I only got to check out Lola’s, the newer spot inside the Dundee Theater, once before Covid times started (You can read about it here.) So I knew when I saw they’d started offering weekend takeout boxes, I wanted to bring one home.

Lola’s is one of the handful of Omaha restaurants that has, in some ways, pivoted temporarily to a grocery model: the provisions boxes come filled with cheese and meat, loaves of bread, pickles, nuts and other items. A shopper can also takeout bottles of wine, eggs, mustard and other “dry goods.”

We got the weekender package for two, which included plenty of neatly packaged and labeled items: Brie and piave cheeses, pickles, candied almonds, mustard and three salamis: prosciutto, salami Toscano and salami Felino. It also came with two homemade, delicious loaves of bread (which we’re still eating now, after putting one in the freezer for later.)

In person, Lola’s nails several key parts of great ambience: dim lighting, lovely wine, a warm and inviting atmosphere. Bringing cheese and meat home won’t ever replace that, but this is as good a selection I’ve sampled in months, packed with care and thoughtfully assembled to maximize flavor combinations between meat, cheese and bread.

Here’s the one thing to note: If you want to order Lola’s for Friday pickup, you must order by Wednesday. It took me several weeks and a calendar reminder to finally get our order placed. They don’t deliver, but if you pull in the Film Streams parking lot, a masked staff person brings out your food and sets it on the hood of your car while you sit inside. It’s a simple but slick contact-free system.

I’m not sure when I’ll be able to return to ay of my beloved spots for a cheese plate, but until then, the Lola’s grocery is a great substitution to bring home to our own patio and pair with a cocktail.

Lola’s is at 50th and Dodge Streets inside the Film Streams Dundee Theater. To get curbside pickup for Friday delivery, place your order by the previous Wednesday at https://lolasomaha.com/.