The Barn Door - Ceresco, Nebraska

The Barn Door
Ceresco, Nebraska
May 19, 2012

For this week’s outing, we had the pleasure of some extra company from Nan and Pops, Keith’s parents.  We chose the Barn Door in Ceresco, just about 10 minutes north of Lincoln.  We watched a storm roll in as we drove out there, and then listened to some heavy rain, thunder and lightning during dinner.  By the time we were done, the storm had passed and we drove home with a sunny sky.

The Barn Door was an old barn converted into a restaurant, but looked modern inside.  They had a nice menu selection.  Ethan had the kids’ chicken strip basket with “smiley fries,” Maddie had spaghetti and garlic bread; Keith had a roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes, and Shelley had the soup and salad combo with ham and bean soup, and a Ceasar salad.  Nan and Pops both had the fish and chips.  Everyone enjoyed their meal.  We were proud of Maddie for breaking out of her chicken strip funk.  Shelley’s salad left a little bit to be desired...it was just romaine lettuce, sliced black olives and Ceasar dressing, but the homemade soup made up for it.  

With a grand total of less than $50 for all 6 of us, it was one of our best bargains to date.  And, Shelley has learned her lesson not to order salads at small town restaurants. 

Outlaw Steakhouse - Garland, Nebraska

May 13, 2012


We really didn’t intend to spend $100 in Garland, Nebraska, but when we chose a steakhouse for this week’s “adventure in dining,” steak was on the minds of all four Zaborowskis. 


The Outlaw was a typical steakhouse.  It was none too fancy...plastic tableclothes and the little caddy of condiments on the table in a Corona box, but it was clean and the waitress was friendly, and the menu was varied.  Still, we all zeroed in on steak.


Maddie and Ethan both wanted prime rib, so we talked them into sharing the largest cut.  Keith ordered a NY Strip and I ordered a ribeye.  All the steaks arrived cooked to perfection.  The quality was solid.  The price was definitely not a small town bargain.  We enjoyed ourselves, but could not afford to eat at the Outlaw on a regular basis.

Mamasita's - Bennet, Nebraska

Saturday, April 21, 2012 - Mamasita’s, Benett, Nebraska

This evening, we decided to go back to Mamasita’s in Benett.  We had been there once before and enjoyed it, but this time we could blog about it and it would be official.  

Benett is located just a few miles Southeast of Lincoln.  It took us about 30 minutes to get there from our house, but any of our South Lincoln friends could probably get there in about 15 minutes.  Mamasita’s is not very impressive from the outside, but inside, it is much like a typical Mexican restaurant, decorated with sombreros, ponchos and maracas, and sporting mariachi music.  We were seated in a booth, and served by the same waitress we had last time.  

The kids ordered “Mama’s nachos,” add meat and hold the jalapenos. So basically, they had chips topped with meat and cheese...”Mucho Nachos” as they are called at school.  It is not the healthiest of meals, but then again, it’s a Mexican restaurant, and health food does not dominate the menu.  Keith ordered enchiladas.  I ordered a combination plate, which had a taco, an enchilada and a pork tamale.  To me, the sign of an authentic Mexican restaurant is the presence of tamales on the menu.  I love them, and they are hard to find at most Mexican chain restaurants.

Everything was very tasty.  The taco was nothing to write home about, but the enchilada and tamale were excellent.  And one of the best things about Mamasita’s are their homemade chips, which they serve amply with salsa before you even place your order.  One could easily fill up on the chips and salsa (though the salsa has absolutely no heat) and not even order a meal.  

We finished the meal out with a shared serving of fried ice cream.  This is admittedly not my favorite dessert (at any venue), but I still managed to help put a dent in the generous portion of this lovely concoction. 

Engine House Cafe - Havelock, Nebraska

April 8, 2012 - (Easter Sunday) - Engine House Cafe, Havelock, Nebraska


So for the first time ever, we decided to try the sunrise Easter service at First Plymouth.  We are all early risers by habit, so getting up in time for an early church service didn’t seem like a big deal.  The kids’ had some friends who were going to the service, so they were eager to go and see them.  And we figured this way, we would avoid the crowds that the later services bring.  


