Lazlo's Brewery and Grill in Lincoln, NE has been a pleasant surprise twice for me. I first went to Lazlo's downtown Lincoln location in the historic Haymarket area (see map) about six years ago upon the recommendation of a buddy who had eaten there a couple times before.
The food was good as their meat entrees were cooked over wood fires, and the beer was actually pretty good, as well. The beer is brewed by the Empyrean Brewing Company which is located just behind Lazlo's.
The second surprise was when one of my more favorite restaurants in Lincoln - Stackwoods - turned into Lazlo's second location on Lincoln's south side (see map). Stackwoods also cooked their food in a wood fired oven and grills their meats over a wood fired pit, only Lazlo's used hickory wood and Stackwoods used apple wood.
Stackwoods filed for bankruptcy protection about three years ago and Lazlo's came in and bought the property. It's right next to the Hampton Inn Heritage Park in Lincoln, a very easy walk from the room to the restaurant.
I was in Lincoln recently and met a client for dinner at the Lazlo's on the south side. Lazlo's has kind of a "northwoods" motif to the place, heavy on the wood throughout the building.
I started out with the Luna Sea pale ale, a good hoppy beer that has a good bite and smooth aftertaste. It's my favorite of the beers they serve.
We ordered food - I had the slow wood smoked prime rib, my client had the wood grilled rib-eye. We both opted for the mashed potatoes and salad. They make all their salad dressings in house and their blue cheese dressing is very good.
I grabbed one of their Burning Skye Scotch Ales with my dinner, but I wasn't all that impressed with it. It almost tasted flat. Our waiter suggested I try the Third Stone brown ale.
It was smooth, but once again it didn't have the full body that I was looking for. It did complement my prime rib, however. I went back to the Luna Sea for my last beer of the night.
I've yet to have a bad meal at Lazlo's. Heck, I didn't have a bad meal when it was Stackwoods. And this meal was no exception. My prime rib wasn't as rare as I'd like it to be, but the taste of prime rib cooked slow over hickory is tough to beat.
Overall, the food is pretty good, the beer is just as good. I can't say that Lazlo's is the best I've had, but their food and beer are consistent. Consistently good.
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