Sara "The Other One" M.'s Profile

Head north of Michigan Road, hang a left on 96th Street, and Taste of Europe will be on the right in an old house tucked amongst warehouses and industrial store fronts.  Maybe they are off the beaten path because they are doing something different than any other small business in the city.

Taste of Europe is both a grocery store and a restaurant, and I took advantage of both. Place your restaurant order at the counter where you also pay for your grocery purchases.

I took the male owner's (I think he said he's from Croatia) recommendation and ordered their specialty, a kabob like meal.  Andy order the polish dog which they split and grilled on a flat top to get a slightly crispy texture.  Both meals were really tasty.  They have a homemade Irish sausage meal that is made with corned beef.  I want to go back and try it.  

I'm not an expert on Eastern European groceries, but several others in the store seemed very excited about the selection of soda, mustards, and other packaged foods.

After sampling their homemade sausages, we took a couple of the spicy links home along with horseradish cheese.  The sausage got good reviews when we served it at a small gathering of friends.  The flavor of the cheese is good, but the texture is a little soft for my taste.  They sell meat and cheese trays with a variety of both.  

Finally, I bought a fresh piece of tiramisu and an eclair.  Both come highly recommended by me and my sweet tooth.

I've only gotten carryout from this location, but the service is always great.  Prices are very reasonable.  Hubby loves the New York Yankee, and I highly recommend the top notch salad bar.  Similar to the 82nd Street location, there are always tons of kids here, so it must be a hit with that demographic.  I'm sure the free soft serve ice cream helps draw the under 12 crowd.

I have lots of love for Black Market.  As others have said, the Welsh Rarebit is one of the best dishes in town.  What's not to love about bread and cheeses?  I ordered the revered pickles on my first visit, but I have not felt the urge to order them on subsequent visits so they must not have blown my mind.

I have a weak spot for goat cheese and beef, so the burger won my heart.  I've tried other dishes (all good), but dreams of the burger prompted me to write this review.

Their patio is great on warm and chilly days.  A group of my friends gathered around the fire pit on the patio while we waited for our table in late November.  The communal tables on the patio and inside make Black Market a great destination for a group.

The prices are comparable to R Bisto but slightly higher than Mesh, but the small, rotating menu is better than either of these nearby restaurants.

If you think you don't like the typical Carmel crowd, then you'll probably want to avoid divvy.  Fake body parts and fur coats are optional, but many of the guests on a Wednesday night in January chose to have both on display.

However, if you are seeking a cool, dark atmosphere with delicious food and drinks, sit at the bar, talk to the fabulous bartender, Jason, and ignore the other patrons.

Divvy has six draft beers, none that blew me away and the closest thing to local was Goose Island. They do have Sun King cans and several other bottled beers.  Their focus seems to be more on cocktails and wine, so I'll be sure to broaden my horizons on my next visit.  I drank a Harpoon IPA and the divvy water, a cucumber and citrus (?) infused water served out of a blue bottle.  Kinda hokey but a unique alternative to plain water.  

My friend and I ordered two small plates and both were yummy, bacon jam served with bread and the goat cheese cakes in a tomato sauce.  They have a few entrees but the majority of the menu is small plates.  

Divvy is owned by the same people as Woody's Library Restaurant.  Kevin, the owner, introduced himself and seemed excited about his latest venture.  I believe his wife is the chef.

In the bathrooms, they have a type of hand dryer I've never seen before.  It's similar design as the Dyson Airblade, but it shuts off automatically after 20-30 seconds and doesn't seem to dry as well as the Dyson.  I love new hand dryer technology.  

Divvy is located in City Center, and if you haven't been it's worth checking out the new shops and restaurants popping up in the area.

Good coffee but the pastries leave something to be desired.  The location on the Monon is probably nice in warmer months, so I'll be sure to go back when I can enjoy the outdoor seating.  Getting there from the street, however, is more difficult because their storefront is barely visible.  Whether the owner and employees like it or not, the crowd is primarily real housewives of Carmel.  

