Happy New Year (Don't Look Back)

Strip malls rule:
Caribbean Delight on N. 72nd Street

Everything I ate in 2012 has been long digested (hopefully), so I find it a bit trivial to divvy out my own little "Best of" awards. Rather, I'd like to look forward, to share with you my ever-evolving plans for good -- and not so good -- eats.

Here's where you're likely to find me this year:

For tacos: Tie between La Casita and Tacos el Peligro. Both mainstays on my roster since I moved here, these are also good if you made a New Year's resolution to order more food in Spanish.

For an alternative to Panera Bread and the like: Le Quartier. Though I've only been to the new Dundee location, this Lincoln-based mini-chain serves up an exquisite soup and sandwich combo, in a pleasant-yet-simple setting both me and my laptop can enjoy.

The spread at Jim & Jennie's

For great winter comfort food, before we're all sweating our balls off again: Jim & Jennie's Greek Village at 90th and Maple really impressed me with their interesting Greek wine, superior souvlaki and spanakopita, and Ionic column decor, all in some strip mall. Hit it up between a trip to Dollar Tree and donating some plasma.

Nachos from Barrett's Barleycorn -- don't they look tasty?

Restaurant I will eat at and then marvel at how I made the same mistake yet again, just 'cause it's close and easy: Tie between Varsity Sports Cafe in Dundee and Barrett's. Those of you who stalk me might be able to pinpoint a little closer where I live now.

Restaurant I won't be frequenting, even though it has a great cocktail and food menu: J. Coco. Sometime since its early-2012 opening, this place was overtaken by middle-aged and elderly women. I'm not quite there yet.

Place I will always want to go but will usually forget about and go to Taco Bell instead: Localmotive Food Truck. Because unfortunately, it's too hard to find someone to drive to the Old Market when you're wasted.

For an alternative to any one of Omaha's many dirty dive bars: Pageturner's Lounge. I guess rock stars have seen the inside of enough bars to know how to open a cool one.

Place I wish would re-open in 2013: Bomb Digs Food Truck. After a short stint capturing our hearts, these guys went on hiatus. When and if they'll return is anyone's guess.

Place I will try once more to see if it's gotten any better, because I really like what they're trying to do: Lighthouse Pizza. My first visit resulted in an über-snarky post, but I'm hoping they've improved. For the love of pizza.

Things you should do in 2013:

• Try many new places in dreary-looking strip malls in the far reaches of our town. They tend to have the most character and best undiscovered food.

• Have lots of grill outs with friends.

• Stop reading this and go do something cool. Let's be better role models for all those iPhone-toting ten-year-olds out there.

• That said -- a'hem -- keep your eyes peeled for Google's Field Trip app, even if your eyesight is rapidly diminishing like mine is from staring at your smartphone. Let's just say it's a pretty cool app.

Some touristy joint in Algodones, Mexico 

I finished out my year with Margaritas under blue skies in a Mexican border town, but it couldn't charm me away from Omaha's deliciously treacherous, icy streets. I can't leave yet; my list of "Places to try" is still a mile long.

Curled Up with My Microwave

'Tis the season, for poop-brown snow banks in parking lots and salt-damaged leather boots. As soon as this bastard blizzard is over, I suggest you get yourself to the Goodwill WearHouse at 72nd and F.

This is where all junk goes to die. It's the last stop before they, who knows, incinerate it? In one of the intimidating blue bins (posted signs warn of sharp objects throughout) I hit a jackpot of vintage books, my favorite being the Better Homes & Gardens Microwave Cook Book, published in 1976. Here I sit, entrenched in the sofa, arm waving lazily towards the fridge in want of a beer, perusing the pages for my next culinary hit. Will it be the Quick Fish Soup? The Golden-Sauced Franks? I can't wait to try out the Egg Salad Sandwich Pizza on my friends. And to think, everything is handily nuked!

The only thing is, if the power goes out while I'm cookin', I'll be screwed.

Food Punk Part II

A few weeks ago a friend of mine made us six courses in his home kitchen. He rolled them out in perfect succession -- though we did have to take a whiskey break right before the bacon dessert.

Click on over and get envious of these mad skillz.

Pig Head Monday

So the other day I came home to a pig's head braising in the oven. This wasn't just any old pig's head, rather, it came from a local farm (yaayyyyy, local!) and was apple fed. I don't know why it didn't come with an apple in its mouth, but whatever.

Some folks are elated to eat pig's head, others aren't. I fear we need to let go of that neatly-packaged, pre-skinned, pre-breaded, pre-sliced, pre-cooked, ground-two-weeks-ago, patty-fied, ready-to-eat preference most of us have. If we're that nauseated from the sight of a cooked pig's head, do we have any right eating meat at all? I recall a friend getting grossed out over one loose feather in her carton of farm eggs. Did she think they were manufactured at the Nestle factory?

