City: Omaha, NE

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (402) 346-3549

Address: 1915 Leavenworth St.

Insider Pick:

Description: Hands down, Dixie Quick’s Magnolia Room is the best brunch spot in the city of Omaha. Chef Rene Orduna and his partner Rob Gilmer run a welcoming, eclectic art gallery meets funky restaurant with personality to spare. Recent expansions to the space have added an additional gallery space / dining room and a third space devoted solely to the RNG Gallery and its exhibitions. The long restaurant is all connected by one busy, central hallway. After being featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, business at Dixie Quick’s exploded; these days, it’s wise to call ahead for a brunch (or dinner) reservation. Don’t leave a message, the answering machine says, make your reservation with a human. No matter the hour, patrons order off a huge chalkboard on the main dining room wall. Everything on the menu, brunch or dinner, is simply delicious and lovingly prepared. The menu varies slightly from day to day, and on a busy morning, things sometimes sell out. Especially popular items include the eggs Benedict and eggs Blackstone, which is just like Benedict but with tomato and bacon instead of ham; an amazing breakfast quesadilla; the Dixie scramble; and oatmeal and ice cream, which Chef Orduna’s mom prepared for him one childhood day when she ran out of sweetener for his usual morning oatmeal. (It’s really, really good.) The dinner menu continues the Tex Mex meats home-style southern cooking tradition. The fried chicken is predictably to die for; also great are the char-broiled pork loin, the selection of spicy pastas, and the chicken Pernod. Go to Dixie Quick’s when you’re in Omaha. You’ll love it.