Trying out some places in the Heartland - Part 1 (DDD in Omaha)

Now that the busy summer travel season had ended I knew I wanted to get back on the road to try some more places.  I still wanted to get to Albuquerque and out to Northern California, but time was limited and flights to Albuquerque didn't look good nor did I have enough time to get to the area of Northern California I wanted to get to so I thought maybe getting out to Des Moines, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska might work.  I could fly into either place and they are only about an hours drive apart, so that would do.  As the days to the trip got closer the flights were filling up and since I fly stand-by, that's not a good thing!  It looked like if I got there I would not be able to get home, so I had to rethink this and looked at maybe flying into Kansas City, there are nonstop flights form Dulles to KC, but Omaha and Des Moines meant connecting through Chicago and that was a bit dicey so I decided to try KC.  As I researched the KC area for Triple D places there were 9 places I had not been to (I did a DDD trip to KC about 4 years ago, where I visited my 200th place) so I decided to give up the 5 Des Moines locations, for now, and do KC and Omaha on this trip.

In planning I saw that Omaha is about a 2 and a half hour drive from KC and I decided to immediately head to Omaha and get to the 6 places there and then head back to Kansas City.  I caught the morning flight from Dulles to Kansas City and luckily the flight arrived early so I was able to get the car and head north to Omaha.  Contrary to what many think, this part of the Midwest is not flat, but rolling hills all the way up Interstate 29 through Missouri, Iowa and into Nebraska.  Thoughts of Professor Harold Hill and the Music Man went through my head and I thought, "Is it pronounced IoWA or IoWAY?" 

I knew I had to make good time as the first place I wanted to try was open from 11a-2p so to make the most of my time I had to get there first.  I had made good time and I was able to get there about 1250p.  "Big Mama's Kitchen" is in an older building at the Nebraska School of the Deaf.  It is on the second floor of an old school building and has the classic school cafeteria two colored tile floor.

Big Mama's in Omaha

Famous Fried Chicken

The place was pretty busy as they had a bus group visiting.  On the Triple D episode they featured two of Big Mama's specialty's;  The Afro Burger is a hot dog shaped beef burger filled with all types of extremely hot African spices;  and the legendary Pig's Ear Sandwich (which has become a classic Triple D episode segment).  Guy really had a hard time trying this and I was going to avoid it myself but I knew that as scared as I was to try it, I knew that I had to, so I reluctantly ordered it!  I remembered on the episode it looked rubbery, but when it came out I was pleasantly surprised, the ear was lightly breaded and came on a nice hard roll.  The roll had yellow (but spicy) mustard on it with two small ramekins, one with picked onions and the other with extremely spicy pepper relish.  I bit into it and it was pretty good, a bit soft and gelatinous but tasty.  I would probably order it again.

Big Mama's Famous Pig Ear Sandwich

After finishing I was able to meet Big Mama, herself.  She is quite the celebrity and now has a show on the Cooking Channel!  I had a few minutes to talk with her and get he to sign my book, she is a very nice lady.  She didn't know that her place is featured in one of Guys Triple D books and brought it back to show her daughter, Miss Gladys, who also signed it.

Big Mama and me

I left and headed to the next place which was on the other side of Omaha.  A unique place for Omaha named  for the street it's on.  "California Tacos and More" features Mexican cuisine and was opened by a guy who missed the tastes of the foods he enjoyed on his trips to Mexico, he had never worked in restaurants prior to opening this place.  I was welcomed in by the manager , who was excited when she saw my book and she reminded me what was featured on their episode and I decided on the Beef Burrito. 

Omaha's California Tacos and More

She then directed me to the salsa area.  There was cold plate area with condiments for customers to add like olives, onions, cilantro, jalapenos and tomatoes.  The coolest ting was the two salsa dispensers, they were Margarita dispensers that kept the salsa cold and fresh, I had never seen anything like it.

California Tacos and More Salsa dispensers

My burrito came out and it was really good.  I am not the biggest fan of Mexican food, but this was great, not all sauced up but really tasty.  Just meat and house made tortillas.  This could make me a huge Mexican fan! 

