Burger Star

Today was such a beautiful day, I spent the afternoon with the amazing Theary Meak and one of her old friends Treaven.  Our mission for the day?  Find a burger as satisfying as the afternoon was.  And with the brilliant blue sky, the warm sun and the light breeze, this burger needed to be just short of extraordinary to live up to our expectations.  Treaven suggested a little joint in Omaha called Burger Star.  I must admit, with out a recommendation I would have drove right past this place.  It is located on the corner of a strip mall, with a large bright red and yellow star as their logo.  Granted they do have a picturesque little patio, but overall the building seemed a little understated.  This ended up being a huge plus once we got inside, it was like a cool kids only zone. The crowd it attracted was a group of good people, looking for a good burger and a layed back afternoon.  It wasn't filled with a bunch of average Joe's trying to get a quick bite in between running errands.  It was decorated with smooth granted floors, big warm furniture and a mix of classic country and rock n' roll decor.  One of Treaven's favorite features about this place is the music selection.  They have dozens and dozens of live concerts on video and they will happily turn on your favorite artist.  Our music selection for our late afternoon lunch?  Non other than Queen.  Now we had great company, great music and a great setting to enjoy our lunch, all we needed were some great burgers.  Burger Star offers a build your own menu, you can choose a single burger, double burger or a grilled chicken sandwich with the toppings of your choice.  I built my single burger up with cheddar and pepper jack, jalapenos, BBQ sauce and fried onions.  Theary had a single with sauteed mushrooms, fresh pico, jalapenos and swiss.  Treaven had the biggest appetite, ordering a double stack with ketchup, mayo, grilled onions, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce and cheddar cheese.  His burger also came with enough fries for the three of us to share.  The fries deserved a little section of praise here....hand cut (thick with the skin on) and sea salt.  The sea salt was a wonderful bite of flavor without making you feel like you were on your way to a clogged artery.  But the burgers were the true star of the meal, hence the name of the the restaurant.  The first thing Theary and I noticed was the crispy edges on our burgers.  They tasted just like they had came off a backyard grill, which is such a hard flavor to achieve from an indoor industrial kitchen.  All the burgers came on soft roll buns, buttered and grilled.  The toppings were fresh; the jalapenos had the right amount of kick, the cheese was ooey-gooey melted and the fried onions had the right amount of crunch.  Theary finished her burger in record time, obviously no complaints from her end of the table.  Treaven slowed down a bit mid burger but was still unable to leave any of it behind.  Theary and I washed our burgers down with margarita's, they serve classic and strawberry with your choice of blended or on the rocks.  Treaven enjoyed a Mexican Pepsi, a favorite served in the glass jar.  I feel I must mention the wait staff too, I'm not sure what their hiring process is but I'm pretty sure 'cool' is a requirement.  All the staff we came in contact with fit the vibe of the restaurant; friendly, fun and welcoming.  Our only disappointing moment was when we had to leave.  It would have been so easy for the three of us to sit on the patio for a couple of hours, sipping margaritas, listening to great music and soaking up the blue sky and sunshine.

This restaurant comes with my full seal of approval, try it for yourself:
Burger Star
1222 S. 71 Street
Omaha, Ne
402-333-7827

Taste of Omaha

This weekend was the 13th annual Taste of Omaha. Dozens of booths serving samples of Omaha's best! How could I miss that? I choose to visit on the last day of the festival, this is always my favorite day to spend at these kind of events. Yes, you run the risk of vendors shutting down early or 86ing certain items but you also miss the drama and excitement of the first few days. I know what your thinking, who would want to miss the fun and fan fair of a festival? Why go at the end as things wind down? Food is a comfort to me, I like to enjoy it in a relaxed atmosphere. And your guaranteed that the vendors will have worked out all the kinks of cooking on location. Sunday afternoon was a slow, gray day. The over looming clouds threatened us with rain but never broke. I love days like this, the dreary weather reminds me of my time in England, that nostalgic feeling is always welcome. It also seems to keep people calm and subdued. Perfect. The last 'Taste' I went to was in Chicago and although the food was phenomenal it was unbelievably crowded and ended up being a series of the same booths repeated throughout the park. So this go around I decided to peruse the line up first to make sure I wasn't wasting my afternoon on chain restaurants or a series of street vendors. Of coarse this trip wasn't all business, I took my mom with me for a day of catching up and people watching, as well as great food. My one complaint about the taste was that not many vendors understood the concept of 'a taste'. The dishes were large and expensive. Some of them costing more than a full sheet of tickets (equaling ten dollars or more). This little surprise made it hard to sample as many places as I would have liked. My mom and I started with a Mexican restaurant, and sadly we were very disappointed. I'm choosing to not mention the name of the establishment in hopes that a visit to there restaurant would be much different that a 'taste' at their stand. However its not high on my list to give them a second chance.
Not to worry, they were the only disappointment of the day. Our next stand was by far my favorite, although I had no doubt that I would absolutely love them. ESPANA. It was over a year ago that I first dined at this truly wonderful establishment. Three friends and I sat in their dining room for hours, partly because of the raging storm outside but mostly because of the charming waiter, the overflowing glasses of sangria and the constant little plates of deliciousness that continued to be delivered to our table. True to the their mission for a few hours we felt as if we were no longer in Omaha. ESPANA's tasting booth was also the most professional booth I saw all afternoon. It took longer than any other booth to get our food because it was prepared to order. We watched as the men behind the scenes fried our chicken empanda, grilled the beef for our marinated slider and assembled our dishes. They even took the time to garnish before serving. The steak slider was melt in your mouth tender and bursting with flavors of garlic, butter and roasted peppers. And the Aoloi served along side the emapanda was the perfect accompaniment to the slightly spicy, juicy chicken. Let just say it will not be another year before you find me ordering off the menu. Sadly our next five tickets were spent on bottled lemonade but it was a much needed refreshment after walking around for a few hours. We then decided we should end our day with something sweet. I remembered as we first walked in we passed a ice cream shop so started to retrace our steps. The ice cream stand was run by eCreamery a dundee ice cream parlor that serves several unique flavors as well as offering you the option to create your own flavor. Of coarse they didn't have the equipment available to create your flavor on the spot so we picked from one of their three options. I picked the most 'out there' flavor sea salt caramel. Yum! it reminded me of a sea salt chocolate tart I made in culinary school. I'm not sure my mom really liked it, she said it reminded her of coffee which I know she isn't a fan of. Either way, the ladies running the booth were sweet and so was the ice cream. I have a feeling this creamery would be an adorable little date spot. Our last choice of festival food was a funnel cake, however the only stand we found that sold them were charging ten tickets! (7 dollars!) Not only did we not have enough tickets left for that, we both agreed no fried treat covered in powdered sugar was worth seven dollars. I actually think this overpriced treat ended up being a miracle in disguise. Right next to the funnel cake stand was a Chicago style hot dog stand! Now I don't regret for a second leaving Chicago but I do seriously miss the hot dogs. And luck have it, it was six tickets for one, exactly what we had left. The Chicago Dawg House almost got it right. A t all the hot dog stands I visited in Chicago I never once saw the 'bright green' relish that was served on our dog at the fair and the dog itself was a little on the small side but other wise the flavor was right on. The stop at the Dawg House was well worth eating another savory dish after dessert.
If you missed The Taste of Omaha you made a big mistake. Make sure to add it to your calendar for next summer. And make sure to check out ESPANA!

