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 that make some of my favorite drinks and dishes in town: My favorite Manhattan, my favorite ribeye, my favorite burger and my favorite pizza among them. They offer singular service and creativity and are run by some of the city’s best chefs. These are the places where I am most comfortable. These are the restaurants where I’m personally most reminded that Omaha is a great city in which to live – and to eat.

The Boiler Room

The Boiler Room, for me, has become a place where I both feel at home and where I can still be culinarily challenged, a difficult balance to strike, to say the least. The dining room still feels special and individual to Omaha, and I think it remains one of the city’s most engaging spaces. I still think about a dish we ate when I reviewed it last year, a vegan Yorkshire pudding with tender pastry and a meat-free but hearty, delicious filling. I think about the kitchen’s seafood and fish, always excellent, or its house-made charcuterie or, more recently, its desserts, which are better than ever. It’s both formal and friendly, chic and cozy, and if you haven’t visited lately, you ought to.

1110 Jones St., 402-916-9274
https://www.boilerroomomaha.com

Block 16

Every morning when I open Facebook and do my daily scroll, I’m again surprised, and often delighted, by the new creation Block 16 has in store for us that day. 

This past week alone, Block 16’s specials included a mashup of a McRib and a patty melt. And a short rib French dip. And a “Nebraska bowl,” which includes both Angus beef tenderloin and fried chicken on top of veggies, tater tots and mashed potatoes. And a lobster shrimp croissant. And sausage and peppers. Hungry yet? I am. I always am. (Though I can’t lie: more often than not, I simply order the Block burger, truly one of the top three hamburgers in Omaha.) 

When you patronize Block 16, you’re sure to encounter the city’s friendliest staff, and its kindest, big-hearted owners, Paul and Jessica Urban. What’s not to love?

1611 Farnam St., 402-342-1220
https://block16omaha.com/

Yoshitomo & Ota

Chef David Utterback has single handedly ruined me on sushi. Do I still order it periodically at other places? Yes. Do I wish, nearly each time I do so, that I was at Yoshitomo instead? Also yes. Dave has taught me — and Omaha — a whole lot about quality fish, time, care and talent, all of which he takes very seriously and all of which shows why a seat at Ota, his chef’s sushi counter, has become one of the hottest seats in the city. I have had the pleasure of sitting in one of those chairs twice, and I can’t wait for the third time. 

In the regular dining room, I can rattle off my Yoshitomo favorites instantly without glancing at the menu: Hama toast, aburi wagyu, smoked hotate, kani miso, foienagi, chutoro, madai, aji. Honorable mention: Khaleesi roll. Now that’s a memorable experience.

6011 Maple St., 402-916-5872
https://www.yoshitomo.com/

The Drover

Perhaps part of the reason I love The Drover is because it is one of the strongest food memories I have of my late father. Like he did, I order the filet, medium rare. Like he did, I load my iceberg lettuce salad with croutons and a heavy pour of thick Thousand Island dressing. Like he did, I love the dim, Western-themed interior and the stiff drinks and the crispy onion rings, dunked in ketchup. 

But honestly I think I would love The Drover even without those powerful memories from my childhood, because it stands the test of time in a way few restaurants do, even in Omaha, land of the longtime steakhouse. 

Even after a fire and being closed for many months and then reopening, The Drover is still packed most nights. I appreciate its longevity. Its commitment to heritage and history. Most often now, you’ll find us at the bar, over a cocktail, sharing a steak and a burger (the burger, by the way, is great.) Just like my dad would have imagined.  

2121 S. 73rd St., 402-391-7440
https://droversteakhouse.com/

Dante

You probably noted that most of my favorites are east of 72nd. Dante is one of the restaurants that I am willing to drive a half-hour from our downtown Omaha home to experience on a fairly regular basis. It’s for the pizza, yes, of course. Papa’s sausage is worth trying many, many times.

But Dante is also one of the few restaurants where you can find locally made, Incontro-cured meats on the menu. Its farm greens salad remains one of my favorite bowls of green in Omaha, and I’ve written many times about how much I love the butterscotch budino. Its house-made pasta dishes remain some of the best anywhere in the city. I think what keeps Dante top of mind and on my list is its admirable dedication to serving local food and supporting local farmers. That’s become increasingly difficult and expensive, and yet at Dante it makes all the difference as those products, handled with care, shine throughout the restaurant’s menu. 

16901 Wright Plaza, 402-932-3078
https://www.danteomaha.com

Five more that I loved in 2024: 

Le Bouillon, 1017 Howard St., 402-502-6816, lebouillonomaha.com
The Mill on Leavenworth, 3105 Leavenworth St., 402-252-5588, millcoffee.com
Coneflower Creamery, two locations, coneflowercreamery.com
Avoli Osteria, 5013 Underwood Ave., 402-933-7400, avoliosteria.com
Kinaara, 120 Regency Pkwy., 402-895-3463, kinaaraomaha.com