Bruno's Country Club is the heart of Gerlach — a restaurant, bar, motel, and gas station rolled into one, the kind of place that only survives because nothing else exists for 50 miles in any direction. The food is the draw: the homemade ravioli, a recipe the Bruno family has been making for generations, has a genuine reputation that extends well beyond the Black Rock Desert. The dining room fills up on Friday and Saturday nights with locals from Gerlach and Empire, ranchers from surrounding valleys, and anyone who has driven out to the playa and needs a proper meal. It is also the last fuel stop before the desert, and the place to ask about playa conditions.