11 GREAT OMAHA UNDER-THE-RADAR CHEAT MEALS
Maybe you’ve had a rough week at work and really need a pick-me-up. Or you’ve stuck hard and true to your diet and have earned an indulgent feast. Maybe you’re just in a celebratory mood and, for this night, calories just don’t matter.
Whatever reason you might have to crave a cheat meal, Omaha has a bevy of options.
But for this blog, I want to focus on some of the lesser-known over-the-top dishes. If you’ve lived in Omaha for a minute, you know about the epic burgers and Poutine Burrito at Block 16, the rich, fatty burnt ends at Porky Butts BBQ, and the glorious bricks of lasagna at Dante. For this post, I wanted to highlight some under-the-radar dishes that you might not have heard of but will satisfy your glutinous needs in all the right ways.
Bangers & Mash (Dire Lion Grille & Chippy)
The last thing a heaping amount of mashed potatoes and gravy needs is more carbs, right? The Dire Lion food truck heard that statement and said, “Hold my beer.”
Dire Lion nails all the essential elements in this gluttonous British pub staple: creamy garlic mashed potatoes running with butter, fatty sausages with just the right amount of spice, and a rich gravy. The truck also adds caramelized onions, which cut through all the heavy elements for a nice touch of sweetness.
But Dire Lion ups the sinful ante by loading it all into a split roll, which is buttered and toasted on the griddle. The extra carbs might seem superfluous, but the crispy bread adds a welcome texture component.
Double Burger (Kamp)
Few things scream “indulgence” like a hearty, cheesy burger, and the SD Burger at Kamp is proof. This beefy masterpiece starts with two patties that are smashed onto the griddle, creating an awesome crispy, caramelized crust for additional texture.
Each patty is adorned with a blanket of gooey, flowing American cheese, which envelops the beef like an amoeba. Caramelized onions and house pickles cut through all the fat with sweetness and tang, respectively.
Then comes the SD sauce, a sweet, creamy concoction that puts McDonald’s Big Mac sauce to shame. It’s tangy and rich, tying together one of Omaha’s finest burgers. This mess of a burger requires the sacrifice of at least 14 napkins will add another 45 minutes to your workout, but it’s all worth it.
Hatch Mac Burrito (Muchachos)
Burritos are indulgent. So is mac & cheese. So is BBQ.
And when you throw them all together in one neat package, you get a brilliantly sinful experience.
Muchachos has some of the best smoked meats in Omaha, highlighted by its tender, smoky brisket. A generous portion is loaded into a griddled burrito shell along with mac & cheese. But this isn’t your typical Kraft mac; these elbow noodles are glued together with a creamy hatch chile queso. This is a burrito worth breaking a diet for.
Birria Poblanita Fries (La Poblanita)
I have a pretty iron will when it comes to sinful shared appetizers. I’m normally pretty good about taking a few bites to get a sense of the experience, then holding off until the entrees arrive.
But even I don’t stand a chance with these loaded fries from La Poblanita.
First, the bed of waffle fries breaks modern science by remaining crispy despite the mountain of toppings La Poblanita adds. The spuds are held together by a web of cheese (a 6-cheese blend!) and topped with creamy guac and sour cream. But what really sets this dish over the top is the birria meat. Stewed for hours until it’s fork tender, this beef is rich and hearty enough to ensure you’ll be digging in for forkful after forkful of this plate long after you intended to stop.
Jalapeno Popper French Toast (Lemon Tree Cafe)
You thought French toast was already pretty sinful? Just wait until Lemon Tree Cafe gets its hands on it. This Ralston restaurant offers a few versions of stuffed French toast, but this appetizer-inspired adaptation takes the cake.
Two slices of rich, fluffy egg bread are loaded with jalapeño cream cheese, dunked into custard, coated with corn flakes, and cooked to a perfect golden brown on the griddle. This combination of familiar warm, vanilla flavors and silky smooth filling already create a hearty dish.
But Lemon Tree isn’t close to done. Two medium fried eggs join the party, along with a hearty serving of crispy bacon. The whole dish is adorned with a generous squeeze of hot honey. It’s a beast… but the addition of strawberries on the side cancels out the calories, right?
