BEST OF OMAHA RESTAURANTS: 2022 EDITION
“Where should I go for ____ (insert food here)?”
I get some variation of these question almost daily: best burger, burger African restaurant, best place for an anniversary. I love answering (talking about Omaha’s food scene might legitimately be my favorite thing to do), but I figured I could give you all the info in one tidy spot.
This is my third annual “Best of Omaha” blog (check out the 2020 and 2021 versions, too) where I take popular categories and name the best I had to eat in each in the calendar year. As you plan out your must-have meals in 2023, keep these in mind.
Best Meal: Omakase (Ota)
3 hours. 6 diners. 18 courses of sushi and sashimi. 20+ exclamations of “Holy ___, that’s so good.”
A night at Ota, the omakase room at Yoshitomo, isn’t a meal. It’s an experience.
The intimate space feels more like you’re in a chef’s home, not a restaurant. Diners sit at a counter just feet from David Utterback, a James Beard-nominated chef who cuts, rolls, and plates every bite right in front of you, all the while explaining what makes each fish unique, the secret behind most restaurants’ “wasabi”, the origin stories of Yoshitomo, and how his son bullies him when they play Minecraft together.
Great as the food is, the interaction with Utterback is the highlight of the night. There is no other meal in Omaha that allows you to converse for hours with a chef this talented, knowledgeable, and engaging. This experience is one you’ll never forget.
Honorable mention: Smoker tasting meal (Dante); Ugly Christmas Sweater Tasting Menu (Block 16); Tasting Menu (Au Courant)
Best Dish: Wood-Smoked Beef Short Ribs (Dante)
With handmade pasta and exquisite Neapolitan pizza, Dante was already Omaha’s best Italian restaurant. But what makes this restaurant so great is that it’s constantly pushing and looking for ways to improve… so it bought a smoker this summer.
The restaurant now incorporates smoked pork, bison, rabbit, and chicken into its pastas and pizzas, but the best thing to come off the smoker is the Wood-Smoked Beef Short Ribs. I’ve had brisket from several of the famous joints in Texas, and this is better. The salty bark accents a brilliant pink smoke ring, and the short rib is so unctuous and tender you barely need to chew it; it practically dissolves in your mouth.
Honorable mention: Pork Cheek Vindaloo (Kinaara); Mole Poblano (La Poblanita); Chateau for 2 with Chateaubriand Prime Cut (Committee Chophouse)
Best New Restaurant: Izzy's Pizza Bus
Choosing one winner for this category was painful; I could’ve handed the award to 4 or 5 joints. 2022 was a tremendous year for new Omaha restaurants.
But the winner goes to a food truck that was a smash hit from the moment it arrived from Las Vegas. Lines at Izzy’s Pizza Bus stretched for a block and the bus sold out of pizza nearly every time it opened its window. Once Omahans got a taste of this Detroit-style pizza, they were instantly hooked.
One experience at Izzy’s is all you need to understand why. Each pizza features bouncy, oily dough (think focaccia bread) and a brilliant caramelized cheese crown on its perimeter, created from fatty Wisconsin brick cheese being pressed up against the edges of a rectangular pan. All the pizzas are excellent, but the Red Harvest, with crispy char & cup pepperonis, Mike’s Hot Honey, bacon, and dollops of garlic ricotta, is the true standout.
Honorable mention: Koji; Sauced by Alfaro; Get Real Sandwiches; Phyl’s Deli
Best Burger: Peanut Butter Screwball Whiskey Burger (Sauced by Alfaro)
The flavors in this burger are just as crazy as the name suggests. On paper, it should not work.
But, as she does in every dish, Sauced by Alfaro’s chef/owner Michelle Alfaro brings ingredients and flavors together in a way that you’ve likely never experienced before but will crave for the rest of your being. This former home cook thrives on surprising and thrilling customers as much as she does infusing booze into her cooking; the ever-rotating menu might feature specialties like the Guinness & Swiss sandwich, Bourbon Honey Mustard Wings, and Salted Caramel Whiskey Hand Breaded Chicken Tenders.
Or, if you’re lucky, this burger will make an appearance. The patty is seasoned and cooked perfectly; it needs no accoutrements to be delicious. But the bourbon peanut butter sauce is smoky, nutty Heaven, and it pairs perfectly with the sweet, tart bourbon blackberry jalapeno marmalade. Crispy black pepper bacon adds crunch and fat, and a rush of melted pepperjack envelopes the patty like an amoeba.
