I was heartbroken when "the little nugget" in Reno closed because of the pandemic. When I heard…read morethat the awful awful burger, (awful, big, and awful good! ) is at the Carson City nugget, I wanted to get here for sometime, but I haven't.
The casino itself is a simple casino that caters more toward the locals. Old, but comfortable. I can't speak for the games, because I didn't play. But it just reminded me of an old-fashioned casino that goes way back when.
They changed the name of the coffee shop to the capital city Grille. They did a good job with the remodel, it's bright and fresh, and it still has that old-fashioned coffee shop vibe, Unlike the crowded space with just a few tables that was in back of the Reno casino. Also, this place is not open 24 hours, like the one in Reno was. I retired from drinking a long time ago, but I still kind of remember that 3 AM stumble into the Reno nugget diner for an awful awful. Ah, the memories...
The service was good. Right off the bat, my waitress advised me that she was the only person working, yet she still got to me pretty quick.
There was nothing like the original awful awful at the Reno nugget, but I would say that this burger is a worthy heir to the throne. It's more of an "upscale awful awful", but it still holds the mantle of awful big, and awful good. When you order, they ask how you want your burger cooked. I asked for medium, and that's how it came. She also offered me several different options beside the fries. For me, fries, no question. I wanted the entire experience. At the old nugget, you'd get a giant basket of fries, which I could never finish.
The burger reminded me so much of the original awful awful. It was immense! With my first bite, the memories just came flooding back. Instead of an onion bun, it now comes on a brioche bun, and as I ate the burger, the bun started to disintegrate a little bit, just like it used to do in Reno. It's hard for a bun to hold up to that much burger. All of the fixings were fresh, and my "awful awful sauce", just as good as always, came on the side. That was no problem, I used part of it on the burger, and the rest of it I used as a "fry sauce" which I love. , the fries were skin on steak fries, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and absolutely delicious. I'm not sure what they seasoned them with. Somehow, I managed to finish the whole meal. It's more expensive than the original, but hey, prices for everything have gone up. The price was still very reasonable.
No, this isn't the Reno awful awful, but this place has done an awful awful good job of keeping the tradition going. (See what I did there? :)
I will be back. Thanks.