The service was nice - and short.  The majority of the service was held in the chapel, and at the end, we adjourned to the courtyard for the Easter proclamation.  (Which was also quite short - I imagine because it’s usually cold outside on Easter morn.  This morning had a little chill in the air, but was pretty warm compared to most Easter mornings.)  After the service, we went back inside the fellowship hall for coffee and cinnamon rolls.  I refrained from either, but Keith enjoyed some coffee, and the kids enjoyed some cinnamon rolls.


Another perk to going to an early church service is the chance to beat the breakfast crowd.  We debated where to go. Keith suggested one of our local favorites, the Engine House Cafe in Havelock.  I lobbied for brunch fare at Green Gateau, an elegant Lincoln favorite.  Maddie lobbied for the variety of excess at Golden Corral.  Ethan lobbied (rather grumpily) to go back home and see what the Easter bunny brought. In the end, the Engine House Cafe won out, especially since we decided we could add it to our small town food blog.  So there we went.


We have been to the Engine House Cafe numerous times before.  It is a favorite “mom and pop’s place” with a fun history (it used to be a fire house) and decor that tells that story.  The food is good, and they are on the POGO card, so we always feel like we are getting an extra good deal.  

One of the best things about the Engine House Cafe is their eggs benedict.  They are known for this breakfast delicacy, and truly, there aren’t many restaurants in town that serve eggs benedict.  This is usually what both Keith and I order, but today, I opted for a 3-alarm omlet cooked with chili, cheese and jalapenos.  It was served with hash browns, and tasted fabulous.  Keith debated about ordering eggs benedict with a different meat (they had a special with prime rib) but he ended up ordering the traditional benedict with Canadian bacon.  Maddie ordered a chocolate chip pancake (which was bigger than her head) and a side of bacon.  Ethan, who was still full from cinnamon rolls at church and still grouchy that this breakfast outing was delaying his Easter egg hunt, ordered nothing.  (He acted surprisingly polite at the restaurant, I must say, even though he groused the whole way there.)  
Everything was wonderful, as it always is.  By the end of the meal, even Ethan had warmed up and was asking for samples of the bacon and hash browns.  It was a great way to cap off the Easter service and start the day. 

Raymono's Pizza - Raymond, Nebraska

Saturday, April 14, 2012 - Raymono’s Pizza, Raymond, Nebraska

Our adventure continued on a stormy Saturday with a trip to Raymond, Nebraska to Raymono’s Pizza.  Severe weather had been happening on and off throughout the day, and more was predicted for the night. Still, we watched the radar and saw a break in the storms, and took our chances for a quick outing to Raymond.

It only took us about ten minutes to get there.  Raymono’s is located right off Highway 79; not really in the town of Raymond, but close enough, I suppose.  The restaurant looked fresh and relatively new.  It was even decorated with the trendy “fat chef” theme that I use in my own kitchen.  Their decor trumps mine, though, because they have a 7-foot chef statue with a chalkboard sign greeting guests at the entrance.  

We were seated in a booth and proceeded to look at the menu.  They had a nice selection of pizza options, including two kids’ meal options with mini pizzas, breadstick bites, a drink and soft serve ice cream. Maddie chose cheese pizza, her usual, and Ethan decided to be adventurous and try Hawaiian, with pineapple and ham.  Keith and I ordered a medium “meaty” pizza.  Everything was delicious!  The “parmesan crust” was the best part.  It tasted like garlic bread.  The kids kept picking bits of the crust of our pizza off because it was so yummy and addictive.  We would definitely go back to Raymono’s again.

Lou and Mary Jane's Bar - Bee, Nebraska

April 6, 2012 - Lou and Mary Jane’s Bar - Bee, Nebraska

The second week of our small town culinary adventure took us to Bee, Nebraska for the fish fry at Lou and Mary Jane’s Bar.  It was the last Friday of Lent, and we decided a fish fry was in order.  

