The story of how Pivot Prime came to be begins with a first date. Gregg and Ashley Young dined in a booth at Mahogany Prime several years ago. It’s a place they kept returning to over the years, making Friday date nights an important staple in their marriage. They eventually opened Salted Edge a few short years ago with chef Joel Hassanali. When Mahogany Prime moved locations, Gregg wasted no time acquiring the property. Hassanali is a partner in both restaurants and has full autonomy over both menus.
Hassanali’s journey to Pivot started long before he ever fired up a stove in Omaha. He was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago and grew up in his parents’ restaurant watching a Venezuelan chef. It sparked a journey through culinary school in New York and into kitchens in Paris, Florida, Nashville, New York, New Jersey and Chicago.
Dry age vault
Photo by Jennifer Corey
“Everywhere I went I picked up something new,” Hassanali told me. “I’ve worked with celebrity chefs, I’ve worked on Fisher Island, I’ve worked stadiums for the Dolphins and the Marlins. All of that shaped my style.”
His approach at Pivot reflects his cumulative experience in so many kitchens.
“I wanted something different—something French-inspired,” he said. “Let’s dry-age our own steaks. Let’s age a New York strip in red wine. Let’s bring tableside classics back.”
Pivot Prime Expediting station
Photo by Jennifer Corey
Serving the guests something memorable—rooted in technique but never confined by it—is Pivot’s guiding principle. The beef tallow candle, an evolution of the bread phenomenon he created at Salted Edge, came from the same desire to surprise diners with richness and detail.
“I asked myself, how do we top the breadboard from Salted? I wanted something rich, something beefy. Bone marrow, roasted garlic, aged balsamic—it came to life.”
That same philosophy drives his chef’s table experience, where he creates six to seven courses without a menu. For Hassanali, cooking this way is the purest version of hospitality.
“If I invite you to my home for dinner, I don’t hand you a menu,” he said. “I cook from the heart. That’s what our chef’s table is.”
Pivot Prime Bar
Photo by Jennifer Corey
Pivot’s interior is elegant and romantic, warm and confident. The lighting makes the rich wood accents glow. Rows of bourbon and wine are displayed behind glass and wire-mesh cabinet doors. Deep burgundy barstools provide a touch of luxury and a promise of a well-crafted cocktail. The dining room balances white tablecloths with textured banquettes and stunning views into the open kitchen. Not one element is distracting. Rather, it’s an intentional design that says you’re not just going to have a great steak, you’re going to have an unforgettable experience.
James was our server for the evening, and I want to give him a special mention. He did more than explain the menu, make recommendations and bring out plates of delicious food. His personality was warm, friendly and genuinely disarming—he made us feel welcome the moment we sat down.
“Choose your weapon
Photo by Jennifer Corey
But it went beyond that. He made an intentional, concerted effort to coordinate with the bar, kitchen staff and management to keep our experience seamless. Sometimes the best part of a dining experience is how you’re treated before the food even hits the table. When your servers operate at this level and your kitchen is plating dishes with this much care, an indulgent night out becomes a memorable one.
James was the embodiment of the experience Pivot strives for, summed up by one word—flawless.
Our menu journey began with the smoked barrel pick old fashioned and the Donkey Kong’s Brew for cocktails. We tried the beef tallow candle, which comes with bread service, as an appetizer. For entrees, Jennifer had the Ora King salmon, and I did the 14-ounce steak frites. We also ordered a side of the Brussels sprouts to share. We finished with the seasonal crème brûlée, apple crisp, a lychee martini cocktail and two cups of coffee.
Smoked Barrel Pick Old Fashioned
Photo by Jennifer Corey
Smoked Barrel Pick Old Fashioned is made with Whistle Pig 6-year bourbon, coconut palm sugar syrup and Fee Brothers Mole Bitters. At $25, this is one of the most expensive old fashioneds in Omaha. It’s bitter, slightly sweet and completely luxurious. An old fashioned usually leans either sweet or bitter—it’s expertly balanced here. The smoke is prominent but not overpowering, making this cocktail delightfully complex, silky and smooth.
Donkey Kong’s Brew
Photo by Jennifer Corey
Donkey Kong’s Brew is a combination of Bumbu Rum, Combier Creme de Banana, Grind Espresso Liqueur and Yuzu Cordial (a liqueur made with Japanese yuzu, a citrus fruit). This cocktail is cinematic, with a vibrant amber color as if it were cut from a cave in Jurassic Park. The caramelized sugar from the rum carries through, playing delectably with the strong, welcoming banana profile. It’s certainly a unique cocktail, playful and delicious.
