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Adam Jensen: When your breakfast bagel makes the news

It’s always fun when the national news shines a light on our little communities.

Sometimes it’s easy to take being here for granted, and when the big boys of the media world highlight Lake Tahoe and Truckee, it helps remind me of the uniqueness that’s all around.

The New York Times recently shot a video, entitled “36 Hours in Lake Tahoe,” highlighting several spots around the area. Amid the selections was a familiar bagel joint, Rude Brothers, which is right down the street from Action’s South Shore office. It definitely made me smile thinking my everything bagel with cream cheese is worthy of a national audience.



Larry Olmsted, a columnist with USA Today, also highlighted another familiar haunt, Red Hut Cafe, last week. He missed my favorite aspect of the diner, the Usual (biscuits and gravy, hash browns and eggs), but offered a great account of the diminutive first location, which has now spawned several other Red Huts.

“The tiny original still occupies its former doughnut shop location on the California side of town, the parking lot typically jammed and patrons often waiting to get in,” Olmsted wrote. “Inside is a single square space, with two counters topped with worn black synthetic surfaces, each with just six red-topped chrome stools. In the middle is a block of tables and booths, maybe a dozen in all. Behind one counter is the server’s window into a semi-open kitchen, behind the other milk dispensers and blenders, and everything, from coffee pots to the soda machine to racks of mugs, is displayed in plain sight. The walls are covered with children’s crayon drawings and old-time area photos. Everything about the Red Hut is quintessential greasy spoon – the kind everyone wants in their town.



“Red Hut is everything you want in a breakfast joint: good food, lots of it, unique house specialties, charm and exceptionally friendly service from everyone on the team,” Olmsted continued. “You won’t see the bottom of your coffee cup, and you won’t leave hungry.”

It is a great description and made me want to belly up to the counter as soon as possible. It also got me thinking about what other familiar places someone in, say, New Jersey should know about.

Certainly, Rude Brothers and Red Hut aren’t the only spots here worthy of the national media. So, whether you’re visiting or live here, talking a walk down to the beach or grabbing a snack from your favorite eatery, take a second to remember where you’re at. It could very well be of national interest.

Adam Jensen is the editor of Lake Tahoe Action. He can be reached at ajensen@tahoedailytribune.com.


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