On Friday we headed to what is fast becoming our favorite restaurant in Omaha, Shucks Fish House & Oyster Bar. We’ve been to the Pacific Street location twice since moving back in July, but we wanted to head east for our night out. So we went to the Leavenworth location, which is close to downtown. Shucks has one of the best happy hours in town. From 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. every day you can get $1 oysters on the half shell, a dozen peel ‘n eat shrimp for $5, and good deals on drinks. I’ve had a margarita there before ($3.50 during happy hour) and Peter’s had a Hurricane ($5.50). I’d recommend the margarita—it’s nothing fancy, but it’s what you expect. The Hurricane tasted like cough syrup. Anyway, we didn’t make it in time for happy hour on Friday. There was a 20 minute wait, but we snagged two seats at the bar. It’s a cozier feel than the Pacific Street location, and a bit grungier—in a way I quite liked. Without the happy hour deals looming, the drink menu felt exciting and new. I decided I had a hankering for a martini, and Peter followed suit. The Shucks martini was delicious—gin, very dirty, 3 olives, briefly shaken. It is so dirty that any more olive juice may have put it over the edge, but the brine is well-matched for the food served at Shucks. (There is an option on the menu to order it “EXTRA dirty,” and I can’t say I’m not tempted.) We split a basket of fried clams and chips, thinking we may end up somewhere else for a second bite. We love the fried clams. They are simply the best. I think the secret is in the seasoning—the batter is salty, peppery, maybe a little spicy? The batter is crunchy, and the clams are soft and, I think, must also be seasoned. The fries were nothing to write home about, but we finished the basket nonetheless.
Once finished at Shucks, we were ready to move on but not quite ready for more food. My dad had mentioned the Tiny House Bar as we were on our way out the door, and it stuck with us. We are easily influenced! Tiny House is in Little Bohemia, just north of downtown Omaha. It’s literally a tiny home, with different rooms inside and a very homey vibe. We chose to sit outside, though, as it was a Top Ten day of the year for weather. Peter kept it simple with Old Overholt on the rocks, and I ordered a cocktail: jalapeño-infused gin with simple syrup and citrus. The gin did have some heat, and with the citrus was really fun. Elegant, too, in a way. This was not our favorite experience, though, as we were being swarmed by mosquitos the entire time. There were a lot of those little bastards, and they were relentless. Peter got bit three times, and I didn’t get bit at all. Draw your own conclusions there.
We fled the mosquito scene and headed about a mile south on 13th Street to Los Portales. Our brother-in-law has spent some time in Council Bluffs at the Tyson factory, and he had recommend Los Portales to us a while ago. He was right—this was an excellent way to end our evening. After our second round of drinks, we were ready for some more food, and Mexican sounded just right. It was about 8:00 p.m. and this place was hopping. We got a carnitas burrito and two asada street tacos. I made us get chips because I like to have something crunchy, and Peter made us get horchata because he likes to have something sweet and creamy. The street tacos were solid: nicely seasoned meat that had some crisp edges and a hearty corn tortilla. But the burrito was the star of the show. It had carnitas (very flavorful), rice, beans, and (it seemed like) 3 kinds of cheese. We kept running into pocket of melted cheddar, which was extremely fun. I’d go there again any time, and typing this now is making me really want a burrito.
Peter was exhausted when we got home and didn’t feel up for watching a movie. I wanted to throw something on, and somehow landed on Monster-In-Law. I’d never seen it before, and I can’t really say I’ve seen it now as I only made it about 30 minutes in. This also means I can’t give a full review, but I do want to say that I don’t think J Lo is a very good actor, and that it was cracking me up how bad the movie wants you to believe that she’s the one punching up in the relationship. She’s J Lo!!! You can put her in a baby doll dress and flare jeans, but she’s still hotter than most people on the planet. If I ever go back and finish it, I’ll let you know!
It’s another nice day today. I’m going to go make some bean soup.