Laka Lono Rum Club - Omaha, NE

When I’m out of town, I’m always going to find the local tiki bar in town. I’ve been to Omaha before and have been to some cool locations (that closed) and one location that exists, but it straight garbage. I knew there was a new tiki bar in town, since the last time I was here, so I figured I’d better check it out after my buddy FFIII’s birthday party. I wasn’t sure what to expect here, but I also figured since I was riding solo, I’d better take a Lyft and not have to limit my enjoyment of rums and juices. (Turns out, I’m glad I did…)

It took me a minute to find, since I didn’t know it was downstairs below street level. I followed a loud crew of college-aged folks downstairs and walked into an absolute madhouse of people. Shoulder to shoulder and everyone was having a great time. If I was with three or four other folks, I wouldn’t have been able to convince them to stay, but since I was solo and flexible, I made it happen. I grabbed a menu while I waited in line and finally made it up to the bar to order. The bartender was surprisingly chipper and conversational for how busy it was and I appreciated it immensely (and tipped accordingly). 

Since I didn’t want to wait in line again, I just ordered two drinks. Veteran move, if you ask me. Puka Punch and a Zombie. You really don’t care what various rums are in these drinks, so I’m not going to bore you with details. However, I will tell you that these drinks were really surprisingly delicious. The Zombie, is of course super-boozy, but not in a way that burns every time you drink it. There’s enough other flavors to make it delightful and it’s sort of a barometer for how others drinks are going to be. 

The Puka Punch had some other flavors besides booze, including passionfruit, pineapple, and lime, and it was also really well-made. I was really pleased with my order and loved to watch people look at me as I walked around the dining room, two-fisting fruit-lade cocktails, while looking for a place to lean or sit. I was really into this place. Lots of people watching and lots of decorations to look at. 

I eventually found a spot at the bar that had opened up, so I plopped down and got comfortable and listened to people order coronas and coors lights and laughed as the bartenders made faces at them. Hilarious. 

Since I had just found a spot, I figured I’d better order one more, since I now had easy access to bartenders’ attention. I went out of my normal lane and got a drink called “It’s The Wind That Gets Ya” – chai-infused bourbon, apricot, coconut, and lemon. Actually one of the better drinks I’ve had at a tiki bar. Really good flavors that worked together. Super happy with this order. 

At this point, I’ve had a lot of rum and am really glad I was taking a Lyft back home like a responsible grown up. However, unlike a responsible grown up, I figured I’d turn a two-drink night into a four-drink night. It was raining out above ground, apparently, and I was still having fun watching everything and drinking tasty beverages. I decided against the Holy Diver that I Was eyeballing and went with the tried and true Mai Tai. I forgot to take a photo of this one, but again, it was really delicious. 

Don’t let anyone scare you away from tiki bars in the middle of the Midwest – they CAN be awesome. I’m glad I stopped in here for a quick visit (it wasn’t quick at all, I assure you). And I’m also glad I didn’t have anything to do until about 2pm the following day…

 

I’ll be back!!

 

https://www.lakalono.bar

La Buvette – Omaha, NE

When two different unrelated sets of people recommend a restaurant in Omaha, you should probably go there. La Buvette is in the Old Market area and it’s a perfectly snooty French wine bar where all the servers act as if you’re inconveniencing them and you should be happy they’re even helping you. I’m only exaggerating a little this time. My friend NoPants had a hankerin’ for some wine and cheese, and who am I to complain?...

The place is more like a wine shop with some snacks. There are wine bottles all along the walls that you can pick out and they’ll uncork for you – for an additional fee. Not uncommon, frankly, but interesting nonetheless. The server brought us a menu which is a lot of snacks and smaller plate items, and some of their more popular wines, both glasses and bottles. 

We skimmed the menu and eventually turned around and grabbed the nearest bottle off the wall behind us – I’m 100% not kidding. It was just easier, and we both like Cotes du Rhone. (It was a 2013 Luberon from Dauvergne Ranvier – very tasty) The wine here isn’t outlandishly priced, which was actually very nice. Much more affordable than I even expected, even with the corkage fee.

Eventually NoPants caved and ordered a bunch more cheese, even though we had been eating copious amounts of cheese up to this point in the day. But when you share a bottle of wine between two people, sometimes you need some snacks.

This place is worth a check-out if you’re in the Old Market area of Omaha. Even if you stop in for a quick glass, you won’t be disappointed with the quality nor the prices. Very fun visit!

www.labuvetteomaha.com

The French Bulldog – Omaha, NE

I met my long lost friend from the Quad Cities, NoPants, in Omaha – she’s been going to school there and doesn’t get many visitors from back home. I met her a block from her house at this awesome little French bistro and charcuterie and cheese place called The French Bulldog. 

It’s got a small list of fancy cocktails and what better way to start your day than with a wonderful purple fizzy cocktail – which is what I got.  Purple Fizz. It was glorious.

We decided to get the Charcuterie and Cheese plate to share, even though I had been eating constantly for about 5 hours. Not joking. I was just going to sample various things while we got caught up on our lives. I know we got the Rillettes, the Corriander sausage, and the pate of the week, which was an Italian spicy spreadable sausage called Nduja. We also got the Little Darling cheese and the Grana Padano cheese. 

Shortly after, the server brought us a giant cheese board with pickles, mustard, and honey. It was fantastic. Our favorite part was the Nduja, in case you were wondering. It was really quite fantastic and fun to smash into various pieces of bread. Followed VERY closely by the Little Darling cheese (which I may or may not have convinced them to sell me a few chunks before I left).

