I have been to the great state of Nebraska many times, as that is where my husband hails from, but I have not really had a good opportunity to write about Omaha food until recently, when I drove across the country to my new home in San Francisco. Stop number one was Omaha, where there was a plethora of eating options for me to pick from. Breakfast was from a local, family-run doughnut shop called Donut Haven.
Now, this isn’t a designer doughnut shop. You won’t find any daring flavors like chocolate and chile, but you will find a really solid, delicious doughnut in various flavors. And it is a family-run business, so really, you can’t beat supporting that. I believe the dozen doughnuts I got ran me $5. Holla! Lunch was in downtown Omaha at a shop I never would have expected to find: an upscale comfort food lunch spot called Dixie Quicks.
The menu was written on the wall, and in a relatively abadoned part of town, this place was packed at lunch. For good reason, apparently, because their food kicks-ass.
I started with a house salad that had a zippy chile vinaigrette that was delicious.
For mains, I went with their chilaquiles with a fried egg because frankly, I’ve never met a chilaquiles I haven’t liked. This dish kicked major ass. The yolk was still runny, so it poured over the chilaquiles like a sauce, and hot damn if it wasn’t freaking delicious.
Adam was more in the mood for a super hearty lunch, so he went with their mamoth cheese burger, which he said was juicy and delicious. But, being the decisive critic that I am, I had to taste it for myself. He was right. It was meat-tastic.
Matt went with my other choice for the meal, the smothered fried chicken and sides.
This chicken had crisp skin that shattered when you bit into it, and the chicken was super juicy. The gravy was good, but if it was my dish, I would of got it on the side, so it wouldn’t interfere with all that crispy goodness. Lucky for me, this was Matt’s dish. We also ordered their pickle of the day, which I believe was made from snap peas. They were spicy, but not as brined as I like my pickles. The restaurant was kind enough to supply butcher paper and a steady supply of crayons for the younger guests to entertain themselves with. Or, you know, me and Matt…
The dessert they had on offer that day was a brown butter tart of the day, which I think had raspberries in it. Again, this was a good slice of brown butter tart, albiet a SMALL slice (cough cough).
I was surprised and impressed by this restaurant, even for lunch. If you are in Omaha, go here! After we all passed out for a few hours to digest this massive meal, we went out to dinner for another one! This time, it was at a Bellevue favorite, The Amarillo BBQ. The first time I went to this place, it smelled like a giant bonfire. It had a one page menu, which at that time freaked me out because I was a super picky eater. Today? I’d eat every last thing on this menu. This is a smoked meat paradise hidden in Nebraska!
This place is made of dark wood, old Nebraskan artifacts nailed to the wall, and the smell of smoke wafts through the entire place. I love it.
My personal favorite:
The Amarillo does a smoked sausage like no other. I’ve never had a sausage like it anywhere else–it is intensely flavored and subtly smoked, and spicy to boot. I freaking love it, especially dipped in their signature bbq sauce. I love this sausage so much, I would it eat cold, straight from the fridge on the few rare occasions that there were leftovers to take home. Ain’t no shame in that game if it came from the Amarillo, that is all I’m saying. At this point, I had to be rolled out of Omaha to the next city on my road trip, Denver. More road trip food tomorrow! ~LTG! *********************************** Places I ate at: Donut Haven 13807 P Street Omaha, NE 68137-2701 (402) 861-9283 Dixie Quicks 1915 Leavenworth Street Omaha, NE 68102-3126 (402) 346-3549 www.dixiequicks.com Amarillo Barbecue Restaurant 303 Fort Crook Rd N Bellevue, NE (402) 291-7495 http://amarillobarbecue.com/
