Cuisine of Omaha
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The cuisine of Omaha reflects the
heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physica ...
and
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
of
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
.


About

Omaha has many steakhouses, several of which are Sicilian in origin and located in a section of town known as Little Italy or adjacent to the
Omaha Stockyards The Union Stockyards of Omaha, Nebraska, were founded in 1883 in South Omaha by the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. A fierce rival of Chicago's Union Stock Yards, the Omaha Union Stockyards were third in the United States for production by 1890. ...
. Mister C's was a renowned steakhouse in
North Omaha North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ...
founded by one of the Caniglia brothers. After operating for more than 55 years, the restaurant closed in 2007. Gorat's was founded in 1944, and still operates from its original location where Omaha billionaire
Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
regularly dines. Both Central European and Southern influence can be seen in the local popularity of carp, and there are numerous
deli Deli may refer to: * Delicatessen, a shop selling specially prepared food, or food prepared by such a shop * Sultanate of Deli, a former sultanate in North Sumatra, Indonesia Places * Deli, Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Pro ...
s throughout the city, including the historic Dundee Dell in the Dundee neighborhood. South 24th Street contains a multitude of Mexican restaurants, and North Omaha has its own barbecue style; the city also has a barbecue society. The Old Market has several locally and nationally renowned restaurants. Bronco's Hamburgers,
Godfather's Pizza Godfather's Pizza is an American privately owned restaurant chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, that operates fast casual Italian franchises and Pizza Express locations. History Godfather's Pizza was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1973. Wil ...
, and the Old Fashioned Garden Cafe (the latter of which closed in 2022) are among the chain restaurants that originated in Omaha.


Notable foods

The origins of the
Reuben sandwich The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing or Russian dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. It is associated with kosher-style delicatessens ...
reputedly come from Omaha.
Reuben Kulakofsky The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing or Russian dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. It is associated with kosher-style delicatessens, ...
(sometimes spelled Reubin, whose last name is sometimes shortened to Kay) was a grocer in Omaha. Kay was the inventor of the sandwich, perhaps as part of a group effort by members of Kulakofsky's weekly poker game held in the
Blackstone Hotel The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the Nation ...
from approximately 1920 to 1935. The participants, who nicknamed themselves "the committee," included the hotel's owner, Charles Schimmel. The sandwich first gained local fame when Schimmel put it on the Blackstone's lunch menu.(nd
History of the Reuben Sandwich
What's Cooking America? website. Retrieved 6/9/07
The Runza may be the most well known fast food item in local Omaha culture, a "yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...
, cabbage or
sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferm ...
,
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...
s, and seasonings," probably originating in the Russian ''
pirog Pirog ( rus, пиро́г, p=pʲɪˈrok, a=Ru-пирог.ogg, pl. ''pirogi'' пироги ; be, піро́г; se, pirog; lv, pīrāgs, pl. ''pīrāgi''; uk, пиріг ''pyrih'', pl. ''pyrohy'' пироги; lt, pyragas, pl. ''pyragai''; ...
i'' or ''
pirozhki Pirozhki ( rus, пирожки́, r=pirožkí, p=pʲɪrɐʂˈkʲi, plural form of ; uk, пиріжки, ''pyrizhky'') are Russian and Ukrainian baked or fried yeast-leavened boat-shaped buns with a variety of fillings. Pirozhki are a popular str ...
.''


Notable businesses

Omaha Steaks is a family business that manufactures, markets, packages, and distributes premium beef, seafood and other foods. It was founded in 1917 by Latvian emigrants as the "Table Supply Meat Company"; the name was taken from the previous occupants of the building, the Table Supply Company. The company changed its name to Omaha Steaks International in 1966, and has used "Omaha Steaks" in marketing ever since.
Conagra Brands Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...
is one of North America's largest
packaged food Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...
s companies. Conagra's products are available in supermarkets, as well as restaurants and food-service establishments. Its major brands include Healthy Choice,
Marie Callender's Marie Callender's is an American restaurant chain. Its headquarters are in the Marie Callender's Corporate Support Center in Mission Viejo, Orange County, California. As of May 2022, the company has 25 restaurant locations in California, Nevada ...
frozen foods,
Peter Pan peanut butter Peter Pan is an American brand of peanut butter that is marketed by Post Consumer Brands, part of Post Holdings, and is named after the J. M. Barrie Peter Pan, character. The product was introduced by Swift & Company (originally through their "Der ...
,
Hebrew National Hebrew National is a brand of kosher hot dogs and other sausages made by ConAgra Foods. In 1982, Hebrew National opened a non-kosher division under the name National Deli; it was sold off in 2001, and is now based in Florida. History The ' ...
hot dogs, Swiss Miss hot cocoa and
Wesson cooking oil Wesson cooking oil is a brand of vegetable oil manufactured in Memphis, Tennessee, and sold by Richardson International. Historically, Wesson was cottonseed oil, but as of 2009 the products sold under the Wesson brand are oil mixtures that may in ...
.


See also

*
Cuisine of the Midwestern United States Midwestern cuisine is a regional cuisine of the American Midwest. It draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Native North America, and is influenced by regionally and locall ...


Image gallery

Image:T-bone-cooked-MCB.jpg, A griddle-cooked T-bone steak at Gorat's Image:OmahaCascios.jpg, Cascio's Steakhouse at 1620 South 10th Street in
Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...
Image:OmahaAnthonys.jpg, Anthony's Steakhouse at 7220 F Street in
South Omaha South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth, due to the rapid development of the Union S ...
. The restaurant closed in 2022.


References


External links


List of Omaha Restaurant Websites
{{Cuisine of the United States