SBH’s Faves: My 5 Favorite Omaha Restaurants of 2024

Last week, I shared my first of two year-end food lists: a look back at the best restaurants I think have opened in the Omaha metro in the past five years. This week’s list is more personal. These are simply my Omaha favorites, the tried-and-true places I return to again and again. They’re the places…
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Updated for 2024

The 38 Essential Omaha Restaurants

An omakase from the city’s first James Beard finalist, the original Reuben sandwich at a historic hotel, Trini spiced fish at a lakeside stunner, and more of Omaha’s best meals. See the list »

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This week for @flatwaterfreepress I’m at Hotpot

Saddle Creek Breakfast Club has the “secret sauc

Saddle Creek Breakfast Club has the “secret sauce” making it one of Omaha’s favorite brunch spots. But can it keep that flavor moving from its eclectic Dundee location to Countryside Village? Read my latest for @flatwaterfreepress at the link in my bio.

It's no secret these days that food costs more. We

It's no secret these days that food costs more. We see it in the grocery store (when did chicken get so pricey?) and I have certainly noticed it while dining out. A burger that used to run $10 is now $15. An $8 craft cocktail has jumped to $14. I was curious: What happened, exactly? And how is it affecting locally owned Omaha restaurants?

My story this week aims to take a closer look at just those questions, asking restaurant owners what happened, local producers how their business has changed and interviewing an economist on what it all could mean for diners like us. Read it now on @flatwaterfreepress at the link in my bio.

Some of my favorite days are days when I am lucky

Some of my favorite days are days when I am lucky enough to share a fresh @eater Omaha essentials list!

The newest roundup of Omaha’s 38 best restaurants is live, part of a very cool package of stories called the Eater Guide to the Heartland. Read both right now at the link in my bio.

Instagram -> reality (first photo credit goes to M

Instagram -> reality (first photo credit goes to Matthew Hansen, right behind me.)

I have been waiting a decade for soup dumplings to

I have been waiting a decade for soup dumplings to come to Omaha. Thanks to Dumpling Empire, they’re here. Hand cut noodles in chili oil, huge bao buns and hand-pulled noodles are nothing to sneeze at, either. Read the latest Just Add Salt at the link in my bio.
Story by Sarah Baker Hansen. Photos by Joshua Foo, @joshfoolovesyou.

Clio is hot and new. Clio is perhaps the most chal

Clio is hot and new. Clio is perhaps the most challenging reservation in the city, period. But can it age into a good restaurant? Time will tell if this Mediterranean spot will find long-term success in Omaha’s Old Market.

Read the latest Just Add Salt for the @flatwaterfreepress at the link in my bio.

There’s a lot of Tex Mex in Omaha. But there’s

There’s a lot of Tex Mex in Omaha. But there’s less of what could be called “fine dining” Mexican. That’s what the owners of west Omaha’s El Milagro are aiming for, primarily focusing on the mole and grilled meats that the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca is most known for.

When the owners are bold with flavor and pair it with the high-quality ingredients they say they want to use, it’s quite good. But the new menu doesn’t always hit that sweet spot. Read my latest “Just Add Salt” review for @flatwaterfreepress right up at the link in my bio.

@sarahbakerhansen on Instagram

More stories

As food costs rise, locally owned restaurants — and the diners who support them — adjust to paying more

One day recently, Paul Urban, who co-owns Block 16, did some math. For the first time in a long time — maybe ever — he noticed business at the popular downtown Omaha lunch spot slowing down. At the same time, food prices were steadily rising. Together, it felt significant enough to investigate. “I sat down… Read more »