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The SBH Review: At downtown Omaha’s Flora Cafe, family recipes bring flavor, and memories, to brunch
Some meals I’ve eaten in the past live rent free in my mind. They’re memories of the fanciest meals I’ve ever had, or local delicacies I sampled while traveling, or the time I ate a reindeer pizza in Norway. And meals from home that feel like home. One such dish lodged in my memory: The…
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The SBH Review: Lively Santoro offers Omaha a mix of Mexican favorites and novel offerings
Santoro, chef Jesus Rivera’s new upscale Mexican restaurant in Omaha, combines familiar favorites from his former venue with innovative dishes. The vibrant eatery has a lively atmosphere but struggles with noise. While prices are higher, the menu features enticing options like enchiladas suizas and al pastor tacos. Rivera aims to enhance the dining experience over…
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The SBH review: Cattle Call has the dumplings — and much more
“Fusion” has become a bit of a dirty word in the restaurant world, or at least something that has gone out of fashion. Cattle Call, on the corner of 16th and Farnam streets, is doing its part to bring fusion into 2025. And it’s doing so in an interesting way, serving chef-driven, higher-end cuisine in…
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The SBH review: At buzzy new West Omaha bar-and-grill, come for sports, stay for food
30hop, which opened its first Omaha location two months ago, is all about the beer. That’s in fact where it gets its name: The upscale bar and grill’s first location, in Coralville, Iowa, had 30 beers on tap. In Omaha, it’s actually 32 beers, 27 of which are brewed in Nebraska, Iowa or Kansas. I…
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The SBH Review: Fifteen years in, Dante is still local, seasonal and exceptional
In 2015, I got in a van with Dante chef and owner Nick Strawhecker and we drove out into Nebraska to see where a handful of his restaurant’s ingredients came from. We visited a small farmer near the small town of Walton who raised vegetables, a huge portion of their crop going to Dante. We…
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The SBH Review: Star chef takes over Sakura Bana, improves sushi, focuses menu
There’s a thing that happens to restaurants that have been around, doing what they do, for decades. While some remain at the top of my mind — and on my list of regular spots — others fade into the background, overwhelmed by the new. I can’t remember, for example, the last time I visited Sakura…
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The SBH review: The top 5 new(-ish) Omaha restaurants
It’s that time of year again: annual food lists are back. Honestly, I always enjoy digging around my own archive, remembering what I enjoyed (and sometimes what I didn’t) and realizing which restaurants, in my real life, I have visited again and again. Favorites change. This year, I’m trying something new: taking a look back…
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The SBH Review: Hot Pot steams into the suburbs
Lately, I’ve been writing about and talking a lot about soup dumplings, with their recent arrival in Omaha. This week, I’m taking a look at another ancient Chinese dish (like, two millennia ancient) that’s making a splash in west Omaha. Hot Pot 88, which opened in October off 132nd and West Center, isn’t the first…
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The SBH Review: Bathed in pink and further west, the new Saddle Creek Breakfast Club still a delight
My favorite brunch spots are the ones that mix just the right combination of good music, great coffee, funky decor and an excellent plate of food, be it a burger or an egg dish. Saddle Creek Breakfast Club has always had that combination, with its tiny midtown Omaha dining room, a never-empty cup of coffee…
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The SBH Review: Delicious new empire, built on dumplings, rises in Ralston
I have been waiting years for soup dumplings to come to Omaha. Twelve years, to be exact. I’ve been waiting since we returned home from a memorable trip to China, where we ate hand pulled noodles, stinky tofu, egg and tomato, Sichuan peppercorns and, most memorably, xiaolongbao, also known as soup dumplings. We ordered them…