Reno, NV: Skipolini's Pizza

Subject: FOOD/DRINK

Place: Skipolini's Pizza

Locale: Reno, NV (South, "The Summit")

Skipolini's Website

Visits: 1 (06/04/16)

Food:     3.5 out of 5 on the Fork-O-Meter

Venue:   4.0 out of 5 on the Fork-O-Meter

Beverages:  3.0 out of 5 on the Burp-O-Meter

Will I return?: Yes.

NARRATIVE:

Kind of skirting my own little ruleset here since Skipolini's comprises more than one location. In this case however, it is a very small chain that I would not foresee ever opening more than one here in the Reno area. For some of you who have lived in the Sacramento and/or East Bay areas, Skipolini's will be a familiar name. For those new to Skipolini's, it should become a much appreciated new place to experience. This too would be the case for Linda and I since we never tried Skipolini's during either of our two stints in the Sacramento area.

If there is a singular claim to fame for Skipolini's, it would likely be their "Prego Pizza" which many claim is the culinary trigger to induce labor. 

Venue/Location: "Skips" can be found as a standalone restaurant within the popular "Summit" shopping center in South Reno. It occupies what originally opened as "Firkin & Wolf", which was a British-style pub and restaurant. I was fortunate to have actually eaten inside the F & W before it folded, so I was quite curious to see what transformation the new tenant made to the place. 

Skip's is a large place, with plenty of seating both indoors and out. There are two outdoor seat areas; one includes a bar-style shuffleboard game, artificial turf for bocce ball or beanbag toss games, as well as plenty of tables and chairs for dining al fresco. The second area again has a ton of seating plus several outdoor couches and chairs for a patio lounge vibe. Both outdoor sections have fireplaces and at least one of them provides a large flat-screen TV.

Walking in through the main doors, I see a layout that is generally the same as it was as Firkin & Wolf. The bar area is dead on the same, as is the open kitchen - which utilizes nearly an entire side of the wall. When I looked at an old picture of Firkin, it was clear that the ceiling treatment of antique looking tin remained as well. Skips definitely spiced things up a bit from the purposely dreary British-flavored interior however. There are several loud "mural" looking paintings along the main walls. A very large, artsy, "Skip's" lighted wall divides the bar from the restaurant to a degree. Multiple large chandeliers drop here and there from the sky. Booths, tables, high tops, etc., are available. They also offer a separated special event room (for a slight charge) off to one end (hmmmm, possible Foodfather venue???). There are the nearly-obligatory TVs sprinkled throughout, but not so much as to be any distraction. Overall, this is a comfortable, if not transformed, place to dine.

Drink: I only went with 3-stars here. Actually we both thought the drink menu was more than adequate, but for me, I think the beers on tap were a little thin, especially for a big pizza and pasta restaurant like this. I found a beer I already like here (Firestone 805), so I was just fine, but I really would have liked more from which to choose. The generic wine selections were also fine, not elaborate, but adequate. They offer Happy Hour from 2-6 Monday through Friday, so we can of course sample again. Several mixed cocktails also looked interesting.

Food: Again, I went a little low here (3.5), but again I will explain the rating for me. I had only heard about Skip's from others who had eaten there themselves (at the other locations) or had friends or family who had done the same. As stories get passed down the line, they tend to grow "larger" and better along the line (my stories I am sure are included in that pile of lore). So as we heard more and more about the food at Skip's, there was built an expectation that would be hard to match. 

Even with the expectations, since our ordering/sampling on this trip was limited to an appetizer and pizza, we did not get a good exploration of the many other things offered. Glancing through their extensive menu, I see plated entrees, sandwiches, pasta dishes I would very much like to try. Thus a return trip and review will take place.

We shared the "Calamari Fritti" appetizer to start. Outside of being a little less than "fryer-hot" when they arrived, I really enjoyed these lightly battered treats. No tentacles found in the bunch! (I don't mind them, but alas, I was not alone). The calamari cuts were limited to just the good, tender, meaty "rings". They arrived with very good aioli and marinara dips on the side (in fact I kept the dips to use with my pizza crust).

Calamari Fritti

On this trip, we decided to each try a "make your own" pizza, although there are plenty of specialty pizzas also offered. Their small make your own pizza with 1-2 items added is roughly $11. Sounds a little pricey at first, but keep in mind these "small" pizzas were large enough to each bring home plenty of leftovers. Linda tried a mushroom and sausage combo, and I went for the black olive and sausage. You also get to select from several of their pizza sauces (Red Sauce, Pesto Sauce, Homemade Creamy Pesto, Barbecue Sauce and Roasted Garlic Sauce - white). I thought the crust was nicely thought out and cooked - it was a bit thin and slightly crunchy underneath the main pie, but the surrounding crust was again a little crunchy and tender in the middle. The leftover crust was perfect dipped into the remainder of the aioli.

Mushroom & Sausage

Black Olive & Sausage

All in all, we both agreed that Skipolini's will be a hit here in Reno just as it is elsewhere. Moreover, the South Reno location screams for more places like Skip's. Even with a BJ's Brewpub next-door, Skipolini's will do quite well. Variety is the spice of life.

I can see a future Foodfather event for this joint.

-BG

Reno, NV: Centro Bar & Kitchen

Subject: FOOD/DRINK

Place: Centro Bar & Kitchen

Locale: Reno, NV (California Ave area)

Centro Bar & Kitchen Website

Visits: 1 (05/29/16)

Food:     4.5 out of 5 on the Fork-O-Meter

Venue:   5 out of 5 on the Fork-O-Meter

Beverages:  4.5 out of 5 on the Burp-O-Meter

Will I return?: Yes.

