Crowded streets, Italian music blaring over the speakers and wafts of oregano throughout the air. If you ignored the surrounding casinos, and possibly drank the full value of the $25 wine walk, you might think you’d stumbled into Venice or Rome last weekend.
The ROW hosted its 42nd Great Italian Festival on Saturday and Sunday in downtown Reno. One of the Columbus Day weekend event’s longest traditions is the family spaghetti sauce cookoff. This year, 34 families cooked up recipes passed down through generations and submitted them to be judged by a panel of four, including this reporter.
The families were supplied with the requested raw ingredients by the Eldorado. Many began making their sauces in the early morning hours. Wooster High School students assisted in retrieving the sauces from the families for the anonymous judging.
Highs and lows of the first day of judging included several burnt and oily marinaras, but also many delicious and well-seasoned sauces.
On Sunday, the only negatives included two sauces that had been over spiced with cinnamon and some that were slightly runny.