of course YMMV, one person's great meal is another's 'only so-so meal'....My recollections
inside a brothel, the Wildhorse Saloon has a pretty extensive and attractively prices menu, available to 7 AM to 8 PM usually; i haven't had a bad dinner, lunch or breakfast there. the steak dinner at Sheri's i saw being served really looked and smelled good last winter, again not casino buffet priced but not that expensive either. Monica at the Dovetail does a mean PBJ, and pretty good hot dogs...
before you hit the brothel, Red's in Carson City is good lunch type place (sandwiches, ribs and beer), and not really as expensive as it might appear, and the coffee shop in the Carson Station Best Western is pretty good. JR's in Elko is a good breakfast place, fresh made to order omelets are their specialty, the Stock man's cafe is okay, and there were a few other places in town that are reported to be good. The Pig in Winny was only so-so two years ago, but had rebounded as of last summer and much better, the Griddle in Winny is a landmark on the main drag and good food. Plenty of choices in Pahrump, but few are non-chains or fast food choices, Wulffy's Pub in the Best western was pretty good bar food.
once you leave 'civilization' in Nevada your choices will thin out drastically, and i usually don't stop at BM or Beatty to eat. There is nothing but a small store in Mina. I can't recall anything other than Bella's Diner in Wells that wasn't fast food, HG says the meals there are pretty good