Adventures in Food...

Hello, friends! 

When I moved to Omaha, I knew that it was going to be an adjustment. However, like I told a number of people, if I could find my bike routes and a decent spicy beef noodle soup, I'd be set. Living in CoMO, two of the things that I loved the most were being able to bike pretty much anywhere I needed to be, and Jingo's/Seasonings 63's spicy beef noodle soup. Getting those things locked in were going to be key to my adjustment. 

I've more or less figured out my bike routes, although biking is much more difficult in Omaha because of the traffic, the hills, and the terrible roads. 

But the Chinese food in Omaha is no good.

Like, pretty bad

As in, no spicy beef noodle soup anywhere

Friends, I have tried a number of places and looked a number of different menus. Most of the Chinese places around here are of the "cheap Chinese" variety, meaning they do Americanized Chinese food and lunch specials. They do what they do quite well but their soups are side dishes of the hot and spicy, egg drop, and wonton variety. Another spot does decent Schezuan cuisine but they spicy beef noodle soup is more of a stew. One place served me slices of beef and noodles in a chicken broth. The waiter looked at me and said, "I don't think this is what you were thinking it would be." It was not. 

Thankfully, I got saved by a friend of mine. No, he didn't find me a hidden gem for spicy beef noodle soup. However, he did alert me to the fact that the Reuben, my favorite sandwich, was invented on Omaha. A new quest was afoot! 

For two months straight, my friend and I would visit a new Reuben spot each week to see if we could find the best Reuben in all of Omaha. We went to deli's. We went to pubs. We went to chain restaurants. We went to holes in the wall. I ate a lot of corned beef and I absolutely loved it. 

After 2 months of experimentation, we had 2 spots that rose above the rest. Schwartz's deli had a beautiful rye bread, a great meat to sauce ratio, and wonderful french fries to compliment the sandwich. However, the winner was actually our first stop, the original, Crescent Moon. For our last foray into Reuben judging, we went back to Crescent Moon and ordered extra sauerkraut and extra sauce. Those little changes made for a practically perfect sandwich. (NOTE: The best Reuben in the world is still O'Connell's Pub in St. Louis). There's a reason Crescent Moon was voted "Omaha's Best Reuben" in 2017. 

Since then, I've had a few more culinary adventures. I've found some really tasty fried chicken (I'm looking at you, Time Out Foods), eaten some really great chicken wings (Thanks, Ray's Original!), and had more than my share of "meh" Asian cuisine (names will not be mentioned to protect the innocent). 

Even though I don't drink coffee, I have also found a coffee shop where I like to work and have meetings. Omaha Bicycle Company combines 4 of my favorite things: It has a a decent hot chocolate (usually, the better the coffee, the worse the hot chocolate), is close enough to bike to, it has bikes on the walls and is an actual bike shop, and plays alternative music and classic rock. It's pretty much the best thing ever. =0). 

We're still only a few months in of living here in Omaha. I know there are new restaurants to try and new foods to sample. Thus far, it has been an adventure and much of it has been disappointing. But, that Reuben though...

Have an excellent day!

~Adam