Located in Downtown Omaha, NE (610 N 12th Street) across the street from TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, Blatt Beer & Table, a part of Flagship Restaurant Group (sister concept restaurants include Roja, Blue and Plank), offers a huge selection of local, domestic and international craft beer as well as continental pub fare. Happy Hour is Mon-Sat from 3p - 6:30p, Fri-Sat 9:30p - 11:30p and Sun noon to 8p. Snacks (including Bavarian Pretzel Bites and Frites) and Appetizers (Char-fried Chicken Wings, Blatt Bites and Sausages) are all available for a discounted price. PBR cans and draws are just $2, while draft beers are $1 off, well drinks are $4, house wines are $3 and their signature Guinness Bloody Mary is $5 (don’t let the name fool you, there is only a splash of Guinness included). Worth noting is Blatt doesn’t offer HH on days where events are occurring at either TD Ameritrade or CenturyLink (so no HH for you College World Series Fans and concert goers).
Overall the space is very open and inviting. Not as stuffy as the name would suggest and the bar is truly the centerpoint for this place. My first Blatt visit was during the first football Sunday of the season. Although part of the space was crowded with families after church, the bar area was essentially empty for the early game (groups started trickling in toward the end of my visit for the bigger ticket games). I didn’t get a chance to see the upstairs patio/beer garden as there was a private event that day. My second visit was the following Sunday during the late night Niners-Bears game. As expected almost everyone was at the bar, yet the space wasn’t crowded and the bartenders and wait staff were pretty attentive.
The first snack off the menu I sampled were the chicharones ($2: fried pork skins, chili powder, lime). I love pork rinds (which is what these are, fancy name or not). They remind me of my great grandmother who can always be seen with a bag not too far away. While hers are the everyday buy at Baker’s for 99 cents kind, Blatt’s chicarones are a bit more dressed up. They bring them out warm and are served with a side of Valentina. They had a nice kick from the chili powder and I had to stop myself from overdoing it with the salsa picante on the bare pieces. For $2 they are definitely worth getting, if only for nostalgia’s sake.
Also on the menu were Blatt’s frites ($2: house cut fries, parmesan peppercorn aioli, smoked tomato ketchup). The frites came out hot and crispy, exactly the way I like my fries (again what they are) although they could use a bit of seasoning (I know the aioli and ketchup are supposed to be the flavor stars here but sometimes I just want a delicious plain fry). The aioli had a good balance which is sometimes hard to do with peppercorns and the smoked ketchup was perfect. That coming from someone who kind of hates ketchup is saying something (good job Blatt).
Last but not least were the char-fried chicken wings ($5: naked or buttermilk breaded, sriracha buffalo or Blatt BBQ, celery and carrot crudite, buttermilk bacon ranch & blue cheese mousse). For the price you get a good amount of wings (about 6) and they are sauced appropriately (not dry but not swimming). I decided to be “healthy” and get them naked, however I suspect they weren’t as crispy as I’d have liked due to them not being breaded. I’m sure this could be remedied by just asking for them extra crispy a la my usual order at BWW. I choose the sriracha buffalo option which was really spicy. You could tell the actual wings probably had just salt and pepper on them, again to showcase the sauce. I prefer seasoned chicken all the time no matter the accompaniments. The ranch had a bit of smokiness from the bacon but the blue cheese mousse was a little much (this coming from a gastropub frequenter). Overall I’d try the wings again, maybe breaded BBQ next.
Now for the beers. Granted I’m still new in my walk down beer lane but I enjoy finding craft beers that are available all the time (looking at you small batch brewers). As with most places I fully expect to visit one day and the beer on tap that I loved will have disappeared. But for now, I’m in new beer drinker I hate the bitter taste but these are alright heaven (say that three times fast). First was the Fruli ($5.75: strawberry fruit beer, Brouwerij Huyghe | Melle, Belgium). The ABV is 4.1% so you’re safe to put a few of these back before things get crazy. Love that this beer still tastes “beery” but the strawberry and whatever else keeps it from being bitter. Not hoppy (look at me learning new beer terminology) and pretty smooth. Would definitely get it again (so please don’t get rid of it Blatt).
Next I had the Crispin Pear Hard Cider ($4: Crispin Cider Company, Minneapolis, MN). Super crisp and refreshing just as you’d expect from a pear flavored beverage. The ABV is a little higher on this on (5%) and as it tastes more like a pop than beer you may be on drink three before you know it. Reasonably priced and complements most of the food on menu. Got it both visits to Blatt.
I give Blatt Beer & Table 4 smiles. Great place for beer lovers, love most of the items on their regular menu, but the lack of variety with the actual appetizers (wings or sausage/currywurst or Blatt Bites don’t leave you many options) and not having HH at all during events is a little disheartening. Still worth a visit in my opinion, just plan ahead.
