ROTISSERIE URBAN BISTRO

Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★⭑

Districts: Aksarben

Rotisserie Chicken Plates

Standout Dishes: Porchetta Sandwich; Rotisserie Chicken; Plantains; 3 Leches Cake

Rotisserie Urban Bistro (RUB for short) stands at a very interesting intersection of cuisine. On one street is the rotisserie chicken, a humble but delicious dish more commonly found in supermarkets than restaurants. On the other is Carloz Mendez, co-owner of Au Courant, one of the best fine dining establishments in the Midwest.

The result is a fast casual restaurant that elevates a seemingly simple dish to the highlight level, served alongside excellent sides. Carlos and his team take the same attention to detail and precision they do with each exquisite plate at Au Courant and inject it into roasted chicken.

Carlos grew up in Venezuela and has fond memories of attending professional soccer games with his family. Near the stadium was a rotisserie chicken joint, and the food was so special it sticks with Carlos all these years later. And he desired to bring those traditions and flavors to Omaha.

The result is a quick service, order-at-the-counter restaurant not dissimilar to Chipotle, but with far more memorable plates.

Diners choose their own adventure by selecting a protein (chicken or porchetta), style (platter or sandwich), hot and cold sides, and sauces. This ordering style gives the diner great freedom and a different experience each time they come in.

Of course, the star of the menu is the Rotisserie Chicken, and does it ever star. Each platter comes with two large pieces of some of the juiciest chicken you’ll find. Tender enough to be cut with plastic cutlery, the poultry has a wonderful roasted, succulent flavor, and the skin, caramelized during the cooking process, has a delightful savory seasoning. If all RUB sold were chicken, it would be an excellent restaurant.

But RUB’s other protein—porchetta—might be just as delicious. This boneless pork roast is wrapped in fat and skin and generously seasoned with garlic, sage, rosemary, and other spices. This produces moist, supple meat with a crispy exterior, giving you bites with a distinct crunch. It’s savory and salty with a good amount of fat, but not so much that you get unpleasant chewy bites. And the crispy, borderline bruleed crust on the exterior produces excellent crunch and texture contrast.

The meat is great on its own, but it reaches an even higher plane when inserted into a crusty ciabatta roll slathered in a garlic sauce delicious enough to lick off the floor. It’s one of the best sandwiches in Omaha.

And the sides are no afterthought at RUB. If you want to mix a bit of sweetness into this savory feast, opt for the Plantains, a more starchy cousin of the banana. The fruit is fried briefly until its exterior caramelizes and becomes crispy like the edges of pancakes cooked in butter.

The Roasted Dripped Potatoes are cooked underneath the chicken on the spit, so they catch and inhale all the delicious drippings from the birds as they roast. The exterior has a slight crisp to protect the creamy, delectable interior.

The Cucumber Yogurt Salad brings to mind the vibrant, garlicky tzatziki sauce that makes gyros so delicious. And even a dish as simple as Black Beans tastes elevated here, as the creamy beans have a distinct earthy, nutty flavor.

Every meal comes with two of RUB’s house sauces, each of which has a distinct personality and flavor profile. From the zesty, bright freshness of the Chimichurri Mojo to the creamy, tangy Garlic and the fiery, tastebud-challenging Hot Habenero, there’s something for every palate.

And if you’re looking for something sweet for dessert, RUB offers 2 cakes: 3 Leches and Tiramisu. The former is the best version of the cake you’ll find in Omaha. An ultra light cake soaked in a milk mixture (evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk), it’s similar to a moist, airy angel food cake, but with an amped-up sweetness and an airy whipped cream on top. The recipe is a family tradition, and it’s not hard to see why it’s stood the test of time.

RUB’s bright, playful atmosphere ensures you’ll have a good time here before you even take your first bite. Giant plate windows flood the cozy space with warm light, and playful, colorful artwork lets you know this is a place where you can, for a meal at least, let the burdens of the world fade away.

Meals are assembled within minutes, leaving you the choice of taking your meal to go or sitting down to a fun meal with friends, family, or coworkers. At RUB, everything about the experience is what you want it to be.

So while it may sound odd to combine the worlds of rotisserie chicken and fine dining into a fast casual enterprise, RUB does so with aplomb. For a quick, healthy, delicious meal, it’s hard to beat this Aksarben delight.