LeadBelly Happy Hour Review

 LeadBelly is Midtown Crossing new restaurant located at 3201 Farman Street in Omaha, NE.  Happy Hour is everyday starting Monday through Thursday from 3:00PM-6:00PM, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30PM-12:00AM, and Sunday Funday 11:00AM-5:00PM. Happy Hour seating is throughout the whole restaurant, so you won’t have to worry about limited seating. Happy Hour consist of $1 off Apps, wells, wine and Draft Beers. $2 off Scotch, Irish & American Whiskeys. All Taller Boys $2. $3 Shot O’ Day, Fireball, Goldschlager, Jagermeister, Rumple Mintze, $4 Guinness, Jameson, and $5 Martinis, Craft Cocktails, Sparklings, and $5 off bottles of wine.

LeadBelly had me hooked from their customer service. Upon entering the establishment I was greeted with a hello, and had the pleasure of sitting anywhere where I wanted. Once seated the waiter greeted me as well, and asked what I wanted to drink. I first started with a water and I was amazed that they used an old fashion jar, I’m a sucker for mason jars! For libations I had the Caucasian cocktail (Smirnoff 21, Kahlua, and Cream). I believe the Caucasian is my new favorite drink ladies and gentlemen. Imagine finishing off a caramel sundae and you have the liquid at the bottom that is what this drink remind me off. It was smooth, sweet, delicious, and a little bit strong.

For appetizer I started with Canada’s famous dish Poutine (waffle fries, red wine gravy, aged white cheddar cheese curd, smoked candied bacon). FYI this dish is big enough to feed two maybe three people! The star of this dish was the candied bacon! Sweet and salty bacon on waffle fries is literally everything and I also enjoyed the red wine gravy even though I couldn’t really taste the wine. For my true foodies out here you would love this dish. For my people that needs carbs to get them over a drunken night, you would love this dish!

Next I had their tacos!! If you’re a taco lover like myself LeadBelly won’t disappoint! I first started with the Ahi Taco (marinated raw tuna, romaine, fresh jalapeno, avocado, cilantro and lime) The Ahi is marinated to perfection and adding the romaine lettuce instead of a slaw was the perfect combo. FYI this taco does have a kick but it is not too spicy. The other taco I had was the Jerk Shrimp Taco (citrus slaw, red onion, fresh jalapeno, white cheddar, and lime). This taco was my favorite! The jerk flavor of the shrimp with the sweet slaw was absolutely delicious!

LeadBelly is that place where you can come relax, be with friends and just enjoy good food and libations! Because of the customer service and of course the food I give LeadBelly 5 Smiles!! 

Grane at Midtown Crossing

One of the newest additions to Midtown Crossing, Grane (120 South 31st Avenue, Suite 5105, Omaha) offers all the comforts of a modern day speakeasy. A whiskey dispensary that also offers a number of craft cocktails and small plates, this concept bar is brought to us from Brix, incorporating their tasting machines (you buy a dispensing card, then sample whisky and scotch to your heart or wallet’s content). Happy Hour is all day Monday and Tuesday (the whiskey machines are also half price all day Monday) as well as Wednesday - Saturday from 3p-6p. Their House Old Fashioned and Amaro are both on tap and $2 off as well as their other house cocktails and featured whiskey classics. Wines are $5 a glass and all draft beers are $2 off. All small plates including whiskey charcuterie (meat & cheese plate) and a chocolate whiskey bundt cake are 25% off.

I immediately loved Grane when I walked through the doors. Dimly lit and all brass and wood really makes you feel like you’ve walked back into the prohibition era. The bar is massive and I got a kick out of the rolling library style ladder the bartenders have to use to reach some of the bottles. I enjoyed that the walls were decorated with news clippings from Nebraska about prohibition and bootlegging as well as Capone-esque pictures of bootleggers and bartenders. Everyone was super helpful and attentive from the moment I arrived (both of my visits were on Mondays and their were only a few other patrons, but I get the feeling the service is the same even with a packed house). The GM even greeted me personally, remembered me upon my second visit and left me his card (great place Joel). Grane is the perfect place if you enjoy history, escapism and whiskey even half as much as I do.

My first order of business was to try the House Old Fashioned ($7: Wild Turkey 101, orange, sugar, angostura). I was a bit skeptical at first since this is “on tap” and how can a mass produced Old Fashioned really be good? It can if it’s from Grane. The drink was perfect and if you’ve never tried an Old Fashioned before this is a good place to start.

I also ordered the warm goat cheese fondue ($8.25: rustic country loaf, Shadowbrook Farm Chevre, roasted cippolini onions, Banguls vinegar reduction). The fondue came out promptly and piping hot. The reduction and onions were very nice compliments to each other as they were both sweeter.I do wish the onions had a bit more of a fine chop to them as currently you’re eating a whole clove at a time. The country loaf was fresh and soft but for this it may have served a better purpose by being toasted. Overall the fondue was a bit sweeter than I expected. I love the slight tanginess of goat cheese and it was definitely missing from this fondue.

I ended up getting a dispensing card, putting $10 on it and sampling three of the whiskeys Grane currently has. First was the George Dickel Grane 9 Year as the bartender had told me this was bottled for Grane (they even have the barrel it was aged in). It’s a Tennessee Style whiskey with notes of maple syrup and caramel and a smooth finish that lingers. Next was my favorite of the bunch, the Green Spot Single Pot Still. An Irish Whiskey comprised of pot still whiskeys aged between 7 to 10 years and matured in bourbon or sherry barrels, this whiskey is a spicier whiskey in tandem with green apple, leaving behind barley and clove notes (yes I just nerded out about the “nose” and “finish” and blah blah blah. I’m becoming a snob with these things). Last was the Greenore Single Grain Irish. This small batch Irish whiskey is also aged in bourbon barrels and made from corn instead of barley, lending it a sweeter taste. It’s not made in a pot still so the finish is smoother. I would recommend the dispensary machines to anyone who 1) likes whiskey or scotch 2) likes learning or tasting new alcohols on a budget 3) someone who just happens to be in Midtown on a Monday and wants something to do.

I ran out of time on my first visit so I returned to try the chocolate whisky bundt cake ($6: scotch raisin compote, bourbon caramel, irish cream ‘air’, coffee powder). The cake is really really dense and the coffee and whiskey is evident immediately. The irish cream ‘air’ (whipped cream) was delicious as was the scotch raisin compote. I would probably would just eat a bucket of it had it been available. I’m not a huge fan of chocolate cake but the raisins and irish cream air made me finish it. The bourbon caramel sauce was a little bit lost with everything else that was going on and I wish the cake had been warmed.

I give Grane 4.5 smiles. It is exactly what I imagine a speakeasy would look like with modern adaptations. The focus is where it should be, on the whiskey, so I only took away half a smile for the food. If you’re looking for an interesting date idea, want to sample something before buying it for a gift, or just want an excuse to dress up a little nicer and enjoy an Old Fashioned Grane in Midtown is the place to be.