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Home - Dish
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Visit DishOmaha.com! - |
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Look for future dining reviews and features on The Reader's comprehensive dining site DishOmaha.com. |
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Pop the Cork - |
Couple brings taste of the Pacific Northwest to
the Midwest
by Camille Kelly
The brick and wrought iron exterior of the Twisted Cork hints at its interior. A small, gated patio leads to a dining room with about 30 seats. Decorated and furnished in dark wood, deep mustard and burgundy tones, simple iron bistro signs and wood glass-topped tables, this little eatery is kind of formal, yet relaxing, intimate and restful. Low lighting and the warm tones enhance the ambiance.
Looking at the bistro’s website made me think the joint might be a little hoity-toity. And frankly, making a reservation kind of scared me, but after a failed attempt to make a reservation online, I called and spoke to a friendly gentleman who turned out to be Darrell Auld, co-owner of the Twisted Cork along with wife Laura.
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Crumbs - |
* The economy has done a number on restaurant business this year, with closings piling up. But gutsy James Song has opened Bogie’s Sports Bar and Grill, 108th and Maple. Separating it from the throngs of burger-and-fries joints in town, Bogie’s offers an Oriental twist with teriyaki-flavored items served with Japanese Udon noodles. Bogie’s opened Aug. 24, and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
* Lucky Bucket Brewery, with its newly installed stills and tanks, has bumped up distribution of its first Lucky Bucket Pre-Prohibition style Lager. Omahans can nab six-packs at a number of HyVee grocers, Wohlner’s and Whole Foods in addition to numerous liquor stores and on tap at bars around town. Expect an IPA from the brewers out this fall and tours of the brewery to follow. Visit luckybucketbrewing.com.
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College Bites - |
A guide to Omaha’s cheap and late night eats
During my college years I subsisted on grocery store samples, pasta with various creative homemade “sauces,” bulk bags of frozen broccoli, Potato Buds (made only with water, no milk or butter which I use to fancy them up these days) and, of course, the ubiquitous Ramen noodles. Money was tight and choices slim, as were my size 8 jeans (perhaps there was something to that diet). We know you’re headed back to campus with a hunger — not just for higher learning, but also for, like, y’know, some really good pizza or something, too. Subway spawned the $5 phenomenon by offering foot-longs at that price, which has Pizza Hut, Quizno’s and other chains aping it. Sure, that’s a great deal, but so corporate, so on the beaten path. Check out some of The Reader’s favorite Omaha spots for cheap eats, plus a few more places with hours equipped to cure the hunger pangs that come with all of those late nights you’ll be up past bedtime “studying.”
— Sarah Wengert
Lisa’s Radial Café
817 N. 40th St., 551.2176
Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Fri. nights 4:30-8:30 p.m.
Omaha’s oldest café serves old-school eats at pretty old-school prices. For around eight bucks you can stuff your face and leave feeling fat and happy. Friday nights Lisa’s serves dinners just like grandma used to make. Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo, Prime Rib, Stuffed Pork Chops and Cajun style Blackened Chicken are just a few of the over 35 menu items available for dinner. A cheeseburger with fries is a mere $5.50 and most of the big dinners are $8.99 (with sides). The Radial also serves breakfast and lunch daily with dishes that’ll cure your hangover, fill your tummy and not drain your wallet.
— Camille Kelly
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Crumbs - |
* Not sure what PETA would think about this, but Arena Sports Bar and Grill, near 90th and Maple, has a game customers can play similar in scope to those vending machines with a claw that grabs stuffed animal prizes — except the prize at Arena is a live lobster. Playing the game costs $2, but if you bag the crustacean, Arena’s chefs will boil and serve the lobster to you for free — quite the deal. Wednesday, August 19, the machine’s opening night, Brian Wragge said about 40 people played and three people got lobsters. Wragge said the game has been extremely popular thus far. The lobsters are kept in a chilled water tank inside the machine, which looks like the traditional claw game. Roger Stricklett of Catch-A-Lobster LLC owns the machine and tank. It’s the first in Omaha and the first from Wisconsin to Denver. Stricklett plans on purchasing more machines for local restaurants and bars in the coming months.
