DISH
Pick Up, Trucks
There are a few things you need if your city wants to be considered with the likes of Portland and Austin as a hip American hangout. A definable music scene is a good place to start. Bike lanes, a literal line in the street, seem to serve as a proverbial line in the sand between cool and simply ozone clogging. And lately a bustling food truck scene, which can serve all those late-night and helmet-clad diners, completes the picture. Omaha’s had the music scene for nearly 20 years now, is working on the bike lanes and, thanks to the trailblazing Soup Revolution, isn’t totally truckless. But where’s our mobile food movement? These days you’re nobody until somebody shows up and...
entered on 06/01/11 at 10:50 AM | read more »
Grill Like A Chef
Now that it’s Memorial Day weekend and we can all bust out the white pants, it’s also the official start of the grilling season. Whether you’re using gas, charcoal or one of those hobo newspaper grills, it’s all good. Grilling is quick, easy, and a great excuse to sit outside with a nice cool drink of your choice. But if you think about it from a fuel perspective, grilling can be a very inefficient way of cooking, particularly if you’re using charcoal. There’s that period of waiting for the coals to come up to temperature, then the actual grilling itself, then the long cool down. If you’re like most, you’re only grilling a couple things — steaks/burger/fish/hot dogs and...
entered on 05/25/11 at 09:44 AM | read more »
New Kind of Farmers
When Anna Clements, of Clementine’s Produce and Provisions, walked into a local store in Gretna, Neb., an elderly man leaned over and asked if she was one of “those new kind of farmers.” She figures her dirty overalls and rubber boots gave her away. That, and the fact that she is a woman. “Well, yes, I am sir, but my fiancée still farms the old way, if it makes you feel any better,” she said. It did. Anna is one of many “new kind of farmers” — new kind of farmers referring mostly to them being female, but also that they focus on the organic and the sustainable — popping up across the country. She is also a new kind of farmer because she produces food rather than corn...
entered on 05/11/11 at 01:04 PM | read more »
Favorite Sons
If you go to Sons of Italy expecting a “Jersey Shore” or Goodfellas scene, you'll leave disappointed. If you anticipate a square meal and a fair deal, minus any drama, you'll leave satisfied, and probably stuffed. The Nebraska chapter of this national fraternal organization is famous for its Thursday pasta feeds. The weekly 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. lunches draw 600 to 800 diners, says its stout president, Charles "Butch" Turco. They've been feeding folks like this since the early 1960s. At the start, only members, and exclusively men at that, could partake. As guests spread the word, lunches were opened to the public, but still not to women; that is until, Turco says, a threatened...
entered on 04/27/11 at 12:28 PM | read more »
Approval of Stamps
At the end of the film Food, Inc., white words flash onto and fade into a black screen. The words, simple but poignant and, in some ways, naïve, encourage communities to advocate for the use of Food Stamps, now called EBTs or SNAP benefits, at Farmer’s Markets. The concept is a good first step to providing avenues of access to fresh fruits and vegetables for those struggling with food security. As of 2010 only 1.5 percent of farmer’s markets in Nebraska accepted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, much lower than the still dismal national average of 7.5 percent. The problem with accepting SNAP benefits is that food stamps are no longer booklets of coupons. They are...
entered on 03/21/11 at 12:55 PM | read more »
Rebirth of Bagels
Coming soon. The words on the hand-printed sign affixed to the glass doors of the rebuilt Bagel Bin, at 1215 S. 119th St., seem benign enough. But behind the hopeful words is the bittersweet story of a family-owned kosher bakery that went up in flames Jan. 7. The three-alarm blaze left a total loss of the beloved business the Brezack family opened in 1978. It meant starting from scratch, and a touchstone neighborhood place being out of commission. Owner Sue Brezack, whose late husband Joel started the Bin, says she and her family were inundated with expressions of concern. There was a lot of “Anything we can do for you? We hope you’re coming back.” The decision to rebuild was...
entered on 12/01/10 at 01:35 PM | read more »
I heard mixed reviews from friends who tried Baxter’s shortly after their December 2012 opening. As Benson’s newest pizza place, I ... more »
The French Bulldog: Setting the Stage for Charcuterie
There is no hiding the simple truth of a skilled craftsman at work. The vintage vibe of The French Bulldog creates a stage to ... more »
Omaha Restaurant Association: The Not-So-Secretive Society You Probably Didn’t Know Existed
The Omaha Restaurant Association is watching you.
Actually, they’re watching out for you. They’re doing this by making sure that ... more »
When I first approached this coffeehouse/tea room/wine bar at Shadow Lake in Papillion I noticed that it’s adjacent to a ... more »
