(Johnathan L. Wright | Reno Gazette Journal) – At the Mustang Ranch brothel 15 miles east of Reno, the chief attraction needs no explanation, of course, although for specifics, the website offers a “pleasure menu” notable for its enthusiastic descriptions and sheer variety.
But carnal pleasures aren’t the only thing on the menu at Mustang Ranch. These days, there’s an increasing emphasis on the pleasures of the table.
Forget suggestive starters, provocative entrées or anatomically correct chocolates, though.
“We don’t do racy,” said brothel owner Lance Gilman, affable developer of the nearby Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, home to Google, Tesla, Switch and more than 100 other companies.
“How do we give people a reason to come out more? Better things, better dishes, are part of that.”
Instead, the brothel’s public restaurant, called the Mustang Ranch Lounge, offers a menu (breakfast, lunch, dinner) that runs to more than 60 dishes, from biscuits and gravy to burgers with ghost chili accents to horseradish-spiked halibut with spring asparagus.
If you didn’t know otherwise, the Mustang Ranch menu could be from any American restaurant geared toward a mainstream audience, a place trying to mix comfort food, a few culinary trends and moments of fine dining.
And that’s the point, Gilman said, attracting not just customers headed into the brothel, and not just longtime locals who make the trip for “a beer and a burger with the boys,” but also tech workers at TRIC companies, construction workers at area projects, visitors to events and conventions in Reno, and folks passing through who simply want to say (on social media) they had a bite at a famous brothel.
“How do we attract people who have never been out here?” added Donny Gilman, who helps his father run the ranch. “How do we give people a reason to come out more? Better things, better dishes, are part of that.”