Omaha, Nebraska: Le Bouillon Translates To "Salty Food" ... BOOAH!

Le Bouillon

1017 Howard Street

Omaha, NE 68102

Old Market, Downtown

Phone number: (402) 502-6816

Website: lebouillonomaha.com

Prices: $$$$

Not good. How this place averages four stars with 170+ reviews on Yelp is beyond me.

As I always say before a review of a French restaurant, "I love French food", but I did not even like Le Bouillon.

We came with a party of 12 from a conference at UNO as well as 2 last minute add-ons, but staff refused to add an extra table at first, making us squeeze into four small tables pushed together with just two small baskets of bread for 14 very cramped people. They told us that they were "fully booked", but less than half the tables were occupied all evening and a glass walled room with two giant tables sat empty next to the entrance. They finally got a clue and brought an extra table jusr before the first course arrived.

The server asked immediately what we wanted to drink, but there was just one, very extensive (at least 20 pages of small print - hundreds of options), wine/drink list for 14 people on the table. There were only a couple of wine options offered by the glass starting in the $9-$10 range and most bottles were well over $100 a pop with several approaching $1000. Feeling perplexed by the poor start, we stuck with water.

The server then dropped a rather heavy butter knife on my arm as she was setting the table for the first course. Things were spiraling downhill fast. They had no moules (mussels) or escargots (snails), focusing their menu on the Raw Bar instead (no thanks - I do not eat un/undercooked animal flesh), so we passed on appetizers. 

"Where's the beef?"

Beside a couple of $9-$13 soups and salads, everything had meat/fish (my wife prefers to eat vegetarian whenever possible), so the only options to her liking were the Le Bouillon Burger ($14) and the Croques Monsieur ($16). The only things that peaked my interest were the Wagyu Hangar Steak ($26) and the Cassoulet ($21), so she went with the croques monsieur and I the cassoulet. Hers came with a bit of salad and mine with nothing, so we both, unfortunately, ordered a side of Frites (fries) with Aioli ($6).

The croques monsieur had two huge, thick slices of egg battered toast, but barely a hint of ham and cheese. It was so salty that my wife could barely finish half. My cassoulet came out with the top burnt, so I mixed it up only to find mostly white beans and a couple of small pieces of ham and bacon. There were no noticeable "garlic sausage" or "duck" as advertized on the menu and it was also very salty, so I gave up after trying to eat half of my $21 white bean casserole. The fries looked very nice, but were very thin and crispy (almost burnt), hard to eat with fork or fingers, and EXTREMELY SALTY. All other attendees had similar complaints of salty food and fries.

When they cleared the table, nobody wondered why so much food remained on all of our plates, so I mentioned to the server how salty the food was, especially the fries, so they removed them (just the fries) from the checks. At $42+ for water, half of a salty sandwich, and half a bowl of salty bean soup (minus the soup), this was one of the poorest values in recent memory.

CombatCritic Gives Le Bouillon 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My WALL OF SHAME ... BOOAH LE BOUILLON!

One Bomb Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Le Bouillon on Yelp

Title: Omaha, Nebraska: Le Bouillon Translates To "Salty Food" ... BOOAH!

Key Words: Le Bouillon, le, bouillon, French, restaurant, Old Market, old, market, menu, Omaha, NE, Nebraska, Portland, Yelp, YouTube, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

"CombatCritic", "TravelValue" and "BOOAH" Are Protected Under U.S. Copyright Laws And Are Exclusive Property Of 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic

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Portland, OR: Live Music, Cheap Food And Drinks - HOOAH!

Spare Room Restaurant and Lounge

4830 NE 42nd Avenue

Portland, OR 97218

Northeast Portland, Cully

Phone number (503) 287-5800

Website: thespareroompdx.com

Prices: $$$$

Cheap drinks (Jim Beam and Coke - $3 - All Day/Every Day), food (ample menu and specials), and music (live/DJ/karaoke/free/cover) ... what more could you ask for!

Around the corner from my new temporary digs, I stopped by on Thursday night for a couple drinks and free, live music, unfortunately country on this night, but beggars can't be choosers. The bartender/hostess/server was very nice, well dressed, attractive and, most important, friendly. She also pours a strong drink ... HOOAH!