My Beef Burrito

The manager came over and signed my book, another great Triple D place!  I headed out to check in to my hotel for the night and take a rest break before heading out to try some more places.  Omaha (and it's Iowa sister city, Council Bluffs) is a very industrial area.  I passed a lot of mail order centers and home of the famous Omaha Steaks.  As you pass over the Platte River that divides Nebraska and Iowa there is a huge statue celebrating the importance of railroads to the area, a modern diesel  Union Pacific engine sits along side an older steam engine.

I headed out to my next stop which was in what seemed like an old Big Boy Restaurant but had been transformed into a sports pub.  "Brewburgers" features hamburgers and pub grub.  They specialize in stuffed burgers.  The place is filled with TV's showing all types of sport themed programing.

I decided to try one of their specialty burgers, The Brewburger burger is a stuffed burger with Cheddar Cheese and bacon.  As it arrived it looked like a perfect burger and the server brought me mayonnaise on the side.  I poked a knife in the burger and the cheese oozed out. 

Brewburger burger

All the cheese oozing out!

Delicious stuffed burger

This burger was delicious and it needed nothing else, no ketchup, no mayo, nothing!  As I was finishing up I asked the server if I could get my book signed and the owner came out and we chatted for a minute or two as he signed.  If you like a good burger then Brewburger is the place for you!

I drove to my next stop, which was located in a very industrial part of Omaha, "Joe Tess' Place" is a fish market and restaurant.  Seafood and fish in Omaha?  I know, not really near any ocean, but this place is pretty legendary in Omaha.  The prices are great and as I was seated in the open restaurant, at the bar "Diners Drive-ins and Dives" was being shown!  They serve all types of fish but specialize in fresh water carp.  I decided to try the single fish sandwich.

Joe Tess Place - Fresh Fish in Omaha

You'd think that single fish sandwich would be a small fish patty, something like you might get at a fast food place.  The price, $4.50, would make you think so.  Wrong! The single fish sandwich is a whole fried carp on a slice of bread.  You can get single, double or triple, which means one, two or three whole fried Carp!

Joe Tess Single Fish Sandwich

The breading was very light and the fish meat just fell off the bone.  No tartar sauce was presented or needed, it was great just as it was!  Normally I don't like fighting with the bones in fish but no problems here!

The most unreal thing was that all that food for less than 5 bucks!  We need Joe to come to DC!  I headed to my last place of the day in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  In the downtown area is a very eclectic place called "Dixie Quicks".  Dixie Quicks has been around for 20 years and has been in Council Bluffs for about 5 years.  The new place is larger than the other locations in the past and they have a small art gallery attached.

I decided to try something small and being a fan of Crab Cakes, I thought I would try it and see how it compared to the cakes I love from the Chesapeake Bay.  This was not the cake I was used to, but was large and had a different kind of stuffing than what I'm used to.  The cake was loaded with chunks of lump crab meat and that's always a good thing! 

Dixie Quicks Crab Cake appetizer

The only thing I was not a huge fan of was the tomato butter sauce, it was a bit on the sweet side for me, but the amount crab in the cake far made up for it.  My server was excellent, attentive and caring.  I asked her if there was someone that would sign my book and she went and got the owner, Rob, to come out and sign and he sat down and we talked for a good 20 minutes about the show, the restaurant, Renee, his partner and chef of the place.  It was just like we were buddies for life!  Rob later that night joined the Triple D Facebook page that I am an admin for.  I really enjoyed Dixie Quicks and would go back in a heart beat!

The next morning I got up and had one more place in Omaha to try before heading back to Kansas City.  I headed out to a very plain looking place that belied the good stuff that the kitchen was producing.  "Amato's Café" is a breakfast an lunch place that really sells it's Italian heritage. 

Amato's Café - A legendary Omaha Breakfast joint

I arrived and there was just one car I the parking lot, by the time I left the lot and he restaurant were full.  Amato's is a legend in the Omaha diner scene.  I decided on the classic Biscuits and Gravy.  It was awesome, very mild tasting sausage gravy covering a flaky biscuit.  As I was finishing up, Mr. Amato arrived and he was great, telling me funny stories of the filming and making me and the others feel at home.

Biscuits and Gravy at Amato's - Yes, there is a biscuit under that

I really enjoyed Amato's and would go back, not only for the food but to visit more with Mr. Amato!  I got back in the car for the 2 and half hour drive back to Kansas City.  After my Omaha visit my DDD count was 425!