Taste of Lincoln

I don’t want to complain.  And I don’t want to turn this blog into a gripe session about bad service at restaurants.  Let me go on record as saying that I love Lazlo’s.  I think they have a great product, reliable food and good atmosphere.  I will return to Lazlo’s as my experience last Friday night has not detoured my love, just put a limit on it. 

The complimentary beer bread offered at both Lazlo’s locations has always baffled me.  At first, it was offered to everyone. Then it seemed to only be to those ordering dinners and then the footnote was made on the menu that it was available upon request.  I’m not one that EVER asks for something for free–it’s just not in my nature.  So when I was offered complimentary beer bread with my swordfish sandwich last Friday night, I was pretty excited.  And I knew that it wouldn’t arrive, but I had hope.  The pessimist within won when my sandwich was delivered 15 minutes later without the bread having made it to the table.  And normally, the oversight would have been forgotten.  Except that the two kids (approximately 18 or 19 years old) at the table next to us ordered salads and I heard them offered the bread and theirs arrived.  Why them and not me? 

It’s the arbitrary granting of the bread that irritates me.  Be consistent or drop it entirely.  It shouldn’t be offered on the size of the bill you rack up.  Maybe the “buddy system” of service is where this falls down.  Wherever the fault lies, it makes some customers not feel valued and lessens their experience at an otherwise great restaurant.

I’ve posted it before that there are no good Italian restaurants in Lincoln.  So when it was time for our anniversary, we of course had to drive up the interstate to Omaha to find one.  In this case, it was worth the drive and I now have a new standard for modern Italian restaurants. Bianco around 132nd and Maple in Omaha.  (Note: This is the same group that owns Blue and Roja in Omaha, which are also great places)

I was a little nervous because they were victims of some storm damage and when I made the reservation they were just opening the night I needed and they were without air conditioning.  Although the it was not crowded when we showed up, they did have the air on but we chose to eat outside.

As for the food, it was spectacular!!  Our waiter was extremely helpful and they run off the smaller plate’s concept.  We started with an appetizer Breasola (cured beef, baby arugula, shaved parmigiano).  It was very thin slices of beef that we rolled up and ate.  Wonderful!  I chose a pasta dish that I saw on the web site when I made the reservation PASTA FRESCA (Linguine meat sauce with braised veal, beef, pork, fresh tomato basil).  I was a little nervous about the veal part, but since this was a special occasion I wanted to try something different.  I was not disappointed.  The noodles were definitely homemade and the sauce had a perfect consistency (not to thick/not too runny).

For desert we had a fresh fruit cocktail with just a drizzle of custard.  It was light with just the perfect amount of sweet after a pasta dinner.

I was also pleased that they had bottles of Pellegrino as a water option.  I got hooked on Pellegrino when I traveled to California a lot of work.  There it is available everywhere, but it is hard to find anywhere here.

My only disappointment was the cost of the wine.  We had a familiar bottle of Chianti that I’ve gotten at The Still for around $10 and we paid around $32.  In fact, if we didn’t get the wine, our food bill was actually less than $30

Ok, not really, but I want to know how many Husker fans will end up with an Applebee’s gift card thanks to this promotion in Iowa State.  (I remember a similar promotion in Colorado where you got a CU ticket if you King Sized your meal at Burger King).

What a concept — riblets and pigskin. Iowa State officials are offering a $99 Applebee’s Mini-Pack. The deal provides a ticket to three ISU games and a $20 restaurant gift card at the restaurant for $99. Games include either South Dakota State or Kent State, Nebraska, and either Texas A&M or Missouri.

We had an out of town visitor for a few weeks so we had to hit all of the unique to Lincoln restaurants. I usually don’t write about fast food, but since it is Runza I felt I had to. I don’t like the original Runza sandwich, but I love their hamburgers and think every restaurant should serve Frings.

We both had the bacon cheeseburger combo meal. The first thing I noticed was it was a sesame seed bun. Is that new? Second, and still related to the bun, was it was cracked all over the top. You know, the kind of cracked that only a dry stale bun can get? The kind of bun where bits and pieces break off each time you move it in any direction.

Finally, what I noticed about the hamburger itself, was that it wasn’t the usual handmade patty. This was a machine made hamburger puck that is served at any fast food restaurant.
Maybe this is common knowledge among Runza regulars, but this was not the Runza burger I remember. In any case, it was kind of a disappointing last meal in Lincoln for both of us. I would have rather done a repeat of Val’s or gone to 9 South Char for a better burger.