it’s over he’s back to his usual antics, drinking coffee with the boys at the Bear and, well, we’re not sure what else. But he loved sharing his daily musings with you, so he’s back, albeit a little less often, to keep on sharing. Karl grew up in the valley and has stories from the area going back to 1945. He’s been writing for 32 years locally.
Read more from Karl Breckenridge
Cheers 4 – the Lear steam bus
The latest news on the Lear Theater has Karl remembering some of the Lear’s other projects, including a steam-powered bus.
Cheers 3 – the groceries II
Karl did not limit his column to ten items or less, so get out of the express line to read this history of Reno grocery markets.
Cheers 2 – the groceries I
Karl got a little distracted this week, starting off with a list of Reno’s great groceries of yesterday then slipping on some ice.
Cheers 1 – Of wine and Little Italy
Karl is back, making us all wonder why we didn’t spend more time during stay-at-home orders pressing grapes into homemade wine.
Day 75 – Karl’s retired to the Bear
From the get-go our pal Karl said he’d write “a short squib on a daily basis – nothing political, nothing controversial,” well, except for that one column.
Day 74 – the Truckee’s picturesque islands (updated)
Karl’s pal Jody shares the rich history of bootlegging, decorating, and engineering within the confines of the Truckee River’s banks and its picturesque islands.
Day 72 – Hobos, tigers and leprechauns
Karl recollects the series of eateries that drew diners to the corner of Virginia Street and Gentry Way for several decades.
Day 70 & 71 – in Flanders Fields
Karl shares a poem by John McCrae to mark Memorial Day.
Day 69 – The Nugget shark: John meets Jaws
Karl was talking about baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, long before the kids these days had ever been born.
Day 67 – What I like about Reno High
Karl, er, Carmine Ghia, writes an end-of-school-year essay to turn in to Mrs. Lehners about everything he likes about Reno High School.
Day 67 – 25 Bret Harte
Karl saddles up and heads to Newlands Manor where Western movies star Reno Browne grew up, and Lash Larue paid a visit or two.
Day 66 – Out for dinner we go
Karl goes out to eat at the El Tavern Motel, a truck stop outside the Reno city limits on the Lincoln Highway.
Day 65 – Dawn Bunker
Karl is back in action with a fresh story of which students of Mrs. Bunker’s class at Jessie Beck Elementary School still won’t spill the beans.
Day 64 – abducted
Karl Breckenridge called in to This Is Reno editors this morning with a hands-in-the-air, what-can-I-do sense of resignation.
Day 63 – Wedding chapels
Karl’s enjoying coffee with pals at the Bear, so today Jody stands at the altar to share the history of Reno’s wedding chapel industry.
Day 62 – the mansion at 2301 Lakeside Drive
Karl’s 7-year-old alter ego rides his bike down to Virginia Lake to explore the Hancock Mansion, a nifty home complete with a bomb shelter, sunroof and doll collection.
Day 61 – Basque hotels
Karl wanders back in time to 1960, a time when multiple Basque hotels served up minestrone soup, English lessons, banking, and accommodations.
Day 60 – the bygone Greyhound terminal
Karl’s synapses are firing today after hearing mention of Reno’s Greyhound bus terminal on Stevenson Street, now razed.
Day 59 – Don’t tell Mom
Karl rewinds to Mother’s Day to share a story from the archive about Grandpas without a Clue and another ragtop adventure, by reader demand.
Day 58 – School stuff
Karl considers the value of a school name as the WCSD moves to rename one of the area’s older remaining schools and open a new one.
Day 57 – Pedalin’ around Vine Street
Karl rides his bike through history, remembering some of the places and people that helped to build Reno into the city it is today.
