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.
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.
Saturday, April 14, 2012 - Raymono’s Pizza, Raymond, NebraskaOur
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.
April 6, 2012 - Lou and Mary Jane’s Bar - Bee, NebraskaThe
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.
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.