NARRATIVE:

From WIKIPEDIA:

Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks...The serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation, because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them.

So I have been aware of Centro Bar & Kitchen for quite a while. In fact it sits next to another favorite haunt here in town along California Avenue called "1864 Tavern". Most of the unique, small food spots around here actually provide delivery directly into places like 1864 free of charges - yet the idea, at least to me, of having small plates of appetizers and snacks as opposed to an entire, all-encompassing dinner platter just did not ever hit the mark.

It was not until Linda and I were enjoying lunch at "The Cheese Board" (to be reviewed later) that I was really drawn into Centro. You see, I have this thing about restaurants and/or taverns that have a street-facing open air section -- you know the type: the large, windowed garage door that brings the outdoors inside. Plus on this day, with the doors open, I had a good gander of the interior -- brick, Edison bulb lighting, eclectic decor. Hmmmm, okay, gotta try this place at least once.

Linda and I, along with our good dining/drinking companions, popped into Centro over the Memorial Day weekend. From the first look inside, I knew this was my kind of venue. Different options for seating as you might expect - tables, bar seating, high tops, small tables near the "garage door". One less than favorable section was the outdoor patio area in the back of the establishment -- a little stark, no music being piped in, and just so-so. As this area is somewhat residential, I can understand why there would be no music out back however. The music in the main part of the place was really good -- and better yet, musicians and bands unknown to us! (no Top 40 crap here). There are several other walkable points of interest nearby: The Nevada Museum of Art, several other restaurants and bars, small shops, etc.

As usual, we are here primarily to try new food and drink, and Centro for me did not disappoint. The server was also our bartender, and our service throughout was excellent. He gave us plenty of time to make decisions on our initial beverages, and made suggestions with several options, both drink and food, that worked out well. In my case, I enjoyed the best mixed drink I have had in a long time. The "Chili Centro Mule" was their spin on the Moscow Mule. Served in the traditional Mule-style copper mug, it included jalapeño infused vodka, ginger beer, lime juice and bitters - with a little jalapeño lifesaver floating on top. I was hooked from sip one. The flavor of the jalapeño jumped right out of the mug -- a much-welcomed fire tamed only slightly by the ginger beer and lime. I was taken hostage by this one. The ladies each had a hand-shaken Kamikaze (one raspberry or pomegranate, one standard as I recall), and our fourth player had something otherwise (can't recall because I was so hypnotized by that mule!).

Chili Centro Mule

Moving ahead, we ordered and shared multiple tapas plates. The "Centro Deviled Egg" was five (yes, five) half-eggs deviled up with cherry pepper powder, chicharron dust, and a nice gremolata streamer. The chicharron dust (for you gringos, chicharron is basically fried pigskin, a crunchy snack) provided a tiny amount of crunch to the creamy deviled eggs. The delicate cherry pepper powder added spice, but not heat. A really nice treat.

Centro Deviled Egg - awesome

The "Spinach Salad" put a great spin on the usual green dish. Comprised of spinach (duh), pickled pear slices, prosciutto, pickled onions, cashews, warm bacon vinaigrette, and Bleu cheese crumbles. A really well-balanced plate of flavor - sweet and tart all the same, with the added texture from the cashews. I swear I dug out a marble-sized hunk of Bleu gold in the pile of joy.

Spinach Salad

"Three Daily Tacos" - the protein changes based on the chef's choice for the day. Today was "blackened chorizo". I would hasten to add that the chorizo used here at Centro seemed to be on the Spanish side (vs. Mexican), so it was a bit meatier and not quite as "melted down". All told, we thought overall, today's protein choice for the tacos was lacking just a bit. The rest of the taco filling was great however, and I would try these again just based on how they were constructed -- just needed a different meat choice.

Three Daily Tacos - Blackened Chorizo today

"Lobster Risotto Cake" - We all sampled this one. It was really tasty -- good creamy risotto, and the langostino was nicely poached. It could have used a bit more langostino, given the proportion of the risotto on the dish, but overall, it was really tasty.

Lobster Risotto Cake

"Sausage Plate" - Again, the base/type of sausages are rotated and chosen by the chef daily. The choices today were wild boar and andouille. They are grilled and served with pickled onion, a daily jam, along with an apple cabernet mostarda. The sausages were really tasty and worked well with the provided accompaniments. 

Sausage Plate - Wild Boar & Andouille today

"Filthy Fries" - My personal choice and my favorite for today. These qualify as fries only in the sense that it included wedge-cut potatoes -- other than that -- it was completely different than just fries. In fact, I doubt anything on this plate made it anywhere near a fryer. These well-roasted wedges (borderline crispy on the outside, but very tenderly cooked internally) are covered with short-rib meat, cotija cheese, a beer cheese sauce, capped with a little cherry pepper salsa, all of which sits atop a reduced balsamic drip and that great house gremolata. Glad I had my team to share with on this plate - it was a good portion and pretty much a small meal rather than a small plate.

"Filthy Fries" - my favorite today

There were plenty of other things on the menu at Centro I would really like to sample: "Charred Octopus", "Pork Belly", "Shrimp Po' Boy", "Fingerlings a la Centro", "Jal-Up In Your Fritter", to name a few. Additionally, there are drinks on the menu calling for a revisit: "Watermelon Jalapeño Margarita", "Tay Tay's Tonic", "Pomegranate Mojito", etc., etc., etc.

Centro Bar & Kitchen is a great place to share great things with great people. We never even made it to the desserts listed on the menu. Additionally, Centro features daily & happy hour deals throughout the week. I highly recommend visiting and exploring their menu. I will be going back.

-BG