To sum up my experience, it was a solid 7 mainly due to a gross reused catsup container that was once a Heinz squeeze bottle with the label removed. It was wiped down, but there was lingering dirt along the cap from long term handling. You know white cap, but it has darker spots on it? It hadn't been recently put through the dishwasher to remove this dirt and undoubtably a germ haven. Well aside from that crushing blow, the service time was over 10 minutes from order to table. OK wait time, except considering my food was the only one being cooked at that point. Now you might say, Im staying clear of Giant Burger. HOLD ON, the cheese burger was outstandingly moist, not greasy and full a great flavor. The lettuce and tomato were both as fresh as could be, the sauce was a delicious thousand island variety, and the onion was very mild. As for the bun I thought it was a little dry but that meat was simply out of this world. The fries were the thick cut variety and cooked till crisp on the o ... more

To sum up my experience, it was a solid 7 mainly due to a gross reused catsup container that was once a Heinz squeeze bottle with the label removed. It was wiped down, but there was lingering dirt along the cap from long term handling. You know white cap, but it has darker spots on it? It hadn't been recently put through the dishwasher to remove this dirt and undoubtably a germ haven. Well aside from that crushing blow, the service time was over 10 minutes from order to table. OK wait time, except considering my food was the only one being cooked at that point. Now you might say, Im staying clear of Giant Burger. HOLD ON, the cheese burger was outstandingly moist, not greasy and full a great flavor. The lettuce and tomato were both as fresh as could be, the sauce was a delicious thousand island variety, and the onion was very mild. As for the bun I thought it was a little dry but that meat was simply out of this world. The fries were the thick cut variety and cooked till crisp on the outside. The inside had an odd consistency, being very mushy. If I didn't know better I would have thought they were over over-processed potatoes. The flavor was very good and the oil they used was recently changed. How many times when you go to a restaurant in Reno do you find the parking lot full. Good sign usually right? When there are four spots in the entire lot you run the risk of not finding a open spot. I had to park on a side street a block away. At least I found a spot, being so close to UNR, parking is at a premium. Oh well, we can all use the exercise. The menu is limited to burgers and a chicken cutlet if memory serves me right. In any case, I'm after the signature dish and that means cheeseburgers. After getting hit with a $20 bill for two people each having a double with fires and soda, my expectations were tested. Placed my order at the counter and sat at the booth seating available. There were two other parities during lunch on a Thursday, no what I would call a busy lunch, especially for being just after 12:30. If it wasn't for the dirty ketchup bottle, I would have given Giant Burger an 8. Its just that the bottle showed clear signs of not being properly cleaned for weeks. Note to owner: If your going to reuse plastic bottles they need to be thoroughly cleaned every so often. Wiping off the ketchup from the top is just not good enough. less

Service suffers at times but the food is usually above par. The Grille is your standard coffee shop turned stylish as Gold Dust West casino strives to present its only restaurant as being upscale. After-all when you hear it's name “The Grille”, do you honestly think of a coffee shop? I certainly don't. But I am digressing, you want to know about the food. Most times I have eaten here it has been for breakfast with the occasional dinner. This particular review focuses on their breakfast items. My personal favorite is their pancakes eggs & choice of meat (ham bacon or sausage). I recommend their ham as it is usually grilled enough so you get that charred taste that makes meat so delicious. Their thick cut bacon is also a good choice as it meets expectation and is both meaty and flavorful. If you arrive at an odd time of day, you can still get breakfast items as they are served 24 hours a day, but I suggest that you keep clear of the pancakes outside of normal breakfast hours. If you ... more

