Brazen Head

319 N 78th St
402.393.3731
www.brazenheadpub.com
M-W: 11-1pm
Th-Sat: 11-2pm
Sun: 12-1pm

Brazen Head has always kind of been an odd place for me. It was a popular hangout for my college buddies, but when we were there, we were always the youngest in the crowd. Which is not to say they cater to those over 60, certainly not, but I also kind of felt out of place a little.

Anyway, I quite like the place. They've done a very good job giving it an authentic pub feel: wood floors with tile inlays, heavy wood tables and chairs, comfortable and cushy booths, lots of Irish and English beers on tap, and nice and low mood lighting. The fist day I visited I stopped by with ten minutes left in happy hour, so it was busy but not crowded, and loud with large groups hobnobbing after work.

That day I ordered the happy hour spinach artichoke dip, and the County Cork Boxty, which came with either soup or salad. I chose the soup as it was chilly that day.

I only found out the dip had that red tint to it after I took the picture; it was so dark in the restaurant otherwise you'd never know.

The spinach artichoke dip was spectacular. Creamy, hot, full of flavor. I wish they didn't put chips in it when they served it, though, as it made the part of the chip that was in the dip soggy and soft. I'm, well, not sure what else to say about it, really. It was really, very good. By the way, since I got the happy hour version, I got a smaller version of the real size, which is also served in a bread bowl. I'll have to bring someone with me next time to tackle that one. 

Cheese soup is a cure-all in cold weather. Why are we not studying this fact?

The soup came out quickly. It was smooth, creamy, and a little bitter in a good way. The paper lace doily on the plate was pretty, easily missed, and completely unnecessary. I love that touch. Get the soup here.

If you don't enlarge this, you'll think I took an okay picture. So, um, please don't enlarge this.

Finally the boxty came out. "What's a boxty?" you may ask. Basically, take a potato pancake, put some stuff on top, fold it over, and pour a sauce on top. Done. Irish comfort food. The one I ordered, the County Cork, is filled with crab meat, asparagus, and Havarti cheese.

Go ahead and enlarge this one, I did well here. 

I loved this. Sweet crab meat, still-crunchy asparagus, both of which swimming in melted, velvety Havarti is already an awesome combination, but put that into a dense, fresh potato pancake and cover it with their cream sauce and you've got a winner. This is serious comfort food.

With my happy hour beer, food, and tax and tip, my total came to about $25.

I visited a week later, this time with plenty of time in happy hour. I was so early the place was pretty dead. By the time I left, however, it was starting to pick up. This day I ordered a plate of the happy hour Irish Nachos and the fish and chips.

I'm not sure what made these nachos "Irish." Maybe because the cheese was only cheddar, and nothing Mexican? I don't know, your guess is as good as mine.

I'm not sure what compelled me to order a Tex-Mex dish at an Irish pub, but I did and here we are. They were surprisingly delicious, however. Don't let the picture fool you, that is not the nacho cheese you find at the stadium, that is actually very melty cheddar cheese on top. When I pulled a nacho up, the cheese stretched and broke like the real deal. The beef was well spiced, there were enough jalapenos, and it included other nacho plate staples. A definite good little plate of nachos. Again, I ordered the happy hour version. The normal version is apparently bigger. I couldn't come close to finishing this, so the real one must be gigantic. As a side note, I'm not sure what would be on a plate of Irish nachos to make them truly "Irish." Maybe potatoes, cabbage, or mince meat. Ew. I'm glad they stayed away from that.

The waffle fries were very, very welcome.

So I went from "Irish" nachos to something a little more traditional on that side of the pond: fish and chips. I got three generous cod fillets on a bed of waffle fries. I was served with a tangy and very thick tartar sauce that would not surprise me was made in house. Unlike the last time I had fish and chips, at Sean O'Casey's, these fillets were fried correctly and not over done. The thick batter soaked up all the malt vinegar I cared to put on, and somehow still stayed a little crispy. The fish was flaky, tender, and perfectly done.

As for the fries, they were very well done. I know that french fries are one of those things that people can have very particular ideas about. Now if you were to ask me what type of fry I like, it's a very close race between shoestring and waffle. I think the best fries in town can be found at Broncos, so it should be easy to figure out that I like my fries a little limp. But I can completely understand why people would like a nice, crispy french fry. If you are in that boat, then get your fries here. They're crazy good.

The only thing I disliked about this dish was how it was served. I had a very hard time cutting and stabbing the fish with my fork because the fillets were over the fries. I could have used another plate.

Again, on this day, I could not finish my plate. Lots of food here. It would be very easy to have to waddle out the door.

All told, with the two bottles of  Dr. McGillicuddy's root beer, the food, and tip and taxes, my bill came to about $30.

