My Hometown Heroes, a nonprofit founded in Reno, is holding its Heroes Night In and Heroes Night Out fundraisers to fund its college scholarships for young adult cancer survivors.
For Heroes Night In, folks can purchase passports that give them discounts and deals at 10 local food and drink establishments:
Dorinda’s Chocolates (2 locations)
Great Basing Brewing Co. (2 locations)
MariChuy’s Mexican Kitchen (2 locations)
Noble Pie Parlor (2 locations)
Piñon Bottle Co. (2 locations)
Passport holders visit spots at their own pace through Sept. 15. Passports are stamped at each spot to qualify for the raffle of prizes at the Heroes Night Out evening running 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 15 at Engine 8 Urban Winery, 1260 Avenue of the Oaks, Sparks. Passports include free entry to Heroes Night Out.
An Urban passport is $50; a VIP passport is $100 and includes a second grand prize raffle entry and a choice of branded beer mug and crowler or branded wine tumbler and bottle of wine.
For details/passport purchase, visit the Heroes Night In page. In 2019, the inaugural Heroes Night In campaign funded $20,000 in scholarships. The 2021 goal is $50,000.
Local Food Week features local growers and producers
GrowingNV, a local food advocate, presents its annual Local Food Week Aug. 15-21 in Reno, Sparks and other Northern Nevada locations.
Among the events during the week: hoop house tour and construction, attracting pollinators to home gardens, an herb farm stand, farmer and bartender mixer, tomato giveaway, Reno Garlic Fest and family farm projects. Schedule/details are on the GrowingNV page.
Hawaiian food and more at annual Reno Aloha Festival
The 5th Annual Reno Aloha Festival runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 28 in Wingfield Park, 2 S. Arlington Ave. The event, a celebration of Hawaiian culture, features food, music, dance, children’s activities, and instruction in hula, ukulele and speaking Hawaiian. Details are on Facebook.
3 courses for $25 at Nevada Steak in Tamarack Casino
Nevada Steak, the new steakhouse in Tamarack Casino, 13101 S. Virginia St., is offering its three-course $25 Sunset Menu from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
The current menu features choice of house salad or minestrone starter; choice of spaghetti and meatballs, grilled salmon, chicken Parmesan, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, or chimichurri or teriyaki top sirloin main course; and choice of ice cream sundae, crème brûlée or berry sabayon dessert.
Call 775-384-3623 for reservations.
Bently Heritage distillery in Minden re-opens to public
After being closed to the public for 17 months during the pandemic, Bently Heritage Estate Distillery, 1601 Water St., Minden, has re-opened its tasting room/public house and its distillery tours. Hours are 2 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Make required reservations for tastings and tours at least two weeks in advance online. Grains for Bently spirits are grown on its estate, and all spirits are distilled and bottled there, too.
Essential crust: Battle Born Beer hosts paella cook-off
From 2 to 6 p.m. Sept. 12, Battle Born Beer, 360 E. Fifth St., is presenting the 2nd Annual Reno Paella Cook-off featuring professional chefs and home cooks in a judged contest to cook the best paella, a difficult dish to prepare with the proper socarrat, the crisp caramelized crust of rice (never burned!) at the bottom of the pan.
Besides the competition, the event features paella tasting, drinks and music. General admission tickets are $40 (paella plate, two drinks); VIP tickets are $100 (all-you-can-enjoy food and drink, brewery seating). Details/ticket purchase.
Johnathan L. Wright is the food and drink writer for Reno News & Review. Follow him on Twitter at @ItsJLW or on Facebook personally or at @FoodNevada. Sign up here for the Reno News & Review free weekly newsletter highlighting our most recent stories.