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Ten New Year’s Eve takeout options to ring in 2021
How I miss sitting in a basement bar with a cocktail and my friends, or sitting snugly at a back table at La Buvette over beef bourguignon, or in a semicircular booth with friends at V. Mertz in the Old Market passageway. Among the many things 2020 took from me is the chance to ring…
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After a decade and thousands of memorable dinners, The Grey Plume has closed
The Grey Plume is closing its doors, ending its decade-long run as Omaha’s most nationally acclaimed restaurant. The permanent closure, rumored for months, also sounds the loudest alarm yet that the pandemic is battering our city’s restaurant industry — particularly brutalizing those restaurants, like the Grey Plume, that were financially endangered before COVID-19 hit. “I…
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My 2020 Thanksgiving menu
I am sure by this point you have your Thanksgiving menu sorted, whatever it might be. But even so, I thought I’d share some last-minute inspiration in what I decided to make for my first ever Thanksgiving — one like no other. I pan to scale down most of the recipes below since we’re just…
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Lucky Tiger Izakaya, from the owner of Ika Ramen, is new in Blackstone
If you’ve ever dreamed of getting a whole roasted Peking duck in the Blackstone district, your dreams are about to come true. Jose Dionicio, of Ika Ramen, JoJo’s diner and Taqueria Chignon, has taken over the former Forno space, at 3852 Farnam St., which closed this summer. He’s opened a new concept, Lucky Tiger Izakaya,…
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Ika Ramen is headed to Papillion
In other ramen news, Ika Ramen is headed to Papillion in early 2021. Ika chef and owner Jose Dionicio said the southwest Omaha location of his popular ramen spot was to be his 2020 project, until the pandemic hit. Now, he’s planning to open in Shadow Lake Town Center early next year. “We signed the…
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Looking for something to do Thursday? How about a drive-in movie for a good cause.
I don’t know about you, but we’ve enjoyed several outdoor movies this summer — one tonight, though, helps contribute to a good cause. Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue is the good cause in question. They have, since they started in 2013, rescued more than 4.8 million pounds of perishable foods and redistributed it to more…
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I guest edited the fall issue of Nebraska Quarterly, all about food
I was lucky enough to be the guest editor of the most recent issue of Nebraska Quarterly, the beautiful publication sent to University of Nebraska-Lincoln alums. I hope you got a copy. But if you didn’t, don’t despair: my stories, and many others, are available online. You can read my introductory column, where I try…
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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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The Dundee Dell is the tip of the iceberg
Greg Lindberg feels like two years have passed since the beginning of March. He’s reinvented his business model at least a dozen times since then, the unofficial start of the COVID-19 pandemic. None of it mattered for the Dundee Dell, the restaurant he bought in 2016 and that has been a midtown staple for 86…
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Review: At Best Burger, the goal is simple: tasty burgers at the right price
Universal Allah figured out the focus of his restaurant after a traveler asked him one simple question: “Where can I find the best burger in Omaha?” He set out to make it. At Best Burger, in Florence, Allah and his partner, Ashlei Spivey, serve grass-fed black angus beef patties on brioche buns topped with all…