Ethiopian Restaurant

2555 Leavenworth Street
402.345.0265
Open daily for lunch and dinner

#12. Mahibrawi ($12): A little bit of everything

Strong, bitter, delicious coffee. Ethiopian Idol on TV. Large communal tables for families to sit and share with one another. And food with spices you're probably not used to.

If bland-tasting food is your thing -- and I know it is for many of us -- Ethiopian cuisine probably isn't for you. The overflowing bowl of chicken stew was reminiscent of Spanish adobo sauce, but there was something rather pungent in the spice mixture (berbere) that just didn't jive with my taste buds. After the meal I scoured the small grocery attached to the restaurant, trying to find the offending spice. Whether it was the fenugreek, rue, or possibly the korarima, I will never know. Recommending it would be like sticking something in your face and saying, "This smells really bad. Smell it."

#7: Doro wet ($7.49):
Traditional chicken stew topped with chicken leg and boiled egg.
In Ethiopian culture they must not have that "which came first" joke.

The Mahibrawi was the ultimate combo, served atop a large piece of the bread known as injera, which felt a lot like a cold, rubbery sex toy of some sort but tasted more like a sourdough pancake. Little piles of lentils, split peas, collard greens, and potatoes encircled a lamb shank that I will describe as "rustic." My favorite part was the ground fava beans, but that's 'cause I'm a yuppie hummus lover.

If you want to feel like a real Ethiopian, eat only with your right hand, and if you like forks and knives and no sharing, then you're S.O.L. Go earlier in the day before they start to run out of stuff, and only if you're in the mood for something new.

Ethiopian Coffee ($1.50)

Moonlighting

...as a freelance writer. Check it:

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German Food Galore

Crystal Jade

7255 Cedar Street (north of Center on 72nd)
402.398.1688
Open for lunch and dinner daily
jadedinners.com

Spicy Pork Bulgogi ($7.95 lunch)

Take some decent but uniform "Pan Asian," add one part creepy vibe of former Village Inn, mixed with a dash of good old family-owned feeling, and a heavy dose of quirk (extensive girly fauxtini menu and a free beer for liking them on Facebook), and voila, you've got Crystal Jade.

Uncle Steve and Aunt Shirley are the peeps who run the place, and a quick scan of their booze menu would lead you to believe they're into having a good time: Everyday is "Happy Day" with $5 sake bombs, for example. Getting drunk would be trippy here, though; lunch was populated by large business groups and kids with Grandpa, all chowing down in a snazzed up former diner chain. The metal-backed chairs were cool, though.

Chicken Hot Garlic Sauce ($6.75 lunch)

As for the food, well, it was just as monochromatic as it looked in those Aksarben Cinema advertisements you may have seen before your movie. The Spicy Pork Bulgogi and the Chicken with Hot Garlic Sauce looked disturbingly similar, almost like they were cut from the same steam table pan. Major gripes include the absence of the advertised snow peas in the bulgogi, the utter lack of spiciness on menu items marked with the little red pepper (maybe they crank it up at dinner?), and the fried rice that tasted like white rice coated with some soy sauce. The good news was that I was hungry a few hours later, not because of MSG, but rather because everything tasted fresh and healthy. The veggies were crunchy, and nothing -- not even the hot and sour soup -- was too salty.

Sometimes I wonder if I just didn't order the "right thing." Props for the gluten-free and vegan dishes, but this wheat-eating omnivore is still on the search for great (Americanized) Chinese.

Egg Drop Soup

Hot & Sour Soup

Underwhelming Fried Rice

Barrett's Barleycorn

4322 Leavenworth Street
402.554.5805
Open daily for lunch and dinner 'til 11p.m., bar 'til 2a.m.
Monday is $5 burger night; go Thursday or Friday for the pork tenderloin.
barrettsomaha.com

Pork Tenderloin ($9.50) --
They cut it in half for a reason. 

My second visit to one of Midtown Omaha's staples left me a little confused as to why it's so goshdarn popular, but at the same time explained a few things for me (e.g. why Americans tend to be so obese). Here we have the very first place I ever dined in our fine city, some years ago. The reuben was forgettable; all I recall was my feeling of desperation as I scoured my iceberg salad for the last few bacon bits. It was time to give Barrett's another try.

Fortunately for my growling stomach, I remembered that Thursdays and Fridays are when Barrett's offers their famed Pork Tenderloin. Served on a sesame seed bun with an exorbitant amount of mayonnaise, the pork was exquisitely juicy, encased in a well-seasoned, not-too-thick layer of breading. Due to the (un)healthy slather of mayo, the stack of napkins on the table was necessary. And the crinkle cut fries were a joke. Still, the sandwich was so tasty, I'd say it's even worth braving the inside of a cramped sports bar during volleyball season.

Quite the opposite in quality, the beef in the French Dip did not appear to be US Foods' finest. Chewy around the edges and overall pretty dry, I've had better at Arby's. I didn't really know what to do with the heap of it, but it seemed counterintuitive to put it in my mouth.

French Dip ($7.95) 

Both sandwiches were insultingly and embarrassingly large in portion size. You can call it "value" or "bang for your buck" if you'd like, but there is really no reason for anyone to ever eat that much food in one sitting. But if you bring a buddy (or take a doggy bag), I suppose you needn't worry about spending all that food money you saved on your diabetes meds instead.


P.S. The freshly brewed iced tea -- though nothing special -- was refreshing, and the staff was obsessed with keeping our cups full.

