FAT IN OMAHA: cake

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Tasty Pastry

5423 Leavenworth Street
402.933.9392
Open Mon thru Sat 10am-2pm
http://tastypastryomaha.com

Tasty pastries, indeed

How I long for more places like the recently opened Tasty Pastry in Omaha. With my general aversion to cooking and disgust with brown-bagging it on a workday, I avoid starvation during daytime hours by frequenting places like this. There is nothing quite like gazing out the window, steaming bowl of scrumptious split pea soup in front of you, occasionally losing yourself in your Twitter feed while absentmindedly fashioning a spoon out of your hunk of bread. Three martini lunches are great, too, but I like my soup.

Spicy corn chowder with chicken ($5/bowl)

While not a full-service rest-runt, new sandwiches appear intermittently on the menu as they ease into their space. (Up until last year this was Come on into my Kitchen.) The chicken sandwich is fit for the finest: Lightly breaded chicken with the tang of garlic aioli, pickles, jalapeño, and crunchy slaw on an above-average ciabatta (?) bun.

Proprietor, chef, and baker Mary Dailey has a true knack for executing recipes that are not overly sweet, more reminiscent of Euro-style tortes and pastries than what the average 'Merkan thinks of cake. She's also more than happy to slice up a sample of anything you'd like. Try some chocolate ganache if you're in the market for a new addiction.

The only way you won't love Tasty Pastry is if you have a phobia of the 50+ female demographic, since they're strongly represented in the crowd there.

On a very unrelated note, I kind of wish the name didn't make me think of pasties — every time — but what can you do.

Chicken sandwich ($6)

Carrot cake

Behind the counter

Chowda

Monday, July 11, 2011

Lithuanian Bakery & Kafe

7427 Pacific Street
Omaha, NE 68114
(402) 391-3503
Open Monday thru Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to 4pm, closed Sundays

Get your spätzle, your Black Forest cake mix, your mustard. And no old European ladies butting in front of you in line, it's fantastic.

Giant loaves of fresh and day-old rye available for purchase.

Bread N Butter

Lunch time comes, and many Omahans flock to their burger and barbecue joints. The Lithuanian Bakery & Kafe, nestled in a parking lot eclipsed by McKenna's BBQ and with the bustling BrewBurgers nearby, holds its own during this hour. Nearly every table was full with an assortment of families, business dudes and hausfraus by the time the clock struck one. And then there was us. Service was slow and dishes were served in a curiously staggered manner, but it allowed us a chance to sample each other's grub. Unlike the plates served by L B & K's neighbors, expect portions you can actually finish. The pastrami and Swiss sandwich was not of the towering NYC deli variety, and the cup of soup may have actually been a proper eight ounces of liquid. $7.50 will get you a Kielbasa, a Bratwurst or a Knackwurst, a scoop of potato salad and a serving of sauerkraut, which may seem like a hefty price, but guess what guys: This is the real deal. My complaints are trivial; I wished I didn't have to settle for Gulden's mustard when there was perfectly good Löwensenf on the supermarket shelf across the room. The famous Napoleonas Torte was just a tad dry, and the sauce (an extra 50 cents) was extremely sweet, but what the heck, it's chocolate raspberry sauce after all. Overall this is a Must Try for anyone wanting an authentic taste of Eastern Europe, which is obviously everyone, right?

P.S. I did some research and found that about 1% of Lithuanians are vegetarian. This is represented on the menu with the veggie sandwich. Just FYI.

Meet Borscht. It's better than it looks. You might expect it to taste like chalk and be good for upset stomachs and diarrhea. But in fact, this chilled beet soup is perfect for Omaha summer, in all its dill-y creamy glory.