The drive to Bee only took about 30 minutes.  It was a scenic drive, surprisingly hilly and picturesque. Once we got there, the town of Bee was very small.  Our GPS gave us street names to watch for, but there were no street signs visible as we entered the town.  Still, we managed to find the bar without any trouble.  There were only a few streets, so we just drove up and down them until we found it.  

The bar was sort of what you might expect a small town bar to look like.  It was obvious it had been a small building at one point that had been added onto a couple different times.  It was dark with mismatched furniture and carpet on the walls (do they vaccuum that?) and a pool table at one end.  There was a banner on the wall advertising a local race and a homemade poster advertising Girl Scout cookies for sale.  We seated ourselves in the middle of the restaurant.

Since we came for the fish, we didn’t bother to look at the menu - if there was one.  Maddie and Ethan were skeptical about ordering fish, but they put on a brave face and didn’t even ask about chicken strips.  We all ordered the fish fry special.  

While we were waiting, we were approached by a gentleman who asked how we were doing tonight.  We struck up a conversation, and it turns out, he was Lou of “Lou and Mary Jane’s Bar.”  He spent quite a long time with us, telling us about his journey, his family and how he ended up in Bee, Nebraska.  He also told us about how he uses Icelandic Cod for the restaurant, and how very few restaurants use that variety.  He was a very nice gentleman, and before he departed, we took a picture with him.  

Then, our plates arrived.  They were heaping with planks of fish, French fries and a slice of bread.  Oh, and there was a little pool of cole slaw hidden beneath the hot food.  Everything was fresh and delicious.  Even the kids liked it - mostly - even though it wasn’t chicken strips.  Our only critique was that we all agreed the breading on the fish could have been a little more crispy.  After steaming amidst the bread and fries for a few minutes, it had gotten kind of soft.  Still, no complaints.  We all agreed it was worth the drive from Lincoln.

The Isle's Pub and Pizza - Havelock, Nebraska

March 31 – The Isles Pub and Pizza, Havelock, Nebraska

Okay, so we didn’t venture out too far on this first outing.  We’ve been talking about doing this small town eateries thing for awhile now, but we didn’t actually commit to it until tonight.  Miracouosly, all four of us were home and happened to have no plans for the night, so we decided it was as good a time as any to get started.  Keith has been to the Isles before and thinks the world of their pizza; and the kids were in the mood for pizza, so it seemed like the thing to do.

The atmosphere at the Isles is reminiscent of the 1970s.  It’s a little dark in there, with big half-moon booths against one wall, small square tables down the middle, and the bar on the other side.  There are larger tables for groups in the back.  The booths were all taken when we arrived, so we selected a square table in the middle and sat down.  We were greeted promptly by a friendly waitress who brought menus and took our drink orders – lemonade for Maddie, diet Cokes for the boys and water for me.  We ordered a large hamburger pizza (kids’ preference) and an order of garlic rolls.  (Maddie is a garlic roll/bread connoisseur, and will gladly test this dish at any restaurant that serves it.)

We waited awhile and sipped our beverages, wondering where we were going to put our pizza.  The tiny table was completely covered by our beverages, silverware and the parmesan and red pepper shakers. Our waitress made this same observation, and suggested we move to one of the larger tables in the back.  We did this, and our food arrived shortly thereafter.  It was excellent.   The pizza was tasty with a soft, slightly sweet dough, flavorful sauce and plenty of hamburger and cheese.  We each ate several pieces, and the large was the perfect size for the four of us.  I did not eat any of the garlic bread, but my three companions assured me that it was also very good.

When we got our bill, we were a little surprised by the price of the drinks.  At $2.50 each, we thought that was a bit high, especially for the kids who didn’t ever have a refill.  The pizza was priced slightly higher than that of a chain restaurant, but was much better and worth the extra few bucks.  We enjoyed the Isles, and would definitely go back again.