Lincoln’s Best Restaurants in 2020
I have had a year in review post every year I’ve managed this blog. This year is quite a bit different, 2020 has been a challenge for all of us, but I think we can point to the restaurant industry as one of the harder-hit industries. I feel like Lincoln has weathered the storm better than I personally expected, but I also think we’ll see the effects of the pandemic for years to come.
One of the biggest reasons I started this blog was to promote some of the really awesome local food options we have in Lincoln, both for people outside of Lincoln visiting and for those who live here. To do this, I’ve followed the simple format: I’m already visiting as many restaurants as I can, so I can rank them against each other in a positive way that doesn’t point out any bad restaurants. This year is a little different, and I really have trouble ranking anything in this strange climate. With that, in spite of my best efforts, I haven’t been able to experience all of these restaurants the way they’re meant to be either.
With that in mind, my list below will give the restaurants who were able to provide the best experience given the very difficult circumstances. This list may or may not apply in a post-pandemic world, but at least should be a kudos for those who got creative and adapted in a difficult climate. In the spirit of my original goal for this blog (promote some of the really awesome local food options), please support all of the places listed below, plus as many local food options as you can. The big map is a great place to track everywhere I really love in Lincoln.
1. Dish
I have been extremely impressed with how Dish has handled the pandemic. They have had many creative ideas along the way, but where they really shine is takeout. I’ve heard that multiple times that fine dining and takeout don’t go together, and I absolutely get why. Part of an amazing dining experience isn’t just the food, and it’s extremely difficulty to keep food quality when it’s transported outside the restaurant. But Dish has figured something out here and has been able to make take out extremely good. Maybe not as good as their in-restaurant dining, but it doesn’t matter. Their takeout is amazing. Good enough that once this is all over, I hope they keep doing it, because they will certainly be my go-to for those nights I want a great dinner, don’t want to cook but also don’t want to go out.
Favorite dish this year: Faroe Island Salmon (pictured above).
http://www.dishdowntown.com/
2. Copal
In a pandemic world, Copal take out has been a life-saver. Their grab and go family meals are great and I could live off their tacos and eating them at home is just happiness. Is it Tuesday yet?
Favorite dish this year: Tacos pastor, (pictured above).
http://www.copallincoln.com/
3. Yia Yia’s
Yia Yia’s has always been one of my favorites. A lot of that has to do with their atmosphere and beer tap list. This year, I haven’t been able to experience the inside atmosphere, but it turns out Pizza is a perfect to go option. Add in a to-go beer and Yia Yia’s is still an awesome option. I do have to say that I’ve been a little disappointed in the take out experience for the Van Dorn location, so even though it’s closer, I have been exclusively getting pizza from the original O street location.
Favorite dish this year: Same as every year, a slice of the Polynesian. Though the “Raging Cajun” pictured above was a really nice special pizza.
https://www.facebook.com/yiayias/
4. Ivanna Cone
Ivanna Cone climbed the list this year because they made a night out in the Haymarket fun and normal. With their walk up outdoor delivery window, it’s easy to go down to the Haymarket, walk up, grab some ice cream and walk around the Haymarket. It’s a great reason to get out of the house in a relatively safe social atmosphere.
Favorite ice cream this year: Purple cow (pictured above).
http://www.ivannacone.com/
5. The Oven Cellar
Last year’s first place keeps it’s place because of the Oven itself. It has an amazing outdoor space where Charles will still give his expertise and the Oven take out is certainly a great take out option. But sadly, I wasn’t able to experience the cellar itself this year. I plan on going often when we can in 2021.
http://theoven-lincoln.com/about_cellar
6. The Parthenon
The Parthenon is still doing great things. The better part for me is that their food translates great for take out, which I took advantage of quite a bit. My favorite thing about the Parthenon has always been the great specials that change often and this year was no exception.
Favorite dish this year: Got this one in before the pandemic: St. louis pork ribs, greco style (pictured above).
http://www.theparthenon.net/
7. Venue + Piedmont Bistro
The Venue tried a warm up at home family meal delivery which I tried for a while. I really appreciate the effort, after many weeks of receiving delivery, ultimately decided it wasn’t up to par. But I bring that up because if they’re reading this, I really like the concept and I would love to see them continue to experiment and perfect it. Past that, the patio at Piedmont is certainly one of the better places in town to dine and I’ve taken advantage during the pandemic.
Favorite dish this year: Red Reuben (pictured above).
https://www.yourvenue.net/
8. Sebastian’s Table + Waffleopolis
Sebastian’s Table was closed for a good part of the year. But when they re-opened, they added some take home family meals that were really good. They also added a more lunch oriented concept called Waffleopolis. This lunch option is really good and less high end than the evening fare, which makes it more take out friendly and eat outside friendly. That adaption fits my pandemic food vibe pretty good.
