Several years ago, while walking around the Old Market, I saw a man in a T-shirt that made fun of brunch. It made me pause. I love brunch, always have. My first memory of eating brunch is as a child. My family and I were dressed up, in Kansas City, at the top of the Hallmark Tower. There was a buffet with an array of muffins, danishes, egg dishes, a salad bar, and cantaloupe. There was also a dish of tiny bead-like things—they were black, and fishy-tasting, and I thought they were disgusting. Caviar at brunch—welcome to the 1980s.
These days, brunch is less of a novelty. Avocado toast has (fortunately, in my mind) replaced caviar as the hot item on a lot of menus, and mimosas have replaced the bottles of champagne in ice buckets. While brunch can still be consumed as an elegant breakfast with a slice of fruit, there are less formal options, such as those at Backlot Pizza and Kitchen, where dishes range from Detroit-style pizza to chilaquiles. The main feature this issue brings readers several places to dine mid-morning on a weekend with friends—after all, brunch isn’t a meal, it’s an event.
The other feature has to do with ghost kitchens—a term not popular with several of the people who work out of these commercial kitchens made specifically to prep food for delivery-service restaurants. The trend started before 2019, but these kitchens have come into their own over the last two years, along with the rise of delivery-only restaurants.
Those who enjoy hopping wineries will appreciate the adventure article about the Nebraska Wine Passport. This concept started in the early 1990s, and as more wineries came into being, the passport program grew. It now has more than 20 wineries and almost 10 tasting rooms.
One place my husband and I periodically nosh is 712 Eat + Drink. I love the beet salad, with marinated figs and chunks of goat cheese, while my husband’s go-to at most restaurants is a Reuben. The people behind 712 are also in charge of 402 Eat + Drink, and reviewer Tamsen Butler and her dining partners enjoyed this restaurant as much as Wade and I enjoy 712.
Tay Westberry competed on Gordon Ramsay’s MasterChef in season 11. The Omaha DJ and home cook had a positive experience on the TV show and is now working at an Omaha restaurant. How, and why, he got into cooking is the source of one of our A+C articles.
Several area restaurants now serve burrata. It’s made from mozzarella and filled with cream. One restaurant around the area I have frequented lately serves it with tapenade; another with Mediterranean salad. Those who have never tried this decadent treat can read about it in our Obviously Omaha section.
Welcome to the Food Issue 2022. There’s a lot of great articles in this edition, and I hope you enjoy them all.
This article originally appeared in the June 2022 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.