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

Vivace

1108 Howard Street 

Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 342-2050
Open daily for lunch and dinner, weekdays 'til 11pm and Fridays and Saturdays 'til midnight, Sundays closed in between brunch and dinner
www.vivaceomaha.com

9" Pepperoni pizza with Banana Peppers and Buffalo Mozzarella

Chicken Piadini--
 Grilled flat bread wrap with figs, prosciutto, green onions, basil, arugula and Fontina cheese

Everyone's heard of Vivace in the Old Market--or Viv-ACE as we like to call it--but did you know they offer 9" Neapolitan-style pies for $11.95? Add a couple glasses of red and you've got the perfect snack for two, if you ask me. The banana peppers on the Pepperoni pizza reminded me of the Peperoni pies I'd get in Germany, and it was even most satisfying to my skeptical dining companion. ("I've had pizza in Naples, yo.") The chicken in the Chicken Piadini was a little over-roasted, but the fig/prosciutto flavor combo took over, and the whole thing was remarkably filling. I don't know of anywhere else around here doing the sweet potato/regular potato mix for the fries, but an aioli dipping sauce would have been good, not to mention fries that weren't served ice cold. Vivace's got some good ideas and some tried and true Italian flavors, and I think a little more attention paid to the details would make them even better. Not to mention the service is as disorganized as the driving in Italy. The wine came out five minutes after the food, we were presented the wrong check, and even candidly offered jobs by our eccentric server, for no particular reason.

Vivace's menu isn't exactly innovative, but it's fresh and high in value, and they're open pretty late. You should also stop in if you're looking for a job, apparently!

Tommy Colina's Kitchen

3558 Farnam Street

Omaha, NE 68131(402) 502-9027
Mon 11-2, Tues-Fri 11-9, Sat 9-2 brunch, 3-9 dinner, Sun 9-2 brunch

www.tommycolinaskitchen.com

Chicken Diablo Soup--
With its best friend, the cracker packet

Chicken Tortilla Soup--
Neglected under the shadow of Diablo

Standing in line at the gas station is more interesting, I found out, when you're behind a big dude in a sleeveless tee, waiting to pay for his pint of tequila and plugging his newly-opened lunch spot. It's been a few months since then, but I finally rolled out of bed in time to make the 2pm last call for burgers at Tommy Colina's today. I would recommend you do the same, since Monday is FREE soup day (with the purchase of an entree). The way the waitress rattled off the list of soups with utter disinterest reminded me of reciting a Hail Mary in middle school; like, I've said this a million times, let's just get this over with please. Still, I would probably go back just for the Chicken Diablo, a lumpy/creamy/spicy thing that is best scooped up with crackers, like a chip dip.

Then out came the baskets, each filled to the brim with house-made chips and mammoth sandwiches. The mozzarella on my Pesto Chicken slid off in one gooey glob to reveal a pile of ham and a chunk of chicken breast. Under that was supposed to be a sauce and a slaw, but those ingredients were unfortunately totally lost under the mounds of meat and cheese. By the end of it the deli paper was soaked and sticking to my food. (Do you eat out of a basket in your "kitchen?" Try a plate.) Thankfully, on the Cantina burger, the meat wasn't quite as drowned in toppings. The quasi-local beef is ground fresh daily, which is more than most places can say, making it one of the better burgers around. Go here with a stash of extra napkins and a major appetite. A nod to the vegetarians of the world by perhaps adding a veggie burger would be nice, since I don't think the solitary option of a cheese 'n tomato sandwich is really enough. Or at least get a liquor license, because if you've got a belly full of burger, you'd better have a belly full of beer too. 

Pesto Chicken--
Smoked tomato aioli, green pepper slaw, ham, fresh mozzarella, pesto drizzle;
the ham and cheese could have been its own sandwich, probably.

Cantina Burger--
Jalapeños, guacamole, and Monterey Jack cheese, plus Tommy C's tasty chips

Dinker's Bar

2368 South 29th Street (South of Martha on 29th, just west of I-480)
Omaha, NE 68105
(402) 342-9742
Open Monday thru Saturday 11-9, larger menu during dinner hours, bar open til 1am.
www.dinkersbar.com

House-made Buttermilk Battered Onion Rings--
With a side of house-made Buttermilk ranch! How Buttermilky!

The lunch rush--of the geriatric but jolly business type--was in full swing shortly after noon, and we were swiftly greeted by a worker who laid it down for us: Order at the counter, take a number, get your drinks from the bar, pay cash, sit, eat, relax. Dinker's is of course no secret; it's been around as long as my parents and allegedly serves the "Best Burger in Omaha." Neighboring tables were continually discussing the top quality of the burger, but through the din I could also hear folks hissing the name "Stella's." (Review of Stella's coming soon, next time I feel like driving ALL THE WAY down to Bellevue.) The menu board advertised a "F_AT IRON STEAK," but even then I went for a Malibu Chicken Sandwich. I couldn't even taste the ham under the thick slice of Swiss and slather of mayo, but what did I care. Don't bother with the chips; upgrade to fries or house-breaded greasy as heck onion rings. What to say about the burger that hasn't been said a million times before? Yes, it's exceptional, and there's little reason to gorge yourself on ground beef anywhere else. (Well, almost anywhere else...)

One of these days I'm gonna show up and chew on 40 cent wings and guzzle pitchers of Busch lite with the best of 'em. Dink on.

Malibu Chicken Sandwich--
Breaded fried chicken with grilled ham and Swiss cheese on grilled kaiser bun

Bacon Cheeseburger with Fries

11-Worth cafe

2419 Leavenworth Street
Omaha, NE 68105
(402) 346-6924
Open every day 6am to 3pm
www.11worthcafe.com

Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

After my recent trip to this Omaha favorite, I'm thinking a "People of 11-Worth" photo site might be a popular idea. Here in the waiting area you've got a group of College World Series bros enjoying the gratis coffee right alongside the Wal-Mart mutants; it's really a beautiful thing. These people obviously had one thing in common: They were hungry. And as the 11-Worth states on their website, they "have always made a point of giving large portions for the best possible value." Unfortunately, they should re-assess their concept of "value." The portions were indeed breathtaking, but who wants an overflowing plateful of crappy food? Take the Pork Tenderloin for instance. The first bite delivered a mouthful of thick breading that made the fatty in me go "mmm." Three bites in and I wondered if I ordered the Pork Tendon-loin by accident, judging by the Grade F meat. The Chicken Philly came on one of those rolls that tasted like it had a very long fake ingredients list. With the canned mushrooms, American cheese, and pathetic frozen French fries, even I couldn't get past the first half, which is really saying something.   


You might say we should have stuck to the breakfast. I'd say join the VIP club for 15% off your bill, and go anytime you feel like asking yourself why you didn't go to Leo's, or nearly anywhere else in this town. 

Chicken Philly with French Fries

Harkert's BBQ

4865 Center St
Omaha, NE 68106
(402) 554-0102
Open every day for lunch and dinner
www.harkerts.com

Just poppin' in to tell you that Harkert's Carolina Pork Sandwich is pretty bad ass. Get the large version, as it comes on a kaiser roll. (The "regular" roll is crap.) The cole slaw is tangy and walnut-y, the meat is o so flavorful. The Chicken Parm Sand ain't bad either. Enjoy on the outdoor bench overlooking a classy Center Street strip mall, or indoors with the news blasting and your own paper towel roll at your disposal.

Large Carolina Pork Sandwich (You can't get this at Hartland.)

Chicken Parmesan Sandwich