BURNING BRIDGES

Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★⭑

Juicy Lucy Burgers & Fried Chicken Sandwiches

Perfect For: Casual Dining; Takeout; Lunch

Standout Dishes: Guten Free Fried Chicken Sandwich; Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich

Zach Bridges didn’t grow up in the restaurant industry and had no aspirations of owning a restaurant until a few years ago. But once the culinary bug bit him, he was fully hooked, and he set out with a goal of making some of Omaha’s best fried chicken sandwiches.

Given the popularity and rapid of rise of Burning Bridges, it’s safe to say he’s achieved that goal.

Zach has no professional culinary training, but a majority of his childhood was spent by his dad’s side in the kitchen or in front of the TV, glued to The Food Network. He cooked for friends and dreamed of one day starting a food truck, but considered his jobs and machinery and construction more stable.

But the food truck idea was embedded in his head and he just couldn’t shake it. So when Isaiah Renner and Kevin Wyatt, food truck veterans and the owners of the food truck hub Trucks & Taps, offered to let Zach work on their trucks on nights and weekends, he jumped at the opportunity.

Never mind that he was still working 60-hour weeks at his normal job or that his wife, Katie, was pregnant. Zach was hooked, and he was determined to put in whatever hours it took to learn how to make his eventual truck successful.

In whatever spare time he had, he tinkered with recipes he’d honed over the years, starting with his fried chicken. He had friends that required gluten free recipes, so he worked particularly hard to adapt his breading to suit their needs.

He started with a food truck in 2021, but his dishes became so wildly popular that Burning Bridges moved to a brick and mortar in late 2024. And the burgers and chicken sandwiches have had lines out the door ever since.

The headliner is the Gluten Free Fried Chicken Sandwich. The first thing you notice about this sandwich its mass: it’s about the size of a cantelope. The chicken thigh, pounded thin and with plenty of crispy, craggly edges, is so large that it spills outside the bun in several places. Credit to Rotella’s, though: for as massive as the chicken is, the bun holds up and doesn’t fall apart during the eating process.

But the flavor of the sandwich is even greater than its outlandish heft. Marinated in a mixture of buttermilk, greek yogurt and hot sauce then hand-breaded, the chicken emerges from the fryer with a brilliant crunchy texture, and Zach’s seasoning mix gives the batter a serious punch of savory flavor. The breading application is a bit heavier on this sandwich than most, but the chicken thigh inside remains incredibly moist and tender.

The truck’s Zesty White Sauce is a mix between cajun mayo and creamy mustard, giving it a zippy tang. Put this sauce on anything and it instantly gets 25% better. Crisp, acidic pickles and a toasted potato bun round out what is nothing short of an incredible sandwich.

Plus, Zach employs a gluten free flour in his breading, allowing those with food allergies to enjoy a delicacy strictly off limits to them.

As an added bonus, Burning Bridges will bump the heat up to 11 with its Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich. That massive pile of poultry is dunked in a cayenne-infused oil to deliver a spicy kick that tingles the lips without ruining one’s stomach for the rest of the day.

Burning Bridges offers burgers crafted with lean, delicious Certified Piedmontese beef, but it’s worth watching for when the restaurant runs its Classic Juicy Lucy special. This burger opts to not place cheese atop the burger, but rather stuffs it between the patties. This Minnesota-based technique is difficult to perfect, and many restaurants that offer Juicy Lucys do it poorly. But executed properly, Juicy Lucys are an elevated burger experience.

The first bite into Burning Bridges’ burger is as if a dam was broken and a river of gooey, warm cheese gushes forth. The sharp cheddar balances perfectly with its brilliant cage: two smashed patties crimped at the edges. The traditional burger toppings—ketchup, mustard, tomato, greens—are fine, but the heroes are the tremendous patty and the rush of molten cheese.

Burning Bridges also often has special dishes on the menu, ranging from Philly cheesesteaks to Fried Catfish, Mini Cheesecakes, and Guinness Braised Lamb Shank. Whatever Zach gets inspired by might be on the menu within the next week. A great example of this is the Chicken & Waffles, which pairs that same brilliant, crunchy thigh from the sandwich with a dense, crunchy waffle studded with cheddar cheese and bacon. If it sounds a bit dry, just drench the dish in the zesty white sauce.

As far as side dishes go, the Twister Fries are perfectly acceptable. They’re a bit on the softer side and don’t have a ton of flavor, but frying the potatoes in beef tallow does give them more of a savory, full-bodied taste.

What’s truly exciting about Burning Bridges is that Zach is just getting started. His truck ascended very quickly and things have only gotten more popular since Burning Bridges established its brick and mortar.

When someone elevates humble food to another level, it tends to get noticed, and that’s why Burning Bridges is absolutely worth checking out.