Lot 2

Lot 2  Restaurant & Wine Bar

www.lot2benson.com

6207 Maple St., Omaha, NE 

(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’s best restaurants.  In most points, they did not disappoint.

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.)