‘Ooh De Lally’ is Culinary Excellence with a Noble Cause

Reviewed by Chris Corey
October 10, 2024
Ooh De Lally restaurant review featured image of their bistro steak

A beautiful mural decorates the wall facing the front door to Ooh De Lally on Underwood Avenue in Dundee. The mural was created by self-taught painter and artist Eduardo Gardea, who has experience as a specialist providing support to formerly incarcerated Nebraskans seeking employment.

The mural is a representation of the Sherwood Forest with a prominent orange fox that has a strong semblance to the title character in Disney’s animated Robin Hood.

Knowing this, the mural takes on special meaning as it greets your journey into both fine dining excellence and a restaurant with an inspiring mission.

Ooh De Lally mural with orange fox in forest

Ooh De Lally mural with orange fox in forest

The name Ooh De Lally also pays homage to a song sung by Robin Hood and his Merry Men in the Disney film. There’s clearly a prominent, fitting theme that stems from Omaha’s Sherwood Foundation, the nonprofit organization that started this project. It’s also a victory call that bears significant meaning in Ooh De Lally’s mission to help incarcerated and rehabilitated adults win their lives back.

I talked with Ben Dabney, general manager at Ooh De Lally, to get some perspective on the restaurant and the inspired mission behind it. Dabney has noteworthy restaurant experience. Prior to Ooh De Lally, his first general manager role was at the original Jams followed by six years at Herb Sainte.

The inspiration behind Ooh De Lally came when the Sherwood Foundation learned about Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute in Cleveland. It’s a program designed to give formerly incarcerated adults a chance to build a career in the hospitality industry. And it has its own restaurant, Edwins, that employs and trains adults for societal re-entry.

The visit to Edwins, inspired by a documentary that tells its story, significantly shaped the Ooh De Lally vision.

“A couple of their folks ate at Edwins in Cleveland,” Dabney said of the Sherwood Foundation. “And after seeing that documentary said, ‘you know, we need to do something like this.’”

The documentary is called Knife Skills, and if you’re so inclined, I highly recommend it.

Ooh De Lally dining area

Ooh De Lally dining area

When you walk into Ooh De Lally, you’ll notice decor that’s both swanky and casual. Dark walls and a black ceiling are enlivened by warm lighting, panels of mirrors and natural wood tabletops. It feels kind of like an exclusive club that’s also casual and welcoming.

The staff here is very well trained. The service is prompt and everyone is incredibly professional and friendly. It doesn’t feel like a restaurant with a cause. It’s in every way a complete fine dining experience.

Jennifer and I were joined by our son Alex for our first visit. He was here for one thing – to try the signature mac and cheese, which is a carryover recipe from the beloved Mark’s restaurant that operated in the space until three years ago.

We started with the crab and sweet corn croquettes and cocktails. Jennifer selected the fuego-mango margarita, and I went for the smoked old fashioned. In addition to Alex’s mac and cheese, Jennifer ordered the seared scallops, while I tried the lobster roll. We capped the evening with whiskey bread pudding.

Fuego mango margarita

Fuego mango margarita

Jennifer’s fuego-mango margarita was made with reposado tequila, Bauchant orange cognac, serrano-mango agave, orange juice and lime with a tajin rim. It had a slight, gentle heat and a fantastic blast of citrus. It’s delicious and goes down easily.

You have a choice with the smoked old fashioned. You can choose from Ellija Craig’s bourbon or rye so I went with bourbon. It’s blended with demerara simple syrup and house bitters. The smokiness was present but not overpowering. It was a very well made cocktail.

The crab and sweet corn croquettes with lump blue crab, remoulade and red pepper were fried to a beautiful crisp on the outside. Inside was a savory mix with ample portions of crab. The remoulade paired beautifully, adding a punch of ingredients that elevated this starter.

Mark's signature mac and cheese

Mark’s signature mac and cheese

None of us had tried Mark’s mac and cheese prior to Ooh De Lally. But I can assure you it’s fantastic – topped with delicious toasted breadcrumbs. A four-cheese blend, including blue cheese, surrounds al dente cavatappi noodles. Alex chose to add pan seared chicken breast to the dish. While flavorful, it arrived slightly dry.

Jennifer’s seared scallops were expertly prepared. They sat atop yuzu ginger gastrique and were accompanied by black sesame crusted asparagus, blood orange slices and micro-wasabi greens. The scallops were fork tender. The ginger in the yuzu gastrique added a welcome tinge of heat, complementing the citrus in the dish.

Lobster roll

Lobster roll

The lobster roll is a simple sandwich with ample amounts of meaty lobster, cooked to perfection, inside a brown butter toasted roll. The roll had a delicate, sweet buttery crunch that enhanced the richness of the lobster. The hand-cut French fries were a nice surprise, perfectly salted and expertly fried. The house aioli was a great accompaniment to the fries and a nice dipping sauce for the roll. I didn’t intend to finish all the fries but couldn’t stop myself.

The whiskey bread pudding was simply divine. This dessert came to the table with a piping hot center. It’s made with mulled spices and a generous amount of warm whiskey butter sauce. I’d venture a guess that this offering will rival, and perhaps top, any of Omaha’s best bread puddings.

