OMAHA RESTAURANTS GUY FIERI NEEDS TO VISIT
Dear Guy Fieri,
I am a huge fan of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I’ve spent countless hours watching you travel the country in search of under-the-radar restaurants and wildly creative concepts and dishes. Your show helped develop my intense love for food.
That’s why I’m writing you, and why I’m imploring you to come back to Omaha.
It’s been years since you’ve visited our city, Guy, and the food scene has completely changed. Four of the six Omaha restaurants you’ve featured on DDD have closed, and a slew of interesting concepts and forward-thinking, talented chefs have taken their place. I would love for you to come back and let us show you how our food scene has evolved.
I feel your show selects restaurants based off two key elements: the food (obviously) and the story. So to help you, I listed the credentials of each restaurant in both these categories.
So where should you go? Here are my top 10 suggestions…
Block 16
The story: Block 16 is the perfect embodiment of a DDD restaurant: it’s quirky, it has personality, it’s an integral part of the city, and, most importantly, it serves some incredible food. Owners Jessica Joyce Urban & Paul Urban have fine dining backgrounds, but in 2012 transformed a downtown gyro joint into Omaha’s hottest lunch restaurant. Their world travels and unstoppable creativity have created a craveable menu and more than 1,500 specials, with a new one birthed each day.
The food: Block 16’s creations may seem wild on the surface, but the flavor combinations just work. It takes all the elements of poutine and stuffs them in a grilled burrito (Poutine Burrito). It has an amped-up sloppy joe sandwich with jalapeno cornbread slices as bread (Sloppy Nick). It has fries topped with spicy dragon sauce, cheese curds, scallions, and a crushed fortune cookie (Dragon Fries).
And that’s all before we get to Block 16’s daily specials, which take insane food ideas and not only make them palatable, but delicious. Who else would fill a waffle cone with mac & cheese and roll it up with Nashville hot chicken strips in a burrito? Who would think to make a sandwich with fried pieces of lasagna as buns? And these aren’t social media gimmicks, Guy—they actually taste incredible.
Oh, and your former Food Network colleague Alton Brown called Block 16’s signature item, the Croque Garcon, his favorite hamburger in America. I can keep going, Guy, but I think I’ve made my case. As Block 16 would say, get down here!
Sauced by Alfaro
The story: Owner/chef Michelle Alfaro is a self-trained home cook who left her comfortable company job to pursue her love of cooking and open Sauced by Alfaro. That passion causes her to make everything herself, including the restaurant’s litany of homemade sauces (many reinforced with some type of booze) that are, as you would say, good enough to eat on a flip flop. Everything, from the forming of the burger patties to the breading of the chicken tenders to the cutting of the fries, is done by hand on the day of service, and that care and attention to detail shows in the food.
The food: The flavors bursting forth from this ever-changing menu are extraordinary. The Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich features a perfect sweet/heat balance to make it the best in Omaha. The Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos are ridiculous. And her burgers of the month are as wildly creative as they are delicious: the most popular are the Bourbon Cranberry Brie and Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey versions.
Kathmandu Momo Station
The story: Owner Sagar Gurung wanted to bring the street food of his native Nepal to Omaha. So he began hosting pop-ups serving momo—Nepalese dumplings—and Omahans loved the supple meat purses so much that he’s now opened two permanent locations of Kathmandu Momo Station.
The food: I’ve heard you profess many times to be a “dumpling junkie”, yet to my knowledge, you’ve never featured momo on DDD. Forgive me if I missed that episode, but these momo are worth a trip to Omaha alone. Ordered steamed or fried, the dumplings are stuffed with a savory mix of chicken or pork and vegetables. The dough is tender and has just the right amount of chew, and the innards burst with flavor. These heavenly pillows can be dipped in one of Kathmandu’s housemade sauces or eaten in a delicious hot and sour soup.
But Kathmandu isn’t a one-trick dumpling pony. Sagar’s business partner, Aagyu Subedi, added her family’s traditional Burmese noodle soup to the menu, too. What started as a pop-up has blossomed into a beloved Omaha staple with multiple locations—sounds right up your alley, Guy.
Mootz
The story: Owner Collin Adkisson cut his teeth working in various Italian restaurants throughout Omaha, but he (like so many) was furloughed when COVID-19 hit. Undeterred, Collin experimented making pizzas in pizza ovens in his backyard. After his neighbors and friends raved about them, he began offering them for delivery, which evolved into a food truck, which evolved into what will soon be a brick and mortar. Though still in his early 20s, Collin has Omaha hooked on Mootz.
The food: The crust at Mootz is unlike any in Omaha, as it puffs up into an airy inner tube of doughy goodness. The dough is delightfully chewy on the outside (imagine biting into a bouncy stress ball that tasted like fresh-baked bread) with a thinner, foldable middle. Each bite is infused with soft, creamy Fior di Latte Mozzarella cheese.
Nite Owl
The story: After years of living in foodie destinations Austin and Portland, owners Noah and Katie Mock wanted a place that provided excellent cocktails with standout, late-night bar food for hospitality industry workers getting off their shift. They had no aspirations of becoming a dining destination, but guests fell so in love with the food that Nite Owl developed an alter ego as a go-to restaurant.
