• Saddle Creek Breakfast Club reopens this weekend

    Saddle Creek Breakfast Club reopens this weekend

    Saddle Creek Breakfast Club, the midtown cult classic, is reopening its doors Friday. The restaurant closed about a month ago and was unusually open about the reason: its chef and co-owner Chase Thomsen went to a treatment center for addiction and mental health issues, according to a post from his wife, Niki. This is the happy…

  • Two West Omaha breweries closed this week

    → Old Chicago at Shadow Lake Towne Center closed this week; no one answered phone calls. It’s not the first Omaha-area Old Chicago to shut; the Old Market location closed last fall, and Lincoln’s Old Chicago closed Sunday night. Its parent company, CraftWorks, has closed numerous stores and filed for Chapter 11. Omaha’s last Old Chicago…

  • New West Omaha Indian and Midtown Chinese, and goodbye to Mars Bar

    → Kinaara, a new Indian spot near 138th and Q Streets, is open. Its chef comes from the now-closed Blackstone Indian Bowl. The restaurant is serving a full menu, including curries and biryani, along with some interesting house specials like Tellicherry pepper goat fry and Fish Pollichathu, which is salmon marinated in chili powder, turmeric, and…

  • Instagram: March 2

    Instagram: March 2

    My friend @lizknowsher gets me. She gave me this weird little man-vase and this is his springtime debut. %%image-date%% %%instagram-url%%

  • Instagram, Feb. 27

    Instagram, Feb. 27

    This week’s SBH newsletter: Omaha has two James Beard semifinalists, plus the food lover’s guide to Maui, new specials at Forno and new food at Mercury. Stroll on over to the link in my profile for more.

  • Instagram: Feb. 27

    Instagram: Feb. 27

    For years, readers have been asking me to write about Omaha fish fry season, and I finally did it. This week, we present a list of 45 fish fries, checked and double checked and searchable by neighborhood. The list features dates, hours and address of every fry. And, where I could, I pointed out fun…

  • New restaurant from Twisted Cork owner; sushi comes to Inner Rail

    New restaurant from Twisted Cork owner; sushi comes to Inner Rail

     → Pacific Eating House, a new restaurant from the owners of Twisted Cork Bistro, is opening March 3 at 1130 Sterling Ridge Dr, off 132nd and Pacific Streets. The restaurant, owners Darrell and Laura Auld said on their website, is the continuation of their original restaurant at 107th and Pacific Streets. Pacific Eating House will…

  • Ragazzi’s plans to close, more on Okra African Grill and two new bakeries

    Ragazzi’s plans to close, more on Okra African Grill and two new bakeries

    → Ragazzi’s announced plans to close its location near 168th and West Center. The restaurant said in a Facebook post that after four years, its owners decided to close. → Okra African Grill, the restaurant I first reported on last week, has an opening date: March 14. Its owner also shared her backstory. Owner Nina…

  • Block 16’s Burger Fight III is about more than who won the contest

    Block 16’s Burger Fight III is about more than who won the contest

    How many talented chefs can Block 16 get in one room? Last Sunday, it was three (not counting the restaurant’s owners and many guests) in Le Bouillon’s Paul Kulik; Dario Schicke, of Dario’s Brasserie and Avoli Osteria; and Nick Strawhecker of Dante and Forno, who competed against one another at the restaurant’s third Burger Fight,…

  • Mercury adds new food and Forno revamps its happy hour

    Mercury adds new food and Forno revamps its happy hour

    Last weekend Matthew and I stopped by one of our favorite spots, Mercury, to find they’d updated their food menu with some real gems. The highlight of what we tried is the new Dr. Pepper barbecue chicken sandwich: tender, sweet meat stacked deep on an absolutely delicious cornbread and honey biscuit bun. A pile of…