Twisted Fork - Reno

You've heard of pregnancy brain? I don't have pregnancy brain. But I do have wedding brain. Same difference.

Wedding brain: A condition where one becomes obsessed with planning one's wedding and is found by others to be extremely boring and often annoying. To exist in a state of delusion where one believes that everyone else must love to hear about every agonizing detail for a future date they must struggle through to show support for their friend(s) taking the plunge.

So I am boring. And I am learning that planning a wedding is hard. But the difficulty starts long before the wedding, and sometimes even before the engagement. I started as an only child with my parents as the only constant figures in my life. The rest of my family tree lies firmly rooted across the Pacific, and that was all I knew.

Justin comes with a lot more family. A lot of people love him, and I feel like it'll take a lifetime to know them all and appreciate each person for who they are and who they will be. So far, that journey has taken us to Malibu, Vista, and Thousand Oaks, and this time, it lands our plane in Reno.

I am wary and I am nervous, but I keep an open mind. After all, when you see a fork in the road...you should take it. So it's only appropriate that we go directly from Reno-Tahoe airport to the Twisted Fork for lunch.

The menu is a good mix, and the company is too. There's a traditional path, appreciated by all, a Short Rib Grilled Cheese of melty cheddar, hunks and chunks of soft shreds of short rib, and a hint of horseradish buried in cream. Think really good sandwich... And take it up a little notch.

The sandwich is a joyful journey down the beaten path, but if you're looking for the road less traveled, the Tiger Shrimp Tamal is the way to go. The finest-ground, sweet corn is stuffed with tender jumbo shrimp, and it stews in a garlic cream that I can only describe as liquid crack.

I didn't know what to expect as I sat down with my new family for the first time, but I knew, immediately, that this trip to Reno was one of my better decisions. The conversation flowed faster than the diet coke, and the only thing warmer than my tamal was the couple sitting across from us. I also didn't know what to expect from the food as I sat down in Twisted Fork for the first time, but I knew, immediately, that this lunch was one of Their better decisions.