(402) 504-4200
I was excited to finally
visit Lot 2.
I had heard all the positive feedback and the owner/operators and Chef
have worked some of Omaha
The atmosphere at Lot 2 is fantastic.
It has warm touches throughout including wood floors and ceiling with
one wall partially exposed to the brick.
The rest of the space is light and airy with warm white walls and the
front, a wall of windows facing Benson’s main street. The bar welcomes you to take a seat and stay
awhile as you look at hand picked bottles of wine displayed in dark wood open
crates. The tables are a play on butcher
blocks and the white napkins and flatware look great in contrast.
We settled in and decided to
order a several items to share. For
starters, I order the Faux Gras, a vegan version of Foie Gras. It was served on a board with curry seasoned
nuts, olives, garlic confit, spicy mustard, pickled vegetables and a terrific
tomato jam. All the accoutrements were
tasty. I loved the tomato jam and I ate
the lion’s share of the curried nuts.
The Faux Gras itself wasn’t anything to get too excited about.
My beau chose the Kale
salad and this was the best thing we ate all night. I wish I had ordered it. I am still thinking about how delicious this
salad was. I could have eaten a bowl
twice the size as the one they served.
With our entrées we also
wanted to try a couple sides. We chose
the Brussels Spouts and the Beets. The
Sprouts were prepared well although they could have been a little bit
crispier. They were lacking the
advertised Preserved Lemon and the shaved Parmesan Cheese was scant. The Beets had a good texture but could have
been livened up with more of the white Balsamic. The whipped goat cheese was a nice complement
to the veggie.
I ordered the Falafel for
my entrée and my beau ordered the Seitan Kebob.
Again, we had somewhat mixed results.
I found the falafel to be a delightful take on the traditional. The falafel themselves were well
prepared. They were crispy on the
outside, moist on the inside and well seasoned.
The jalapeno chutney was the second best thing I ate that night. The cabbage was perfectly dressed with a
yogurt dressing and I found the entire dish satisfying and delicious.
The Seitan Kebab was
served with couscous and flatbread and the plat was drizzled with a curry
yogurt dressing. We could have used a
lot more of the dressing. It had
terrific flavor. The couscous on the
other hand was average. Unfortunately,
the dish got worse from there. The
Seitan was not only the worst thing we ate that night, it was the worst seitan
I have ever come across. It was super
dense and cooked so that I could barely cut it with a fork. It was chewy, rubbery, and not at all
flavorful. It was just bad.
Fortunately, the panna
cotta we had for dessert left us with a pleasant bite. Also, the wine pairings were perfect, as
expected from top notch Certified Sommeliers.
All in all, the service is
five star, the atmosphere is great, the wines are excellent and the food could
use some consistency in seasoning. Other
than the Seitan, none of the missteps in food would keep me from going back to Lot 2.
For another take on Lot 2, check out Sarah Baker Hansen’s review here in the
Omaha World Herald. Plus, she has
pictures! (I didn’t feel like taking any
this time.)