I did not stay long because I can only handle country in short bursts, but will return soon for one of their dinner specials (surf and turf, prime rib, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, etc.) and, hopefully, some rock and roll, jazz, or blues. The place is big and dark with an old fashioned feel, not extravagant and not seedy, just right. Two bars and dance floors in two adjoining big rooms with other spaces which I did not have a chance to explore. They also have gambling-type machines at the bar although I neither know Oregon's gambling laws nor if these machines are for used betting.

Most people seemed to know each other, but other than the bartender/server, nobody said a word to me or even looked like they wanted to although hugs abounded and conversations surrounded me. Not the welcome I would have liked, but as the new kid on the block, I expected little else.

CombatCritic Gives Spare Room Restaurant and Lounge An Initial 7 Bombs Out Of 10 With Room To Grow ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Spare Room Restaurant and Lounge on Yelp

Title: Portland, OR: Live Music, Cheap Food And Drinks - HOOAH!

Key Words: Spare Room Restaurant and Lounge, spare, room, lounge, bar, music, live, karaoke, Portland, Oregon, NE, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: S&G = "Shits & Grins"

Omaha, NE: Le Voltaire ... Très Bien!

Le Voltaire

569 N 155th Plaza

Omaha, NE 68154

Phone: (402) 934-9374

Website: levoltaireomaha.com

Prices: $$$$

With two medium size rooms and drop ceilings in the corner of a strip mall in Western Omaha, Le Voltaire does not exactly ooze sophistication. What it lacks in charm is compensated for by the friendly service, quality food, and fair prices. Our server never told us her name, but she was very nice and attentive considering it was a Friday night and the place was fully-booked, always a good sign.

It took our server 10-15 minutes to tell me she could not find our first choice of wine, a French Syrah, so I had to make another choice. With bottles of wine starting at $26, I found an excellent value in the Château Sainte Eulalie, Plaisir d'Eulalie, Minervois 2014 at just $27. It was a deep, medium-bodied red (40% Carignan, 35% Syrah, 25% Grenache) with hints of dark berries and spices that complimented my beef main course very nicely.

For our appetizers we had the Brie Josette ($8.95), baked brie served on toast with an apricot-cranberry chutney, and the gratin aux fruits de mer (seafood gratin - $10.95), bay scallops, shrimp and mussels in a béchamel sauce covered with cheese and broiled. The baked brie and chutney came on six small slices of their toasted baguette and while not the greatest appetizer I have ever had, it was an interesting and tasty balance between sweet and savory. My seafood gratin was a tad on the small side, but creamy and delicious with small chunks of seafood that balanced well with the more savory baked cheese topping.

Our main courses consisted of moules frites façon Jacques Brel ($17.95), 20 ounces of fresh mussels in a Lucky Bucket beer and bacon broth served with French fries, and boeuf Bourguignon ($18.95), a beef stew simmered in red (Burgundy, hence the name) wine, with carrots, mushrooms and onions accompanied by whipped potatoes. The mussels were plentiful and yummy, balanced well by the big chunks of bacon in a beer broth. My beef stew was a bit light on beef, but what was there was tender and delicious. The burgundy-based sauce was very well done and the whipped potatoes creamy just like they should be.

The only things that detracted from the experience (and my rating) were small details, but important ones. First, in a restaurant where you drop $100+ for a meal for two, there should be tablecloths. There were none. Second, when I made our reservation (for my wife's birthday) through OpenTable, I specifically requested a "special dessert", but her special day was never even acknowledged. We left without a formal celebration or a sweet ending to our meal.

The atmosphere adequate, the service friendly and efficient, the food tasty, and the prices fair, Le Voltaire is an excellent choice if you are craving French cuisine and an exceptional value and a pleasant surprise in the Midwest where quality, gourmet cuisine is a rarity.

CombatCritic Gives Le Voltaire 7 out of 10 Bombs ... More Bombs Are Better!

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "Super Foodie"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: Le Voltaire ... Très Bien!

