Omaha, Nebraska

On July 8, I flew into Omaha, NE to get to Stanton, NE. From Omaha it was a 2 hour, 45 minute drive. The drive was mostly country roads with views of fields and cows. Seeing all of the feed lots almost made me a vegetarian.
Flights in and out of Omaha are limited so I had to spend the night in Omaha on Friday night and fly back to St. Louis on Saturday, July 11. Since I had worked in NE four times last summer and often had to stay an extra night, I was already familiar with downtown Omaha. My favorite part is the Old Market Area, which is very close to the hotel I stayed at.

Old Market Area- Omaha preserves its historic place in time in this historic section of town where visitors can stroll along the cobbled streets and explore the many preserved buildings. The old buildings are filled with one of a kind shops, boutiques and restaurants. Many local restaurants and bistros are scattered among chain restaurants in the Old Market Area which is located near the Missouri River. Check out http://www.oldmarket.com/ for more information.


I began my visit to the Old Market Area by strolling through Tannebaum, a Christmas shop filled with ornaments of every kind. On a past visit I bought a clarinet ornament from this shop.



Next stop was the Old Market Candy Shop. I had seen the Old Market area highlighted in the magazine Mid West Living last year. The Old Market Candy Shop was a place they suggested visiting.

I always stop by the Old Market Candy Shop and buy some "chicken feet." "Chicken feet" are a pretzel stick dipped in chocolate, carmel, and cashews on one end. It looks like a chicken foot! Above is a picture of the famous "chicken feet." I brought some home to share with my family.

A visit to Omaha would not be complete without ice cream at Ted & Wally's! First established in Lincoln, NE, in 1984, and then relocated to Omaha in 1986, Ted and Wally's Ice Cream Shop has always been known for its old-fashioned homemade ice cream. The uniqueness of the flavors and the old process they use to make the ice cream is what makes this ice cream the best I have ever tasted!
They have a rotating menu of 350 different flavors! On this visit I sampled sweet potato pie, nutella, and peanut butter & jelly. They use fresh ingredients and the baked goods they put in their ice cream comes from a local bakery. The peanut butter & jelly had pieces of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich mixed in with the ice cream.

The ice cream shop is housed in an old Sinclair Gas Station!

One of the workers explained the process to me. They make the ice cream base first and then add the ingredients to make the special flavors. The process is what makes their ice cream so distinctive. Ted and Wally's uses old-fashioned style White Mountain Freezers, which are hand crank ice makers. Above is a picture of the ice cream freezers.

The Upstream Brewing Company opened in 1996 and has a menu filled with handcrafted beers and dishes created with locally grown produce. Whenever I come to downtown Omaha, I stop by Upstream and enjoy a honey raspberry ale. This easy drinking beer is made with pale and Munich malts, wheat, honey and fresh raspberry puree. It is refreshing and mildly sweet.
During this visit I enjoyed my beer and meal on the street side cafe area in the picture above. The Old Market Area was bustling with locals and tourists during my visit and I enjoyed the beautiful summer weather by sitting outside and people watching.

California Tacos and More is not in the Old Market Place area of Omaha but it isn't too far away and I passed it on the way to Stanton. The restaurant was featured on the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and when I saw the segment I knew I had to stop by and sample a homemade taco.
The taco shells are homemade and are a crunchy/chewy deep fried shell filled with the meat of your choosing and resembles the chalupas you would find at Taco Bell, but much better. I enjoyed the chicken taco in the picture above. It is safe to say that I did not count points on this trip!