JournalStar.com - Ground Zero Online

Best dining: Great food with a side of good service
By JEFF KORBELIK / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Dec 29, 2005 - 09:13:34 pm CST

I recently noted in a column that the Green Gateau was my favorite place to eat for breakfast.

The restaurant is pretty good for lunch and dinner, too.

That’s why it’s among the top five of the 49 places Ground Zero featured in 2005.

Below is a rundown of those five. Please note, this is NOT a favorites list, but rather a list of the best restaurants we visited the past year.

Eateries were evaluated on food quality, service and presentation and are listed in the order they were featured.

Green Gateau (May 20) — Eric Lemke and Kelli Kerns took over the Green Gateau from her parents, William and Beverly Livengood, on July 1, 2004. Since then they have expanded the menu, added outdoor patio dining and begun selling beer and wine. The restaurant does a nice job with steaks and chicken entrees. The service is some of the best in town.

Eighth Street Ironworks (June 17) — One of the best places in town is now closed. Owners Jason Ables and Shannon Raymer gave it their best shot (twice), but couldn’t find enough support to make a go of it in the Haymarket. I enjoyed their unique takes on old favorites. I wish I had their meat loaf recipe.

El Rancho (Aug. 19) — Several new Mexican places opened this year, and the best of the bunch was El Rancho. Owner Alex Preciado of Los Angeles has a menu that differs greatly — in presentation and ingredients — from the fare found at other Mexican restaurants. Even the refried beans are atypical.

Scrumpy Jacks (Oct. 28) — The new place has a lot going for it, from the menu to the black box lounge to the “frost” bar. Scrumpy is big on steaks and seafood. Much of the food is spectacular, including the steaks and mushroom encrusted scallops. I recommend starting your meal with one of the restaurant’s delicious appetizers.

Krem Le Bistro (Nov. 18) — I like the concept: Walk-up sandwich shop for lunch and full-service restaurant in the evening. So far, Krem is keeping it simple with limited menu items, but all of them are fabulous. I recommend the roast beef roll-up, the beef stroganoff and Armenian chicken and vegetable pizza.

Honorable mention: Firethorn Golf Club (March 4) — Normally, this would make my top five, but membership is required to eat here. The food, however, is worth the monthly dues. Firethorn does a great job with steak and seafood.

Where we ate in 2005

Ground Zero visited these restaurants in 2005, in order of publication:

The Melting Pot, Omaha

Jade Rivers, 3940 Village Drive

Fox’s Pizza Den, 1400 Normandy Court, Suite 100

Great Wall II, 500 West Gate Blvd. (closed)

The Grill, 1800 Wilderness Woods Place

Shanghai Palace, 3239 S. 13th St.

Cinnamon Central, 6900 O St., Suite 132 (closed)

Red Lobster, 6540 O St.

Firethorn Golf Club, 9301 Firethorn Lane

Heidelberg’s, 1601 Normandy Court

Congress Inn Restaurant, 2001 W. O St.

Michel’s Ville Grille, 2701 N. 48th St.

Upstream Brewing Company, Omaha (two locations)

Tacos El Pueblo, 116 S. 27th St.

BBQ4U, 1145 N. 47th St.

El Sitio, 17th and Van Dorn streets

D’Leon’s, 1221 N. 27th St.

Dat’s Cuisine, 1209 Q St.

Imperial Palace, 701 N. 27th St.

Green Gateau, 330 S. 10th St.

El Potrero, 247 N. Eighth St.

Noodles & Company, 2801 Pine Lake Road

Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso, 1624 South St.

Eighth Street Ironworks, 301 N. Eighth St. (closed)

Mexicali Bullfrog, 84th Street and Cornhusker Highway (closed)

Heritage Buffet (Ameristar Casino), Council Bluffs, Iowa

Val Tavern, Valparaiso

Husker 1 Stop, Rising City

Little Ricky’s Saloon & Grill, North Bend

Outlaw Steakhouse & Saloon, Garland

Little Mexico Restaurant & Cantina, 5100 S. 27th St.

Great Wraps!, 1422 O St.

El Rancho, 2700 O St.

M13 Bistro & Gallery, 427 S. 13th St.