Follow Sauced on Facebook to stay up to date on weekly menu changes, because if/when this beauty returns, you’ll get a chance to savor one of Omaha’s best burgers.
Honorable mention: SD Burger (Kamp); Block Burger (Block 16); Nite Owl Burger (Nite Owl); The Big Kahuna (The 4th Station); The Nation (Cheeseburgers—A Takeout Joint)
Best Sandwich: Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich (Sauced by Alfaro)
There’s a reason Sauced by Alfaro keeps showing up on this list. Michelle Alfaro’s dedication to scratch making just about everything that comes out of her kitchen results in a tremendous product with layers of balanced flavor.
This sandwich starts with the brilliant chicken tenders, enormous pieces of poultry that are hand breaded each morning before being fried to crispy perfection. Their texture gives the hot chili oil they’re dunked in all kinds of surface area to touch, giving this sandwich a punch of spice that only builds as you eat more of it.
But just when it seems like the heat might overtake you, the brown sugar in the oil adds a nice sweetness, and the hot honey aioli and bread and butter pickles kick in. The experience is capped off by a buttered and grilled brioche bun, which not only maintains its integrity despite the abundance of chicken, but also sops off more of the delicious oil.
This isn’t just my sandwich of the year; it might be the best sandwich of my life.
Honorable mention: Renegade Chickenwich (Block 16); Crispy Butter Chicken Sandwich (Good Lookin’/Kinaara); Nashville Hot Chicken (Barchen Beer Garden); Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Sandwich (Burning Bridges Food Truck); Birria Torta (Corner Kitchen); The ‘Rami (Phyl’s Deli); Beef Philly (Barrett’s Barleycorn Pub & Grill)
Best Pizza: Hot Honey (Virtuoso Pizzeria)
Few people enjoy doing anything as much as David Losole loves making pizza, and it shows in the product. Every pizza at Virtuoso Pizzeria offers the quintessential New York slice. The crust is thin, airy, and foldable, yet it has enough structure to stand up on its own. The stone-baking process produces charred pockets and additional texture, and the sauce is the perfect balance between sweet and acidic.
But one pie stands above the rest: the Hot Honey. The pizza employs two types of pepperoni—normal discs and char & cup pepperonis that curl into mini grease bowls—ensuring that every millimeter of the pie is covered with porky goodness. The entire pie is drizzled with Mike’s Hot Honey, giving it sweetness and a touch of heat to balance all the fatty, salty pepperoni.
This has my vote for the best pizza in Omaha.
Honorable mention: Red Harvest (Izzy’s Pizza Bus); Detroit Classic (Backlot Taphouse); Pepperoni Pizza (Mootz); Cudduruni (La Casa Pizzaria)
Best Pasta Dish: Lasagna Bolognese (Dante)
Lasagna is a humble comfort food, but Dante takes this familiar dish to the next level. Typically available on Thursday nights, this stick-to-your-ribs delicacy is sure to warm you from the inside out during a cold fall/winter evening.
The hand-rolled pasta has perfect chew, and it’s layered with a rich, hearty bolognese sauce (beef and pork cooked in red wine), silky, creamy bechamel, and freshly-grated cheese to form a delicious pasta mountain. It’s no secret why this dish has gained a cult following.
Honorable mention: Spatzle (Stirnella); Beef Bolognese (WD Cravings); Rigatoni d’Anatra (Via Farina)
Best Breakfast: Chicken & Pancakes (Dirty Birds)
Everyone loves chicken and waffles, right? You’ll find that combo on just about every brunch restaurant in America… except Dirty Birds, which takes the classic dish and turns the flavor up to an 11.
No Omaha restaurant does fried chicken better than Dirty Birds, and these Sweet Tea Tenders are a testament to its proficiency. The dredge gives the chicken a light, crispy exterior while the inner white meat remains tender and moist. The sassafras syrup (think root beer and syrup combined) adds a brilliant but not overpowering sweetness.
The kicker is the pancakes, which combine fluffy innards with a crisp exterior. The sweet flapjacks are studded with tart blackberries and hunks of buttery brie cheese, giving each bite its own unique personality. A bite of the dense, rich pancake with the crunchy chicken is breakfast perfected.
Honorable mention: Banana Pancakes (Saddle Creek Breakfast Club); Breakfast Burrito (Sunnyside on Center); Proper Breakfast Sandwich (Sandwich Proper); The Combo (Lisa’s Radial Cafe)
Best Taco: Fuego Taco (La Poblanita)
It’s all in the name: these are indeed the taco version of the fire emoji.
