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Lincoln/Omaha NE

iodeac

By iodeac
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iodeac

iodeac 138

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My wife and I are flying out from NC in October to run a friend's half marathon in Lincoln. He says that Lincoln is a nice college town but there's more to do in Omaha. I've never been to Nebraska but was wondering if anyone had recommendations on which city would be best to stay in, what to do etc. Thanks.

 

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Bone3421

Bone3421 716

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Omaha, hands down.... Lincoln blows

Hit up M's pub and gotta grab some sausages from stoysich (24th street location)

Dundee and benson area also have some nice chill bars if you want to get out of downtown

And if it interests y'all omaha zoo is world famous and is 1a/1b with san diego zoo in most rankings

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12476

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I had a pretty good time in Lincoln after a Turnpike show a few years back. Some decent college bars and shit.

Don’t have much to say beyond that. My only other times there were game weekends, where the tailgate scene was trash but the bars were alright that night

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Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler 3491

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I have family and friends in and around Omaha, and I visit occasionally.  I don't know nearly as much about Lincoln.  Some of the following is based off recs from family/friends rather than personal experience.  Also, call before you go -- some of these places may have been impacted (read: closed) by the pandemic.

OMAHA:  There's more shit to do/see in Omaha than Lincoln.  The Old Market has some good bars and restaurants, plus it's close to other downtown area stuff you may want to see, e.g., Heartland America Park, TD Ameritrade Park (if you want to catch a ballgame), etc.   Upstream Brewing Co. is good.  The Dubliner is an old classic Irish bar, but I haven't been there in eons.  M's Pub has had pretty good food in the past.  

Gorats and Cascio's are classic old Omaha steakhouses.  Cascio's is an Italian steakhouse -- get yer side of spaghetti or mostaciolli in marinara sauce along with your steak and baked potato, etc.  I hear Cascio's may be getting past its prime, but if you're looking for a classic Omaha Italian steakhouse experience, it's one of the last ones around.  I also hear good things about Spencer's and 801 Chophouse, but I haven't tried either.  The Drover was a good place for steaks in the past, but they had a fire a few years ago and I haven't been there or heard anything (good or bad) since it reopened so I don't know.  If you go, try the whiskey ribeye.  

You like bourbon and scotch?  Go hit up the Library Pub on 90th just south of Fort St.  Terrific selection and a laid back place to just sit and nurse your 20 YO ORVW or whatever.     

Brothers Lounge on Farnam St. is a good dive bar.

Surprisingly, the Benson area of Omaha (central part of the city), which used to be a very sedate, mostly old folks area, has turned into kind of a hip place over the past 5-10 years -- probably due to rents being lower there than in other places.  There's some decent bars in Benson now -- Krug Park, Infusion Brewing Co., Reverb Lounge are all decent places to drink.  At least they were before COVID.

The Dundee Dell was a good bar, but I think it closed down last year.  I hear they were trying to reopen it, but I don't know if that happened.

As others have mentioned, the zoo in Omaha is legit -- in fact, it's excellent for the size of the city.  Great place to take the kids.  

Do not get BBQ in Omaha.  If you want Mexican, head for South Omaha in general.  Runza as a chain has gone seriously downhill over the past 10-15 years.  I'll still try one occasionally when I'm visiting, but it's a shell of its former self.  If you want a good fast food burger, try Culver's, though I don't think there are any locations close to downtown.

The Durham Museum is really good.  It's in the old train station, just south of the Old Market.  You might need to make reservations in advance.

There's a casino just across the river in Council Bluffs if you feel like getting your gamble on.  I've never been there.   

I would stick mainly in the downtown/Old Market area and then make forays to other parts of the city as needed. 

 

LINCOLN:  I know very little.  The Haymarket District has a lot of bars and restaurants.  Lazlo's was pretty good for beers and pub grub when I was there a few years ago.   Hopcat had some interesting (mostly local) beers.  That's all I got.  As you can probably tell, I'm mostly drinking when I'm back there.