Service suffers at times but the food is usually above par. The Grille is your standard coffee shop turned stylish as Gold Dust West casino strives to present its only restaurant as being upscale. After-all when you hear it's name “The Grille”, do you honestly think of a coffee shop? I certainly don't. But I am digressing, you want to know about the food. Most times I have eaten here it has been for breakfast with the occasional dinner. This particular review focuses on their breakfast items. My personal favorite is their pancakes eggs & choice of meat (ham bacon or sausage). I recommend their ham as it is usually grilled enough so you get that charred taste that makes meat so delicious. Their thick cut bacon is also a good choice as it meets expectation and is both meaty and flavorful. If you arrive at an odd time of day, you can still get breakfast items as they are served 24 hours a day, but I suggest that you keep clear of the pancakes outside of normal breakfast hours. If you are determined to have a hearty breakfast let's say at 3pm I suggest their NY steak and eggs. Having been to the Grille many times over the years, I have experienced top notch service to, wait till your old and gray service. It's a potluck to be honest. You never know what to expect for service, but overall the service is acceptable. With a moderate turnover in wait staff, it is hard to find that personalized service you can expect when you request your favorite server. It pays to have Gold Dust West's their gold rewards club cards at one of the two highest levels as these members receive priority seating at The Grille and substantial discounts for the food and drink. The parking is relatively easy for casino dining with not that far to walk through the casino to find the restaurant. Many casino's make you walk through the casino to get to the restaurant, since they want you to gamble. After all it is a casino with a restaurant attached. It was a shame when they permanently closed the doors that allowed patrons to directly access the restaurant from the parking lot. I should note that their website has two menu's listed on their website, but oddly enough the breakfast/lunch menu is completely devoid of breakfast items. A bit of an oversight, and bothersome for those of us that like to view the menu before deciding to eat at a particular restaurant. less

28 May 2012 After doing a quick search for places to eat breakfast in Reno, I was surprised to find a restaurant that I have never heard of before let alone it was rated as top 10 places to have breakfast. I just had to see for myself if their signature chicken fried steak was good enough to warrant such high honors. A short drive from the highway you will find Big Ed's Alley Inn on fourth street down from the intersection of Sutro and 4th. The neighborhood might make some people think twice about going, but I assure that you should think twice and have yourself a meal here. The menu includes a good array of simply named breakfast items that tell it like it is. From the traditional Ham & Eggs, to French Toast, Omelets to their waitress recommended Chicken Fried Steak, their breakfast menu is mostly standard. Since several other reviews mentioned their Chicken Fried Steak and the waitress recommended it, that was my pleasure. While waiting for my food I was impressed upon the little thi ... more

28 May 2012 After doing a quick search for places to eat breakfast in Reno, I was surprised to find a restaurant that I have never heard of before let alone it was rated as top 10 places to have breakfast. I just had to see for myself if their signature chicken fried steak was good enough to warrant such high honors. A short drive from the highway you will find Big Ed's Alley Inn on fourth street down from the intersection of Sutro and 4th. The neighborhood might make some people think twice about going, but I assure that you should think twice and have yourself a meal here. The menu includes a good array of simply named breakfast items that tell it like it is. From the traditional Ham & Eggs, to French Toast, Omelets to their waitress recommended Chicken Fried Steak, their breakfast menu is mostly standard. Since several other reviews mentioned their Chicken Fried Steak and the waitress recommended it, that was my pleasure. While waiting for my food I was impressed upon the little things that make a good restaurant. For starters the dining room was spotless. Ever look up at the air vents and get grossed out by all the yuck that is sticking to the ceiling, not here. If I didn't know better I would have sworn the place just had a major top to bottom fire hose flush out the place. But my trip to the bathroom was a major disappointment with grime on the top of the paper towel holder. Since this was at eye level there was no excuse. Enough about how clean the place is, the waitress proudly brought the food and I dove in with high expectations. The eggs were cooked exactly like I asked for them, which I can tell you has happened about three times in my entire life. The cook took the necessary time to fully cook the whites, while leaving just the yolks fluid. Double thumbs up for that as I know from experience that it takes a much lower temperature pan to get the whites thoroughly cooked and avoid the yolks from becoming hard. The chicken friend steak was topped and was resting on a bed of country gravy, with bits of sausage mixed in. A bit floury for my taste as the rue did not cook long enough to remove the flour taste, but the consistency was excellent and stick to your ribs in a good way. Again the breading on the steak was also a bit too floury. It was seasoned well, but still had a clear flour aftertaste. The meat itself was as tender as 10 thousand whacks with a meat cleaver can do. Not a bit of gristle to ruin the texture. Big Ed's uses quality meats. As for the home fries it went down hill from there. Way down hill as the potatoes were dried out, giving me the impression that they had been sitting their on the grill waiting to be plated for far longer than they should have been. Several potato slices were actually hard. As for the taste, very very good. It was a shame really. I had to eat them all up, just for the flavor alone. I can't wait to go back and get them again. Hopefully next time they will not have waited so long to find a home. The price was on the higher side, but I suspect Big Ed's uses better than average ingredients, so that makes up for the comparable prices as to the legendary Pegs. I can say one thing, Pegs has nothing on atmosphere compared to Big Ed's. I felt at home here, nothing like the two Pegs locations. Something like PJs & Co, but actually more real and less flashy. To sum it up I am going back for sure. I want to try their Ruben for lunch next. So far nearly every restaurant / deli in Reno has proven to have no idea what a Ruben should taste and feel like in your mouth, so lets hope its good. less

