Anita and I walked out of the Eldorado
and continued south on Virginia Street until we found the Cal Neva casino. This was our next destination for retracing
Allison Johnson’s steps, because Allison worked for the Top Deck Restaurant, which
is located on the third floor of the Cal Neva.
We walked into the Cal Neva through the front doors, and my first
opinion was that the Cal Neva is not as nice as the Eldorado or the Silver
Legacy. The Cal Neva was filled with a
layer of cigarette smoke, and it was full of people gambling. Anita and I
looked at each other, and we headed straight to the nearest escalator. We did not know which level the restaurant
was on, but we assumed that since it was named “Top Deck” that it probably is
not on the first floor. We got off the
escalator on the 2nd floor and walked around, and we saw another
escalator up with a sign above it that pointed upward for the Top Deck restaurant.
We rode the escalator up, and it let us
off on the 3rd floor. I had
never been inside the Cal Neva before, and neither had Anita, so we were both
clueless as to where the restaurant was located, but Anita saw a sign that said
that the restaurant was to the right, so we went right. We finally found the
Top Deck Restaurant, and we looked inside.
 |
| The Cal Neva |
The Top Deck Restaurant is an
important setting in Northline, by
Willy Vlautin, because Allison works as a waitress here fulltime. Allison works the graveyard shift, and while
doing this, she meets some interesting people, and she starts to become friends
with some of the regular costumers. This
is the first place in Reno that she starts to feel comfortable at, and she
starts to enjoy her job. She meets Dan
at the Top Deck, because he comes and eats breakfast here once a week. Allison and Dan slowly become friends, and by
the end of the book, Dan has become Allison’s closest friend in Reno.
 |
| Top Deck Restaurant |
Anita and I walked up to the restaurant
and I took some pictures of the front of it.
A waitress who worked there asked us if we were eating there, and I responded
by telling her that we were just observing it and visiting it for an English assignment. The waitress seemed a little confused, but
she seemed content with the answer, and she went back to her duties for her
job. Anita and I looked at the restaurant’s
menu, and we tried to find Dan’s usual breakfast meal on the menu, and we ended
up finding: Classic Breakfast, $5.95, 3 eggs any style, choice of ham, bacon or
sausage, served with hash browns & toast.
We took a picture of the menu, because we were excited to find something
that directly correlated to the book.
 |
| Dan's usual on the menu |
It was really interesting going to
the place that Allison worked, and comparing its actual appearance to what I had
pictured while I was reading the book. I
did not think that I would enjoy going on these walks as much as I did.
 |
| The book and the menu, together |
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