La Poblanita slow cooks beef in a stew until it’s so juicy it practically shreds itself. The leftover juices provide a bath for the homemade tortilla to be dunked in before it’s fried to a perfect crisp texture on the grill. Then the salty, savory meat is loaded inside with copious amount of mozzarella cheese that melts and oozes out of every crevice.
And if you really want to send this taco over the top, dunk it in the consomme to fortify the deliciousness.
Honorable mention: Bang Bang Shrimp Taco (Sauced by Alfaro); Cachete Taco (Taqueria Tijuana); Birria Taco (Alley Taco 402); Fish Taco (The Churro Spot)
Best Appetizer: Tot-Chos (Nite Owl)
Nite Owl owners Noah & Katie Mock never dreamed this elevated take on bar food would be such a hit. The thought that it would become a best seller and the thing Nite Owl is most known for would seem laughable.
But all it takes is one bite to understand why you’ll see a plate of these on almost every table. Start with the brilliantly crispy tots, hit with just the right amount of salt. Those fried orbs are adorned with gooey queso, bright salsa verde and crema, all made in house, along with cilantro and onions.
Gourmet food, this is not. But you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more addictive forkful in the city.
Honorable mention: Bang Bang Brussels (Sauced by Alfaro); Kani Miso (Koji); Spanakopita (Jim & Jennie’s Greek Village); Elote Bites (Corner Kitchen); Cheesy Pulled Meat Fries (Pulled BBQ)
Best Dessert: Gooey Butter Bar (Stirnella)
Rich and decadent, this Stirnella dessert as as if a blondie and a just-from-the-oven sugar cookie had a baby. The bottom layer is thick and chewy with a subtle vanilla flavor, while the banana curd atop adds a nice sweetness and a creamier consistency. The top is bruleed to create a nice caramelized finish.
The bar alone would be spectacular, but when you combine a bit of it with a spoonful of the Nutella ice cream and shortbread crumble, it’s an elite dessert. Owner Matt Moser laughs at its success because it’s such a simple dish (the bar itself is three ingredients), but the fact that this is one of the few items that never leaves Stirnella’s seasonal, rotating menu, there’s little doubt it’s a success.
Honorable mention: Chocolate Mint Cake (veg.edible); Mexican Hot Chocolate Ice Cream (Coneflower Creamery); Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream (Graley’s Creamery & Confections); Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich (Centi/Sweet Ash Macs)
Best Food Discovery: Mealbox
Mealbox makes no sense to me. And its mind-numbing nature is what makes it brilliant.
Here’s how it works: you place an online order for chef-created meals each week. They arrive on Sundays tucked in individual plastic packages, which you keep in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. Then you pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes, and presto! You have a meal better than you’ll get at many restaurants.
How incredible meals like beef brisket, enchiladas, salmon, and fajitas come out of the microwave boggles my mind. But chef Will Birge, who honed his skills through more than two decades of kitchen work, has unlocked the secret to something incredible.
No cutting, prep, or measuring required. Eat your heart out, Hello Chef and Blue Apron. You have nothing on these meals, and they require 1/10 of the time to create.
Honorable mention: Yakitori (Koji); vegan baked goods (veg.edible); gelato (Centi); saganaki (Jim & Jennie’s Greek Village)
Greatest Loss: Dario's Brasserie
As many great restaurants as Omaha received this year, we also lost some favorites. j coco was the brainchild of one of Omaha’s best chefs, The Hunger Block served Latin American food you just can’t find anywhere, and Lo Sole Mio has been a pillar of the restaurant scene for decades.
But I’ll most miss Dario’s, the Dundee neighborhood bistro that all at once felt upscale and welcoming to all. Specializing in French and Belgian fare, Dario’s wowed fans with its savory crepes, mussels, and spatzle, and its burger was among Omaha’s most beloved.
Fortunately, legendary chef Dario Schicke remains a critical part of Omaha’s dining scene as he’s turned all his attention to his other restaurant, Avoli Osteria. I’m thrilled to see Avoli continue to thrive, but it’ll be a while before I get over losing Dario’s namesake.
Also: The Hunger Block; j coco; Lo Sole Mio; Tired Texan BBQ; Oasis Falafel of Omaha; Culprit Cafe; Ansel’s Pastrami & Bagels