Omaha/Lincoln/Des Moines

Planning a potential road trip to KC for BBQ; any choice cheap eats in these burgs if we have time to stop over? Ethnic preferred as we'll probably overdose on American meat products in KC, but anything notable would be welcome.

here's a nayarit seafood place I've posted about before on chowhound. I thought their sarandeado better than islas marias here.

I mentioned in that post grabbing a spanish language newspaper - I picked it up at el rey de burrito, a serviceable taqueria in west des moines

I'm sticking with my recommendation of 17 November 2004: The Danish Inn in Elk Horn, Iowa, about half way between Des Moines and Omaha. Plus, you get to see a windmill.

I grew up about 90 miles from Omaha, but my family and I would frequently go in on a Sunday evening for dinner.

My favorite restaurant in the world is the Bohemian Cafe which is 1406 S 13TH ST.

Omaha has changed socio-economically over the past decade, with the emergence of prefab housing and chain restaurants, as a reaction to new suburbs evolving. So there are many more new restaurants sprouting up all over the city, but that being said, I doubt any of them can compare to Bohemian Cafe.

I second the Bohemian Club. It's heavy, it's rich, and it's genuine Czech-American. Liver dumpling soup, duck of all sorts.

If you've got some time, you might drop by the Old Market area, which is pretty organically evolved, not a slick commercial development--it's been there for at least 35 yrs. I very much enjoy hanging out at one of the outdoor tables at La Buvette which is a French-ish light eats (sandwiches, cheese & bread, pate, etc) place, which is also a wine store: buy a bottle, drink it with your lunch. There wine buyer knows what he is doing. There are some *very* good value for money wines on sale.

There's a very nice used book shop just down the block.

Omaha and Lincoln both have a group of sandwich stands, serving some sort of descendent of a Mittleeuropa ground beef sandwich/stuffed bread. Can't think of the name of it. You should probably try it. It's pretty bland, but with hot sauce it's ok. If I think of the name, I'll get back to you.

When you coming to KC? Where you going to eat? You might take a look at

gasbbq.net

Which is the ultimate discussion of KC bbq.

Geo

Geo wrote:Omaha and Lincoln both have a group of sandwich stands, serving some sort of descendent of a Mittleeuropa ground beef sandwich/stuffed bread. Can't think of the name of it. You should probably try it.

Runza.

Aaron wrote: Runza.

Bingo! Zackly right.

This board, taken collectively, is Omniscent.

Tnx Aaron!

Geo

I still miss a good Runza. Though it seems the Runza chain has tried to expedite the process a bit, because the Runzas don't seem to be as good as they used to be.

If you have never had one though, they are worth a try. It is a local fast food chain, so you can save it for a lunch on the road.

The Old Market is great, it seems to have changed a little since they put the Embassy Suites in about a decade ago, and I am afraid that it will get a little posh with the revamp of the riverfront in Omaha, but only time will tell.

There is a great Ice Cream place in the area, I forget the name, a couple of great music stores, an upscale pup, M's Pup, and a good northern Italian restaurant called Vivace I think. Everything down there is worth a try, except maybe Spaghetti Works. There is nothing wrong with Spaghetti works, but it is more of a family place and may not be exactly what you are looking for.

shanty wrote:There is a great Ice Cream place in the area

Ted & Wally's?

Here's a couple of things re: Lincoln. One of the best grocery stores I've ever been in is the Ideal Grocery on 27th. It's worth going there, just to see what a labor of market-love is like. It's owned by 6 guys, each of whom takes an island: meat and deli; veg; rice & beans; etc. Each island is a gem. Saw more *different* sausages there then at Woodman's in Janesville. Really.

There's a pretty (justly) well-regarded locally-owned steak house called Misty's. Been around for 40-50 yrs. Worth a stop. The old town is kind of fun, there's a bbq place that's not bad. It ain't KC, but then, it ain't Chicago, either. There's a coffeehouse, can't remember the name, which is pretty authentic.

And here's what I discovered re: runza. My pal in Lincoln's cousin (or something) started the shoppes some time ago. The origin of the sandwich is Volga-Deutsch, which explains why it's got cabbage in it. This also explains why there is a runza (aka Bierocks) culture out around Victoria KS [home of the wonderful Cathedral of the Plains]. Hmmm, the Volga-Deutsch were also major bigtime settlers of Ft. Collins CO--wonder if there's runza/Bierocks there? Certainly don't remember any from my kidhood at The Fort.

Omaha and Lincoln are undeservedly little-known. Good towns, both of them.

Geo

Also, an earlier thread on Omaha pizza.

bumpity. 2 meals here next week:

1) business lunch for 4
2) exploratory dining for 1

so i'm thinking about this "Bohemian Club" joint for lunch and maybe.. that Flatiron Cafe joint for dinner...

for breakfast, perhaps sneak in a Runza? Have I got it pretty much covered?

I went to Omaha over the Labor Day holiday. I want to make several comments.

First, we went to the Bohemian Cafe. As noted above, it is a Czech restaurant that is located south of the downtown area by two miles.

http://www.bohemiancafe.net/menu.htm

The food is reasonably priced and is quite good. However, like most Eastern European, the meal is VERY heavy. I had the hasenpfeffer, a dish I had been told about by my grandparents but have never tried. It is a roasted half rabbit in a cream sauce. My wife had the swiss steak. Both were quite good.

It is well worth a visit. The only thing that was disappointing was the service was too efficient. Dishes came too quickly and the plates were cleared a bit too quickly.

We made a special effort to make it to Runza which is a regional favorite, For me, it was one of the bigger disappointments. I was expecting ground beef and spices in a pastry shell, perhaps something like a pasty. What we got was ground beef and spices in a dough. It tasted like ground White Castle hamburgers on a Wonder Bread roll. It is not something I would try again. I guess it is like toasted ravioli, a regional thing that I "don't get."

http://www.runza.com/whatzarunza.htm

The Omaha area is a great weekend destination. They have a good local museum in the old Union Pacific Terminal. Boys Town is worth a visit . The downtown area, while fairly abandoned on the weekends has a good restaurant area across from the ConAgra HQ.

However, the best part of the trip was the tour of the Arbor Day Farms, located in Nebraska City, about 40 miles south of Omaha. There are a few good trails through wooded areas and a few orchards on the property. And you get a free tree.

We had planned to eat lunch at the upscale restaurant at the Arbor Day Farm. However, we did not have a good map with us and were running on a tight schedule. Instead, we started driving north on US-75 and saw a big sign - "Mom's Cafe and Catering" . We left the highway and drove to the courthouse.

Mom's Cafe was crowded - even at 1:30 PM on a Tuesday. It is your typical successful restaurant. Originally a single storefront that has been expanded at least three times as neighboring storefronts went vacant. (Reminded me of the Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque which takes up SIX storefronts.)

Great homemade food. I had the sirloin tips which were quite good. My wife had the chiacken pot pie which was plenty for two people. Lunch for $16 including a slab of their homemade pie.


Mom's Cafe & Catering
422 Main
Plattsmouth, NE 68048
(402) 296-3000