Your Guide to Basquing in the Old West
What are the best restaurants for authentic Basque cuisine?
- By Aviva Shen
- Smithsonian.com, March 22, 2012, Subscribe
(Page 2 of 2)
Nevada
Around 1920, a flood of young Basque men looking for new adventures inundated northern Nevada. As shepherds, life ended up being duller than expected; they spent months alone in the scrubby mountains, punctuated by visits to railroad towns to sell their sheep. Many of the signature Basque boardinghouses that housed them on these visits, like the Martin Hotel in Winnemucca and Santa Fe Hotel in Reno, are still standing. And they’re still dishing up the pioneer-style comfort food meant to buffer the long stretches in the wilderness. Following the tradition, these seasoned dining rooms churn out endless courses of lamb stews, steaks, washed down with plenty of wine and Picon Punch.
Nevada was also a major site for Basque culture rehab; in 1959 the first national Basque Basque festival was held in Sparks, Nevada, drawing more than 6,000 Basque Americans and highlighting the need for Basque cultural outlets around the country. Soon after, similar ethnic clubs and festivals started popping up in all the major Basque hubs of California, Idaho and Oregon. Elko still hosts the state’s largest Basque festival (which, appropriately, includes an event called the “Running of the Sheep”), though the town’s ethnic population has dwindled in the past century.
Santa Fe Hotel
235 N Lake St
Reno, NV 89501
(775) 323-1891
The Martin Hotel
94 West Railroad Street
Winnemucca, NV 89445
(775) 623-3197
JT Basque Bar and Dining Room
1426 Highway 395
Gardnerville, NV 89410
(775) 782-2074
The Star Hotel
246 Silver Street
Elko, NV 89801
(775) 753-8696
Louis’ Basque Corner
301 E 4th St
Reno, NV 89501
775-323-7203
New York
An entirely different breed from the railroad lodges out west, New York’s Basque scene takes its cues from modern Basque Country cooking instead of the American Basque tradition. Catering to an East Coast crowd more or less untouched by Basque immigration, haute Basque-inspired eateries aim to educate rather than preserve a community. The difference is stark. Bar Basque, described by the New York Times’ Sam Sifton as “a strange, glass-walled and tube-shaped spaceship,” is as far from tradition as you can get, and the more intimate Txikito has an ambitious mission to create New York’s “glorious Spanish-food future”, updating traditional fare (salt cod, tripe, squid) with contemporary fusion flavors. Sure, it’s not Basque cooking by purist standards, but their roots are shared by those sturdy family boardinghouses 3000 miles away.
Bar Basque (http://www.eventihotel.com/chelsea-restaurant/bar-basque.html)
839 6th Avenue
New York, NY 10001
(646) 600-7150
Txikito (http://www.txikitonyc.com)
240 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10001
(212) 242-4730
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Comments (5)
I have been to almost every Basque restaurant in the Western United States. Yeah, they're all pretty good, but the restaurants in Elko are by far some of the best I have had in my travels. Whenever I drive through Elko, I definitely have to stop and get a fat steak. Mind you, I avoid meat quite often, but not in Elko.
Posted by Hell-N on April 7,2012 | 10:30 PM
For years (lots of them!!) we've been going to Noriega's Hotel whenever we're in Bakersfield. I know Woolgrowers' is good too, but Noriega's is such a family tradition, we keep going back - for the pickled tongue, the camradarie of other diners. Once I said to my table mate "when I first came here, we paid $2.50 for dinner". He one-upped me, saying when he first came, he paid 50c! It's a bit more than that now, but still a good value.
Posted by Wena Dows on April 6,2012 | 07:32 PM
don't forget Winnemucca, Nevada - several good places to get Basque Food!
Posted by mark on April 4,2012 | 05:08 PM
No trip to visit my hometown of Reno is complete without dinner at the Hotel Santa Fe, in downtown. As a youngster, then teenager, one of the forbidden pleasures I yearned for most was to be old enough to stand at the Santa Fe bar and order a Picon Punch, like all the men got to do. My first legal drink there was worth the wait, though the bitter undertones of the Picon Punch are something I have grown into with age. And the food is great. Simple, hearty, well-executed, and made better by the communal table where one gets to chat with strangers while passing the soup tureen. This is not overly-refined, fancy food, but something an old friend calls, "lucky ranch hand cuisine." It is my favorite of the Northern Nevada Basque restaurants, though I cannot wait to try some of the Bakersfield places mentioned in the article.
Posted by jon early on March 28,2012 | 06:08 PM
The best Basque restaurant I've found, out of a half dozen or more, is Shepherd's Inn, across the street from the Amtrak Stateion in Fresno, CA. Excellent seven course traditional Basque lunch: great soups and bread, Garlic Chicken, great steaks and seafood, and, of course, lamb. Friendly service and fresh food. Having moved back to Colorado, we really miss our weekday lunches.
Posted by Brian Phillips on March 27,2012 | 12:33 PM