Pack a Mean Punch at Rawbry

The Basement has officially opened, and it is hipster paradise.  The grey walls with stark white faux brick, the low black ceilings...it's a beautiful design.  You forget that you are actually in the basement of the old post office, even though you took a rickety looking set of stairs to get there.

Until it is revealed which "major retailer" is taking over upstairs (my money is on an Anthropologie or UNIQLO), this is all there is.  While I was there they were doing lots of construction, I think on a stage small enough it could only take poetry slams, and even then only Haiku's.

That's a joke, son.

Anyway, along with a coffee shop, flower shop, barber shop, and chocolate shop, there is a juice bar.  Locally owned Rawbry says that they are raw juice, and I think their location was inside the old jail cell, so robbery.  Raw + Robbery= Rawbry.  They even have a video on their site that looks like a local filmmaker saw Spring Breakers and decided to get creative.  The branding is so intense that I really thought this was a national brand that had deigned to come to Reno.

However it ended up happening, I'm very glad that they came.  When we arrived, they were very nice and gave us a lot of information about how they make their juice.  They gave us a sample of their "juice of the day" which happened to be the "Pack a Mean Punch."  It has Pineapple, Apple, Lemon, and Ginger.  It actually does have a bit of a kick to it, due to the ginger, but I loved it.  I love all four  ingredients, and together they were so great.  This amazing drink comes in a large glass bottle that looks like a wide mouth version of an old time milk bottle.  Because it's pretty, and made of glass, you feel like you need to hold onto it.  Rawbry gets that, and you get a dollar off your next drink if you bring it back to them.

You'll need that dollar, because this particular juice will set you back just under $10.  That's not a mis-type, you could go cheaper by getting the most expensive burrito bowl at Chipotle.  However, as I sit here thinking about how much I want the rest of the juice, eyeing the fridge, feeling my mouth water...geez it's almost worth it.

As I perused their website, I saw a few others that I wanted to try out; the Rawket Science, Matcha Latte, and the Jalapen'yo Business.  Of course the ones that sound the best to me are also the more expensive ones.  They do go as low as $5, and that might be the one I get next time.

As they are a local business, they might actually be in the running for the official state drink of Nevada.  I'll just have to take out a small loan in order to try the rest.

Rawbry
The Basement
50 S. Virginia St
Reno, NV 89501
775 384 3468

Monday-Friday	7AM–7PM		Satruday-Sunday 10AM-6PM

Christmas Island: the Painkiller @ChapelTavern

"A modern interpretation of the Tiki classic inspired by a recent visit to the Tiki Ti in LA, one of the last original Tiki bars, Easy to drink, addicting and packs a punch.  Be careful."

So begins my seasonal quest, with a tropical drink.  Since I don't really celebrate Christmas, I find a lot of hilarity in the Christmas Island song, and that is what I thought of when I started this drink at Tavern.  This was from their seasonal menu, although I think the season was just "Winter" and not really "Holidays" oriented.  Still, I picked the Painkiller because it had Nutmeg, and I don't know of a more holiday ingredient than that.  It's in eggnog, and everyone likes eggnog!  And if you don't, you're wrong!

The last time I was in Chapel it was a packed Saturday night, where it was impossible to get a drink ordered and it seemed like an overly hipster bar.  The hipster part didn't really change with it being a Thursday night, but the crowd was much smaller.  I think there was only a total of 6 people when we walked in, although it picked up a bit by the time we left.  It's still not a place that I would personally seek out, seeing as how all the specialty drinks are $10.  The painkiller was strong, so strong in fact that it caused a little pain.  My throat started hurting by the end of the sweet, sweet drink and I went home for some warm water and salt gargle.  It's not something I would ever really try again, but there were many, many other drinks on the seasonal menu that I would give a shot to...maybe in the new year.

Chapel Tavern

1099 S Virginia St, Reno, NV 89502

 (775) 324-2244

Monday	2:00 pm – 4:00 am
Tuesday	2:00 pm – 4:00 am
Wednesday	2:00 pm – 4:00 am
Thursday	2:00 pm – 4:00 am
Friday	2:00 pm – 4:00 am
Saturday	10:00 am – 4:00 am
Sunday	10:00 am – 4:00 am