The Grill in Elko, Nevada Serves Up Tasty Ample Portions

The newest casino to come to Elko, Nevada, makes up for its small size (it's in an old IGA grocery store building) with a fairly respectable restaurant within its walls. The Grill, as it is called, has roughly the same amount of seating as its rivals Red Lion and Stockmen's, but not as much as JR's Bar & Grille in the Gold Country Casino.

Despite this minor feature, The Grill serves up some of the best food in town - certainly the best casino food, rivaled only by JR's. The Grill serves breakfast all day, and features food ranging from burgers and sandwiches to Asian items and even home-cooked fare such as meatloaf, liver and onions and beef Stroganoff. Yes, I said liver and onions.

Among it appetizers, The Grill offers the standard items such as fried mozzarella sticks and buffalo wings, but it also offers fried zucchini sticks and even fried ravioli. If you've never had either fried zucchini or fried ravioli, you're in for a treat. All fried items, even the fresh cut and battered onion rings are crisp and hot and not soggy, indicating that everything is made to order.

A plate of beef Stroganoff (with two pieces of garlic toast and a hefty side salad) is less than $9. On top of that, the beef consists of sizeable slices cut into bite size pieces. It's tender and fresh mushrooms are used instead of canned ones. While the seasoning could be a little better, a quick dash of salt and pepper does the trick. Also, the noodles are perfectly done and not mushy.

If you consider yourself a barbecue fan, you have to have the pulled pork sandwich. The pork is smoked fresh every day over apple wood, and once pulled from the bone is mixed with The Grill's special sauce. It's then placed on a toasted bun with fixings and a choice of fries or cole slaw. For a Carolina tradition, try the cole slaw actually placed on the meat. It's quite a treat.

With all dishes, the portions are ample, and then some. Most people end up leaving with a to-go container.

On the downside, the casino and restaurant are a little new and so it may be trying to get its stride. On one occasion the service was excellent, while on the last two times it's been in need of improvement. With only two or three customers, a server can have trouble trying to even keep drink glasses full. And at 2 p.m., the floor was dirty in places from the noon rush.

In short, the food is great, the portions good and the prices reasonable. The service, however, is spotty, so I recommend going only with plenty of time to spare - and drink your drinks slowly.