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This chef is teaching refugees how to cook and introducing Omaha to African cuisine one meal at a time
Mouthwatering scents fill the basement kitchen where Djamil Djibril Bah-Traore is teaching his latest class of students how to make their way in America. He shows them how to chop vegetables, measure spices and prepare dishes for an upcoming event catered by House of Bah, the company and nonprofit foundation that Bah-Traore started. “How much…
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Of the 25 restaurants I reviewed in 2023, these are my top eight
A quick reminder before we dive right into the year’s best reviewed restaurants: As it has been for many years, my annual best-of list only includes restaurants that I have reviewed in the last calendar year. If you don’t see one of your favorites, that is probably why. Want me to review that favorite, or…
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Review: Ten years in to Tim Nicholson’s Boiler Room, the Old Market spot is as good as ever
It’s hard to believe that the last time I sat down to review what has become one of my favorite restaurants in Omaha — The Boiler Room — it was 2016. So much has happened since then, to diners, to chefs and to the Omaha restaurant scene. But one thing, at least when it comes…
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Review: At Fremont’s Semo Pasta + Wine, the customers’ desire and the chef’s talent create a winning combination
One of the best meals I’ve eaten this year is in one of the most unexpected places: Fremont’s main street. Semo Pasta + Wine, which chef Drew Statz and his wife, Michelle, opened in downtown Fremont last spring, is what he calls “European-inspired Nebraska cuisine.” After two visits, I think it’s one of the most…
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Review: The Blackstone District’s Kamp makes grown-ups feel like kids again
It didn’t take me long to decipher what I think is the through-line between all four restaurants — Nice Rollz, Angelwingz, SingleDouble and Los Rollies — at Kamp, the food hall and bar in the Blackstone district. As we dined and drank down a path of Takis-dusted elotes; crunchy, ground beef filled rolled tacos; messy…
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Review: The thrill of the hunt is part of the fun at the Asian Market food court
There’s a certain few friends I absolutely know will say yes when I ask them if they want to meet me for lunch at the food court inside the Asian Market on 78th and Dodge Streets. That’s how I found myself facing down a space — and a menu — much larger than I intended…
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Review: At Let it Fly, even the spouse of a sports lover can find something to appreciate
I have written about (and eaten at) a lot of sports bars in the decade I’ve been writing about restaurants, and I can tell you this with some confidence: Most don’t have very good food. Food often feels like an afterthought, a requirement, a third most important thing after Miller Lite and big televisions. Let…
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Review: At the family-owned and operated Mootz, pizza has a new home in Countryside
The first person you’re likely to see when you walk into the new brick-and-mortar location of Mootz Pizza, on the back edge of Countryside Village, is Brent Adkisson, Mootz pizza chef Collin Adkisson’s dad, working at the cash register. Look around and you’ll also probably spot Ruth Adkisson, his mother, prepping in the back of…
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Review: Find a little slice of Paris at West Omaha’s Grand Patisserie
Last weekend, we had a few friends over to celebrate the completion of some remodeling to our home, and I was in full party planning mode: Cheese plate. Baguettes. Cocktail shopping. Snacks galore. And something I don’t usually do was on the list this time, too: Grand Patisserie. I’d heard rumblings about a west Omaha…
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Review: Reliable Italian at Cibo Vino might be just the ticket for the corner of 11th and Jackson
It’s been a few years since I have been excited about eating on the corner of 11th and Jackson, one of those charming Old Market destinations that has the potential to draw diners like a moth to a flame. After two visits to Cibo Vino, the latest restaurant to take over the bay formerly occupied…