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Mucho Gusto! - |
Gusto Cuban Café offers great food and fun
by Melissa Aden
Before visiting Gusto Cuban Café on 79th and Harrison, my only exposure to Cuban food and culture was what I’d gleaned from watching the movie Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. While I wasn’t expecting to find a hot underground salsa club, I was looking for an escape from reality for a few hours. Thankfully, my visit to Gusto provided the respite I desired.
Spotting straw umbrellas on the outdoor patio, I knew I was in for a far-from-the-ordinary treat. I couldn’t help but be happy surrounded by the tropical décor of particle-board-lined walls, palm trees, wooden furniture, and fake fruits and parakeets. |
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Crumbs - |
* Crane Coffee is adding another coffeehouse and café to its list of seven locations across the metro. The new, eighth shop will be in the Paxton building, 14th and Farnam, and is said to complement the building’s Art Deco architecture (swoon). The shop will have two parts: one side will serve turtle lattes and vanilla silks just like the other locations; the other side will be a full-service café, with breakfast, lunch and dinner items which the company bills as tapas.
* Tickets to Omaha’s First Annual Riverfront Wine Festival are available. Held Sept. 19 and 20, it will feature Riedel wine tastings and wine-related seminars. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at ticketomaha.com or by calling 345.0606.
* Toyota is touring through Omaha, sponsoring a free event Saturday, Aug. 22, at the downtown Farmer’s Market to promote fresh produce (and their vehicles). Attendees will have an opportunity to win prizes and drive the new Prius. Toyota recruited 12 area chefs to partner with 12 local farmers to make up free samples using the farmers’ produce and meat or poultry.
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Crumbs - |
* If you’re a fan of HBO’s series True Blood, named after the synthetic blood substitute many of the characters drink on-screen, surf over to trubeverage.com to pick up the home version. No, it doesn’t taste like blood. The carbonated blood orange drink will set you back $16 for a four pack, and a case is close to a hundred bucks, so while it’s doubtful you’ll buy a case for a viewing party, it’s a neat tie-in. There are all sorts of other items like pint glasses and t-shirts.
* It just wouldn’t be summer with out a ground beef recall, so let’s give it up for Beef Packers, Inc., of Fresno! They recently recalled ground beef products produced between June 5, and June 23, 2009. Affected meat contains the code “EST. 31913” on its labels and was distributed to 11 states. Once again, it’s recommended that ground beef be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to kill any bacteria. It’s also a good idea to know where your beef came from. Get to know your butcher.Anyone with questions about the recall can contact BP’s consumer line at 877.872.3635.
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What's Your 10-20? - |
1020 serves up tasty
Italian in historical Dundee
by Melissa Aden
Snuggled near the corner of 50th and Underwood, The 1020 is named for a trolley line that once ran through the Dundee neighborhood.
“During renovations, we found a broken picture of the 1020 Trolley Car behind the bar,” said co-owner Sally Kawa. ”We didn’t have a name [for the restaurant], so we went to The Durham Museum’s Photo Archives, and as we looked through old photos of trolleys from the Dundee area, the name ‘1020’ kept popping up. As well, 1020 is shorthand for ‘What’s your location?’ so the name really clicked.”
Dundee’s rich history is reflected in the restaurant’s décor, a fusion of old and new, where modern metal art pieces hang beside black-and-white photographs from Dundee’s early years. Mellow yellow walls and wrought iron accents add old-world charm to the deliberately relaxed ambience.
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Crumbs - |
* Food Inc. just closed at Film Streams. But foodies, fear not, Julie and Julia is here to fill the void. Open Aug. 7, the film, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as food blogger Julie Powell, follows the amateur blogger as she cooks through Child’s famous cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Perhaps movie-attendees should skip dinner and feast their eyes on the on-screen culinary wonders.
* Espana Tapas Bar is now hosting a reverse happy hour every Friday starting at 10:30 p.m. The bar offers sangria (the national cocktail of Spain) starting at $4 a glass, and a limited menu of tapas starting at $3.
* Boiler Room wine waiter and certified Master Sommelier Jesse Becker has launched WineToMatch to help amateurs and aficionados make wine pairings. The application, meant also as an iPhone app, asks users to describe meals then gives a number of wines to match. For example, if you are eating raw potatoes Korean-style, winetomatch.com suggests Pinot Gris, Riesling, Muscat and Albarino, among others.
— Lainey Seyler |
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