Elote Tots (Corner Kitchen)
Corner Kitchen boldly mashes together two side dishes to create this delectable appetizer. It starts with a bed of plump, crunchy, salty pillows of deep-fried potatoes. Corner Kitchen mimics elote, a popular Mexican street dish, by covering the mound in chili-lime mayo, about four ears worth of corn, and crumbly cotija cheese. The tots remain crispy despite the dousing of mayo, which adds a creaminess to cut through the crisp potatoes.
Technically, this is a shared plate, but you’ll be fighting your fellow diners to ensure you get the final bites.
Bacon Cinnamon Roll (A Catered Affair)
A Catered Affair‘s standard cinnamon rolls are already a once-in-a-while treat. Roughly the size of Pluto, the homemade rolls have a crisp edge protecting soft, gooey, cinnamon-forward innards. Adorned with a heaping portion of sweet vanilla frosting, this beauty is the perfect way to start a treat-yo-self day.
But it gets even better when A Catered Affair adds the bacon. Because we’re not just talking bacon crumbles on top—that would be too easy. No, there are strips of bacon cooked inside every layer of this cinnamon roll, giving it a wonderful saltiness to balance all the sugar. I’d estimate there are 6-8 slices of bacon packed inside. If a cinnamon roll with a half pack of bacon doesn’t sound awesome to you, I don’t know what does.
Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich (Barchen Beer Garden)
Omaha has some fine examples of Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, and Barchen Beer Garden‘s rendition is among the best. The chicken alone stands out, as the exterior has a nice crunch while the meat remains moist and juicy. The dredge creates all kinds of nooks and crannies during the frying process, which not only add texture, but allow extra areas for the sauce to take residence.
That’s important, because the fried poultry is then baptized in a pepper-and-brown sugar oil, giving it a brilliant sweet heat. A buttered bun, fat, juicy pickles, and garlic mayo complete the sandwich. Even ordered at its hottest level, this Nashville hot won’t leave your stomach in knots. Bonus: it’s served alongside some of Omaha’s best fries.
Sparky Slice (Lighthouse Pizza & Fries)
There can be arguments about what restaurant serves the best pizza in Omaha, but there’s no debating which one offers the largest. That distinction belongs to Lighthouse Pizza & Fries, home of the famous 9-inch slice. These slices are so massive, one of them fills a 10-x-10 box.
But the size of the pie is far from the only reason to visit Lighthouse. Its dough is firm yet light, and it’s cooked hot and fast in the oven to give it bubbly pockets and tasty charring.
While Lighthouse offers several creative slices and the ability to customize your slice with hundreds of topping combinations, the Sparky Slice is the way to go. It starts with a mild wing sauce that has just the right amount of sugar to play with the saltiness of the giant pepperonis and Italian sausage crumbles. Dollops of cream cheese and slices of fresh jalapeno add mild sweetness and heat, respectively.
There aren’t many places where one slice of pizza would constitute a cheat meal, but Lighthouse is the delicious outlier.
Reuben (Barrett's Barleycorn & Pub)
I’m not here to debate what restaurant serves Omaha’s best Reuben; that argument could last hours with no resolution. I’m just here to tell you that Barrett’s Barleycorn Pub & Grill serves a damn good version of Omaha’s legendary sandwich.
The salty corned beef is sliced thin and piled high on toasted marble rye that’s so buttery, it leaves greasy stains on your hands every time you pick it up. Melted Swiss cheese, creamy, tangy 1000 island dressing, and sauerkraut complete this beautiful mess of a sandwich that’ll have juices running down your arms all meal. Oh, and the sides of seasoned curly fries are delicious.
Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream (Graley's Creamery & Confections
What’s a cheat meal without dessert, right? Graley’s Creamery & Confections provides homemade waffle cones (you’ll smell them the moment you walk in the old-time soda fountain), but the waffle bowls allow you to pile in even more scoops of Graley’s various creative flavors.
There are a lot to choose from, but few are as awesome as the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. A staple in St. Louis, this luscious cream cheese ice cream is studded with giant pieces of vanilla cake. With nearly 20 percent butterfat, all of Graley’s offerings have a velvety, creamy mouthfeel. But the asteroid-sized hunks of dense, rich cake take this ice cream to cheat meal status.