Dan O’Brien spent 30 years in the corporate world at Pitney Bowes, TD Ameritrade and First Data Corporation. But Corporate America wasn’t his first calling.
O’Brien’s culinary journey began informally during his travels after high school. He eventually landed in a San Francisco restaurant, working under an Italian chef, who taught him the ins and outs of a professional kitchen.
While working their corporate jobs, O’Brien and his wife Jennifer – now his business partner – spent years hosting family gatherings. They developed a love of Cajun food during work travel in cities like Macon, Chesapeake and New Orleans. After decades in the corporate world, the O’Briens felt opening a restaurant was their logical next step.
“We were always the family who hosted the parties,” O’Brien said in our interview. “Graduations, holidays, whatever. A restaurant just made sense.”
Acadian Grille interior
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
Acadian Grille is a family affair. Jennifer runs the front-of-house and oversees marketing. She’ll soon be sharing the marketing tasks with their daughter Riley. Their 22 year-old son Liam runs the back of the house and is the craftsman behind many of the sauces, dressings, jams and the house-made ice cream. Their eldest, Tara, pursues other interests but still works Friday night dinner shifts and helps out where needed. O’Brien handles the cooking and encourages menu innovation amongst the family and staff.
Full smoked salmon
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
O’Brien also handles special requests for VIPs and private groups. During our visit, he was preparing a full smoked salmon for a couple of distinguished guests. It’s a request he receives often enough that he’s now considering adding it to the breakfast menu.
Though the menu’s foundation is Cajun, O’Brien allows space for creativity. It just has to adhere to the Acadian philosophy: keep it simple, do it well and keep it fresh.
“Liam came up to me and said, ‘Try this,’” O’Brien recalled. “It was Red Bull ice cream. I laughed, but it was really good.” We tried it, and sure enough – it works.
We visited Acadian Grille twice, once for dinner and then for breakfast. While weekend brunch has been a staple, daily breakfast is a recent addition — and a welcome one.
Hurricane
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
For dinner, we started with the blueberry mojito and the hurricane. We ordered scallop cakes and the Acadian salad for starters. For entrees, my wife Jennifer ordered the five-pepper cream. Our son Alex chose the gouda mac and cheese, and I went with the crawfish Étouffée.
Blueberry mojito
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The blueberry Mojito goes down easily. The blueberry is delightfully prominent with a touch of mint. The rum carries through nicely with a clean, cool finish – just enough that you know it’s there.
The hurricane is boozy and fruity, and like its name, dangerous. It’s a perfect party drink – the kind that sneaks up on you like the storm for which it’s named.
Scallop cakes
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The scallop cakes are a nice mix of minced scallops and red, orange and yellow bell peppers, poblano pepper and house-made blackening seasoning. I would have preferred them to be crispier on the outside, but they were delicious nonetheless. The sauce makes a creamy, savory statement with a fantastic punch of heat yet allows the scallops remain the hero, stealing the spotlight in every bite.
The scallop cakes were a temporary pivot from the usual crab cakes due to skyrocketing crab prices. They’ll be switching back soon, so I’d try these while they’re still on the menu.
Acadian house salad
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The Acadian house salad is a lively interplay of sweet, salty and tangy that keeps each bite interesting. The candied pecans are delicately roasted, slightly sweet and just a tad spicy. The crumbled blue cheese adds a welcome salty profile. Combined with the dried cranberries, this salad is a solid mix of bitter, salty and sweet. We went with the house balsamic vinaigrette – its acidity tied everything together beautifully.
Gouda mac and cheese
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The gouda mac and cheese is a plate full of creamy and cheesy noodles, cooked properly. It’s topped with smoked “Tasso” pork shoulder. The pork on top is tender and adds a sweet and salty element that helps season the dish. It’s savory, comforting and the culinary equivalent of a warm hug.
Crawfish Étouffée
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The crawfish Étouffée has blond roux gravy with a good prominence of tomato. The rice is steamed perfectly, and the crawfish are cooked just right, adding its own spicy seasoning. Every bite is layered with richness and heat – a soulful southern comfort with real depth.
Five pepper cream
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The five pepper cream is al dente fettuccine and blackened chicken. The chicken is tender and juicy with a blackened crust that sings with Cajun heat. The creamy sauce is perfect for fettuccine: rich, thick, heavily seasoned and just a touch spicy. The spicy chicken and pepper cream complement one another, presenting a bold, rich heat.
Banana bread pudding
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The banana bread pudding is a lovely indulgence. Four slices of bread pudding sit atop several scoops of house made ice cream. It arrives at the table warm, and the ice cream melts slowly enough that you enjoy the delicacy. The caramelized bananas add a mellow, fruity warmth that ties the whole dessert together. Warm and nostalgic, I recommend you save some room for it.
As a side note, the coffee is full bodied with a richness that stands up to the dessert without stealing the show. It was a great accompaniment to the bread pudding.
