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Six last minute gifts that support Omaha’s food & beverage scene
This year it is more important than ever to keep our dollars in Omaha and shop local this holiday season. It’s also more important than ever to support our local, beloved bars and restaurants, especially if we want to keep them open beyond the pandemic. To that end, here’s six ideas to consider for all…
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Matthew Hansen: On the joys of dining outside in a pandemic summer
Sarah and I haven’t wined and dined inside a restaurant or bar since COVID rudely interrupted life’s regularly scheduled programming in March. Five months feels like five decades. We miss cozying up to our favorite back table at Dante and splitting the Cortona pizza and the Bolognese. We miss sidling up to the sushi bar…
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“Sushi in the time of Coronavirus”, an essay by chef David Utterback
I am so thrilled to share chef David Utterback’s recent column for “Food Street,” a new regional food magazine, to my readers. I’ve gotten to know Dave during the past two years, and he is one of the restaurateurs in Omaha doing the most to push our food scene forward. He’s also a dynamic chef…
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I’m not ready to return to restaurants
I miss eating out. Restaurants have shaped the last decade of my life. Food continues to be a central focus of my work. Dinner at an Omaha restaurant is my job, my pleasure, a huge chunk of my identity, as big a part of my daily ritual as brushing my teeth, getting dressed and reading…
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Omaha’s two James Beard semifinalist chefs have not advanced
Neither of Omaha’s James Beard-nominated seminfinalist chefs made the cut to the finalist round, which were announced this afternoon on a Twitter live feed. This year, Omaha had two chefs nominated in the Best Chef: Midwest Category. David Utterback runs Yoshitomo and Ben Maides runs Au Courant; both restaurants are in Benson. An Omaha chef has…
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Takeout chronicles James Beard edition: Yoshitomo
This week in the Takeout Chronicles we’re taking a look at the takeout and delivery options from the two recent James Beard semifinalist nominated restaurants. Chef Benjamin Maides of Au Courant and Chef David Utterback of Yoshitomo have both introduced new programs since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. I’ve tried both. Here’s my thoughts.…
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James Beard foundation will delay semifinalist announcement
The James Beard foundation announced Monday it plans to postpone the announcement of this year’s James Beard Awards finalists. The announcement, originally slated for March. 25, will now come this summer. The delay is part of the foundation’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, Omaha has two chefs nominated in the Best Chef:…
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Omaha has two James Beard semifinalists
Breaking food news this morning: Omaha has two James Beard semifinalists. Congratulations to Ben Maides at Au Courant Regional Kitchen and David Utterback at Yoshitomo. Both Yoshitomo and Au Courant have become staples of the new guard of restaurants turning Benson from a bar neighborhood to a food destination. Au Courant, 6064 Maple St. Maides opened Au Courant in…
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TBH, these are my favorites of 2019
I’m doing the annual year-end wrap up a bit differently this year. Instead of focusing on just what I wrote about in 2019 I’m instead focusing on the entire city. (Side note: Click here to see a couple hundred stories I wrote before I left the Omaha World-Herald in 2019.) I came up with fun…
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Omaha food made national news this week
When I met Bloomberg food writer Kate Krader for coffee in downtown Omaha earlier this year, little did I know two experiences she’d soon have in our fair city would make her list of the best this year. Not only that, they’re bookended in her recent piece, about the 19 best dishes she ate in…