DISH
Good Pub
Walking into the Jackson Street Tavern, what guesses would you make about the establishment? It’s in the Old Market, and has an outdoor dining area decorated with beer signs. The word “tavern” is featured in the name. You’d probably guess it’s a bar emphasizing brews, burgers and chicken wings. You’d be wrong. Jackson Street Tavern does sell drinks, but it also features an ambitious food menu, with prices to match. My wife and I visited on a quiet Sunday night. We started with the Tuna Not-Chos appetizer ($12), featuring small tuna slices with wonton chips, avocado and mango salsa. The fish was well seasoned and the flavors worked well together, but there was only a tiny...
entered on 06/15/11 at 01:59 PM | read more »
Eating Seasonal
Warmer temperatures bring with them that familiar but distant ease to life — more daylight hours, fewer buttons to button and headwear to adorn before opening the front door and stepping casually into the sunshine. Spring comes around to remind us that being outside is a privilege and not a punishment. With winter well behind us, I have savored my last bites of hearty casseroles and sips of hot chocolate while walking listlessly into the long-awaited beginnings of spring eating. Eating seasonally requires a shift in thinking, a willingness to relinquish a little control in exchange for enjoying the true full flavors of food and a whole lot of indulgence. A quick walk through farmers...
entered on 06/09/11 at 01:56 PM | read more »
Crumbs: Chick Fil-A Finally Lands; Father’s Day Recommendations
* Chick Fil-A lovers can finally exhale. The Atlanta-based purveyor of fried chicken finally relented and purchased land at the Marketplace in Council Bluffs. Their fried chicken, whether in wrap, sandwich or biscuit form, is the stuff of legend. There’s no word on an opening date, though, so you’ll have to keep pestering your friends who work at Mutual of Omaha (there’s a Chick Fil-A in their cafeteria that offers a reduced menu) to hook you up for the time being. * Father’s Day is rapidly approaching, and if you haven’t figured out what to get your dad this year, we have some suggestions. Dads are to grilling as barbecue sauce is to ribs, so a barbecue or grilling-themed gift...
entered on 06/08/11 at 12:18 PM | read more »
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 »
Crumbs — Barbecue and Bahn Mi
Grandma Foster’s barbecue sauce, based in Omaha, recently took home the “Best Overall Sauce Award” at the 7th Annual Great American Barbecue Competition in Kansas City, Mo., for its Grandma Foster’s Smooth & Spicy Bar-B-Que Sauce. The company also received 1st Place in the Spicy division and 6th Place in the Mild Sauce division. You can buy the sauce at HyVee, Bag ‘N Save, Dick’s Meats, SuperSaver, No Frills Supermarket, Whole Foods Market or online at Grandmasbbq.digbro.com. Fans of Vietnamese cuisine have another option — Saigon Surface just opened downtown at 324 South 14th St. The wide menu includes the iconic pho as well as vermicelli bowls, bahn mi sandwiches...
entered on 06/01/11 at 09:58 AM | read more »
It’s Official! It’s spelled “barbecue,” NOT “barbeque”
*Those of you waiting for a proper ruling on whether it’s spelled “barbecue” or “barbeque” can finally exhale. The 2011 edition of the AP Stylebook includes 16 pages of food-related entries for terms like “locavore,” “farmstead” and “blind bake,” as well as the definitive spelling of the term for slowly cooking meat: “barbecue.” And for those keeping track, you don’t need to capitalize “bloody mary” but you should always capitalize “Sloppy Joe.” Whew. *One of the most impressive ways to dress up a dish (or slyly cover up a bad one) is through the careful addition of a complementary sauce. If your go-to sauces are ketchup, barbecue sauce and ranch...
entered on 05/25/11 at 01:30 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 »
