Grow Omaha Eats
– by Sarah Baker Hansen –
Local Restaurant Reviews
Grow Omaha Restaurant Reviews
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Saturday’s 9am on News Radio 1110 KFAB
Grow Omaha Eats
Grow Omaha’s official food critic, Sarah Baker Hansen, reviews a local restaurant on this page every other week. Sarah was the food critic at the Omaha World-Herald for 8 years. An award-winning journalist, she is Omaha’s best known and most respected restaurant reviewer. Sarah’s reviews are done with integrity – she provides her honest opinions and does not accept gifts or free meals from the restaurants being reviewed. Scroll down for the most recent review and all past reviews. Bon appétit!
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At Heavy Brewing, the beer and pizza names are quirky, but the food and drink are both solid
The pizza at Gretna’s Heavy Brewing, which opened last November, could be throwaway, or boring, or not that tasty. But here’s the good news, beer lovers: it’s none of those things. The super casual brewery, located in an industrial area that’s certainly off the beaten...
At Kros Strain, it’s all about figuring out what’s next
When you’re already the maker of one of the most well-liked beers in the state of Nebraska, you start asking the big questions: What’s next? What else can we do? How do we stay relevant? After a recent visit to Kros Strain’s La Vista tap room, it sure seems like...
At Omaha’s Ota, find the best sushi experience between Chicago and Los Angeles
Today is all about bold pronouncements. I am now prepared to make several, starting here: two-time James Beard semifinalist David Utterback, who has just opened a new, upgraded omakase experience in Benson called Ota, is making the best sushi in the Midwest. Period....
At Tous le Jours, a wide array of interesting, unusual pastries await
Omaha has no shortage of great local bakeries — trust me, I’ve tried many. But I’d been curious as of late about a national newcomer to Omaha: Tous Le Jours, described as a French-Asian inspired bakery, something that, as far as I know, our city hasn’t ever had....
The atmosphere at Omaha’s Kinaara now matches its adventurous, unusual menu
The food at the new location of Kinaara, which moved from a Millard hole-in-the-wall to a chic spot in Regency in August, is filling a hole in Omaha’s dining scene for creative, high-end Indian food served in an atmosphere to match. I couldn’t be more thrilled for us...
At the tiny Phyl’s Deli, the pastrami is the real deal (and so is everything else)
Phyl’s Deli, which opened last April in the Old Market, is tiny. Its menu is small, too – fewer than a dozen sandwiches, one soup, bagels and lox and a couple of homestyle Jewish specialties. But what’s not small at all are the enormous piles of meat that co-owner and...
At Texas de Brazil, it’s the smorgasbord of meat that’s drawing a crowd
At Texas de Brazil, the city’s first Brazilian steakhouse in the Capitol District, I can say one thing for sure: the meat just never stops coming. During my two recent experiences at the downtown spot, which opened in October and has been much talked about since, I...
My top five reviewed restaurants of 2022 (and five more favorites, for good measure)
It has been a real pleasure to return to restaurant reviewing this year. I knew I missed it; what I didn't realize was just how much. As we close out 2022 — a year that has been personally challenging for me on many levels — I just want to say a quick word of thanks...
At Sofra Kitchen, Omaha’s dining past and future collide with varied results
If you want to understand how restaurants have changed, and perhaps how our city’s dining scene has changed, consider Sofra Kitchen, the new breakfast, lunch and soon-to-be dinner space in Midtown Crossing. It’s taken over the former Grey Plume bay — certainly, any...
Seafood and steak still rule at the newly reopened Twisted Cork Bistro
The Dungeness crab pot, one of the new dishes on the menu at the newly reopened Twisted Cork Bistro, is a contact sport, in the best possible way. I barely took any notes while I was eating it, and for good reason: I was eating crab, mussels, tiny roast potatoes,...