Shuck's Fish House and Oyster Bar

1911 Leavenworth Street
402.614.5544
Plus two other locations:
16901 Wright Plaza (Shops of Legacy)
1218 S. 119th Street (just south of Pacific St.)
Downtown location offers limited Bailey's brunch menu Sat and Sun 9-2
Open 7 days
http://absolutelyfresh.com

Crab Cake Sandwich ($10.99)

I'm bored. Bored of beef and beer. Does that mean I'm bored of life?

Instead of feeling down on myself, I went to Shuck's, the restaurant attached to the local respected seafood supplier Absolutely Fresh. The place has a decent happy hour, and on this particular afternoon a couple of older dudes were parked at the bar, wanly sipping on their Bud heavies. Maybe the atmosphere gets livelier as the night goes on. We had the pleasure of having the whole back dining room to ourselves, a stark contrast to the restaurant's always-packed predecessor before it moved to Council Bluffs, Dixie Quicks.

Shrimp Po' Boy ($10.99)

I'm enamored with the idea of a casual seafood place in Omaha. Here you can get your fish & chips, your crab cake sandwich, your shrimp po' boy, all guaranteed "absolutely fresh," and all priced agreeably. You can roll up your sleeves and get down on some oysters, dirtying up the butcher paper that covers each table. It's the kind of place that's a dime-a-dozen on the coasts, but a real treat for us in this landlocked neck of the woods. A lot of the dishes I've sampled have tasted fantastic, but some present some culinary question marks. The crab cake, for example, made one heck of a photogenic sandwich, but was missing something. More seasonings, perhaps? It doesn't really matter. Shucks isn't supposed to be perfect. It's a laid back seafood joint with a "Dirty South" theme, and on these boring, bleak, beef-less days, it gives me a reason to live.

Fried Calamari, and a view of the bar ($4 at happy hour).
This yummy snack is "breaded" with cornmeal and GLUTEN FREE.

Cup o' Louisiana Gumbo ($3.99)

Note: On weekend mornings, Shuck's Downtown offers some competition to the abhorred and adored 11-Worth Cafe a few blocks away by offering a limited brunch menu from their sister restaurant, Bailey's.

The French Cafe -- RIP

Old Market, Omaha
thefrenchcafe.com

"Croque Monsieur ($12) A French classic!
Grilled ham and Gruyere cheese topped with sauce Mornay,
served with pommes frites"

Fingers are pointing every which way, trying to determine the guilty party responsible for the French Cafe abruptly closing its doors forever. It wasn't the mayor and his nominal 2.5% dining tax, and it wasn't Old Market parking issues. It was the food and service, which in my opinion were mediocre at best. If you're going to stick to textbook French for over forty years, you damn well better know how to make sauce Mornay. Sadly, the key ingredient on the Croque Monsieur sandwich tasted not like smooth, cheesy velvet, but more like sticking my tongue into a bag of flour. Really, the whole dish was a mess. But thou shalt not speak ill of the dead.

Crusty Roll and Butter

At brunch last week, the warm rolls with fancy whipped butter were absolutely delectable, and I wished I could have avoided the disappointing oeufs dishes and just sat there, in front of the giant tacky photographs of Parisian street life on the wall, and stuffed myself with carbs. Perhaps an informal Euro-style bakery would be a more fitting use of the space, instead of a $30 a plate shit show. It is sad to see an Omaha institution close, but the owners were smart to know when to bow out of the game. Now, I wonder if they'll be auctioning off their flatware...

Omelette au Saucisson with house-made sausage ($12), definitely just "ok."
I think I'd rather have a McDonald's hashbrown than these unseasoned fried cubes. 

Blueberry Pancakes with a Runaway Frite

Brunch at Jackson Street Tavern

1125 Jackson Street
Omaha, NE 68102
402.991.5637
Open Tues thru Thurs 11am-10pm, Fri and Sat 11am-midnight, Sunday brunch 10am-2pm
jacksonstreettavern.com

Colorado Omelette:
Ham, peppers, onions and cheddar,
with marble rye and the besterest homefries around

Bailey's & Coffee--
Ever notice that Bailey's smells gross unless you're the one drinking it?
A worthy beverage to start your day.

People are weird about their eggs. In another life I was a diner waitress, and I served everything from "scrambled soft with American cheese" to "over hard and don't break the yolks" to the ever-popular "basted." It should be hard to mess up brunch food, but the truth is it's far too easy. Too many options, too many special requests, too many things that don't taste good once they've been sitting under a heat strip. Bacon that's too crispy, or not crispy enough. People who are pissed off 'cause they just came from church. You get the idea. And need I remind you that hardly any of it is even remotely good for you.

Many of the dishes jived with what I think makes a good brunch, but not all. My Colorado Omelette was a neatly folded disc with the right amount of high-grade fillings. The homefries were absolutely spot on with what I prefer: red potatoes, skin on, sauteed with not too much butter and oil, and a present but not overwhelming dash of herbs. However, for once it seemed I was the object of most of my friends' plate envy. The Brunchaladas, in spite of savory ingredients like chorizo and enchilada sauce, got two votes of "blah" and "bland." The Tree Huggers pancakes were a major bummer, as I expected the banana slices to be a part of the actual pancake instead of lazily thrown on top. The result was nothing more than a heavy and dry waste of Bisquick. A few other items were deemed "pretty damn good," but the only thing safe to say is that Jackson Street is a "hit or miss" kind of place right now.

Tree Huggers:
Banana-granola pancakes, maple syrup and whipped butter.
Thick, heavy, boring. This is how not to make pancakes. 

