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No Scoundrel…Delectable food – Reno’s
Rapscallion Seafood House & Bar
You can just hear the clanking and
dinging of a cable car while sitting inside its dark wood,
private booths. The white waist-coat clad waiters and starched
linens on the tables could very easily have you reminiscing of
an eatery in the City-by-the-Bay. For the last 30 years, folks
in northern Nevada have wined and dined on one of the most
dynamic menus in the area. It was one of W. C. Fields' favorite
words…Rapscallion, a scoundrel.
 With
a lobster on its logo, Rapscallion is anything but and has long
been one of the leading seafood restaurants in town, featuring
the freshest seafood selections daily. And now, building on
that reputation, marketing manager Patrick Dalton says something
new has been added, “We’ve been around for 30 years and been
known as a seafood house and now we have redesigned the kitchen
and brought a broiler that heats to 1,800 degrees to cook steaks
to perfection and seal in the flavor.” That steak he is
referring to is top quality Certified Angus Beef™, and less than
1% of beef has the ability to meet this exacting qualification.
Filet, New York, rib eye and
center cut top sirloin are the bill of fare for the beef, each
served with superb sauces that are a perfect compliment to the
meat. Their Jack Daniel’s peppercorn Dijon cream sauce is rich
with a slight bite of the peppercorns blended with mustard for a
little tartness that really brings out the flavor of the meat.
If you like a cheese topping, Stilton Gorgonzola adds a tang
most welcome, and for a touch of sweetness, you should
experience the demi glaze: peppercorn, mushroom, rosemary and
dried cherry.
 There
is also a great offering of other prime cuts like the veal
T-bone chop and from the land of the Kiwi, New Zealand “Cervena
Venison Farm” elk chop and a wonderful Rack-of-Lamb all with
your choice of sauce.
“Twice a week I get the whole fish
minus the heads and tails and I filet all the fish just like
I’ve done for the past 16 years,” touted Executive Chef Ming
Fong. The seafood is primo and heading the list is the Chilean
sea bass that is grilled while served with blanched green onion,
bacon wrapped asparagus, tarragon chili hollandaise. If you
enjoy halibut, Chef Ming will entice you with a preparation in
horseradish crust and pan-fried while served with friend leeks
and lemon garlic butter. Ahi tuna is also pan-fried with Cajun
spices served on jalapeno jicama salad.
Sand dabs, good ones are hard to
find but great eating. Pecan encrusted orange roughy, crab
stuffed monkfish and black tiger prawns should get your
attention. There are nine preparations of the fish from plain
and simple to Cajun and ala Florentine.
“We have some of the finest
European wines in our cellar anywhere to be found in Reno,” said
Maitre d’ Alain Gregoire. This Viscount of Vino has been
serving guests at Reno tables for nearly two decades and brings
class to the table every time he appears. Alain observes, “Red
wines are the true favorite today and Pinot Noir seems to be at
the top.” It’s another irony how the grape of Burgundy in the
South of France has become America’s darling.
 Also
on the premise is a most proper wine cellar. The temperature
inside the Redwood finished room is kept at a constant 55
degrees to control proper stability and aging of the wines.
Names like Petrus and Rothschild, Caymus Select, Insigna and
Rubicon await your palate. In addition to eighteen wines
offered by the glass, there is a full bar and beer on tap.
As for the desserts, Chef Ming
reminds you they are all made in house. The traditional
finisher is baked caramel custard, velvet on a plate. The mud
pie is enough for the whole table of a very hungry scoundrel.
Bread pudding with rum sauce, chocolate truffle cake and
chocolate mousse cake and of course, New York style cheesecake
makes the decisions hard…so try ‘em all!
Enjoy live entertainment Wednesday
thru Saturday from the areas best musicians. The Sunday
Champaign Brunch from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. is very much worth it and
in the nice weather, there’s delightful patio dining.
Rapscallion serves lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. –
4 p.m. with dinners nightly from 5 p.m. Happy Hour runs Monday
through Friday from 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Dinner prices range from
$16 - $35 and include vegetables and a starch. Rapscallion is
at1555 South Wells Street and reservations for dinner are highly
recommended. Call (775)323-1211.
W. C. Fields was a wordsmith ahead
of his time. He once referred to a curmudgeon in one of his
films as a “delightful rapscallion”. If he would have dined at
this Rapscallion, I’m sure he would have exclaimed, “Zounds,
this is a delectable Rapscallion!”
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