Eldorado Bbq, Brews And Blues - Reno

I always love attending this event because of the 2 stages of music, authentic Bbq and of course the beer tastings of overall 50 micro and not so micro beers. There is always some band that interests me and other bands that play excellent blues and rock. Going back to the Bbq, so I love the Bbq brisket at the Eldorado The Buffet so their huge bbq plate is garans perfection. Friendly workers, patrons and dogs. P.S. This year, figure out how much beer tastings you'll think you'll need/want to warrant the beer tasting pass. $45 all you can sample). No tickets this year. They increased the seating areas, yay!

I love summer and with our great weather, comes all of the fun events on Virginia. I love it when the street is closed and I found the hot ticket to lesser crowds.. come early when the event is opening. Most people are still working and there is more wiggle room when browsing the vendors, food, and beer tasting. I love me some blues music and one of my favorite bands, Jason King, was first up to perform on 3rd Street. He plays a mean guitar. Another tip, wear a hat and dress in layers because the hot weather can do a number on you. Love, love, love summer in Reno, our Biggest Little City!

This is probably more a reflection of personal preference but for me, it is just OK. I like beer and I like BBQ and I like some Blues, but the negatives outweigh the positive. I do NOT like large crowds, waiting in endless lines, the overabundance of vendors that are the same at every event with a whole lot of merchandise I have absolutely no interest in. The music is usually pretty good, but since I hate the crowds, I usually don't stick around. I really like that many local brewers attend and the BBQ smells really good but not good enough to stand in line. So it's ok. I live in the neighborhood, and usually wander through, listen to a little music, and try to not get trampled.

You can 't call it fine dining with waiters like Gary. I brought my mom here on Saturday 5/7 for a Mothers Day dinner. We asked how a couple of the items were and Gary goes on to explain that he doesn 't know that because the staff only gets soup and salad. And went on to tell us about how all the staff complain about that. I inquired about the lobster and he told us it 's a rip off as it 's just an overpriced small tail! These are not the answers we expect at a fine dining restaurant! Sure an item may be smaller, but the quality would (hopefully) be far superior. The restaurant opens at 5pm. Our reservation was for 5:15pm. Gary had also told us about a skirt steak special. After inquiring about the lobster and short rib, and being shot down. I decided to go with the special. Gary then comes back to let us know it 's sold out. How? The restaurant had just opened and wasn 't even busy yet! What a joke. So I decided to go with the ribeye and asparagus, and my mom ordered the French dip. The menu lists crispy onions on the French dip and that it came with fries. My mom asked for extra crispy onions and to upgrade the fries to garlic fries. Instead, she received NO crispy onions, and regular fries. My steak was slightly undercooked from how I ordered but was still good. Gary was not the one to bring us our food. Our cocktails were finished from before the food arrived. We saw our waiter go to each of the tables next to us 4-5 times each but not us. Tried to get his attention and he ignored. Didn 't even bother to come ask how everything was. Finally after about 45 minutes and the meals being done, and both of our cocktails and waters being done for quite a while, we see the hostess Coralie pass by and we asked her for a manager. She was very friendly and had Dominic come see us. We only told Dominic about the onions and fries and not being checked on for 45 minutes. My mom was taking half her sandwich to go so he brought her some onions for it. Gary then came to us asking what 's going on what 's the problem because Dominic wouldn 't tell him. That was unprofessional of Gary, but we still answered and told him he left us hanging for over 45 minutes and never checked on anything and there was mistakes and we were without drinks. He told us he got very busy with 8 tables. Never apologized. Two tables down was a table with 2 ladies and he was frequently checking on them and a couple of his other tables that were in our vision. So the next time he came back, my mom asked him if there 's something wrong or if we did something because he told us he got busy, so we just wanted to know why he chose to ignore and neglect us but still juggle the other tables. He yelled SHEEEESH then told my mom you 're looking way to much into this. Then the rest of the experience was just more attitude and rude facial expressions. After dessert, he came to the table and just paused a few seconds, it was very awkward, then said to me you want the bill? So I said yes. It took 12 minutes for him to bring it, yes at this point now we weren 't gonna let this guy ruin our night so just for fun we timed him! Coralie stopped by our table to check on us, we just shook our heads and told her about Gary 's loud SHEEEESH and his comments. And she relayed the latest to Dominic. After we paid, Dominic came by to check on us again and offered us a couple desserts to go to have the next day for Mother 's Day which was really nice of him. Coralie was also very nice. The pianist was great, and we could see a great atmosphere with the other waiters and their tables. Unfortunately, we just got the worst waiter. So if you go here, just make sure to request that Gary is NOT your waiter and you should have an enjoyable experience. Also, on a side note, no guest should be treated like this, but I 'm also a Caesar 's Rewards Diamond member, and usually have a much better experience with their properties for being a loyal member.

I 'm new to Reno area and attended my first Eldorado blues festival. It was the 21st and I hit both days. Tip...park at Harrahs parking lot or the Sands (near their pool lot) then walk two blocks. On Friday late afternoon the crowd was moderate to light but I came to see the Gin Blossoms and they rocked. Really good show. On Friday I bought some future Christmas gifts and the booths were from artists who have been selling at festivals for decades. I made friends with one where I brought a bottle of wine from home the next day to share. The food...I bought the Eldorado outdoor barbecue dinner. Three large meaty dry rubbed ribs, plentiful serving of pulled pork, salad and baked beans for...$14. Great deal. You have to support plus why eat at the other regular booths of festival food? I posted pics. On Saturday, I walked in at about 1pm, much more crowded but good friendly crowd. The band at Harrah 's was rock n. They could have been a main liner. 70 's r&b, great vocals for the woman singer backed by horns, sax and trumpet band. They played for hours. I need to look up their name. I 'm a creature of habit so when I find good food, I 'm like a bear in the woods...I 'm coming back so I had the same as Friday. Just as good and of course with a longer line. The staff were once again smiling and enjoying their work. Saturday had true blues bands playing and between the Harrah 's group, I listened to music for about 5 hours plus socialized. Now the ....you can pay $35 on line before for unlimited tastings of 40 breweries, or day of $45. I didn 't do either only as that 's too much beer for me. I bought by the glass for $6, but not any of the 40 breweries on the unlimited list. Your choice. Just sharing options. Well I 'll be back as I 've reviewed prior Eldorado festivals and their participating bands have all been good. Last year the Tommy Castro Band played. I 've followed that band for over two decades. They 're from Santa Cruz area. There it is...a fun two day safe festival to enjoy the weekend of Fathers Day in Reno.