The atmosphere was easy like Sunday morning. Lots of natural light to show off our under-eye circles, hard-earned from the night before, and efficient but not intrusive service. We totally were the assholes who overstayed our welcome almost an hour past closing time, but didn't catch a single hairy eyeball from the staff. This would be a great place to start off one of those "Sunday Fundays," complete with filling food at reasonable prices, and a brunch cocktail or three.

California Omelette--
Stick an avocado on it and call it "California."
One of the good ones.

Black Hash--
Black angus corned beef and poached eggs provide you with the
right fuel to get through your Sunday on the sofa.
This one's a little messy. Square bowl reminiscent of a piggy trough? 

Brunchaladas--
Might want to rethink this one.

Jack and Mary's Restaurant

655 North 114th Street
Omaha, NE 68154
(402) 496-2090
Open Monday thru Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday dinner, Sunday brunch 10am-2pm and dinner til 8:30pm
www.jackandmarysrestaurant.com 

Fried Chicken and Waffles

Fried chicken is something I'm only really "getting into" now, in my late twenties. Kind of like how people my age are getting into having kids. But I guess it's a little different. Anyway, I've figured out that there are a few things that make great fried chicken: It must be served hot, right out of the fryer; no heat lamps allowed. It shouldn't be overly greasy, sliding around on your plate like a possessed Ouija board planchette. The meat should be of good quality, which means more edible than non-edible parts. The batter should be seasoned with spices, but not too salty, and kept to a thin coating, so as to not cover up the flavor of the actual chicken. The first bite should be of meat, not just of fried matter. At Jack and Mary's, they know the fried chicken formula well. The waitstaff of old veterans and fresh faced newbies wore t-shirts that read "Giving Omaha the Bird For Over 30 Years," a claim they can definitely back up.

We went for brunch, where my leg and thigh adorned a Belgian-style waffle. Incorporating some vanilla into the waffle recipe could have made it less bland, and it could have been crispier on the outside, but the whipped butter and giant ramekin of syrup made it all work out. Jack's Plate was the typical two eggs/bacon/hash browns/toast, except it was atypically large, and overall very well executed. Neighboring tables were guzzling gizzards and giblets, iceberg and ranch from the salad bar, and mashed potatoes with extra gravy, in such a way I swore the retirees had been saving their appetites all week. In a West Omaha strip mall, the interior pulls off the country kitchen feel. I get the sense not every dish on the menu maintains the homemade-from-scratch model, so choose your items carefully. Flyers advertised a special Thanksgiving dinner for $12.95, where you'll probably find me, imbibing at the bar and polishing my plate.

Brunch entrees served with fresh fruit, and cinnamon rolls, which were heavy as heck.

Dark Rye Bread

Jack's Plate:
At least two industrial spatula-fulls of hash browns, two extra large eggs, and a bouquet of bacon

Bailey's

1259 South 120th Street
Omaha, NE 68144
(402) 932-5577
Open daily 7am-2pm

A couple of things stood out to me at this breakfast spot embraced by many as having the best benedict in the city. Firstly, nearly everyone dining on this particular Sunday morning was lookin' large. Very large. Look, I don't want to offend anyone, but it's true. About half of the items on the breakfast menu come "drizzled with Chef Jon's secret recipe Hollandaise." Just, um, go for a walk or something afterwards and you'll be fine. Regarding the service, I haven't been called "Hon" that many times since the last time I went to Baltimore. When we asked for hot sauce, the reply was, "You could have gotten that yourself." But don't get me wrong; I'll take a spunky senior as my server over a snotty college kid any day.

The eggs were poached to perfection, each one taking on a uniform smooth round shape and soft texture. On the Guerrero Benedict, the beans were of the Rosarita canned variety, and the chorizo was glistening with grease like it should be, but lacked the heat. The hash browns were very simple, but done well. Vintner's Eggs, with its crisp asparagus and ripe tomatoes, was probably even healthy. You may have to wait a few minutes for your table at Bailey's, but you'll need all the appetite you can muster to conquer one of these plates.

Guerrero Benedict:
Chorizo sausage, refried beans, cotija cheese and poached eggs over an English muffin with chipotle hollandaise 

Vintner's Eggs:
Grilled asparagus, poached eggs, chopped bacon, tomatoes and sourdough toast

Dixie Quicks

NEW ADDRESS:
157 W Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA 51503
(712) 256-4140

FORMERLY LOCATED AT:
1915 Leavenworth Street
Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 346-3549
Weird hours, check website and make a reservation 
www.dixiequicks.com


Making reservations for brunch is soooo Brooklyn. Make that a brunch place that is also an art gallery and you might think you have to take the L train to get there. Add the chalkboard-only menu, alternative looking servers, squished together tables and quirky decor and you've got something that is utterly unique for Omaha. (Bummer this place is moving to Council Bluffs soon.)


Let's talk about the food. The Dixie Scramble is a delightfully spongy English muffin topped with either meat or tomato, and a creamy tomato basil sauce. And eggs of course. For someone who usually douses her eggs in ketchup this was a nice departure. Maybe I don't know squat about grits but I thought these were pretty devoid of taste. The meat in the Italian sausage, pepper and mozzarella omelette was nice and spicy. The wheat toast was more akin to cardboard, and the cubed red potatoes were under-seasoned and also a little undercooked. So, they definitely know how to do eggs but are maybe ignoring the sides a little. Also, what's up with the drinks? There's no menu.


I'll try to sample the dinner--which looks really, really good--before this place moves across the Missouri, cause I prefer to hang out on this side of the river (like in Brooklyn). 

Dixie Scramble with Ham and Grits

Italian Sausage, Peppers and Mozzarella Omelette with Wheat Toast and Home Fries