After all, most hot dogs are made of a mix of mechanically separated meats -- a product known as "white slime" -- and the average American chokes down about 60 of those a year. We've gotten really, really good at forgetting where our meat comes from, wouldn't you say?

Don't worry, I'm not gonna be pigheaded and get all "nose-to-tail" on you. While I do agree it's a more common-sensical, gentile approach to meat eating, it's not that easy. I had to forego the snout and went solely for the cheeks. Still can't quite figure out what to do with the eyeball. Probably throw it in some soup.

...

Oh, and for those of you who were not aware of any other options other than meat and potatoes here in Omaha, here's one Chicagoans take on it.

Sioux She

Feeling disillusioned over the amount of turkey you ate last week? Sick of leftovers, particularly the awkward way the congealed gravy soaks into your stale white dinner roll?

Maybe it's time you splurged on everyone's favorite Asian cuisine from the last twenty years that most Americans probably don't even eat correctly, sushi.

Or maybe you just want to read an article with one of the tackiest headlines ever. Roll into Ponzu.

Delivery from Sgt. Peffer's

1501 North Saddle Creek Road
And another location in Millard
Or, in this case, my bedroom in front of my TV
402.558.7717
Open daily 11am - 10pm
sgtpeffers.com

Hot Strombo and a side of potatoe salad ($6.50):
"Baked bun stuffed with sliced ham, pepperoni,
mancini peppers, mozzarella and romano"

Today at lunchtime I was faced with the strenuous task of finding something to eat without leaving my house. I foraged through the cabinets, but once the columns of Saltine crackers diminished, and the memories of setting the smoke detector off last night trying to make a pizza came back, I decided on delivery. My experience would have been smoother if I had the possibility of ordering online. In the "Delivery Instructions" field, I would have typed key by key with my index finger from my bed to please bring the food upstairs to my bedroom, along with some plates and napkins, and retrieve the money from my wallet which should be somewhere in the vicinity, but I'm not exactly sure where.

They don't offer online ordering, but to my delight, Sgt. Peffer's delivers. I spent most of the 45-minute wait wondering what's behind the name. What's a Peffer, and why the Beatles mid-career motif?

I intuitively disregarded Sir Paul's veggie crusade and went with a couple of meaty sandwiches. With a name like Hot Strombo, I was expecting something more, ya know, stromboli-like, perhaps a bit more fromagian. Instead, it was relatively light on the cheese, but stuffed with enough cured meats to fill a party tray. On the other hand, the roast beef au jus was just phenomenal.

The potato salad served on the side was one of my favorites in recent memory; it had a semi-pureed consistency, interrupted with bits of crunchy scallion.

As with most takeout, both sandwiches resembled a surgery, or as my dining buddy mused, "John Lennon's brain spatter." But both were much better tasting than the "jelly on stale bread" I would have come up with myself. Thanks, Sarge.

Roast Beef au Jus ($6.50), with peppers, onions and provolone cheese

Goldberg's II

5008 Dodge Street
402.556.2006
Open Mon - Thurs 11a.m. - 11p.m., Fri and Sat 11a.m. - midnight, closed Sunday
goldbergsindundee.com

Cheeseburger  on Pretzel Bun with Curly Fries ($8.50):
Seasoned, juicy patty, toasted pretzel bun and crisp toppings.
Passed all points of the burger inspection with flying colors. 

My recent visit to Goldberg's in Dundee evoked the repetition (in my head) of one of my least favorite adages: "It is what it is."

The cheeseburger was well-proportioned, and in many ways an exemplary model fit for even the most stringent burgerphiles. The atmosphere, marked by straight backed booths, senior citizens yammering on, and even a mural of what I think was Memorial Park, was charming. The decorative details from decades past and the intimate, relaxed feel reminded me of any one of my home city's bajillion Irish pubs.

The soup was clearly not the focus here -- I'd be surprised if it wasn't doctored up Campbell's, served lukewarm -- but the oyster crackers made me smile. No need to quibble over the unimportant. Goldberg's says they're good at "Burgers, Beers & Bloody Marys," and I believe them.

While the food was mostly pretty good, I'd probably have to befriend some regulars to really get the feel for what makes this place so special. And if I never get around to that, I'll still go here next time I'm in the mood to bust my gut with all of the good things in life. I hear their salads are nice, too.

Pastrami Melt, slathered with creamy horseradish sauce,
and sweet potato fries, which chicks really dig for some reason ($9.45).

The Fourth "B," Bread Pudding ($5.75)

Beef broth soup with the occasional grain of barley and random corn kernel ($4.25).