The food: This is bar food elevated to the 10th degree. We’re talking Tot-Chos, a plate of perfectly crispy tater tots topped with housemade salsa verde, queso fresco, crema; a burger with smash patties that’s on par with just about any in Omaha; enormous, meaty wings with global flavors; and tremendous bao buns. Most bars serve food just acceptable enough to share as a table and soak up the alcohol; Nite Owl provides dishes that run laps around standard bar fare.
Dirty Birds
The story: Best friends and roommates Dan Whalen and Moses Moseley developed a deep bond while working as cooks at beloved eatery Kitchen Table. They dreamed of opening a fried chicken joint, and a few successful pop-ups confirmed Omahans couldn’t get enough of this crunchy poultry. In 2022 Dirty Birds moved into the Flatiron Building, one of Omaha’s most historic locations, and established themselves as the city’s fried chicken kings. And these dudes are cut from the same cloth as you, Guy; they bring a devil-may-care attitude to the kitchen.
The food: The first thing you notice about Dirty Birds’ plates is the size: the famed chicken sandwiches are as big as volleyballs. The first thought you have when these monsters hit the table is, “There is no way I’m finishing this.” But the chicken is so moist and juicy, the breading so crispy, and the house pickles so thick and crunchy, you can’t yourself from digging in for bite after bite, no matter how close your stomach is to capacity. The Dirty Birds’ crew scratch makes everything, from the mayo to the pickles to the now famous blackberry brie flapjacks in the Chicken and Pancakes.
Barrett's Barleycorn Pub & Grill
The story: Like Nite Owl, Barrett’s Barleycorn Pub & Grill was never supposed to be a dining destination. It was an Irish watering hole serving up shots, bottles of Guinness, and good times galore. But people took a love to the sloppy, napkin-killing dishes coming out of this tiny kitchen, and now the food is as big an attraction as the drinks.
The food: Alcohol is responsible for much of what makes Barrett’s special: the subtle twists were often hatched by the owners while recovering from a late night or as hangover cures. That’s how they came up with the famous Chicken Philly, which marinates shredded chicken in teriyaki and Szechaun sauce before enrobing it in a melty mess of Swiss and cream cheese. Or how they decided to grilled their PB&J and craft the famous One-Eyed Mick sandwich.
But hangovers aren’t responsible for all Barrett’s creations, though; these guys can flat out cook. Omaha claims to have invented the Reuben, and this bar just might have the city’s best version of the famous sandwich.
Piezon's Pizzeria
The story: I’m not sure if you’ve heard, Guy, but Nebraska football is king in the Cornhusker state. So when two-time national champion Matt Vrzal decided to open a sports bar, it figured to be a success. But Vrzal and his crew proved they could provide more than a good time; they make arguably the best pizza in Omaha. A beloved community icon, “Vrz” can almost always be found either at the pizza ovens or trading barbs with regulars around the restaurant.
The food: This is quintessential New York-style pizza, with a thin, crispy crust, gooey, melty mozzarella cheese, and bits of char from the deck stone ovens. The aptly-named Oh Mio Dio employs fiery chicken, a pig’s worth of pepperoni, and copious gobs of cream cheese to form one of Omaha’s best pies. Not only that, but Pastrami Sandwich is such a salty, fatty delight that diners swear it’s better than Katz’s Delicatessen in New York—which is ironic, because Vrzal got the recipe by calling the restaurant and asking for it. Seriously, Guy, you have to meet Vrz!
Taco Co.
The story: Michael Sanchez left his successful corporate job to come back to Omaha and help resuscitate Maria’s, his grandmother’s beloved Mexican joint. As he watched customers place order after order for the famous puffy tacos, he wondered, why not build a concept around these treasured tacos? And thus, Taco Co. was born.
The food: Taco Co.’s puffy tacos are wizardry. Though the shells are deep-fried, they’re not at all gummy or greasy. Rather, they’re crisp and have personalized air pockets—no two taco shells are the same here. Taco Co. could stuff these shells with baby food or wet socks and they’d still be delicious, but fortunately it opts for buttery steak, tender shredded barbacoa, juicy carnitas, and more.
Saddle Creek Breakfast Club
The story: Saddle Creek Breakfast Club is the perfect blend of the homey, greasy-spoon diner and trendy upscale brunch joint. Despite having a kitchen the size of most restaurants’ pantries, SCBC pumps out updated versions on breakfast classics that have lines spilling out the door on weekdays, not to mention peak brunch hours. Owner Chase Thompson prides himself on taking techniques used for dinner plates and applying them to the breakfast realm.
The food: SCBC takes your favorite breakfast foods and turns the dial up to 11. That means eggs Benedict with rich short rib, fluffy pancakes topped with fresh banana slices and an airy, nutty peanut butter whip, and breakfast burritos that’ll make your eyes roll back into your head. But the kicker is the breakfast sandwich to end all breakfast sandwiches: the Cali Club. This beauty stuffs bacon, avocado, and a perfectly cooked sunnyside egg (sorry, Guy, just trust me), inside a buttery croissant slathered in chipotle mayo. This rich, decadent day-starter is worth the extra 2 hours on the treadmill.
These are but a sample of the restaurants I could’ve recommended to you, Guy. Omaha is sprawling with restaurants that are perfect for your show, and I’d love to see you highlight them. If you ever want to bring the ’68 Camaro to Omaha, these restaurants would be proud to show you what they have to offer.