Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Nebraska Brewing Co opening Nov 17th
posted by snekse

I confirmed with Paul Kavulak that The Nebraska Brewing Company will open to the public this Saturday. Their opening brews will include the Nut Brown Ale, Belgian Wit, Hefeweizen (EOS), IPA, and an Irish Red. The Cardinal Pale Ale will follow within the week (they didn’t want to rush it off of the dry hopping that it is going through) A Holiday Ale will be offered right around Thanksgiving and they’ve got their Brewer’s Choice roadmap all planned. You can read a little more about these beers, the food they'll be serving and get additional news updates through their website.

If you get a chance to check them out this weekend, let us know your initial thoughts on the place.

*** UPDATE ***
Beginning November 25th, the brewery will be offering brunch on Sundays from 9 A.M. until 1 P.M .

Also, The Nebraska Beer Blog provides an early review of Nebraska Brewing Company's opening beers.

Labels: OMAHA, OPENINGS, RESTAURANTS

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Shuck's Fish & Oyster Bar - Omaha, NE
posted by Foodie-E

Shuck's Oyster Bar

Do you ever suddenly get a craving for a certain type of food? I do and when I do, the craving is so strong that I can't think of anything else until I get it. So, what's a California girl transplanted to the middle of the country supposed to do when she has a gigantic seafood craving? Answer: Take a drive to Shucks and indulge in the fresh fishy goodness. I've only been there a couple of times since it's a bit out of my way, but I think for a treat, it's well worth the trip.

Shucks is attached to Absolutely Fresh Seafood Market and looks like a little bar you'd find in a FISHING PORT. It's not very big, so depending on what day you go, show up fairly early. We heard about their oyster special on Wednesdays, so both times we went, they were Wednesdays and we showed up early. :)

For their special, they offer a list of different oysters on a half shell at a very reasonable price. When we went, they had Clue Points, Chesapeakes, Malpeques, Canada Cups, and Quanset Points. Each ranged from $0.75 to $2.05 and you could order singly or you could get what they call a Roundabout which is 2 of each type of oyster for $13.95. We got the Roundabout and they were delicious. I'm not a huge raw oyster fan if it doesn't have a fancy schmancy mignonette sauce on it, but I tasted one of the Malpeques and it was quite tasty. Small and meaty that was Very clean and crisp with the flavor of the ocean.

If raw is not your thing, they have many different fried items like calamari, shrimp, clam strips, oysters, and baby potato cakes - all which can be found as separate appetizers or on a sampler platter. I would like to say that all of it was cooked very well - no rubbery calamari or shrimp here - but the breading was inconsistent each time we went. The first time we went, the breading was thin and crunchy with a slight kick of seasoning. The second time we went, the breading was still thin and crunchy, but it was extremely salty and pretty spicy. Enough to the point where I thought it ruined my fish and chips (they use the same breading) so I pulled it off of my fish pieces.

Between all the people who went with us both times, we got to try a lot of the dishes at Shucks. Since there were so many, I'm just going to breeze through most of them until I get to my favorites. :)

San Fran Cioppino - very flavorful, but not a traditional cioppino with big chunks of fish and shellfish in it; it had small pieces of misc fish. Clam Chowda - very creamy and tasty; would order again. Fresh Fish Chowda - so buttery that it was all you could taste and was like drinking a melted stick of butter; not sure if they didn't stir it before serving or if an extra pound of butter made it into the pot. Halibut O'Boy - they use the same breading as on the fried seafood items, pretty tasty. Jambalaya - had good flavor, but was a dry jambalaya; don't expect the traditional juicy stew poured over rice, this stuff kind of looked like Zatarans. Grilled Salmon - Eh, it was grilled salmon, but it was cooked well. Green Bean Risotto - trust me and take a pass on this.

And now my favorites. I really enjoyed the fish and chips made with cod and the seared ahi tuna salad. For me, it's usually pretty hard to mess up fish and chips, but it's also pretty difficult to make fish and chips that make you say 'WOW!' I said wow the first time I went to Shucks the first time and someone had it and the only other time I've had wow quality fish and chips was in Redwood City, CA at the Old Port Lobster Shack. The fish was so juicy and had a light flavor and silky texture that only cod can have.

