Visiting Lincoln

Every time I come "back home" to Lincoln it is, of course, to visit family, friends and loved ones. But in addition to that I always have an agenda of things I like to do while here that I can't do anywhere else. And you'll probably notice that most of these things involve food. *blush*



First off I gotta get me a Runza. When you grow up with a delicious resource like this at your disposal, you never learn to truly appreciate it... Until you move away and can't have it any time the craving strikes you. Runza's aren't merely a food unique to Nebraska, they are a cultural phenomenon. I remember while in school our lunches would frequently include "Bunza's", a clever take off on the name "Runza" which is copyrighted so the schools couldn't actually SAY they were serving Runzas since they weren't purchased at the restaurant. To know a Runza is to love one. But what if you're not from Nebraska? Well this is a description of a Runza directly from their website... "Homemade dough made from scratch everyday — stuffed full of Choice ground beef, onions, cabbage, and secret spices—and then baked fresh and served hot." Now don't tell me that doesn't sound delicious!



Speaking of cultural phenomenons, I absolutely can NOT make a visit to Lincoln without getting myself a Cheese Frenchee. This delicious sandwich has stood the test of more than time, it's still around despite the restaurant that created it actually having gone out of business! That restaurant, my friends, was called Kings Food Host. In researching information for this blog post, I discovered that although Kings Food Host was founded in Lincoln it was not actually limited to Lincoln in location. Kings Food Host spread nationally to 17 states and at least one Canadian Province. Cool! So what, you ask, is a Cheese Frenchee? There are many recipes for them but basically it is a grilled cheese coated in a delicious crispy coating and deep fried. Sounds more like State Fair food if you think about it, all it needs is a stick! Well it's delicious enough to be Fair food, too. Although Kings Food Host no longer exists and hasn't for many, many years, I always make sure to visit Amigos/Kings Classic restaurants to satisfy my craving for my all-time favorite comfort food, the Cheese Frenchee.



What trip down food memory lane in Lincoln Nebraska would be complete with out mentioning Valentinos? Quite possibly the most widely known still operating Lincoln restaurant, Valentinos ships it's pizza's all over the United States. And they have locations in 6 states. As many of you may realize, I currently live in Minnesota and if you followed my Valentinos link, you have discovered that they do actually have Valentinos restaurants in Minnesota. But the closest one to me is three hours away. Not exactly a distance one would typically cover for a dinner reservation. So although I usually do visit Valentinos restaurants when I visit Lincoln, we go one step further and order half baked frozen Valentinos Lasagna and Pizza's to take home with us! Yum, yum! :-D



Growing up, my parents and I ate out-a LOT. One of the nicest restaurants I had the good fortune to dine at was Misty's Steakhouse and Lounge. Originally opened as "Club 63" in 1963, the Misty's name came about some years later when a small grill was replaced with a larger one and finally with the addition of a rotisserie the era of Misty's Restaurant was born, named for the owner's favorite song, "Misty". Today, Misty's is known for its exceptionally delicious Prime Rib steaks and support of Nebraska Cornhusker's football. Every Friday night during football season, it is known as The Home of The Friday Night Big Red Pep Rally. You haven't really had a good Prime Rib until you've tasted Misty's, trust me.

There are too many other good restaurants I enjoy visiting while I'm in Lincoln to give you a review of them all but I'll list some of them here:

Village Inn
Spaghetti Works
The Steak House
Lee's
Tastee In and Out

and a couple that have not survived the test of time but deserve being mentioned are:

Alice's Restaurant (they used to serve the most delicious homemade bread)
Eddy's (located on the corner of 48th and "O" streets when I was very, very young)
Tony & Luigis (never actually visited this restaurant but it was VERY popular)

Thanks for following me down memory lane, I'm hungry!