 

 

 

 

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7782

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On 4/3/2021 at 1:10 PM, iodeac said:

 

My wife and I are flying out from NC in October to run a friend's half marathon in Lincoln. He says that Lincoln is a nice college town but there's more to do in Omaha. I've never been to Nebraska but was wondering if anyone had recommendations on which city would be best to stay in, what to do etc. Thanks.

 

Enviado desde mi SM-G973U mediante Tapatalk

 

 

 

Eat a Runza and try not to poop your pants the next day.  You could visit their Soviet era architecture stadium.

Lincoln sucks hard.  

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Landomatic

Landomatic 3813

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Spent a fair amount of time in both.  Both about the Kansas City level.  Not horrible...not great.

Of course, that probably means that @Al_4_ISU thinks they both have comparable BBQ to Texas.  But that’s just because he’s a little soft in the head when it comes to that.

The zoo in Omaha is great.  The rest is as shitty as KC or whatever town in Iowa or the Dakotas or whatever.

Sorry but that’s truly about it.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12476

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The zoo is great.

Lincoln is the definition of generic. There are lots of decent places where you can get decent food and a decent selection of beers, but nothing there has ever grabbed me at all.

It never struck me as shitty, but just a collection of places that you could find a carbon copy of anywhere else.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12476

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Hey, at least the strippers can show their nips in Council Bluffs.

Yeah, Iowa does have more relaxed titty bar laws than our neighbors.

The first time I went to a strip club in Minnesota, we brought a case of beer in and headed down to the chow line. We were probably there for 15 minutes before a frantic bouncer asked us how we got in there and threatened to kick us out. In Iowa, strip clubs are BYOB. In Minnesota there’s absolutely no alcohol allowed in fully nude clubs (or at least it was that way then). We had no idea, and just waltzed in there with our beer utterly clueless to the difference in laws.
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Mrs Whiggins

Mrs Whiggins 13050

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Posted (edited)
On 4/3/2021 at 2:10 PM, iodeac said:

 

My wife and I are flying out from NC in October to run a friend's half marathon in Lincoln. He says that Lincoln is a nice college town but there's more to do in Omaha. I've never been to Nebraska but was wondering if anyone had recommendations on which city would be best to stay in, what to do etc. Thanks.

 

Enviado desde mi SM-G973U mediante Tapatalk

 

 

 

If it's in the fall, is it *The Good Life half? Lincoln can be very pretty in the fall, but as far as things to do, a lot depends upon your pace and interests. Omaha definitely has more sites and attractions, but Lincoln is all right in my book. I'm biased though, having lived there during my younger days.

Morrill Hall on the UNL campus is home to the Nebraska State Museum. I heard it's been renovated and the reno was well done, and me being the weirdo I am, thought it was pretty neat back in the time we lived there but I like natural history and it had (and presumably still has) some great skeletons of the big creatures that roamed the earth long ago. The International Quilt Museum is amazing and if you're into autos, the Museum of American Speed is really really cool. Plus, you're in a state capitol so how can you not visit the 'Penis of the Plains' and home to the only unicameral legislature in America? (as you can see, I am easily amused) If you do end up staying in Omaha--as others are saying, the Zoo is outstanding.

If you go to a Runza, get the 'frings' (half package of fries, half onion rings). They didn't have those when we lived there and damn I wish they had. If I was back in town, I would visit the Zesto for an ice cream but it's nothing special to a visitor, more of a nostalgia thing for me as I used to rent an apartment withing walking distance.

 

 

When we lived there (ages ago) the spring half associated with the Lincoln marathon was the most well known half and the fall race a lot of people ran was the Governor's Cup, but they moved that one to February. To this day I have issues with a couple of fingers on my left hand in cold weather thanks to a race in February in Nebraska. The course went out past Holmes Lake and by the airport and there was nothing out there but wind and it was brutal. When we've returned to the state, it's been to Grand Island so I haven't kept up with development in Lincoln much other than the southern sprawl out by the parks where I used to train (Pioneers and Wilderness).

If your friend is one of the race organizers, I bet he/she knows Ann R. of the LRC (Lincoln Running co--formerly the Athlete's Foot). She and I go way back and I cannot imagine the Lincoln running community without her. Absolutely a great human being. I should probably get in touch with her and catch up, it's been awhile.

