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Social Scene: Dine by Truckee’s tracks or gaze upon Mt. Disney

New owners Allison and Bud Haley of Jax Restaurant, have brought an infusion of innovative energy to the diner.
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Jax on the Tracks is so and#8220;totally Truckeeand#8221; and#8212; right out of the shoot, that you’d think the current business had been here for years. Celebrating its opening this week with an invitation-only gathering last Monday night, the restaurant features fresh, high quality all-American food with a moderately priced menu any local would love. Housed in an original 1940s diner right by Truckee’s railroad tracks, patrons can watch and hear the trains go by.

But this restaurant isn’t any diner and#8212; despite the fact that it serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and#8212; it’s an edgy restaurant with a first rate chef who makes most everything in house. Melinda Dorn, along with sous chef Phil Brown, cook up everything from huevos Montana for breakfast to finger lickin’ chipotle glazed ribs for dinner. Shrimp cocktail, bison sliders, onion soup and clam chowder also appear on the extensive menu, which offers something for everyone at prices that won’t break the bank.

Owners Allison and Bud Haley and their family of three boys have taken a circuitous route to get here, but they have landed solidly at their new Truckee restaurant.



Sampling the food off the menu at Jax last Monday were Barb Cohen, Amy and Sig Edgett, Carol Sesko and Richard Anderson, Katherine Palmer-Collins and Mitch Clarin, Allen Highfield and Steven Holt of The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe, Barbara Terry and Paul Kucharski of Citizens Bank, Christine and Brian Marsh, Colleen and Art Chapman, Meg Raymore, Stephanie Rogerson, Lynn Saunders, Ruth Geresy, and Linda Pendleton of the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce, Kelly Twomey, Barb Cohen, Eileen Cohen, Mary Lahti, Patricia Smelzer, Lil and Don Schaller, Aimee and Kane Schaller, Brinn Wellise and the girls from Switchback Public Relations including Jen Eastwood, Ann Lindeman and Jenny Franklin and Gail and Ray Shady.

If fine dining off the beaten path is right up your alley, then take a picturesque drive up Old Highway 40 to Sugar Bowl (or drive up highway 80) for memorable dining on a higher level. Four Peaks Restaurant has recently opened for the summer with a French-inspired California cuisine menu by Chef Alan Davis, formerly the chef at the Rainbow Lodge for 12 years. The historic setting of Sugar Bowl Lodge harkens back to the early days when visionary Walt Disney and others placed the first chairlift in California back in 1938.



Inside the historic lodge and restaurant walls are dotted with scores of great vintage black and white photos dating back from the pioneer days of Donner Summit (there’s even a photo of local ski icon Babette Haueisen drinking celebratory champagne out of her trophy after winning Sugar Bowl’s Silver Belt race back in 1955).

The newly remodeled expansive patio deck offers a relaxing alfresco respite after road biking or hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail. Views of Mt. Disney, chairlifts and forest add unique character to the venue. After dinner there’s a firepit in the courtyard where you can cap off the evening with a cocktail or s’mores. Four Peaks is open daily from 5 p.m. Call ahead for reservations: (530) 426-9000.

and#8212;Vicki Kahn may be reached at vickikahn@sbcglobal.net


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