The seared ahi tuna salad was probably the best seared tuna salad that I've had in Omaha. It was a healthy sized tuna steak marinated in what seemed like a sweet soy marinade, seared for probably 30 seconds on each side, sliced and placed on top of salad greens. You get your choice of dressing, but I recommend what the waiter recommended to me - the house Vidalia onion dressing. In the words of the toothy FoodTV personality, Rachael Ray, YUM-O. The tuna was firm and fresh and honestly, there was so much of it, I may even get that salad again the next time I'm craving sushi. That's how good it was. And at $9.95, it's a steal! You can't beat that with a stick.

If you're looking for some fresh seafood in the Omaha Metro - go to Shucks! It's a hidden little gem that serves great fish on Styrofoam plates and has excellent prices.

Rating: 87+

Shuck's Oyster Bar
120th & Pacific

1218 S. 119th Street (Map)
Omaha, NE 68144
Phone: (402) 827-4376

Hours of Operation
  Monday - Thursday: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
  Friday - Saturday: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
  Sunday: 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm

RELATED LINKS:
Shucks Photos

Tags || SHUCKS | OMAHA | RESTAURANTS | REVIEWS | RESTAURANT REVIEW | ABSOLUTELY FRESH | more... |

Labels: OMAHA, RESTAURANT REVIEW, RESTAURANTS, REVIEW

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Meet the Nebraska Brewing Company
posted by snekse

Coming Soon: Nebraska Brewing Co

When I first heard about Nebraska Brewing Company opening in Papillion, I had serious doubts about the place. I've been to too many "brewery-restaurants" that seem to wade in the mediocrity pool and rarely impress. I had doubts until I met Paul Kavulak, principal owner of Nebraska Brewing Company.

Paul is a man after my own heart. An information technology professional with a thing for history and beer. And as I found out, a bit of an obsessive fanatic like myself. He doesn't just like beer; he's been home brewing for 15 years. In 1992, a co-worker introduced him to the craft and just a year later he entered his first competition with a Scotch Ale and won a People's Choice award. Paul was one of the original members of the OmaHops Homebrew Club and was the club Secretary for awhile. So this isn't just someone thinking a brew pub could make them a lot of money, this is someone who *really* loves beer.

This also isn't just someone who loves beer who happened to one day think "Man it would be cool to own a brewery". This has been a flame in the back of his mind for at least 10 years. As a matter of fact, Kavulak and ~~some of his OmaHops friends~~ were to be the owners of the Jones Street Brewery when it closed, only to be thwarted by a last minute change in the terms that didn't agree with his analytical mind [CORRECTION: The other people involved with the attempted purchase were Dean Dobmeier (the brewer at Jones Street Brewery) and Bill Baburek (Cresent Moon)] . That logic-over-passion thought process is yet another reason I am excited for this place to open. The research and planning that has gone into this opening is impressive to say the least. It won't guarantee success, but it certainly helps.

Finally, you may have asked yourself "Does Omaha need another brew pub?" While I've always thought there was room for another brewery in Omaha, I never really felt there was a need for one. After talking with Paul, I did realize that there are a few spots in Omaha the do NEED one, including Papillion. The next question is, how will NBC be different? I found the answer to this very interesting. One of the reasons Kavulak stopped competing was because he always brewed beer for his own tastes which meant that sometimes a Porter or Lager he brewed wouldn't fit within the "style guidelines" for that particular brew, thus big point deductions which kill your chances to really compete. A perfect example of that is when he entered the same Scotch Ale that won the People's Choice award into a different competition only to have it score poorly due to the 12% ABV - far outside the upper range of 10% for even the strongest Scotch Ales according to the judging guidelines. Showings like this took some of the fun out of competing, so he decided to stop and just brew what he loves. He will strive to keep that philosophy while trying to find that delicate balance with broad appeal. I also found it interesting that Kavulak, being the history buff he is, wants to bring back some of Nebraska's rich brewing tradition which was wiped out for the most part during the prohibition. I believe Omaha has room for a brewery like this.

So I bid an early welcome to the Nebraska Brewing Company.

RELATED LINKS:
The Nebraska Brewing Company
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Nebraska Brewing Company (Foodaphilia)