For breakfast, Jennifer went with the bloody Mary and softshell crab benny. I ordered the seafood omelet with a side of hashbrowns. We concluded with a sample of three house-made ice creams: Red Bull, cinnamon and maple vanilla.
Toasted baguette and fresh berry jam
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
Breakfast is served with little slices of baguette toast and house made jam. The baguette was lightly toasted and buttery. The house-made jam is a mixed berry blend that carries a light citrus tartness, delectable berry flavor and just the right amount of sweet.
Acadian Grille bloody Mary
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The bloody Mary is an excellent mix of vodka, spices and tomato. It’s a hearty cocktail that boasts a medium level of heat. It’s well blended, and its gentle heat lingers just right at the finish.
If you’re so inclined, I recommend you order a side of the garden pepper sauce. It’s made in-house with lovely habanero heat, spices and a slightly sweet element. It paired very well with the eggs and the hashbrowns, and I will be begging for the recipe.
Soft-shell crab Benny
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The soft-shell crab Benny is a welcome deviation from a traditional eggs benedict. A pair of properly poached eggs sits atop two lightly battered and fried softshell crabs. It’s topped with a smooth, silky hollandaise sauce. As it should, the yolk bursts out as you cut in. It’s an inventive twist on the classic and a lot of fun to eat.
You can tell if a restaurant knows how to do breakfast from their eggs benedict. The eggs should be warm, while the yolk should run out and mix with the hollandaise. Based on the softshell crab Benny, Acadian Grille has some serious breakfast game. Many try; few succeed. Acadian Grille nails it.
Seafood omelet
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
The Seafood Omelet is soft, fluffy and perfectly folded. The hollandaise sauce is rich and slightly tangy. It’s prominent but lets the omelet remain the hero. You get a choice of seafood: blue crab, crawfish or shrimp. I opted for the blue crab. While any seafood would have been excellent, I’m a sucker for crab and this hit the spot. It’s a benchmark for seafood omelets in Omaha.
The hashbrowns are hand split to give it some added texture – fried but not greasy. The spice on the outside is excellent. The hashbrowns deliver – crisp edges, pillowy centers and seasoning that pops. That pepper sauce I mentioned earlier? It hits the target with these hashbrowns.
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
Jennifer and I had a chance to sample a scoop of the Red Bull, cinnamon and maple vanilla. The Red Bull adds a subtle profile to the ice cream, mildly prominent. The scoop of cinnamon carries understated, yet very present notes of the spice. The maple vanilla is mild in its profile, but not so much you don’t know it’s there. In this case, given how fresh and silky the ice cream is, I appreciated the restraint. The scoops of ice cream stand on their own, cautiously accented by the additional elements.
Acadian Grille makes their ice cream in house in small batches. They took their time to perfect it before putting it on the menu. The time and research were worth it. Every scoop of ice cream screamed fresh, from cream to flavorings.
Acadian Grille interior
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
O’Brien is proud that everything in the kitchen is made fresh-to-order from the dressings and gravies to sauces and sides. The restaurant operates without steam tables, microwaves or heat lamps. Even the breadcrumbs on the scallop cakes are made from their own seasoned croutons.
As O’Brien put it best, “Nothing waits. It goes right from the sauté pan to the table. Sometimes it’s too hot to eat. That’s the point.”
During our dinner visit, in a very busy dining room, Acadian Grille was busting out dishes in record time. The food was fresh and carefully prepared. Acadian‘s kitchen is a well-oiled machine.
O’Brien’s original vision for the restaurant was three locations – two in Omaha and a third in either Des Moines, Iowa, Ames, Iowa or Minneapolis. In 2019, they were on their way – opening a location in Dundee on Underwood Avenue. Constraints from the pandemic forced Dundee to close its doors less than a year after opening.
“The pandemic crippled the multi-location idea,” O’Brien said. “But we’re still here. That vision’s not gone – just on pause.”
Immediate plans include flexible growth options to ease back into the original vision. They’re looking into a food truck to serve festivals, fairs and special events.
“Growth is still the goal,” O’Brien said. “We’d love to be in Des Moines or St. Paul one day.”
Acadian Grille inspirations
Photo by Chris and Jennifer Corey
A great deal of Acadian Grille’s success goes to a deeply loyal and empowered staff. They haven’t had to replace a back-of-house employee in over two years. That’s no small feat post-pandemic. O’Brien’s leadership style has been shaped by decades in corporate America. He puts a strong emphasis on empowerment, openness and inclusion. He ensures the staff is trained across all stations, encouraging them to take initiative and trusting them with recipes and prep tasks.
Acadian Grille is truly something special – innovative Cajun food in an understated part of Miracle Hills. Outside might not look like much, but inside, it’s a different story – one bursting with culinary soul. With a new, daily breakfast menu, the O’Briens and their team are turning up the heat – and Omaha should take notice.
