Walkabout in Reno. May Trip to Reno, Part 10; May 14, 2014

Me to my iPhone, "Siri, I didn't know you had a casino?"

My first full morning roaming the streets of Reno started off chilly with a dawn walk to downtown from Yvonne’s workplace. Its a fair distance and by the time I walked past the baseball stadium I was shivering.

I sought a brief refuge from the cold inside Harrah’s to score a hot beverage. And hot it was! I forgot how excruciatingly hot Starbucks coffee can be, and took a hearty sip from my travel tumbler. Half of the lava flow went down my throat before gut instinct kicked in to spew the rest out. I had burnt my lips, tongue, and esophagus! The stinging lasted all day.

I took a few more sips of my coffee with the lid off, but ultimately poured the now flavorless brew out on the street. Kinda hard to taste with wiped-out taste buds.

A little later at Bibo Coffee Company on S. Sierra I enjoyed a much more drinkable coffee, both in temperature and flavor, while I embarrassingly confessed my injurious Starbucks visit to the barista.

Around the corner from Bibo I visited Newman's Deli for a fun, hearty Breakfast Burger, with sausage patty, fried egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard, and mayo. Perusing the menu I saw that other breakfast sandwich offerings at Newman’s sport four egg omelets. Worth a revisit? You bet!

A Breakfast Burger at Newman's Deli; the breakfast menu.

After a few hours strolling up Virginia Street and over to the Powning District, I revisited Dorinda's Chocolates for some delightful candies: the Kraken, a smooth chocolate-enforced hazelnut praline; and a brightly flavored Lemon Truffle.

Candies from Dorinda's Chocolates.

Venturing south of the river I come across Lucky Dawg, an honest-to-goodness hot dog cart, operating on the corner of Court & Virginia. I ordered up a Spicy Louisiana Hot Link, served New York style with sauerkraut, deli mustard, and a kick-ass red onion sauce.

Spicy Louisiana Hot Link served 'New York’ style from Lucky Dawg.

A few miles down S. Virginia and parched, I stumbled into Town Liquor jonesing for a Pepsi, but wisely chose a bottled water instead. While there a hard-scrabble woman walks through, looking for shampoo, but verbally balks at paying $3.99 for a bottle? Honey, what did you expect in a predatory liquor store?!?!

Needing an oasis after a long day spent on my feet, I found Carl's Saloon, a friendly gay bar a few blocks south of the Peppermill. Lucky me, Carl's was shilling out Barton vodkas at a clearance price, which allowed me to tip at a 100 percent rate. I was even more fortunate to stumble across a special that made a follow-up shot only $2! I exploited it for an otherwise pricy Chamucos Blanco.