Thali

I walked by Thali because the sign on the door says "Reno Supper Club". After wandering around looking for it I gave up and walked into Niko's Greek Kitchen, only to meet Nathan who showed me Thali's room off the common area, which is actually in Reno Supper Club. Only open Sat, Sun, and Mon evenings (now from 5-9), they serve a set menu that you can get in vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. It is all-you-can-eat, in case you need more of any of the dishes. The night I was there I received rice, whole wheat naan, lentils, squash, coconut milk yogurt, and a cabbage dish, along with mango, ginger, and ? chutneys. The Indian food was as good as the best I've had.

So I could get into Reno's laughable attempts at recreating itself as a cool metropolitan area, rather than sticking with its actual assets -- which is cheap rent and the opportunity that provides for locals to attempt to start small businesses that probably wouldn't fly in a larger city without a lot more capital... but I digress.

Thali is an example of someone doing it right. The West Street Market has a hard time keeping businesses afloat for more than a couple years, so they've turned one of their storefronts - the old location of Bowl - into a 'Supper Club' of rotating restaurants throughout the week. Thali gets the weekends, and serves Indian/Pakistani food far different and better than anywhere else in town (by which I mean the businesses that you can count on one hand that serve either here in Reno).

The food is a plate with five different items served with rice. They always have vegan options, and their wait staff is knowledgable about different diets. A little pricey, but they've mentioned that their vegetables are alls sourced from organic and local farms when possible. My last visit, they mentioned some of the vegetables were grown in Yerington!

Not sure why it took me so long to make it down here - possibly the odd downtown location with horrible nearby parking - but was amazed by the food and have been back twice in the last month!

Definitely a breath of fresh air in Reno's limited vegan food scene. Just make sure you're aware of the dates and hours beforehand!