Best wishes for a splendid trip and a great race. I logged a lotta miles in Lincoln so I will always remember it fondly.

Edited by Mrs Whiggins
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Guadaloopy

Guadaloopy 11012

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Thanks for this thread.  My wife is being recruited pretty hard for an academic position at University of Nebraska-Omaha.  If they can come close to our ask on salary, it’s a no-brainer decision from a financial perspective.  This past year has proven that my job is 100% portable and my boss has confirmed that he’s keeping me no matter where I am in the country.  We’d make a killing on the sale of our house in SD and could pay cash to buy or build exactly what we want around Omaha.  
 

After a Navy career, it doesn’t faze me to pick up move to a new place, and it’s doubly easy with no kids.  I just needed some confirmation that it’s not a complete shit hole to give me some peace of mind.  I’m excited about the prospect of being close to our northern campus come June each year.  

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Royalfan5

Royalfan5 2355

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As an actual Lincoln resident that just noticed the thread. Food wise, if you want something nice, hit up something in the Venue family of restaurants, although Hiro88 is where I’d go if for some reason you want seafood/sushi in Nebraska. Stuhr22 is a pretty good Liberian/Jamaican joint. PhatJacks is the best BBQ, but you’ve likely had better. Misty’s is the traditional steakhouse but I’ve never cared for it.  There’s some more hidden ethnic gems if you want more advice that way. (Lincoln has a lot of refugee resettlement because of our Lutheran community and the work Lutheran Family Services does and it’s great for our food scene)

For places to stay, outside the suicide motel at 27th and O, and some of the airport adjacent stuff you’re going to have basic travel hotels. If you had to stay downtown, I’d go with the Graduate over Embassy Suites, but that’s mostly cause I’ve had a lot of good times in that building. 

For non-football stuff to see, the Capitol building is a pretty cool tour if you are into buildings. You can go look at Buffalo/escaping convicts if you go out to Pioneers Park. Otherwise it’s standard college town stuff.

As a place to stay alternative, hitting up Mahoney or Platte River State park for a cabin would probably be worth a look too. 
 

 

Edited by Royalfan5
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Guest

Guest

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^^^^^^^^^

got the Hilton downtown Omaha on a football game weekend for $44/ night.   Still proud of that one...nevermind that we had a crazy early flight in that day and had sexy time at the hotel and then crashed for afternoon nap.  We awoke to a hotel employee coming into our room unannounced. LOL.  Let's just say when it comes to fight or flight, I favored the former, until I saw their nametag and realized it was a terribad mistake on their part.  Welp...at least our breakfasts and parking were free for the stay.

+1 on Upstream Brewery.  We also ate at an Italian place also in the Old Market( this was '09) that almost certainly is no longer open.  Food was great...  I think now it is Nicola's.

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DonkeyCigars

DonkeyCigars 143

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I posted this on the "Which city is the next Austin" when someone mentioned Omaha: 

I spent the last month in Omaha on a project. I stayed in/around the "Capital District" and it just was not happening. I don't believe this city is the next one either. The biggest employers are like an agriculture company, hospitals, and a railroad.

There is a very small portion of downtown that is walkable and vibrant, and in every other way this is a commuter city and UNO is a commuter school.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12476

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11 hours ago, DonkeyCigars said:

I posted this on the "Which city is the next Austin" when someone mentioned Omaha: 

I spent the last month in Omaha on a project. I stayed in/around the "Capital District" and it just was not happening. I don't believe this city is the next one either. The biggest employers are like an agriculture company, hospitals, and a railroad.

There is a very small portion of downtown that is walkable and vibrant, and in every other way this is a commuter city and UNO is a commuter school.

Des Moines is far more primed for that than Omaha, actually.  If you're going with Plains/Midwest towns.

I don't think Des Moines is becoming the next Austin, but it's generally a more walkable and vibrant city than Omaha (and I like Omaha, generally).  It's got better food/booze/city people shit to do too.

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