A Chowhound Moment in Omaha

[mediakzar]

We’ve spent the past week in Omaha, primarily to attend the College World Series but being our first time in the city, we wanted to sample the local cuisine.

Our first night there, we felt like we might as well make the obligatory visit to a local steak house. We went a little old school and chose Drover’s. Their specialty is whiskey marinated steaks and I have to say my NY Strip steak was tasty and well cooked. (I ordered medium rare and it came medium rare.) It wasn’t the best steak I’ve ever eaten in my life but it was certainly good and not over priced. Part of any dinner at Dover’s is a visit to the salad bar where we were greeted by a sign that says "Omaha's first salad bar started in 1968. We preserve the original quality". And true enough, it was a salad bar that you would have expected to see in 1968; iceberg lettuce, canned purple beets, cukes, onions, croutons, carrots & bell peppers. They did go a little crazy with that new fangled poppy seed dressing and sun flower seeds. For what it was, the salad was actually very fresh.

The next evening we had a terrific meal at M's Pub on 11th in the Old Market district. While the central bar does take up a large part of the open room, this is really a restaurant that has a bar rather than a pub that serves bar food.

My wife had the Florentine Lahvosh, a cracker based thin crust pizza with scallions, spinach and tomato that is a local specialty. And I had a seared duck breast special served on a pool of creamy white polenta. I love duck and this one was a generous portion, well seasoned and perfectly cooked. M’s has a nice wine list and the St Hallett Shiraz was a good match for both our dishes. I would recommend M’s Pub to anyone.

That was a great meal at M’s Pub but the real defining moment of our eating in Omaha came on our 3rd night there. We like Thai and Vietnamese food and wherever we visit we try to research the best in town. I had read some good reviews about Bangkok Cuisine on Farnam St in the heart of downtown Omaha. As expected, the façade and doorway was unimpressive. Once inside the restaurant we found a small rectangular room with Formica topped tables, metal chairs and a few pictures and other chochkies on the walls. There was a single waiter who apologized for not being able to serve beer or wine when we ordered a Sing Ha and what looked like a husband and wife in the kitchen.

We had read that the portions were on the small side but the prices were so reasonable (actually the prices were cheap but I hate using that word) so we ordered multiple entrees. Everything the waiter brought to the table was unique and terrific. The pad Thai was seasoned with a smoked chili powder that not only gave it a darker color than we normally see but added a whole new (for us) layer of flavor. The sourness of the fish sauce in the green papaya salad was perfectly balanced by a hint of sweetness. The very simple chicken in green curry was delicious. But to me, the best dish we ordered was the Plah Rad Prik (deep fried chunks of fish in red curry.)

All dishes can be ordered by a 1-10 heat index and our request for 7 was spicy but well short of “too hot.”

Our experience at Bangkok Cuisine was so good; we went back a couple nights later for a 2nd meal there and again, couldn’t have been happier with the food. It was such a treat and unexpected surprise to find a restaurant that is serving authentic Thai cuisine in of all places; Omaha, Nebraska. (Not quite the feeling we had after our first meal at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas but pretty darn close.)

While this place might consider making a few changes in the decoration, they don’t need lessons from anyone when it comes to the preparation of food. They’ve got that part of formula right the first time.

[sladeums]

for best results i recommend going to Bangkok Cuisine outside of lunch hours Monday through Friday.

they generally do pretty heavy business from the surrounding offices and really don't have the staff or kitchen to handle it sometimes.

last time i went around noon it took 90 minutes in and out the door for an order of Larb Gai.
really good food, though.

they are usually totally slammed between 1130 and 1 during the week.
but after 1 and on weekends you can frequently have the place to yourself.

they used to do a lunch buffet a couple days a week...not sure if they still do or not.