Don and Millie's - Omaha

In Omaha recently, I stopped in to have a burger at Don and Millie's in Southwest Omaha (see map).  There are five Don and Millie's locations in Omaha, one in Lincoln and one in Fremont, Nebraska.  They're very similar to the old King's Food Host that used to be around the Midwest in the 60's and 70's. 

Before Don and Millie's there was King's Food Host, and then there was Grandmother's.  King's was started in 1955 in Lincoln by Jim King and Larry Price.  They were famous for this thing called the Cheese Frenchee - a grilled cheese sandwich dipped in eggs and covered with corn flakes.  I never cared for them growing up, but some people still crave those things.  I have the recipe for them here that was given to me by my buddy, Dave Haack, whose grandmother involved in a couple of King's Food Hosts.

I did like the burgers at King's, though.  They had kind of a peppery taste to them.  It was very unique to me considering most of the burgers I'd had in my life to that point were pretty bland. 

Another interesting touch at King's Food Host was that each table had a phone that you'd order from.  The wait staff would only bring out the food and drinks.  You had a menu on the wall above the phone and you called your orders into the switchboard back in the kitchen.  Now, that was really cool back in the mid-60's. 

In the 60's, Dean Rasmussen started Grandmother's in Omaha, which was sort of an upscale King's Food Host.  In 1973, along with his brother-in-law Bob Kerrey (yes, THAT Bob Kerrey), they opened their first Don and Millie's.  The menu was similar to King's with typical burgers and shakes. 

As King's began to fade on the landscape across the Midwest, Don and Millie's eventually added new restaurants in eastern Nebraska.  The last King's Food Host was on Cornhusker Highway in Lincoln.  I don't know if it's still there or not.  I'll have to check one of these days. 

Kerrey eventually left the day-to-day operation of Don and Millie's to run for governor of Nebraska.  He won and eventually became an influential senator from Nebraska for 12 years before retiring in 2001.  Kerrey is now the president of The New School, a long time progressive college in New York City.

I stopped in for a quick burger and a drink at Millie's before I was heading out of town to go to Lincoln.  It was about 1:30 in the afternoon and the lunch crowd was dwindling down.  I placed my order at the counter and waited for my burger to come up.  About five to seven minutes later, they call my number and I grabbed my order and grabbed a booth. 

It had been a while since I'd been in a Don and Millie's and I sort of wondered why with the first bite of the burger.  Oh, it was fresh, cooked perfectly, and had a great taste to it.  It reminded me of the old King's burgers with the peppery aftertaste to it.  (Runza burgers are very similar.)  It didn't take me long to devour the burger and head out the door to my next appointment. 

Don and Millie's are also famous for their tenderloins.  But I like the burgers more.  I don't get out to Omaha as much as I used to, but Don and Millie's was always a favorite stop to get a quick and good burger.  I still won't get a Cheese Frenchee, however.

Comments

[joanne mendoza]

who was the Don in Don & Millies?