Beef tallow candle
Photo by Jennifer Corey
The beef tallow candle is garlic-infused bone marrow with a mélange of freshly baked bread from Le Quartier—olive, white sourdough and brown sourdough. 10-year-aged balsamic beads atop the melted tallow, topped with fleur de sel (thin-flaked sea salt). As the tallow candle melts, it delivers luxurious, silky tallow with a hint of beef flavor that runs into rosemary leaves that gently influence the profile. As you dip the bread, you’re treated to a unique, delicious appetizer. The balsamic adds tangy sweet-and-sour notes. James recommended we try the olive bread first—the olives in the bread add their own depth. This is an absolute must-try.
Ora King salmon
Photo by Jennifer Corey
The Ora King salmon is pan-seared with sea bean, confit potato and citrus caviar beurre blanc. The salmon was cooked to complete perfection. The beurre blanc doesn’t steal the show and knows its place on the plate. It’s flavored well, gently salted, and has a hint of garlic. The confit potatoes pair excellently with the tomato medley. Sea beans are also known as sea asparagus—similar in flavor but much thinner. Here, they add a welcome, refreshing, slightly salty crunch to the dish.
14-ounce Steak frites
Photo by Jennifer Corey
The 14-ounce steak frites is a Creekstone Farms prime New York strip with “crack fries” and truffle béarnaise sauce. I indulged a bit and added the whiskey shoyu butter. The strip was cooked to a perfect medium rare, well seasoned with an excellent sear. The crack fries are crispy potatoes, crunchy outside and soft inside with a fantastic seasoning. They pair nicely with the béarnaise. The shoyu butter is whipped, salted just right and carries deep, delicious umami notes that add depth to the beef.
Brussels sprouts
Photo by Jennifer Corey
The Brussels sprouts are made with baked apple, peanut miso dressing, spiced cashew, espelette and pecorino. They were cooked until tender. The peanut miso dressing adds a nutty, umami creaminess that counters the natural bitterness of the sprouts and carries a subtle note of baked apple. The spiced cashews add just a touch of heat and a welcome crunchy texture. The pecorino cheese rounds everything out, lending its own salty creaminess.
Seasonal crème brûlée
Photo by Jennifer Corey
Seasonal crème brûlée is a dessert that’s made with rotating ingredients, in this case—so close to Thanksgiving—cranberry. This version is silky smooth with a subtle tartness from the cranberry. There’s an orange sugar used for the brûlée, which is a paper thin layer that lends a sweet, citrusy crunchiness. The custard is airy and fluffy—a welcome departure from the usual thick, rich versions—and reminiscent of a light mousse. If other iterations of this dessert are executed similarly, it needs to go on your must-try list.
Apple crisp
Photo by Jennifer Corey
The apple crisp is a heartwarming dessert. Vanilla gelato rests on a topping that’s nice and crispy with a delectable mix of cinnamon and sugar. The crunchy texture gives way to delicious, soft, piping-hot apples. The apples sit in an equally fantastic dessert-style broth, and when combined with the vanilla gelato, becomes a creamy blend. It’s the kind of dessert that warms the soul.
Lychee martini
Photo by Jennifer Corey
The lychee martini is made with Haiken Lychee Vodka, Del Santo, Gran Gala, honey syrup and lime. This cocktail is simply delicious—one sip will win you over, especially if you like your drinks on the sweet side. The lychee is refreshingly powerful and prominent. There’s a note of warm spice and an ever-so-slight sour bitterness adds welcome complexity. While it’s a sweet cocktail, it’s wonderfully well balanced.
Flaming tomahawk
Photo by Jennifer Corey
Tableside service is a restaurant trend making a comeback, ripe for a bit of culinary showmanship. It’s something Hassanali intends to lean into more, and I’m all for it. Pivot currently prepares the flaming Tomahawk steak and bananas foster tableside, and while we didn’t order them ourselves, the spectacle throughout the restaurant adds warmth and charm.
Pivot got its name during a moment at Salted Edge when a winter storm caused a pipe to burst.
“Ashley and I were moving a table and I told her, ‘In the restaurant industry, you do two things—you adapt and you pivot.’ We both looked at each other and thought, okay, this could be it. Gregg didn’t love it at first, but we kept saying it. And one day after something went wrong he said, ‘Well, we pivoted.’ Before you know it, that became the name—Pivot Prime.”
Pivot Prime Kitchen
Photo by Jennifer Corey
The word “pivot” carries more than one meaning. It can mean a change in the way something is done, a change in direction or the way something is turned. It also describes a central point that everything turns on. Maybe it’s like the Youngs’ first-date booth.
That booth is now in the basement of their home, the one thing they kept when they took over the Mahogany space. Call me a romantic, but that’s the kind of full-circle story movies are made of. I imagine it as a parting shot before the credits roll, the camera focused on the booth as it slowly pushes in. A nostalgic reminder of where two people started their journey together. A journey from a booth to a community, from two kids to two restaurants. It’s the parting shot that makes you yearn for a sequel.
Smoked Barrel Pick Old Fashioned
Tableside Service – Flaming Tomahawk
