AU COURANT

Hoppen Hierarchy: ★★★★

District: Benson

Tasting Menus and Elevated European Cuisine

Perfect For: Date Night; Upscale Dining; Drinks

Standout Dishes: Chef’s Tasting Menu

So often when discussing different restaurants, I hear the phrase, “best in Omaha” thrown around. It makes sense, of course; given that it’s our home city, we have a frame of reference for what’s available here. Plus, Omaha is a growing food scene with some incredible eateries. I consider it a big compliment to be listed among the city’s best.

But sometimes I wonder if this descriptor is selling some restaurants short. They may be the best in Omaha, but why stop there? Why not say they’re among the best in the Midwest? Maybe even among the best in America?

This is how I feel about Au Courant.

There’s nothing quite like this place in the city. For starters, the restaurant has no standing menu. The roster of dishes morphs each week as Au Courant’s team of chefs, led by Ben Maides (a James Beard award nominee), crafts a new set of courses based on what local ingredients are fresh and available, and what inspires them in the world around them. If you sit at the bar, you’ll get to select from 6-8 different small plates to share.

More enjoyable, however, is ordering the six-course tasting menu, presented over the course of about two hours. One by one, the latest products of the chefs’ imaginations emerge from the kitchen, each more stunning than the last. These plates are strikingly beautiful; every element, from the main protein to a side vegetable to a tangy emulsion, has been placed just so. The dishes are hypnotizing to look at.

Then you dig in and your taste buds are transported a place they’ve never been. Many of the flavors you taste are somewhat familiar, but you’ve never had them presented together, and not with this level of technicality. Each bite elicits not just physical pleasure, but an emotion; you feel the passion and the love that went into the dish.

And every bite is different. Most restaurants’ entrees deliver the same experience bite after bite; that’s not to say it’s not delicious, but you come to know what to expect. Not so at Au Courant. Each bite has the potential to introduce an element your last didn’t: a sauce or emulsion on the side of the plate, a sprig of fresh basil, a charred bite of steak, a pop of sweetness from a kernel of corn. Each forkful has an element of surprise, adding wonder and whimsy to the awe-inspiring flavor.

This is when food becomes more than sustenance. It’s pleasure, imagination, and wonder wrapped into one.

To provide an example, here’s a quick rundown of the tasting menu from my favorite dinner at Au Courant:

French Brie Croquette: This amuse bouche perfectly set the tone for the meal. So much flavor in one bite feels somehow illegal. The rich brie oozed out as my teeth cracked the crispy exterior, and the jalapeno peach jam added a nice 1-2 punch of sweet heat.
Chovy’s Egg: The one constant of the menu will be some presentation of a soft-boiled egg (named for the restaurant’s sous chef). On this occasion, it was the best-tasting falafel I’ve ever had. A dash of smoked beet puree infused the entire dish with a smoky earthiness.
Carpaccio: The thin, raw slices of beef were delicious alone, but benefited from the texture contrast of house made potato chips and pops of caviar.
Agnolotti: Plump purses of pasta contained a dollop of tart goat cheese, which was delicious with the tangy, slightly sweet sauce. Kernels of corn and crispy guanciale provided sweetness, sal, and fat to tie the dish together in perfect harmony.
Octopus: Tender enough to cut with a fork alone, the octopus was the single most flavorful element of the night. The legs were sweet and smoky, almost reminiscent of BBQ sauce. And if all beans tasted like the accompanying white beans, parents would have no trouble getting their kids to eat beans.
Eye of Ribeye: The excellent steak, better than you’ll find at most Nebraska steakhouses, was nearly upstaged by the tremendous quenelle of bacon and mushrooms.
Tahini Cake: The cake was incredibly moist, and accented by a delicious yuzu cream. The honey tuiles added a crunchy element and just the right amount of sweetness to the savory cake.

As you visit Au Courant several times, you notice a familiar building throughout the meal: an amuse bouche, followed by the egg, then a raw preparation (carpaccio, rillette, crudo, etc.), then pasta, then seafood, then beef/steak, then dessert. It’s a journey that builds and builds towards the crescendo. Each dish has a specific role to play, preparing your palate for what’s coming next.

The entire experience is divine.

Keep an eye on Au Courant’s social media accounts for special offerings, such as family-style meals for takeout on the weekends or to-go brunch. The restaurant is always do something fun and creative, so even if you’re not able to sit down for a wonderful evening in the restaurant, you can still enjoy this exquisite cuisine.

I don’t think it’s by any means any insult to call Au Courant one of Omaha’s best restaurants; I do it commonly. But we should correctly honor it, and I believe its shine extends beyond even the great things available in this wonderful city.

It would be naive for me to call Au Courant one of America’s best restaurants because I’ve only eaten at a fraction of the tens of thousands of them out there.

But I can say this with complete confidence: it’s one of the best places I’ve eaten, ever.