Omaha Driver Entertainment Guide

Located at 2121 S. 73rd Street, one block north of Mercy Road on 73rd Street, is one our family’s favorite Omaha steak houses, the Drover. The Drover is well known for its famous “Whiskey Steaks”, that use the Drover’s original and secret whiskey marinade. The inside of the restaurant is dimly lit with rustic dark wood decor. The Drover has several small alcoves with tables and seating, providing privacy for small groups. The Drover has a small cocktail lounge, as well as a small buffet salad bar with traditional, but somewhat limited, salad selections. The salad plates are “chilled.”  The Drover has several seafood menu items on their menu, and they are open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch, and nightly for dinner after 5 p.m. This Spring after the potholes are filled, have your mechanic check your vehicle’s front-end alignment and wheel balance, it’s been a hard Winter. Happy Motoring!

Located at 1017 Howard Street, in the Old Market, is the French Cafe’. The French Cafe’ is well known in the Omaha metropolitan area for elegant, fine dining and was voted by Omaha Magazine as Omaha’s best formal dining restaurant in 2009. Start your traditional French meal with a bowl of Classic French Onion Soup. It is excellent. Here is a link to the full dinner menu. The French Cafe’ is open on Sundays for Brunch, served for 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. And, it is open 7 nights per week for Bistro or Dinner service. The French Cafe’ can also host your special events or meetings, with private (for fee) rooms available. Reservations may be submitted online using their convenient web reservation form. Happy Motoring!

HuHot Mongolian Grill is a restaurant chain with franchises in 12 states, including 4 Nebraska locations. HuHot’s has a restaurant in Lincoln, and 3 in Omaha. One is located at 990 S. 72nd Street, another at 710 N. 114th Street, and another at 17660 Wright Street (177th & Center). HuHot is a fun eating experience for the entire family. Guests get to choose their own meats, noodles, vegetables and sauces for grilling by HuHot’s professional cooks. The sauces include mild traditional Mongolian flavors such as Teriyaki, garlic oil, sesame oil, and sweet and sour. Bold Asian and hot flavors are also available, including Thai peanut, ginger, curry, chili oil, kung pao and Szechuan. HuHot is open for lunch and dinner, and their hours of operation may be found on HuHot’s website. My wife and I love this place. Give it a try and Happy Motoring!

Located at 817 N. 40th Street, just north of St. Cecilia’s Cathedral, is Lisa’s Radial Cafe.  A family owned business, the Radial Cafe, touts itself as “Omaha’s Oldest Cafe.” My friends and I visited for breakfast. We were initially ushered to a small waiting room, but were seated within 5 minutes. The inside of the diner is small and cozy, with an interesting assortment of Omaha photographs and artwork adorning the walls. The diner was packed, but the customers were diverse and friendly, making the experience enjoyable.  I had ”The Works” breakfast that included scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast and bacon. The portion sizes were large and tasty. I had a minor spill, but the wait staff was on-the-spot to clean things up. The Radial Cafe is on the “Omaha’s Best” list, and it easy to understand why. It is an Omaha “must try”. Happy Motoring!

La Mesa Mexican Restaurant is a popular Omaha chain with 5 metro locations. Our family has typically eaten at the 84th and Tara Plaza location in Papillion. La Mesa’s food is good, but not memorable. La Mesa provides free corn chips and salsa appetizers, but the salsa is very mild. I prefer salsa with a little more kick to it. Their menu includes traditional Mexican dishes. The Nacho Fajitas is a popular entree choice. They also provide dine-in and take-out options, as well as catering services. La Mesa offers a large selection of Tequilas and Margaritas from which to choose. Give it a try and Happy Motoring!

Lansky’s has three Omaha locations. One at 50th and L Streets in Omaha, another at 1131 N. Broadway in Council Bluffs, and a third location at 3909 Twin Creek Drive in Bellevue (at 36th Street and Highway 370). Lansky’s is well known for its Philly steak sandwiches and for its pizzas. I think Lansky’s pizza sauce has a sweet tangy taste to it.  Overall, the food is very reasonably priced. We had a group of 30 at Lansky’s and were very satisfied with the service. They provided a dining room for our group free of charge, saving us a lot of added expense. Lansky’s has an extensive menu that also includes pasta, calzones, soups, salads and desserts. I really like their newest location in Bellevue. Give it a try and Happy Motoring!

Located at 13655 California Street is Biaggi’s Italian Restaurant. A chain, with locations in 12 states, Biaggi’s provides casual, relaxed dining in an elegant setting. Biaggi’s always starts your meal with a serving of Italian breads with fresh olive oil and parmesan cheese. The menu has a variety of appetizers, salads, and main courses from which to choose. The three cheese Lasagna Bolognese was delicious. Others in our group had the Seared Sea Bass and the Eggplant Parmesan. We were impressed with both the portion sizes as well as the presentation of the food. Biaggi’s has a large selection of modestly priced wines. Biaggi’s is open daily for lunch and dinner, and takes reservations for private events. Happy Motoring!

WheatFields Restaurant is an upscale Omaha dining experience, with an impressive array of European recipes from Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Lichtenstein. The bakery and dessert choices are extensive. WheatFields is a great place for breakfast, lunch or dinner,and it has three convenient Omaha locations from which to choose. At 1224 S. 103rd Street in One Pacific Place, at 7775 Olson Drive (Papillion) in Shadow Lake, and at 1202 Howard Street in the Old Market. WheatFields provides extensive catering services, including specialty box lunches that can be customized to meet your group’s dining needs. I’ve had WheatField’s cater hot scrambled eggs and bacon service for groups of 30, and was pleased with their service. Because they have so many food selections and services available, you really need to visit their website at www.wheatfieldscatering.com to understand what is available. Check it out and Happy Motoring!

Located at 1101 S. 119th Street is Big Fred’s Pizza. Since its opening in 1965, Big Fred’s has been a popular Omaha gathering spot for sports fans and athletes, especially after local sporting events and competitions. The weekend service wait can be long, especially during the Fall months, when the restaurant hosts Big Red fans seeking the excitement, comradery and game time atmosphere that develops inside the restaurant. Big Fred’s has several overhead televisions inside. Big Fred’s serves a thin crust pizza that is an Omaha original. It is light on the sauce, but heavy on the meat, cheese and other ingredients. Big Fred’s provides a family-friendly environment and is open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Try it and Happy Motoring!

Located at 6920 Pacific Street is Caniglia’s Venice Inn. Established in 1957 by Eli Caniglia and his brothers, the Venice Inn is one of Omaha’s most well-known and popular Italian steakhouses. The menu contains several Caniglia family recipes from Sicily and Italy, including chicken and eggplant parmigiana, pesto linguini, and baked manicotti. The Venice Inn also serves great pizzas, prime rib, steaks, chops, chicken and sea food dishes. The restaurant has several banquet rooms that will host party sizes from 20 to 175 for all occasions. Our office management and staff have often held our Christmas celebrations at the Venice Inn. We’ve never been disappointed or walked away hungry. Caniglia’s serves lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm., and dinner Tuesday through Sunday after 5:00 p.m. Give it a try and Buon Appetito!