WIAW: Holidays in Nebraska

Happy New Year’s Eve!  Do you have any special festivities going on tonight?  I’ll be heading to a small house party with friends.  It should be fun!

For the first time in a very long time I’m linking up with Peas and Crayons for the What I Ate Wednesday linkup.  This is where over a hundred bloggers each week come together and post photos of what they’ve been eating and share delicious, healthy recipes.  It’s a great place to pick up some inspiration!  For this edition of What I Ate Wednesday, I’m sharing my favorite eats from my time in Nebraska!

Eating in Nebraska

Lunch in Lincoln

For our first full day in Nebraska, we spent a good amount of time in Lincoln.  Bret went to college at the University of Nebraska, so he always gets sentimental driving around campus, which of course is a lot nicer now than when he was a student (isn’t that how it always goes?).  We met up with his mom and went to lunch at the Green Gateau.  I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a pretty fancy place!   I got a salad and sandwich combo  It was really delicious!

Dining in Omaha

While my first visit to Nebraska spent the majority of my time in Lincoln, this time we spent most of our time in Omaha.  When we flew into Omaha last Monday night, we went out for a late dinner with Bret’s sister and fiance, who we were staying with for the night.  Interestingly enough we ended up going to a place called Nite Owl.  It was a terrifically hipster spot with a very relaxed vibe.  We got a couple of orders of tater tots and they were amazing with huge portions!  I also got a pretty tasty cocktail (that was so cheap!) and a Banh Mi slider that was delicious.

On our last full day in Nebraska, we were back in Omaha and went for Mexican at El Rancho.  Bret has been telling me for years about the authentic Mexican food in Nebraska, so I was looking forward to finding out how good it really is once and for all!  First, I was really grumpy because we went there after going on a run and I didn’t bring my ID, and they carded me.  Of course Bret didn’t need to show his ID…yuck!  So no margarita for me, but the food was really good so all was forgiven.

Amazing tater tots!

Banh Mi Slider

El Rancho Mexican Restaurant

Chicken enchiladas with green sauce

Holiday Feasts

The Christmas holiday was full of so many wonderful treats.  I really didn’t hold back at all.  And why was that?  I feel that I’ve been eating really well this year, and I deserved to treat myself for a few days while on vacation, darn it!  I enjoyed cookies, candies, pizza, and a few adult beverages if I do say so myself!

We spent Christmas Day at Bret’s uncle and aunt’s place with his grandparents and lots of cousins.  It was really a fun time…Bret’s uncle Tom is hilarious!  The little kids were really cute playing around the house.  We had delicious ham and prime rib for our meat dishes, and sides included sweet potatoes (yum), mashed potatoes, some kind of amazing green casserole, macaroni and cheese, and deviled eggs.

So much food!

Ham and prime rib

Delicious pumpkin cake!

Steele City

While we were riding around the area (as I recapped on Monday), we ended up going to Steele City…a tiny town on the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak.  I think the population was less than 80 people!  Anyway, we went to one of the diviest of dives I’ve ever been to:  The Salty Dog Saloon.  I learned that it was a hangout spot for motorcycle gangs, and when we drove around we saw a house with a big old Confederate flag out front…oh boy.  But thankfully, everything was perfectly fine.  Most of Bret’s family got a giant mug of Bud Light on draft (I decided on a PBR) and ordered things from gizzards to chicken livers, to cheese balls and Rocky Mountain “Oysters”….which I was “encouraged” to try!  I got the Salty Dog Burger which was made of ground pork, another first for me….it was really good!  So don’t always judge a book by its cover!

The Salty Dog Burger and Fries!