From Virginia City to Carson City, she'll be coming the mountain when she comes. Paradise lake on one side, silver mines on the other. Carson City is a capitol happy medium, industrial minus the mining gimmick, politics minus all the stickers for Trump.
From a church with no nails to practical capitol. But we didn't go to Carson City for the sites, we just came for the food.
I've heard so much about Adele's, and the tall tales have me seeing a castle; giant swan-boat plates and meat towers, straight out of Game of Thrones. I'm surprised to see just a pretty little cottage, but I'm quick to fall for its cheery charm.
My cheeriness turns to bewilderment the moment I sit down. The first thing we hear about is the specials menu, an in-your-face onslaught of dishes and plates, of every meat and every fish, made to the whims of the chef that day.
Specials always make me raise an eyebrow, ever since my friend told me that they're usually a last-ditch effort to unload the less fresh leftovers. (Thanks a lot, Alex!) Fortunately it's just the opposite at Adele's; the specials are the freshest and the specials are their menu... if you don't count the 4-page magnum opus containing their regular menu.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the menu was created by a genius... With a lot of energy... And a lot of ADD. It shows in the menu, and it shows in the items themselves. Case and point the house special Escargot en Casserole, a skeptical stream-of-consciousness starter, about a million items stuffed into a concise, 6-well plate.
But it works. I don't know how it works, but it works. The escargot are simply perfect, cooked into soft, warm little garlic gobs. I had serious doubts about the sweet fruit pairing with garlic and snails, but the combination of tart apples, sweet grapes, and hearty cranberry is so crazy it's perfect. We were sopping it up with extra bread long after the escargot was gone, and we couldn't get enough.
A menu like that and someone still finds time to house-make limoncello. It's a force to be reckoned with in the Dragoncello, where a touch of tarragon takes the sugary edge off and hides it's alcoholic undertones. Too sweet for me but still impressed.
The Bently Ranch Rib Steak is the first sign of focus I've seen. The steak is juicy and just-right-red in the middle, but it can stand alone. The horseradish cream doesn't need to be there, and garlic chips finish bitter.
And again we're back to the omg-so-many-things-going-on. The Duck Two Ways is exceptional, and why just have it one way when both ways are soooo good? The leg and thigh are done in a soft, confit-like braise, and the breast is tender and dense with an orange glaze kissing the crispy skin.
Dessert is a classic, Strawberry Shortcake with fluffy angel food, the first sane item I've seen.
The desserts sure are sweet but nothing is sweeter than a Birthday Sundae when it comes with a grandpa's smile.
I really love Adele's. Maybe because I really get Adele's. There's a genuine love for food that can be felt with every bite, and the menu, however crazy, is just a simple desire to cram every good thing into a single kitchen. And I'm so scatterbrained that all of this actually makes sense.
Our last night of our first trip to Reno begins and ends at Adele's. New city, new restaurant, new family. A lot of good news this trip, and one of them was definitely Adele's.
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