Brews, burgers and a lively scene at Silver Peak

Southwestern Caesar salad with grilled chicken breast, front, and pork tenderloin with espresso chili rub, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and ancho chile sauce are served at Silver Peak Grill & Taproom. (Credit: Tim Dunn/RGJ)

Fans of the microbrew gather at Silver Peak Grill & Taproom on Sierra Street in downtown Reno. The restaurant — which serves beer brewed at its sister establishment, Silver Peak Restaurant & Brewery on Wonder Street — is often filled in summer with twentysomethings. In winter, the restaurant feels calmer but remains one of downtown's happening places.

The bar

The expansive bar is the focal point of the room, with tall liquor bottles standing at attention, ready to be deployed for cocktail crafting. Groups of young men roar at football games and talk to pretty girls. The dining room furnishings are modern eclectic and the room looks onto Sierra Street through a wall of glass.

Silver Peak's house brews — Red Roadster, XXX Blonde, Silver Peak I.P.A., Peavine Porter, Baileywheat Hefeweizen and Sierra Amber Ale — always are on tap. Right now, they're accompanied by Schwarzbier, a dark beer with a lager-like body, and the Southtown Holiday Spiced Ale, a medium-bodied specimen with notes of clove and cinnamon.

The food

Black bean nachos offer a mountain of tri-colored tortilla chips smothered by beans, melted cheddar cheese, guacamole, chunky salsa and cilantro cream. No miserly amount of toppings here — the generous portion is enough for a crowd.

Shanghai-style chicken wings are coated in a tangy sweet and sour sauce sprinkled with green onion and flecked with red pepper. Despite being flavorful, the wings, touted on the menu as "sweet, sour and spicy," lack heat.

Beef, black bean and beer chili is topped with sour cream and cheddar and comes with a jalapeño corn muffin. The chili contains plenty of beef and beans, but it lacks depth — more cumin, please! The accompanying muffin -- studded with corn kernels and sporting a subtle jalapeño flavor — is a pleasant addition.

The brewer's burger is a 1/2-pound beef patty with the customer's choice of cheese. I choose cheddar and add a slice of bacon. The patty is juicy and cooked to medium, as ordered, and is flanked by a pile of well-seasoned brewery fries. This hamburger is delightful.

The salmon fish and chips features three long pieces of salmon battered — Silver Peak's batter includes red ale — and fried and served atop a bed of fries. The fish is tender and the batter is tasty, but the combination of fatty salmon and its fried exterior is over the top. The accompanying remoulade is too rich — a vinegary, citrusy sauce would be better.

To top it off

Dessert offerings aren't too tempting. My party forks into a mountain berry tart comprising a shortbread crust topped with vanilla custard; raspberries, blueberries and blackberries; and a dollop (or squirt) of shake-and-spray whipped cream. The fruity confection could be appealing, minus the whipped cream and lazy drizzles of fruit sauce on the side, but it's not too exciting. Oh, well. This is a brewery restaurant, after all.

Service at Silver Peak is decent. Menu items arrive in a timely fashion except for the wings, which are ordered half Shanghai-style and half Buffalo-style, arrive all Shanghai, and the check is dropped without the offer of dessert.

Still, Silver Peak is a fun place to grab a downtown beer and burger. I'll just stay away from dessert.

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