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.

Jimi D's

6303 Center Street
Omaha, NE 68106
(402) 391-2011
Open for lunch and dinner, daily happy hour (even weekends!) from 3-6pm
www.jimids.com

Beer-battered Calamari with Roasted Red Pepper and Lemon Aioli Sauce

Chicken Wings, Buffalo Style with Bleu Cheese, Pickled Cauliflower and Celery
(Ask for extra hot.)

Jimi D's. Sounds like a chain, don't it? Sounds like Applebee's spawn. Sounds like it's gonna suck. To put it simply, the interior does kinda suck, but the food is stellar pub fare with an interesting flair. The high walls are decorated with art on canvas that you might find at Target, or maybe IKEA. The soundtrack is forgettable and the sports screens dominate the vibe. In our high-backed booth, though, we were able to focus on the grub. We laid off the Bud Lite and made this an eating happy hour, which our server didn't seem to mind. He refilled our waters often, but didn't hover over us, and didn't exude that gushing casual dining cheese that can be so popular. Happy hour appetizers focus on quantity and not quality: The fried calamari was soggy, but at least the breading wasn't too thick. The wings had lots of inedible stringy bits, but we still powered through the pile of them. The nice surprise came with the "entree," the Italian Grilled Cheese with a side salad. The Fontina was present, but not overloaded, and the tomato marmalade cut the grease with an even sweetness, all sharing taste bud space with the crunch of crisp fresh greens. How often does one find food at a sports bar that isn't simply average, overindulgent, generic, unhealthy, and/or boring? I wouldn't hang out at Jimi D's really, but I will go back for a quick late lunch or early dinner. With a wine selection that's better than you'd expect, and dishes ranging from gnocchi to fish and chips to a black bean burger, I do hope this relatively new eatery can find their true niche sometime soon.

Italian Grilled Cheese:
Fontina, tomato marmalade, fresh greens, with prosciutto (optional), on grilled sourdough.
You can actually taste everything! (Tommy Colina's, take note.)

Side salad with leafy dark greens and cherry tomatoes, with house-made balsamic vinaigrette.
I was wrong to expect iceberg.