Lighthouse Pizza

1004 South 74th Plaza (74th and Pacific)
402.932.6660
Mon-Thurs, Sun 11am to 10pm, Fri and Sat 11am to 3am
lhpizza.com

"Custom slice" Pepperoni and Mushroom ($4.99)

So I walk in, and the guy behind the counter says to me, "In case you haven't been here before, this is a New York style pizza joint." And so I says, "Yeah, well I'm from New York." I left out the part about how I was born in the city's Sixth Borough*, but to be clear, I'm the person who grabs a slice on the way to grab a slice. When I heard there was a self-proclaimed "New York style pizza place open late," I hopped on the subway (er, bus #11) and brought my appetite.

I skipped the Specialty Slice menu and went with a classic pep and mush. The mush were pretty mushy, and the pepperoni was more like sandwich salami, which was ok, but more appropriate on a hoagie. Moreover, the pepperoni was placed under the cheese, which is a full-fledged Midwestern practice, not East Coastian. The main problem, though, was the temperature. The slice came to me in under five minutes, but the crust felt and tasted undercooked, and the cheese would have melted more if I brought it outside and held it up to the sun. As a result, it had a soy cheese appearance -- which reminded me of Monsanto -- and I started to get upset. I was also perplexed by the side of Lighthouse sauce, since New Yorkers do not want or need to dip their pizza in anything, let alone salad dressing.

Lighthouse: I need you to do better. I need you to turn up the oven temp, or do whatever it is you need to do to get that crust browned and that shitty cheese melted. Wait, actually, get better cheese. Remember: Giant slices are only good if it's not a giant slice of crap. I might try you again in a few months to see if you've improved, but til then, I think you should actually take a trip to New York to see what it's all about, or at least hire me as your Pizza Advisor.

*That's what the hip people are calling Philadelphia these days. 

Mai Thai

2279 South 67th Street (Aksarben Village)
Plus the original location at 14618 West Center Road
402.884.7888
Open lunch and dinner daily (no lunch Sunday?), call new location for details
maithaiomaha.com

Mango Crab Rangoon ($6.50)

Between the barren gray and orange walls, the shimmering hanging room divider, and the bar that looked like it was erected in under an hour, I felt like I was dining at the cafeteria at Forever 21 headquarters. Throw in one or two Buddha figurines and call it a Thai restaurant. Interestingly, the dining crowd was almost exclusively younger couples -- did all of Omaha's girlfriends drag their boyfriends here after the mall?

When I saw the "Skinny Girl" cocktail menu on the table, I was all too sure I was in the mass-produced, low-quality restaurant version of the disposable clothing store. I refused to succumb to the marketing scheme aimed at my demographic and instead sipped my ice water and watched the manager hover over the tables while the servers tag teamed. Six weeks after opening this location, they seemed pretty hell bent to make sure the food came out on time.

Mango Crab Rangoon Innards

Once the mango crab rangoon appetizer arrived a whole three minutes later, I was taken aback to find that they were actually quite worthy. The mango wasn't terribly present, but I suppose it's better to under- than over-power. They were expertly fried -- it's more challenging to man a deep fryer than you might think -- well-assembled little cream cheesy delights. The Pad Thai was slightly sweet and again, not overwhelming on the peanut taste. Ask for a "5" on the spiciness scale of 1-5, since the "4" was child's play.

Chicken Pad Thai ($13)

Mai Thai serves solid comfort food in a squeaky clean environment, but if the restaurant stays as full as it was at dinner the other day, at least the other guests will give it some character. I mused that I would come here on one of those "bottomless pit" days, perhaps after a large theater popcorn across the street, and gorge on a whole appetizer and never ending entree to myself. I wouldn't be caught drunk with a Skinny Girl cocktail, though.

The Forever 21 of Thai restaurants?

Taste of Omaha 2012

Friday, June 1st to Sunday, June 3
Heartland of America Park and Lewis and Clark Landing
tasteofomaha.info

The only thing that really surprised me at the weekend-long Taste of Omaha event was that the lines at national chains like Village Inn and Fazoli's were rather long and lively. And then there were a few local booths who weren't finished with their prep at 11:30 -- when the event began at 11.

Still, it was a great chance to try places I will likely never make it to otherwise. Check it out:

Chicago Dawg House wins for best "booth," since it was a trailer. Fancy. 

The dawg itself was good. Not the largest wiener I've seen, but that's all right.

Poor people food: Kraut & Dumplings from Eddie's Catering.
The most calorie for your buck, this stuff will stick to your ribs and and everything else. 

The Guaca Maya restaurant on 33rd Street looks like a church, which has kept me out.

Pleasantly surprised by the Guaca Maya's beef taco.
About as honky as it gets with fried flour tortilla, iceberg lettuce,
nondescript shredded cheese, and ground beef.
But it worked.

A band about to rock out on the Rotella's Bakery Stage. Heh.

Cheese Empanada from España:
Fat fried in fat with a side of fat for dipping.
More seasonings and maybe a vegetable salsa instead of an aioli would have been better.

Did they jack up their prices during the festival? Did Benson stock skyrocket overnight? 

Andouille Gumbo from Jazz: A Louisiana Kitchen--
Can't say for sure, but this place might just be ok.

This Blue Raspberry Italian ice from the Cascio's Steakhouse booth was perfect after spicy gumbo in the hot sun.
Food coloring and high fructose corn syrup never tasted SO good!

Can't wait til next year... Thanks T of O.