Walking Journal #16 -Northline

Virginia St. Entrance

Late at night; I am hungry. Might-as-well go to the Little Nugget and get an Awful Awful burger. Penny shows Allison this gracious burger after one night at work. I have been there many times, usually late at night when you have that awkward late night hunger. When I read the Awful Awful part in Northline, my mouth started to water. I finally made another late night stop by the mystical hole-in-the-wall joint and enjoyed a mouthwatering burger. The burger is huge! It is built with onion buns, meat, fixings, and grease! Plus a pound or two of seasoned fries. I can never finish it, but still always want one to myself. The atmosphere is great too. For example, one time I went with a group of friends and the fryers were making jokes with us. They even cussed in a whole-heartedly way. It was such a joy to see that friendliness in a restaurant. Also, the people that go there love to chat with you.

            When Allison went there, she did not mention much about her experience aside from the scrumptious burger. She said she loved it as well. The food I great and the atmosphere inside has a good vibe, but overall the place is a dive. The front/back entrance (not sure which one) comes from a dumpy alley that smells like garbage, and the casino entrance is just that, a smoky, alcohol infested little room with tons of gamblers. Everything about this casino draws in the wrong crowd of people. The Awful Awful burger is “scrumdiddlyumtious”, however, everything around this little restaurant/snack shop is terrible. I am petrified to go by myself here anytime, even in the daylight because of the gruesome crowd that lingers around it.

Alley-way Entrance

            This whole idea of a dump casino plays onto the last mentioned blog with regards to the fact that downtown Reno has become trashy and scary to walk through. Even the casinos, which are supposed to seem more-or-less elegant, are not anything spectacular. Downtown  Reno has taken a far left turn from the descriptions Allison gives us in the book. Yeah, they had plenty of bars back then, but the bartender took care of Allison when she passed out, he did not take advantage of her, did not let other customers take advantage, and he did not just throw her in a cab. Instead, he laid her down somewhere alone and quit. Nowadays, it would be awfully scary to pass out in downtown Reno anywhere.

Map: Corner of Sierra and 10^th St.

            South on Sierra, left on 6^th St.
            Right on Virginia.
         The Little Nugget is on your right hand side.