If you live in Omaha, use social media and have even a passing interest in food, you’ve most likely already seen photos of Clio, the latest in a series of new concepts opened by Flagship Restaurant Group in downtown Omaha.  I wracked my brain for recent times that a restaurant has exploded in the style […] The post The SBH Review: Clio is the hottest restaurant in Omaha. Can it handle the heat? appeared first on Sarah Baker Hansen ..read more

There are some restaurants that succeed because they use the tools of the trade – atmosphere or technique or the food itself – to transport a diner to a different place. Reis’ Bakery, for example, is a small storefront in a west Omaha strip mall. But it has the power to take you straight to […] The post The SBH Review: Paris on Pacific Street? A new bakery in a west Omaha strip mall can take you there. appeared first on Sarah Baker Hansen ..read more

Handfuls of crispy edged pork arrive tucked neatly into doubled homemade corn tortillas, each warm and topped with soft sauteed onions, fresh cilantro and a verdant slice of avocado. Raw radishes and wedges of lime bring heat and acid, and a bright, spicy green salsa adds tang.  This dish – tacos al pastor — is […] The post The SBH review: New west Omaha Mexican spot at its best when it sticks to bold cuisine appeared first on Sarah Baker Hansen ..read more

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again: time to eat on the sidewalk, bask in the summer sunshine, drink something fruity and let’s be honest, sweat a little bit.  I love patio season. There’s something special about dining outside. Food tastes better. Seasonal drinks take on an ultra-refreshing vibe. Happy hours outdoors with friends seem right any night of the week. And Omahans love it too. I did three interviews with three restaurateurs who run popular but very different patios to ask them why that seems to be the case, year after year. It’s a question that has many good answers ..read more

My personal faves tend to veer toward east Omaha, since I’m a longtime east Omaha resident. But I love patios across this fine city. Here are my picks. Mr. Toad 1002 Howard St. I like Mr. Toad, an old-school Old Market bar, year round, but there is a particular charm about its patio, located on one of the main corners of the neighborhood, at 10th and Howard streets. Half-circular booths and tables get shaded by mature trees during the day and lit by fairy lights in the evening. The cocktails are stiff and affordable, and in the summer, I almost always find myself ordering a classic gin and ton ..read more

There are a million different ways to start a restaurant review. This one begins with macaroni and cheese.  In this case, a rather Omaha famous macaroni and cheese, a version of it I didn’t think I’d ever be eating again.  The mac and cheese in question is served at Ooh De Lally, the new, nonprofit, mission-driven restaurant that this spring took over the iconic second-floor bay occupied for decades by Marks Bistro. Diners – myself included – mourned the loss of that signature spot when it closed about three years ago. We mourned the loss of its aerial view of Underwood Avenue, its w ..read more

When you live in the most landlocked state in the country, one of the rarest restaurants you see is the one focused on the upper northeast, where seafood – not beef – is king.  Sand Point, which opened near 114th and Dodge in fall 2023, has taken a dive straight into the icy Atlantic and is swimming like crazy, serving a Maine-inspired menu of mussels, lobster rolls, clams, crab and fresh fish. Its owner confirmed what I suspected – it can often feel like swimming against the current. It’s challenging to reel seafood into Omaha. It’s more challenging still to get fresh enough seafood to m ..read more

The crust on the pie at Dolomiti Pizzeria and Enoteca is craggy and crisp, with dark bubbles and burnt bits, its finish airy and chewy, its flavor deep.  Here’s what might be the most unusual thing about it: the chef making it.  “I don’t know pizza,” Dolomiti’s chef, Roberto Garcia, told me after my two recent visits to the new north downtown restaurant, which quietly opened inside Millwork Commons in December and quickly became one of the city’s buzziest spots.  You wouldn’t know that the chef at the helm of the pistachio green Marana Forni oven — imported to Omaha straight fro ..read more

I am truly excited to share that my reviews will now be featured every other Thursday on Flatwater Free Press. They’ll also be featured in a new Flatwater Free Press weekly e-mail newsletter focused solely on Omaha, which you can sign up for here. Both the Nebraska focused and the Omaha focused newsletters, as well as all the content on FFP, are available for free. The reviews will be featured here the following day, every other Friday, as well as in my own email newsletter, so not much will change. I’m so glad I launched a tiny blog in January of 2020 (perhaps the worst idea I ever had) and k ..read more

Sometimes a cruise around the internet leads you to an excellent bánh mì sandwich.  In this case, it also led me to some nice steamed hot chicken dumplings, a big bowl of hot pho on that one cool day last week and an excellent boba tea made with mint and sparkling water.  I hadn’t heard much chatter about Phôba, near 180th and Q streets in Millard, so I decided to check it out.  This little Vietnamese spot serves a full menu of boba tea and smoothies, Thai green papaya salads and a handful of Chinese dishes, like fried rice and General Tso’s chicken and Vietnamese classics like ..read more