Also, they are trying to do too much.  They bring in baked good from other businesses (Renee's Bakery and Eat More Cake for sure, but maybe others). They sell packaged food in an area of the shop that is starting to look like a bodega.  There are board games, an ice cream shop,and half of the store is an art gallery.   They also host themed events like game night and open mic night.  

Once they figure out their niche, this could be a cool place.  The young guys working in the morning are always super nice.

Known for their Kamikazes that come in dozens of variations, Cliff's is a good place to grab a drink, even if it's not a kamikaze, in downtown Lincoln.  The decor at their current location is tamed down from their old location.  I always thought the old location felt like a high school prom with streamers and other paper decorations.  They are going for a Vegas theme.  I like the big circular faux leather booths.  I agree with another reviewer that the bathrooms here are nicer and cleaner than most downtown bars.

Sandy's signature drink, Elk Creek is orange juice based and full of booze.  Try it if that's your thing.  The place smells like vomit all the time, but that's part of the charm, right?  Drink prices are typical for the area.  They do have a nice selection of bottled beers.  Crowded on the weekends, but pretty low key compared to some other bars on the strip. I don't mind stopping in to Sandy's when I'm visiting my friends in Lincoln, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

The one star is for their happy hour special, $2 draft beers from 4-7 which includes Empyrean Vanilla Porter, Boulevard Wheat, Fat Tire and a few other tasty options.  

Based on the food menu (soups, salad, sandwiches) this place should be counter service, and on my recent Tuesday night visit that would have been preferred.  Granted I stopped in a few hours before a Husker basketball game and the place was busy, but the service was inexcusable.  It was over 20 minutes before our party of 4 ordered, another 20+ minutes for the food (sandwiches, mind you) to come out, and my drink was empty for almost the entire 40 minutes.  

The food comes out on plastic fast food trays, again they should really consider counter service if this is their choice for presentation.  No silverware is provided unless you order soup.  One of my friends asked for a knife, but the server never brought it.

I ordered the philly, and it was nowhere near traditional.  It tasted fine, but I would not order it again.  I payed an extra $.59 for chips and salsa which was a worthwhile investment. I also tried my friend's side of queso and it was tasty.  My friend found her veggie sandwich (there's only one veggie sandwich option unless you include grilled cheese and PB&J) to have way too much cheese.  Others in my party ordered the McQuinton and beef & brie and seemed to enjoy them.  

The prices are comparable to fast food, about $6-$7/ sandwich including a bag of chips.  When our server brought us the bill, though, it showed a total of 7 sandwiches for our party of 4.  We pointed out the error and she fixed it, but that took another 5 minutes.  

Cool building in downtown Lincoln, close to campus and the O Street bar scene, but there must be better options for food and higher standards for service in the area.

Cutesy, pastel decor seems to dominate cupcake shops around town.  Tilly's gets zero cutesy points, but tons of delicious cupcake points.  I stopped in to see if they make caramels (they don't), but after seeing the case of cupcakes, full size cakes, cookies, brownies, and lemon bars I could not leave empty handed.

The owners, a nice couple, were welcoming as I was the only person in their store.  When I asked about caramels, they seemed open to the idea of making them in the future.  The woman owner sold me on their specialty, sweet potato cupcakes ($2.75) with raisins and cream cheese icing.  Yum!  I also bought a strawberry cupcake ($2.50)  with strawberry icing which was also delicious.

Tilly's is in the strip mall next to Big Lots.  There is a tamale shop opening a few doors down.  Finding deals at Big Lots and picking up tamales and cupcakes sounds like how I will spend many Saturdays in the near future.  I'll keep you updated on the tamales.

As others have said, It's all about the bread sticks.  There has to be at least 1000 calories in one stick, but they're worth it.  Crunchy on the outside, gooey cheese and pepperoni on the inside.  

I'm sure this place goes from chill to douche in a matter of minutes, but on both my visits I've managed to eat my sticks, drink a couple beers and get out in time.