Bagels & Joe, 4701 Old Cheney Road

Back Yard Burgers, 8500 Andermatt Drive

Qdoba, 61st and O streets

Shogun, 3700 S. Ninth St., Suite F

El Chaparro, 1501 Centerpark Road

Scooter’s Coffeehouse, 1033 O St., Suite 100

Country Sliced Ham, 6900 O St.

Scrumpy Jacks, 5520 S. 56th St.

Red Onion, 141 N. Ninth St.

USA Steak Buffet, 2800 Cornhusker Highway

Krem Le Bistro, 701 P St., Suite 203

One Eyed Dog Saloon, Eagle

The Sweeter Side, 5550 S. 59th St.

Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern, 8701 Andermatt Drive

Spikes Beach Bar & Grille, 2300 Judson St.

The HoneyBaked Ham Co., 4107 Pioneer Woods Drive

Jill Peitzmeier/Lincoln Journal Star file photo

The Flautas de Pollo can be found on the lunch menu at El Rancho on 27th and O streets. It is chicken rolled taquitos topped with salsa, with Charro beans and Mexican rice served on the side.

ERIC GREGORY/Lincoln Journal Star file photo

Scrumpy Jacks co-owner Monty Crandon shows off a couple of the restaurant’s specialties.

In dining news …

Midnight Saturday will mark the first anniversary of the city’s smoking ban.

Lincoln’s bars and restaurants have spent the past year dealing with the new law.

Some went completely smoke-free, while others made changes to accommodate smokers yet remain in compliance with the ban.

As of the beginning of November, 29 restaurants and bars had applied for building permits to construct beer gardens or sidewalk cafes since the ban went into effect.

The most creative (and controversial) approach to the ban was at HiWay Diner, which allowed diners to smoke and eat inside its Freedom Flyer bus. The ban covers workplaces and public places, but not private vehicles.

Needless to say, the smoking ban again dominated dining headlines and became the top story for the third straight year.

Maybe next year it will be something else.

Maybe.

The smoking ban was part of a busy year in dining in Lincoln. The following is a look at some of the other top stories for 2005:

1. Chinese or Mexican — The beginning of the year saw several Chinese restaurants (Jade Rivers, Great Wall II, Shanghai Palace) open. Then came a spate of Mexican places: D’Leon’s (two more locations), Tacos El Pueblo, Mexicali Bullfrog, El Rancho, Qdoba and Little Mexico Restaurant & Cantina.

Great Wall II has since closed. It was the latest of a string of restaurants trying, and failing, to make a go of it at the Sun Valley Boulevard location.

Mexicali Bullfrog, which operated out of a mobile shack at 84th Street and Cornhusker Highway, also shut down and has been looking for a permanent location.

2. 25 years and counting — P.O. Pears and O’Rourke’s Tavern celebrated silver anniversaries this year.

Pears has been a little bit of everything to everyone. It’s known for its burgers, sand volleyball, cover bands, live jazz, movie decor, etc.

O’Rourke’s appeals to all ages and all walks of life. It’s here you can find a college kid debating a lawyer on whether or not the Cubs will ever make it to the World Series.

3. Linking the chains — Corporate America has found Lincoln diners ready and willing to spend dollars at its restaurants.

Six more chains made their way into the Star City: Noodles & Company (two locations), Back Yard Burgers, Qdoba, Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern, Great Wraps! and HoneyBaked Ham Co.

4. Reluctant goodbyes: Eighth Street Ironworks headed a list of several restaurants to close their doors.

Other visible, non-food-court places to shut down included Vien Dong, Hooter’s, Garden Cafe, Fiesta Cafe, New China Buffet, Sigsbee’s Bar-B-Que, Mama D’s Pizzeria, Studio Cafe, Cinnamon Central and Jimmy Ace’s.

Doozy’s left its O Street location for Clocktower on 70th Street. Danny’s Downtown Deli closed its S Street operation, but still has its busy store at 10th and O streets.

5. What is the best of Lincoln? In October, I wrote a column in response to KFOR’s annual “best of” survey.

I wasn’t prepared for the reader reaction. More than 100 Lincoln diners called, e-mailed or blogged me their opinions.

Some agreed with KFOR’s list; some were on board with me. Either way, it showed that people in Lincoln care about their restaurants.

That’s a good thing.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.