On our second visit, we started with two cocktails. Jennifer went for the quencher/crusher, and I had the sage advice. We chose the whitewater mussels for a starter. For entrees, Jennifer opted for the seared Faroe Island king salmon, and I had the bistro steak.

Quencher crusher cocktail

Quencher crusher

The quencher/crusher is made with El Dorado 5-year rum, Don Ciccio “Mandrinetto” (a Mandarin orange liqueur), mint syrup, lime juice topped with mint-Mandarin foam and served over crushed ice. This is a very welcome citrus-forward cocktail with just the right amount of sweetness. With the slight creaminess of the foam, it’s a lovely, boozy drink reminiscent of an Orange Julius.

Sage advice cocktail

Sage advice

The sage advice is a concoction of Libelula Joven tequila, Banhez mezcal, Jules Theuriet Framboise (a raspberry liqueur), sage-blueberry shrub and lemon. It’s a sweet herbal cocktail with a hit of apple cider vinegar sour from the shrub. The notes of sage make this a fantastic, well conceived cocktail.

Whitewater mussels

Whitewater mussels

The whitewater mussels were cooked just right, and the dry sherry sauce was a fantastic accompaniment. While the herb toast is actually delicious on its own, we put it to good use topping it with the sauce. The sauce is savory and creamy, while the sherry adds a tang. I’d recommend putting some of the sauce on a piece of toast and topping it with a mussel.

Seared Faroe Island king salmon

Seared Faroe Island king salmon

Jennifer’s seared Faroe Island king salmon was served with lemon basil risotto and charred broccolini. The salmon was cooked just right, tender and juicy with a crispy skin. The charred broccolini was slightly buttery and al dente – tender inside and a slight crunch outside. The risotto was cooked to perfection and had an immediate bold, creamy richness with notes of basil and lemon that pack a flavorful punch. It’s a simple, wonderfully executed dish.

The bistro steak is a teres major (a tender cut of beef from the shoulder, similar to tenderloin) topped with black garlic butter with roasted wild mushrooms and fondant potatoes. The steak came medium rare, as ordered, and the black garlic butter enhanced the fantastic sear. While the wild mushrooms were a nice addition, the fondant potatoes were the accompaniment of note. The chive crema sauce on top was savory and creamy. The potatoes had an outer crisp texture with a delectably soft middle. As far as steak and potatoes go, this is excellence on a plate.

Dark chocolate crème brûlée

Dark chocolate crème brûlée

We finished with the chocolate crème brûlée. The hard sugar top cracked just right with our spoons and the custard was rich chocolate, not too sweet, and a slightly dense creamy texture. It’s simply exquisite and decadent.

As a bonus, Ooh De Lally just opened a small-bites restaurant downstairs: La Bodega (“Labo”). The text confirming our reservation offered us a half-off special on a cocktail, so we popped in to cap the night.

La Bodega fall spiced sangria

La Bodega fall spiced sangria

Jennifer did the fall spiced sangria with Tempranillo (a Spanish red wine), VSOP brandy, orange liqueur, strawberries, blackberries, angostura bitters, cardamom, allspice and cinnamon. The spices served to enhance the natural sweetness of the fruit. If there were a fruity cocktail to enjoy on a fall night by the campfire, this would be it.

La Bodega golden oldie fashioned

La Bodega golden oldie fashioned

I had the ‘golden oldie’ fashioned. It’s butter washed Evan Williams with salted hazelnut honey and turkish tobacco bitters. Notes of butter come through the whiskey, giving it a silky finish. The bitters with the hazelnut honey make this a very memorable old fashioned. It’s a liquid homage to all the best parts of fall.

Labo is designed to be a happy hour, casual cocktail bar with quick bites and snacks and carries the same mission as Ooh De Lally. It’s a perfect stop if you find yourself waiting for your table upstairs or popping in for something casual.

La Bodega outside at night

La Bodega outside at night

Ooh De Lally is partnering with Metropolitan Community College’s 180 Re-Entry Assistance Program. Leading the project are nonprofit veterans: executive director Tim Steinbach, and director of operations Joe Lecci. Running the kitchen is executive chef Doug Case who’s resume includes M’s Pub and Flemmings.

“I want to pay Doug a big compliment,” Dabney said. “He’s done such an awesome job in the kitchen with everybody so far, and now he has a couple of new chefs, Dana and Jack. And they’ve really done great work so far too.”

If the restaurant’s namesake is the victory yell of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, they have something to celebrate that goes beyond an incredible culinary experience. A few weeks ago, someone fully completed their program. He finished his work release and has moved out of state to be with family and continue his career. A victory, for sure.

“The group of people we have here is just an outstanding collection of folks,” Dabney said. “It’s all walks of life and backgrounds. We celebrate that.”

You can be sure that many more will graduate through, as it were, and start new lives with a fresh perspective and purpose. To that, I’ll say bon appétit and conclude with a quote from the Robin Hood song: “Oo-de-lally. Golly, what a day.”

Ooh De Lally

https://www.oohdelally.org/

4916 Underwood Ave
Omaha, NE 68132

(402) 698-8333

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