NoPants also ordered some sort of tomato and basil quiche that looked delicious. I'm assuming it was delicious since she didn't even offer to share it with me. (I'm totally kidding, she offered, but I was full. Sometimes I exaggerate.)

The French Bulldog makes all of their own charcuterie there in house and has a nice window into the kitchen if you’d like to see who the sausage is made – not a metaphor, actually. It’s really a great place to have a nice cocktail and a pile of meat and cheese. 

www.frenchbulldogomaha.com

Biggest Cock In Omaha – Omaha, NE

While strolling in the Old Market area of Omaha, I walked past this really large metal rooster sculpture. I took a photo of it because I’m a 12-year-old and think cock humor is hilarious.

When I got close to take the photo, I noticed this….

Apparently someone else has the same humor I do. Well played, Omaha.

www.facebook.com/biggestcockinomaha

Local (Beer, Patio, & Kitchen) – Omaha, NE

While in Omaha, some beer-loving friends of ours read about a new highly-rated restaurant that specialized in local beers. It Is called “Local”, which led to some three stooges-level humor when trying to text everyone where we were going for lunch. We found it pretty easily and went inside to check it out.

They do, indeed, have a great selection of beers from Nebraska, so I got a Zipline Nut Brown Ale. I was immediately drawn to the poutine, so we got an order of that for our table. D.Rough got the meatloaf and I got the Local burger with pepperjack, bacon, and an egg. And of course tots with buffalo sauce – don’t ask, it’s just my new thing.

The poutine arrived and was just alright. I’ve had better and I’ve had worse. The gravy wasn’t fantastic, so maybe that was it, but the fries were cooked nicely, so that helped redeem it. I always say there could be more cheese curds in it, but there were a portion-appropriate amount in here, in all honesty. It was fine, just not rave-worthy.

D.Rough was meh about her meatloaf. It was fine, but nothing ground-breaking.

The burger was actually pretty good though. It was nice and juicy and just barely pink – perfect. The toppings were nice and sloppy and the egg got on everything, but that’s what you want when you order something with an egg. It was really filling and large, as well. The tots were fine, and the buffalo sauce was weird. Not bad weird, just weird. I’m still glad I did the tots over the fries, though. I feel it was worth it, even with the confusion about the side of buffalo sauce.

I think this place will do just fine, but I don’t know if it qualifies for any sort of “best new restaurant in Omaha” sort of article, however. Again, go for the beer selection and the burger. You won’t be disappointed. The servers were all very friendly and competent, so it isn’t like you’re going to be sitting there for a few hours. 

Top 5 things about Local

1. Local burger

2. Beer selection and the way they’ve categorized and described beers is fantastic

3. Friendly staff

4. They have a parking lot downtown

5. Huge outdoor patio

Bottom 5 things

1. Confusing name

2. Meatloaf was meh

3. Poutine was meh

4. Weird that the beer pairings listed so many beers for each item

5. I’m not sure anyone in our group was astounded by the food there

www.localbeer.co

Eugene T. Mahoney State Park Disc Golf Course – Ashland, NE

I had time to play a second round the morning I was visiting Omaha. This course is about 30 minutes from Omaha, so again, not a terrible drive on a pleasant morning. It’s in a state park, the kind you have to pay $5 for, just a warning. I pretty much never complain about paying to play disc golf, especially when you can see your money at work on the course or park. This park is massive and it’s also REALY well kept. The guy at the guy taking money at the gate chatted me up about fishing when he saw my Minnesota plates – really a nice guy. He told me when I was done playing disc golf, I should drive to the end of the park and climb the huge tower for the best $5 view in Nebraska. I assured him I would.

I found the course pretty easily (using the map the front gate guy provided and circled). It’s behind a green house, and the first tee is RIGHT behind the green house. Like dangerously behind the green house. Also the first basket is a blind shot to the right, directly behind the green house. A little scary for the first shot of the round. I had been playing earlier, so I was warmed up, but geesh, I was a little scared to throw the first hole. 

The second and third holes were a little unusual, but after that, the course is pretty nice. Really nice, actually. It’s got nice big open shots up, down, and across hills. Good basket placements for some fast greens, some water hazards and creeks to navigate. It’s got some finesse holes and some bombs.

The tees are pretty well marked with signage, although they’ve made some changes out here, be warned. They have written numbers in the concrete pads that don’t always line up with the number on the sign next to it, nor the basket. The distances, therefore, are also not accurate, but they’re about half right. And there are multiple basket placements for each hole. Again, those are just amenities on the course – it’s still a really good course. 

I also love how the fairways are cut out of the prairie grass to class it up a little bit. They’ve done pretty fantastic work on this course (after you get past the first two or three holes). This one is worth the drive from Omaha to check out, even with the five dollar park entry fee. I played pretty well here, also (which helps my opinion of the course hahaha). One or two over, which I was really happy with.

After the round, I drove to the end of the park to climb the tower. It looked like it was going to be an awesome view form the top of this huge structure. Sadly, when I drove up to it, there was a sign saying it was closed due to wasp infestation. I half considered jumping the rope and checking it out anyway, but I had just seen a special on Japanese Giant Hornets (they can kill 40 honey bees in a minute!), so I opted to steer clear. I bet it’s nice though when it’s open!

Thanks for a fantastic round, Eugene T. Mahoney. I like what you’ve done with your property.

www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=4094