The Baldini's Empire Diner is a comfortable and spacious diner with a touch of class. Over the years Baldini's Sports Casino has gone through several changes in their in their view towards food service. Just over a year ago the Fallen Leaf Buffet closed leaving two remaining options for having a meal there. Baldini's Brickyard sports bar is for the more relaxed crowd that wants a quick bite while watching sports on their many wide screen TVs and their main restaurant, The Empire Diner, which caters to seniors and is reminiscent of railroad car dining. Normally you think of railroad car dining as cramped and loud, but the Empire Diner is spacious and quiet. Serving breakfast 24 hours a day, their specials are very reasonably priced for the budget conscious. On a weekday brunch time, a guest and myself decided to use a two for one coupon and have breakfast. Upon standing in line to be seated, we were greeted within seconds by the hostess and led to our table. The hostess took our drink o ... more

The Baldini's Empire Diner is a comfortable and spacious diner with a touch of class. Over the years Baldini's Sports Casino has gone through several changes in their in their view towards food service. Just over a year ago the Fallen Leaf Buffet closed leaving two remaining options for having a meal there. Baldini's Brickyard sports bar is for the more relaxed crowd that wants a quick bite while watching sports on their many wide screen TVs and their main restaurant, The Empire Diner, which caters to seniors and is reminiscent of railroad car dining. Normally you think of railroad car dining as cramped and loud, but the Empire Diner is spacious and quiet. Serving breakfast 24 hours a day, their specials are very reasonably priced for the budget conscious. On a weekday brunch time, a guest and myself decided to use a two for one coupon and have breakfast. Upon standing in line to be seated, we were greeted within seconds by the hostess and led to our table. The hostess took our drink orders, and informed us of our waitresses name. While not being too busy, the waitress only came to the table three times during the meal. The first to take the order, deliver the food and finally halfway into the meal to deliver the check. Typical mediocre service, but the hostess made up for our waitresses lack of being there. We both ordered the chicken fried steak and eggs. The meal comes with toast and a choice of home-fries or hash-browns. The meal arrived within 10 minutes, hot and appetizing. Normally I find white gravy in most restaurants execute a Béchamel poorly as the flour used to thicken the gravy overpowers the taste of the pan drippings. We have all had it, a country gravy that is pasty and simply unappetizing. Since a chicken fried steak rests on a country gravy, it can either make or ruin the dish. In this case, the cooks at the Empire Diner executed the country gravy to near perfection, allowing the superb steak to shine. The meat was without any gristle and was a joy to eat. Nothing remarkable about any other part of the meal, all satisfying and I left my plate with food remaining as the portion was quite large. I am a large young man, that can throw down a large meal with ease, so it was unsurprising when female senior companion had enough to put ask for a to go container. I have eaten at the Empire Diner perhaps 5 or so times all with the same female senior companion, as she frequents this restaurant mainly due to the comps she receives. In the past I have not been too impressed with either the service or food in general. Today I must say I thoroughly enjoyed myself. No, the service was far from stellar, but the food made up for this. I left full and with a smile on my face. less