Roja, Bianco and Blue @ GFC

What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than to celebrate our nation's diversity? After all, what is America if not a melting pot of different cultures and flavors. And since we have a group of locally owned restaurants with a red, white and blue theme, what better way to cover the Omaha food scene this 4th of July than to check out cultural diversity of Roja, Bianco and Blue?

So we have our theme, but checking out 3 restaurants can get expensive very quickly. Never fear, we have that problem solved. Roja, Bianco and Blue have some of the best Happy Hour specials to be found anywhere in Omaha. Besides the standard and not-so-standard drink specials, they have half price appetizers with almost no restrictions on which apps are available. You can quite easily get your fill for little more than it would cost you to get a combo meal at a fast food joint. So lets find out just how good their food is.

Roja Mexican Grill

Chicken Flautas @ Roja

Our least favorite of the three. How hard is it to make Mexican food? Especially when your kitchen staff is comprised mostly of Mexicans. Nothing was horrible, but nothing was really good enough to make me want to come back. We've been to Roja before and didn't really care for their food the first time, but their parking lot is always packed. We thought maybe we were wrong. We weren't. The taco - bland and boring. The nachos - I just don't understand the point of nachos and these were greasy and unappetizing. Now the Achoite Chicken & Spinach Flautas - those were good, but only because the serrano ranch sauce carried them. I'd imagine the food tastes a whole lot better with a Margarita in hand, but you really shouldn't need a drink to enjoy the food your eating. There are too many restaurants in Omaha, and too many good Mexican restaurants to waste my time eating here.

Bianco Ristorante Italiano

Bruschetta @ Bianco

A stark contrast to Roja. Bianco was our favorite of the three restaurants. The food had a touch of refinement to it that was sorely missing from Roja (yes, there is such a thing as refined Mexican food ) and better execution than found at Blue. Everything about the food was just a welcomed surprise. Lots of bright, yet homey comfort food flavors. I think the weakest dish we ordered was the Cozze Marechiare and even that was in the good to very good range. I was impressed with the free bread and white bean dip served to us. It was a unique freebie that I've never seen in a restaurant before and it was delicious to boot. The Bruschetta was better than most thanks to the heirloom tomatoes, as was the Calamari which was perfectly cooked on a skewer. Even the 4-cheese pizza was a delightful surprise with a rich sauce and complex array of cheeses with a little bite to counterbalance. I will definitely be going back, maybe even outside of happy hour.

Blue Sushi Sake Grill

Gyoza @ Blue

It seems as if everyone in Omaha has been to Blue (Anyone know why they didn't call it aoi?). This is another restaurant that we had visited before and never bothered to return. In this case, however, it wasn't because their food was bad, it just wasn't good enough to justify the drive and the higher (at that time) sushi prices. The prices have come down, but the food's about the same. Everything is good, but nothing is excellent. I applaud their effort with the Spinach/Shitake Potstickers , but the night we went, there was no stick to the pot. Despite the lack of crunch, the flavors were decent and the honey garlic dipping sauce paired really well. The mussels were prepared in a pretty basic manner, but I was hoping to see more of an Asian flair to them. Also, the quality of some of the mussels seemed a bit questionable. The very large crab cakes would disappoint the true connoisseurs in the crowd. Shredded crab meat is mixed with a spicy stuffing, pan seared and served with a miso remoulade. I'm not a hard core crab caker, so I didn't mind the preparation and enjoyed the remoulade. And finally the Sake Maki was just a basic salmon sushi roll. Nothing special. But a $3.50 Sake Maki, well that's a little special (at least here in Omaha). For that reason, I would return to Blue, but probably only for happy hour.

Finally I should talk a little about the ambiance for those of you who have never been to any of the three restaurants discussed above. It should tell you something by the fact that you rarely hear someone talk about Roja, Bianco or Blue and not talk about the decor, the wait staff, the clientèle, the logo designs, etc; AKA, the vibe. You can quickly get an idea of what they're talking about by clicking over to the respective websites. That glossy, slick, sleek, sexy, modern feel is the same you'll find in their restaurants. Some people adore it, some people abhor it. I just wanted to make you aware of it.

