'who are the people in your neighborhood?'

Yesterday, as I mentioned, Pic and I went on one of our epic treks (we left home, had some adventures, faced some obstacles (maybe), returned home...). The main purpose of our walk was, unsurprisingly if you know me, food-related. As I was skimming through the most recent issue of the Reno News and Review, I saw a small add for the 5th St. Bakehouse. Anything bakery-related catches my eye. I was especially pleased to know that this place is within walking distance for us.

We found this small place with relative ease (I really, really don't have a sense of general geography, or something). The moment we walked in, we were greeted. I'm pretty jaded when it comes to customer/guest service. I'm entirely too used to being ignored or stared at. I really dislike having to initiate conversation when I enter a place of business. This, I believe, comes from my own experience in retail work and restaurant work. I learned that you needed to make sure people were greeted, cordially, in a matter of seconds. Anyhow...

Pic, being very personable, started talking with the chef. We were offered a sample of their homemade sorbet and Pic tried the strawberry lemonade sorbet. She ended up having this, along with a side order or mixed fruit and some greens from my salad. The breakfast and lunch menu is really pretty small: two items, I think, for breakfast, and four for lunch. None of the menu items are suitable for vegetarians, either, as everything includes meat. A couple of notes, though: in addition to the egg dishes and sandwiches, the bakehouse has scones, brownies, cheesecake, cookies, buns and more. There was something that looked like a strawberry shortcake parfait in the case with the mixed fruit. I didn't ask about that, though. The other note: I'm pretty sure that if I wanted just a tomato, mushroom, greens, cheese sandwich, they'd make it for me.

At first, I wasn't sure that I'd want anything from the menu. I'm not much of a meat eater. Also, I'm not a fan of spicy. And, I don't like the taste of eggs (I like eggs baked into things and I even like egg drop soup, but I don't like eggy-tasting things). That left me with either getting a baked good or sorbet or fruit, like Pic. I was really hungry, though, so I figured I'd try something new. I went for the chuck roast sandwich. The sandwich comes with caramelized onions, and I'm also not a fan of onions that aren't green. I've been trying to acquire a taste for onions lately, in an effort to incorporate a wider variety of fruits and vegetables into my life. After discussing the onion issue with the server, R, I opted to have the sauteed mushrooms and onions put on the side of my plate. I ended up eating them on the sandwich anyway and it was a really good sandwich. So good. My sandwich came with a small mixed greens salad. As we were leaving, our server offered Pic another sample of sorbet -- this time the mango. It was a generous sample. (I was offered samples also, but I was pretty full after my sandwich, salad and some of Pic's fruit.)

Pic and I decided that we'd definitely be back. She wanted to bring Papi today, so we did. I had the same sandwich, everything prepared together this time. I probably won't be eating any more red meat for a while, as I don't eat much of it on a regular basis, but I now have an alternative for burgers, which never seems to satisfy me. I'll be having chicken tomorrow, as a friend is generously making a Greek chicken salad that sounds delicious (chicken, feta, tomatoes, onions...I'm not sure what else, we'll see) and sharing with us. Then, I'll be back to beans and such for a few days.

Cardo also enjoyed today's lunch and we'll all be back again. The bakehouse opened just under two months ago. I hope they do well. The people who work there are just awesome. I hope that level of service and friendliness never lapses.

The bakehouse also offer a variety of coffee drinks and they have free wi-fi, so if you're a coffee sipper and/or a mobile 'net surfer, you can hang out there with your coffee and blogs.

Next up (which really means 'eventually'), we are going to try Pierino's, a little Italian restaurant/pizzeria near the bakehouse.

Any other local recommendations for us?