p.s. sorry for the sub-par photos, Miss Theary was not with me on this trip.

Indian Oven @ the Old Market

It has become abundantly apparent that I can not keep this blog to one post a month. However, I do plan to stay true to my 'thing of the month'. I am working on some delicious honey recipes for June and am planning to try them out on friends this weekend at my Friday night games and wine party. If your invited, feel lucky. I'm also looking for a real 'honey farm' to see these bee's in action. If anyone knows of anywhere in the Nebraska area please leave me a comment.

Well, this particular post is all about one of my favorite things, curry! I count my blessing that I have some adventurous friends when it comes to food because heaven help me, my family is not. This weekend Theary and I met in Omaha's Old Market. I can't believe I don't visit this place more often. I'm making it a goal of this summer to visit at least once a month, if not more. The buildings are beautiful, the shopping is great, the people are quirky and oh so friendly and there are dozens of unique restaurants to try.Our pick for the afternoon was Indian Oven. I must admit I was skeptical at first, which was totally unfair. I was confusing Indian Oven with another Indian restaurant in the area. I have no personal experience to judge this other restaurant, my only issue is that they serve several fusion dishes and when it comes to curry I want mine 100% authentic. Back to Indian Oven. What an amazing place. Right away we were greeted by Maria, a colorful woman who was not just interested in helping us find our seat but took the time to chat with us about why we were in her restaurant, if we had experienced Indian dining before and then continued to talk with us about their culture, Theary's photography and this blog. Oh and did I mention that the restaurant was packed? She could have very easily shown us to our seat and moved onto the next customer but she didn't. We knew right away this was going to be a great meal. Now I haven't had Indian food since I left Chicago last July, or at least Indian food that I didn't cook myself. And lets face it, when it comes to this stuff its best made by someone who has grown up with these spices, smells and techniques. When ordering I had to go for my favorite dish, Chicken Tikka Korma (Spicy, please!) and Theary choose a lamb dish, Rogan Gosht. Of coarse we also got Naan and Ritia. At this point I was getting really nervous because we also had a three year old dinning with us, what could we possibly feed this little guy? The Zoe plate is what our waitress recommended. A meal of real chicken pieces (not processed nuggets) plain rice and sweet potato fries. Kid friendly food that is healthy and teaches them good eating habits.

Our food arrived and we were not disappointed. The gravies were bursting with flavor, the meat unbelievably tender and the spice right on. The spice is what makes these dishes so extraordinary. The basic flavors, textures and colors are intact regardless of how much heat you want in your dish. In other cuisines if you take away the heat, you take away the flavor. And if you like the heat (I do!) it's something special in itself. It takes three or four bites before the heat kicks in. And when it does it takes over but somehow manages to never destroy the flavor of the dish. Indian food is some of the hottest food I have ever eaten and yet it has never been so overwhelming that I can not taste the other flavors present. We finished our meal with a shared bowl of kheer. We couldn't eat more than a few bites but had to finish with something sweet. And sweet it was, shortly after our dessert arrived the Chef came out to greet us. As a Chef myself I know how hard it is to tear yourself away from the line, your prep, or the general chaos of the kitchen. It doesn't seem like much to diners but ten minutes is a lot of time behind the scenes when every table in the restaurant (and patio) is full. It was so wonderful to know everyone from the hostess to the kitchen staff personally cared about our dining experience.Overall this was a spectacular lunch; I look forward to dining here again.Oh and as a final tip, Don't forget to tip! Although the atmosphere may make you think you are no longer in Omaha, this is still America and our waiters and waitresses make their livings off of tips, so be kind and generous as these men and women work hard and deserve 20% or more.

Want to try Indian Oven for yourself? Visit them at 1010 Howard Street, Omaha Nebraska (402) 342-4856