A GIFT I CAN NEVER
HOPE TO REPAY
I love to tell people that the Omaha restaurant community is unlike any in America.
This is, of course, an unprovable statement. Making such a subjective claim is like arguing the value of bone-in versus boneless wings, or that Brooke Williamson is the best ever Top Chef competitor. Everyone has strong opinions on the topic, but there’s no way to definitively prove who’s right.
Even so, I’d love to see another restaurant community do what Omaha’s did Saturday night.
What follows is a story about what happened on my birthday (Feb. 7), but I cannot be more clear about this: this story is not about my birthday. It’s about the restaurants of this city and the genuine love they have for their diners.
I love celebrating other people’s birthdays, but as someone who doesn’t enjoy attention or being celebrated, I couldn’t care less about my own. The only celebrating I wanted was a delicious dinner at The Boiler Room, where my wife told me we had a reservation Saturday night.
Omaha had other plans.
My wife, who insisted on driving, instead pulled up to Archetype Coffee in Little Bohemia. Waiting there was the rest of my family and Kristina Lee, the owner of Nice Rollz and someone I already considered to be an amazing human. My admiration of her would only ascend as the night went on.
Kristina had caught wind of my upcoming birthday and wanted to make it special. So she talked to Isaiah Sheese, Achetype’s owner, and borrowed the space for the night. Then she spent her valuable time (keep in mind this is someone who routinely works 80 hours a week) to reach out to many of my favorite restaurants and ask them to contribute to a special dinner.
When we arrived Saturday night, a spread provided by 18 restaurants awaited us. Nearly every cuisine was on the menu, from barbecue (Porky Butts BBQ) to pizza (Dante) to falafel and shawarma (Oasis Falafel of Omaha) and Indian cuisine (Kinaara). V. Mertz even contributed a black truffle, one of the most valuable items in the culinary world, to be shaved on top of whatever we chose. These restaurants had all dropped off a fresh meal or one to be prepared later. It was an embarrassment of riches.
But as great as the food was, the gesture itself was more meaningful than any flavor could ever hope to be. Each of these restaurants (I’ve listed them all below), took time out of their Saturday afternoon/evening (often the most busy time of the week) to drop off food at Archetype. James Beard-nominated Dario Schicke, the legendary chef of Dario’s Brasserie and Avoli Osteria, came down to make fresh fusilli pasta with bolognese sauce and whipped ricotta cheese, then offered to shave the truffle tableside. And Jesús Iñiguez, who was introducing the world to his authentic tamale pop-up Icniuhtli the following day, sacrificed some of his valuable prep time to give us three versions of the product (which were absolutely incredible). Paul Urban even took a quick break from his shift at Block 16 to deliver a tray of Poutine Burritos, one of my favorite all-time food items.
Are you kidding me?
The star of the show was Kristina. Don’t forget, this is a Saturday night, when she normally is not working (and should be enjoying a well-deserved break). Instead she was refilling water glasses and clearing dishes. That level of selflessness leaves me speechless.
I was stunned, teary-eyed, and a bit overwhelmed (in a good way).
Let’s be perfectly clear here: I’ve never done anything tangible for Omaha’s restaurants. I genuinely admire a lot of the chefs and cooks in this city, and when they serve me a great meal (which is often), I do my best to hype them up on social media and point others to support them. I’ve also hosted a good number of them on the Restaurant Hoppen podcast, a medium that allows them to tell both their personal stories and that of their food. Those contributions are meaningful, yes, but there is no way to monetarily quantify their impact. For all I know, I’m the tree that falls in the empty forest—does anyone actually hear me?
I also have no restaurant experience, and while I ravenously devour knowledge through documentaries, books, blogs, articles, and conversations, I am an outsider to a very tight-knit group. There is no job truly like working in a kitchen, and it’s almost impossible for someone who hasn’t done it to understand what the life is like. I wouldn’t blame Omaha’s restaurant community for partially bringing me in—I support them, but I’m not one of them.
And yet, they’ve embraced me fully and without hesitation.
I truly don’t understand it. But that’s what Omaha is.
It’s cliche to say someone will “give you the shirt off their back”, but I honestly believe that’s what these people do. In a pandemic, when all restaurants are severely hurting, they went out of their way to provide for an outsider with absolutely no expectation of anything in return.
They just wanted to make someone happy.
To me, that’s the definition of hospitality. And it’s what makes Omaha special. Find me another city that would do something this incredible for some random guy with a podcast.
I’ll wait.
In the meantime, allow me to shoutout all the restaurants, chefs, bakeries, and coffee shops that contributed. There are dozens more that also represent Omaha’s ethos and I’d recommend to anyone, but I have to give recognition to these incredible places: Archetype Coffee, Avoli Osteria, Au Courant, Block 16, The Boiler Room, Cupcake Island, Dante, Icniuhtle, Kinaara, Kitchen Table, Kathmandu MoMo Station, Nice Rollz, Oasis Falafel of Omaha, Porky Butts BBQ, V. Mertz, Via Farina, WD Cravings, and Wonton Jon’s. I fully endorse each and every one of these restaurants, and I’m forever grateful for the selfless kindness they showed me. Please support them and show them the care they’ve shown our community.
It’s also extremely important for me to note that I don’t do what I do because I want handouts or free food—quite the opposite, in fact. When I recommend restaurants, it’s because I love their food, their passion, and their story, not because they tried to bribe me. I’ve had restaurants I would not recommend try to give me free food or get me to visit. This experience will also not alter the way I approach restaurants (these ones or others) moving forward. But I was so overwhelmed by this experience, I simply had to share it. If you think that colors my opinions as a food writer/podcaster, so be it. This was an uncommon show of appreciation, and I’d forever kick myself if I didn’t acknowledge these amazing people.
Omaha’s restaurant family is one like no other. I don’t give a damn if I can’t prove it. I’ll swear on it until the day I die.