Favorite dish this year: “The one with pork belly” (pictured above).
https://sebastianstable.com/
9. JTK
I’ve always thought the outdoor space at JTK looked really nice, but for whatever reason, I’ve not seen a lot of people take advantage. I feel like that changed this year, at least for me. I hope people continue to take advantage post-pandemic, because I really like the outdoor vibe of their patio. Past that, they continue to serve high-end fare and I love it every time.
Favorite dish this year: Wagyu petite filet (pictured above).
http://www.jtkrestaurant.com/
10. Lazlo’s (+Fireworks)
Lazlo’s is a Lincoln staple and one of my go-to restaurants. I’ve really had trouble keeping them out of the top list. They specialize in “Creative comfort food,” and I would completely agree with that. But I guess comfort food isn’t unique enough for me to give a blue mark. Almost everything on their menu is something you can get at 1,000 other restaurants. The difference is that they do it all really, really well. Especially the little things. It also turns out that creative comfort food also makes really good take out, and I really like Lazlo’s and Fireworks system to pick up take out. So this is the year to get them up the list.
Favorite dish this year: Of all of my go-to, don’t need to think, crave often favorites in Lincoln, the Pub Club with fries dipped in honey mustard is toward the top of the list (pictured above).
Honrable Mention
There are plenty of places in Lincoln that deserve a blue mark. These places probably do too, but I can’t give everyone the top honor and I think top 10 is a good cap.
Hub Cafe
Favorite dish from the Hub Cafe this year: Their pop up outdoor dining, it was awesome.
Prairie Plate
Favorite dish from Prairie Plate this year: Bierocks (Runzas) win the day, but getting Prairie Plate delivered to my house was really good every time.
MoMo
Favorite dish from MoMo this year: Sausage and fennel pizza.
Goodbyes are always hard
Surprisingly, only one restaurant on my big list has closed, Sips and Subs. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been a tough year for Lincoln restaurants and I really hope we won’t see a lot of restaurants not able to make it because of 2020. But as far as closures go, it’s not Lincoln, but close enough. One of my favorite restaurants anywhere, The Grey Plume in Omaha recently closed it’s doors for good. So happy we had it around for as long as we did, but I’m so sad to see it go. I have a lot of fun memories there.
Personal blog notes
Before the pandemic, I had a couple ideas for blog posts that were sort of thrown to the drafts folder. I’ll get back to those when everything is a little more normal. In the meantime, if you have any post ideas or requests, I would love to hear them.
For those of you who follow social media, for a while, I posted separate content on Twitter and Instagram to make both worth a follow. A few things happened there, first Instagram got far more interaction than Twitter and second, it’s easier to only post in one spot and third, splitting content between the two meant that both were only getting half of the stuff I posted. For any of you twitter followers reading this, I appreciate your follow, but I won’t be posting there much anymore. If you would like to continue to see my posts, follow me on Instagram.
Favorite new places this year
In spite of a pandemic, there were a few restaurants that managed to open and catch my eye.
Stur Fast
Stur Fast wins the new restaurant prize. I’ve been twice and both times have been left craving more. I seriously think this will become one of my go to lunch spots when I’m back to being downtown on a regular basis.
Muchachos
Muchachos has been around as a food truck, but I really like their new location they opened in 2020. Taking over for Method cycles, who’s space I loved, but I think Muchachos fits it really well too. It looks like a fun place to hang out and I hope to go often in a few months. For now, their take out is fantastic.
Rutabagas Comfort Food
Another place that existed as a pop-up but now has a permanent location, Rutabagas delivers some really good food, even if you’re not vegan.
402 Creamery
The downtown location might have opened before 2020, but their south location opened in March, which is when it really got on my radar. Really good, really creative ice cream.
The Chocolate Season
The Chocolate Season opened right in my neighborhood, which makes it almost too quick and easy to get a really good lunch or breakfast.
JuJu’s Vegan Cajun / Pepe’s Vegetarian
OK, so these two aren’t new in 2020, but they are new to me. I’m also including them together because they’re right next to each other in real life. I loved both … how have I not been to either place until this year? Pepe’s has been around since 2008 — I’m honestly quite disappointed in myself that I’ve deprived myself of his great food for this long. I think it underscores that I can try really hard to visit all of the local places, but there’s always going to be a new, awesome experience out there. Also getting back to each of them as regularly as I would like isn’t an easy task. That’s one of the reasons I love this blog, even if no one reads this or finds it interesting, it still gives me motivation and reason to continue to find new things. It also underscores the reason I started this thing in the first place: I was so tired hearing about how there isn’t anywhere good to eat in Lincoln. I go out to eat (or in 2020, get takeout) a lot, and I try very hard to visit and re-visit as many different places as I can. But I still don’t manage to get to them all. I actually feel slightly overwhelmed when I start to think of all the really great places I want to get back to but just haven’t been in a while for one reason or another. What’s the best way to think there’s nowhere good to eat in Lincoln? Tell yourself there’s nowhere good to eat in Lincoln and fall into the same old chain restaurant rut! Get out there and explore with your mouth, you might just find some really great and unexpected food. Here’s to a much better 2021 for everyone.