Snow in Lake Tahoe area translates into restaurant discounts

Bring on the snow (and indeed there’s already snow at Lake Tahoe and Mammoth) to cash in on this foul-weather deal. Cottonwood Restaurant & Bar in Truckee, Calif., discounts eats and drinks each time a bona fide storm warning is issued in the Lake Tahoe area.

It’s a nice way to meet the locals and take a break from the slopes -- provided you can get there and back.

The deal: Stormy Weather Get-Togethers, a kind of happy hour that goes into effect when the stormy weather blows, feature $3 microbrews, $1 off a glass of wine and $6 margaritas as well as discounts on appetizers, salads and entrees.

When: The offer is good when the National Weather Service issues a winter storm warning for the area.

Why: The restaurant, inside a historic ski lodge, overlooks the town of Truckee. Owner Mike Blide dreamed up the stormy weather deal last fall before the record winter. “Little did I know on that balmy fall day that the 2010-11 season would be so prodigious and the storms so relentless,” Blide said in an email. He said folks snowmobiled, skied and snowshoed to the restaurant last year for the get-togethers, which will continue through this winter too.

Info: Cottonwood Restaurant & Bar, 10142 Rue Hilltop Road, Truckee; (530) 587-5711