That's it. Happy Fourth of July Hour! Now go out and celebrate the Red, White and Aoi. See you next year when we do our fondue review of The Melting Pot :-)

Roja Mexican Grill
168th & Center

Rating: 78

17010 Wright Plaza (map)
Omaha, NE 68130
Phone: (402) 333-7652

Hours of Operation
Monday — Sunday:
11:00 am — Close
Happy Hour
Monday - Friday:
3:00 pm — 6:30 pm

Bianco Ristorante Italiano
132nd & Maple

Rating: 89

13110 Birch Drive (map)
Omaha, NE 68164
Phone: (402) 884-9500

Hours of Operation
Monday — Saturday:
  4:00 pm — Close
  4:00 pm — 9:00 pm
Happy Hour
Monday - Friday:
  4:00 pm — 6:30 pm

Blue Sushi Sake Grill
144th & Maple

Rating: 84

14450 Eagle Run Drive (map)
Suite 240
Omaha, NE 68164
Phone: (402) 445-2583

Hours of Operation
Monday — Saturday:
  11:00 am — 10:00 pm
  5:00 pm — 9:00 pm
Happy Hour
Monday - Friday:
  4:00 pm — 6:30 pm (? - Call First)
Friday - Saturday:
  10:00 pm — 12:00 pm

Labels: RESTAURANT REVIEW, RESTAURANTS, REVIEW

9 Comments:

We love Roja! What else is there in Omaha? I have tried Hectors...there quality of meat is bad and there service is subpar. There cheese is never melted inside their enchiladas. Oh yeah they serve potato skins??? La Mesa...I think they use Pace for their salsa and chips. Also, their food is all made with such low grade ingredients. It is unfair to Roja to do a review on a .99 cent taco and Nachos. How do you mess up Nachos and they don't. Try their signature items...Fajitas, Fish tacos, Queso Flameado with some veggies and a glass of wine or their green chile chicken enchiladas. Please give me a different place to try if you think their are so many other great mexican restaurants in Omaha. I am from Texas and Roja is the closest thing to Papasitos.

By Antman, at Thursday, July 19, 2007 12:20:00 PM
That's a completely fair question. The review was "mostly" based off our happy hour experience, but as I said, we went for dinner previously and were just not impressed. The score is a combination of those two visits.

Unfortunately, there are not many really good Mexican restaurants in West Omaha. The one restaurant out West that I truly enjoy is Rivera's at 120th & Blondo and honestly, I didn't like their food until I tried the Enchiladas Ranchera's which is incredibly good.

Some would say you could pick any place around 24th & L St. for good Mexican. The one I've heard the most about is Don Gaby's. Guaca Maya and Howard's are also commonly thrown out as suggestions.

And of course this is just my opinion of Roja. If you like it, then by all means, keep going. The great thing about opinions is that everyone has one, so I enjoy when other people share theirs here, regardless of if they agree with me or not.

By snekse, at Thursday, July 19, 2007 1:15:00 PM
You're not wrong. Roja is remarkably unremarkable but with higher prices. All of my friends and coworkers (except one) feel the same way.

Unfortunately, I can't say I like any of the Mexican places I have been to in Omaha. But, in Lincoln, I do like La Paz and a new place in the Haymarket that the name escapes me at the moment.

By Anonymous, at Thursday, July 19, 2007 10:31:00 PM
Riveria's does have some of the better mexican food in Omaha. Great beans, above average rice. Try the steak and chorizo enchilada's!

By Anonymous, at Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:55:00 PM
for good food in south omaha try El Aguila on 20th and Vinton. Standards are very good (i like the potato enchiada and pork and bean burrito) as are the specialties

By Anonymous, at Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:56:00 PM
Azteca, on the south side of 144th (near Sapp Bros. Drive) has the best Mexican food in Omaha. The service is fast and friendly. The owners are always present and are likely to be running food and helping in the kitchen at the same time. It is not fancy, but it is an authentic family owned and operated restaurant with delicious food. The Pretalados Camerones (spiced, bacon wrapped shrimp) is my favorite dish. My description does NOT do it justice! You should definitely try it for yourself. We highly recommend it!

By Anonymous, at Thursday, August 09, 2007 11:58:00 PM
I put some pictures of Rivera's up. As I said, I particularly like the Enchiladas Ranchera's that I had on my second visit.

Pictures of Rivera's Mexican Food

By snekse, at Friday, September 14, 2007 7:44:00 PM
First of you call yourseld foodies??? Yea, no!!! Roja is tex-mex??? There is a difference. Riveras is good mexican but every time I leave there i feel sick. It is probably from the coating of lard that sticks inside my mouth and stomach all day. Not to mention that use chorizo in everything. Also pork. But you are a foodies, you already know that. Roja's parking lot is full for a reason.

By Anonymous, at Friday, October 05, 2007 11:17:00 AM
I disagree, Roja is not Tex-mex. Chili's is Tex-mex. There are no Nacho Burgers on the Roja menu. However, they aren't Mexican either. I think they could only be classified as Ameri-mex. It's definitely Mexican style food with burritos, enchiladas, and tostadas Almost everything they serve can be found at Riveria's or Taco Bell. But Taco bell, like Roja, only tend to serve the more Americanized version of Mexican food and not very tasty versions at that. So I'd argue that both Roja and Taco Bell fall under that non-authentic Americanized cuisine category - Ameri-mex.

By snekse, at Friday, October 05, 2007 12:08:00 PM