Garden Cafe

11040 Oak St.
402.393.0252
M-Sun: 6 am - 8 pm
http://gardencaferockbrook.com/

This is the first place I've reviewed that I've been to before. Well, sort of. Back in the 90's, there was another Garden Cafe in Millard, right off of 144th and Q. While I was in grade school, my mom and I used to go there about once every 3-5 weeks. I came to love the Acapulco potato casserole, and my mom would (almost) always order the French Dip. And whenever we left, we'd bring home a loaf of monkey bread or cinnamon bread (which, at the time, I wasn't really a big fan of). After a short conversation with my mother, we decided it's been about 15 years since that location shut down, and we never went to the Rockbrook Village location afterwards, which I always thought was a little odd, as 108th and Center isn't exactly too far out of the way, especially with the Interstate right there.

Anyway, I was kind of excited for a little bit of nostalgia when I decided upon the Garden Cafe, especially after doing some research (read: Googling their name) and finding they still serve the Acapulco potato casserole. As it was cold for a late March Wednesday (in the 50s), a home-y casserole sounded even better,

It was fairly early when I arrived, before 5:30. so there wasn't much activity going on. The inside of the restaurant is very bright, in contrast to my last review, and is supposed to bring to mind a backyard family get together/outdoor cafe. There's a gazebo in a corner, the half walls that separate the booths that run down the middle are reminiscent of a wood fence, the doors to the supply rooms look like the doors to a garden shed, etc. Just as I remember it, but laid out differently. It felt like 1998 again, in the best of ways.

The first day, I ordered the Acapulco Potato Casserole (of course!) and a cup of the soup of the day, a Cheese Tortellini soup.

I actually kind of love the cup it was served in.

My server just told me the name of the soup, so I had no idea if it was a creamy soup or like, I dunno, an Italian Wedding soup or something. When he brought it out, I quickly found out it was essentially a tomato bisque with cheese tortellini. It was creamy, cheesy, and the chunks of tomato floating throughout added a good mount of body. I loved this soup.

I'm not sure why it looks so small in this picture, it was much bigger than this.

Perhaps because I had the nostalgia goggles on, I seem to remember the Acapulco being a lot better than what I was served, because quite honestly it doesn't look any different than what I remember. Maybe its because I didn't have salsa. Not sure.

Now, if you can't tell by the picture, this is essentially a plate of nachos, but with slices of potato instead of tortilla chips. They dowse the potatoes with their chili, melt some cheese on top of that, add a dollop of sour cream, and garnish with tomatoes and olives.

It wasn't bad by any stretch. In fact, it was decently good. But I should have asked for some salsa, and I was definitely blinded by nostalgia.

With the soup, casserole, the iced tea I ordered, and tip and tax, it all came to about $18.

The next time I visited was the following Tuesday, and like any good Omaha spring, the temperature wildly swung to the upper 80s. It was a little later this time when I arrived, about 6:30. This time around I ordered the spinach artichoke dip and the Garden Fantasy omelet with added bacon, because I'm an adult and I can mix things like that.

Don't be put off by how green it is, it was delicious.

The dip came out with five slices of freshly toasted and buttered thick cut baguette bread (if I said "Texas toast-style baguette" would I piss off both Texans and the French? Because that sounds like fun, actually). I'll be honest, what came in the bowl looked a little off-putting. It was very green, and it just didn't have the stereotypical look of spinach artichoke dip that I'm used to. I had very few good expectations for it. I was very wrong.

I'm not sure what about the dip that I liked so much. It doesn't have the cheesiness that I'm accustomed to, Although creamy, it wasn't near as smooth as I normally like it. There was just something about it that worked. Also, the big, visible chunks of artichoke were very nice.

This is a blog of firsts for me. The omelet is also the first breakfast item I've reviewed.

The Garden Fantasy omelet is, unsurprisingly chock full of veggies. Here's how the menu describes it; "This omelet is filled with fresh steamed seasonal vegetables, onions, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms and artichoke hearts, then topped with monterey (sic) jack cheese and hollandaise sauce." I had them add bacon to it as well.

The eggs were probably the fluffiest I've had since the last time I went to KC and had a Waffle House omelet. I loved all the veggies inside the thing, as well. I certainly did not regret adding the bacon, which put it over the top. This was a Top 5 omelet.

With the dip, omelet (bacon was extra), pop, and tax and tip, my bill came to about $20.

I should add that both days I took home a sample of a pastry, and I didn't take a picture of either one, because why would I? I'm only going to talk about them on my blog.

The lemon bar was probably a little too sweet for my taste, but the zebra brownie was as good as I remember it.