Key Words: Le Voltaire, le, voltaire, French, restaurant, food, Burgundy, mussels, Lucky Bucket, beer, Bourguignon, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Omaha, NE, Nebraska, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Omaha (NE): Malara's: Scrambled Eggs In Carbonara Says It All

Malara's

2123 Pierce Street Omaha, NE 68108

Facebook

Prices: $$$$$

With a dearth of good Italian restaurants in our hometown of Lawrence (Kansas), we decided to try Malara's on a recent trip to Omaha after having read the rave reviews on Yelp. After our dinner, however, I am left wondering how this place ended up with 4 stars.

The place is huge and the decor a bit tacky, looking as if it has not been redecorated since the 1970's. We were seated quickly, but ignored for the first ten minutes we were there. I had to grab a wine list from another table because I could not get the server's attention, had I known whom he or she was.

Dinners come with a salad and although fresh, there was nothing but lettuce and that was drenched in an oil and vinegar dressing. The "bread" were rolls that looked as if they came out of a bag and heated in the oven.

My wife had the spaghetti carbonara ($11.95). The spaghetti was pretty good, advertised as being homemade, but the sauce was too oily and there was hardly any bacon in sight. Instead of adding raw egg to the finished dish before tossing the pasta, they added scrambled eggs, something I have never seen done before.

I had the veal parmigiana, ($16.95) which was not bad, but far from the best I have eaten. The portion size was adequate, the sauce pretty good, although a bit sweet for my taste, and the cheese melted to perfection. As is the case in most Italian (American) restaurants, there was far too much sauce on the pasta, but it tasted OK. When I asked the server if we could get some more bread, I was told that it would cost an "extra 25 cents each", so we SPLURGED! Enough said.

Removing the scrambled egg carbonara and 25 cent bread rolls from the equation, I would have likely given Malara's 5, maybe 6, bombs out of 10 for the very average food at reasonable prices (value). Lose the scrambled eggs and give folks an extra roll or two ... is another 50 cents really worth upsetting customers over?

CombatCritic Gives Malara's 4 Bombs Out of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Key Words: Malara's, malara, Italian, restaurant, Omaha, Nebraska, NE, CombatCritic, combat, critic, TravelValue, travel, value, food, menu, pasta, veal, carbonara

Omaha (NE): Gerda's ... Gut Food, Gut Value, Guten Appetit!

Gerda's German Restaurant & Bakery

5180 Leavenworth St Omaha, NE 68106

Website

Facebook

Phone: (402) 553-6774

A small, unassuming building on the outskirts west of downtown, with few parking options by the way, Gerda's did not disappoint as was the case at the Bohemian Cafe the night before.

You enter through the bakery, which is bigger than it needs to be, and into the smaller dining room. The decor is dated, with the flags of Germany (Bavaria, etc) lining one wall, but the place is clean and functional. 

For $19.95 you get a three course meal ... a beer of your choice, the Jägerschnitzel (complete with soup or salad, bread, and potato/spätzel), and your choice of dessert. The schnitzel alone is $16, a beer $6, and dessert around $4, so it is quite a value.

The salad was unassuming, a traditional German salad with dressed lettuce, potato salad, and sliced cucumbers, but the soup, a thick, meaty goulash, was superb!

The Jägerschnitzel was abundant and flavorful, a large pork cutlet battered and fried to golden perfection, then doused with brown Jâgermeister and mushroom gravy ... YUM! I had the fried potatoes, crispy and well seasoned with salt and paprika, and my wife tried the käse spâtzel, the more traditional cheese covered potato dumplings, both of which were excellent.

The dessert options were extensive, being a bakery after all, but we are so full we got them to go. My wife ordered the Black Forest cake and I had the cherry tart. The cake was creamy and fresh and the tart crisp and yummy, the perfect accompaniment to a well done German meal although consumed several hours after the fact.

The service was friendly and attentive. My only complaints being the lack of a German brün bier or dünkel (dark beer), so I was forced to have an amber(?) Oktobefest that was not bad, not great, and the fact that the menu does not have all that many options (a wiener schnitzel cordon blu would be also be a welcome addition).

CombatCritic Gives Gerda's 7 Bombs Out of 10 Bombs ... BOMBS ARE GUT!

Key Words: Gerda's, German, bakery, restaurant, menu, food, Omaha, Nebraska, NE, schnitzel, Jaegerschnitzel, Jägerschnitzel, goulash, eat, dinner, lunch, CombatCritic, TravelValue