ALL IN THYME
BAKERY & CAFE
Hoppen Hierarchy: ★★★★
District: Downtown Omaha
Cafe with freshly-baked bread and creative sandwiches
Perfect For: Breakfast/brunch; Lunch; Casual Dining; Takeout
Standout Dishes: Grilled Cheese; Hot Honey Buffalo Chicken Sandwich; Shokupan BLT; Ham & Bacon Breakfast Sandwich
It’s impossible to have an elite sandwich without great bread. Bread should be more than a carb-y delivery vessel to get other food into one’s mouth; it should add flavor, texture, and mouthfeel, taking a good sandwich to another level entirely.
But becoming a great baker is a difficult arduous undertaking that requires great knowledge, patience, and hours upon hours of experimentation. It’s the type of thing most chefs don’t have the time or persistence to pursue.
That’s what makes Andrew Novak different. he’s worked in a variety of roles, including steakhouses, butcher shops, fine dining restaurants, and catering companies. But it was during his five years (including two as sous chef) at The Boiler Room, one of Omaha’s best restaurants and owner of a standout sourdough program, where his love for bread blossomed.
And now he’s putting his passion to use at All in Thyme Bakery & Cafe, which not only sells loaves and boules, but also puts the carbs to work in some of Omaha’s best sandwiches.
All in Thyme operates out of the Ashton Building in Millwork Commons, serving breakfast and lunch. It’s a two-man operation; Andrew does all the baking and cooking in the back, while his partner Cheyenne Loeffler handles the front.
Andrew takes all the skill and painstaking attention to detail he learned while at The Boiler Room and injects that care into seemingly humble dishes like burgers, French toast, and rice bowls. But once you taste this food, you quickly understand it’s not typical cafe fare.
And the couple has big plans for the All in Thyme concept, including a fine dining restaurant (more on that soon). But for now, the highlight is on bread and what delicious elements Andrew can stuff inside it.
There are five house breads that grace the menu: sourdough, focaccia, English muffins, potato buns, and shokupan. The latter, a sweet Japanese milk bread with an incredibly soft, fluffy texture, is the highlight and makes an appearance in All In Thyme’s best sandwiches.
The Grilled Cheese takes your childhood favorite to a whole new level. The shokupan is toasted to give it a nice crisp texture to go with its buttery finish, and the combination of gooey cheddar and smoked gouda give the sandwich a creamy consistency. Adding the braised beef ($6) is a must, as the melt-in-your-mouth meat adds a rich, savory element. Rounding everything out is a sweet pepper jam, which sneaks just the right amount of sugar into each bite.
Not far behind is the Shokupan BLT, which loads crispy bacon, fresh tomatoes, and crisp lettuce into the heavenly milk bread. The bacon fat mayo adds a creamy, rich element, and sliced avocado brings a mild, buttery finish.
And the Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich is in the conversation for Omaha’s best fried chicken sandwich. It all starts with the breaded thigh, which is incredibly moist and juicy. The breading isn’t shatter crispy, but it has a well-formed crust with plenty of craggles.
Those nooks and crannies are perfect for the sweet hot honey to crawl into and give the sandwich a rich sugar-y kick with a subtle underlying heat. The in-house potato bun is airy and slightly sweet, the house pickles add crunch and acidity, and the special sauce is creamy and tangy.
If anything, the sandwich could’ve used a tad more buttery heat from buffalo sauce, but that’s a very minor critique.
All In Thyme’s sandwich mastery carries over into the AM, where the Ham & Bacon Breakfast Sandwich perfectly weaves sweet and salty together like a grandma with 50 years of crocheting experience.
It starts with a house English muffin, which has a delightfully squishy, soft consistency with crisp edges and plenty of pores to soak up all the juices and sauces in the sandwich. Chewy, high quality bacon and smoky ham are layered on with a fried egg, giving this sandwich plenty of salty protein. But just when the salt threatens to overwhelm, relief arrives in stone ground mustard and the brilliant sweetness of onion jam.
It’s not all sandwiches at All In Thyme, however, as beautifully evidenced by the Beet & Citrus Salad. The braised beets are earthy and sweet with a meaty texture. Candied walnuts add sweet crunch, feta brings some tang, and the vinaigrette is a punch of orange. It’s a tad overdressed and wet, but that’s the smallest of complaints.
The Loaded Carnitas Burrito is what other breakfast burritos aspire to be. The pork shoulder, marinated in green chile, is succulent and perfectly porky. Crispy potatoes and chipotle cumin black beans add some tasty carbs, and the scrambled eggs are bouncy and seasoned well. But the rug that pulls the room together is the achiote crema, which brings a moisture the burrito needs while adding a touch of smoke.
The attention to detail in each dish extends to the sides. The Hand Cut French Fries are thick, fluffy, and have just the right amount of seasoning. The Breakfast Potatoes are similar, but with a cubed shape have a bit more fried surface area, thus more texture.
But the best of the bunch is the Crispy Oyster Mushrooms, which combine the bouncy, chewy texture of mushrooms with a crispy breading and a powerfully salty seasoning. Beware: these are seriously addicting.
If you want to buy a loaf of bread to enjoy on its own, All in Thyme sells loaves as well (focaccia on Fridays, sourdough on Saturdays). The bread itself is technically precise; the sourdough has a bit of tang and a soft, resilient crumb with a crusty exterior, while the focaccia is pleasantly light and oily.
Andrew also isn’t afraid to experiment with adding flavors into the bread, especially in the focaccia: the smoked gouda and bacon in particular is brilliant. The Roasted Garlic Parmesan Sourdough melds the sour of the bread with the nutty cheese’s essence and pops of caramelized garlic, while the Lemon Rosemary Focaccia balances the rich dough with peppery, slightly sour flavors.
While the cozy cafe is the main focus now, Andrew and Cheyanne have big plans for All In Thyme. Each have experience at high-end restaurants and hope to return to that style of dining at some point, so they’re conducting occasional prix fixe dinners. The first was an absolute hit, from the wonderfully marbled Wagyu Ribeye to the decadent Egg Nog Creme Brulee to the rich, perfectly al dente Duck Ravioli, served in a salty, creamy parmesan broth.
To stay up to date on any future special dinners, be sure to follow All In Thyme on their social channels.
As exciting as the future of All In Thyme is, the present state is enough to make this one of Omaha’s best sandwich restaurants. The commitment to bread is incredible, and the ingredients inside rival those you’ll find at fine dining restaurants.