A few months ago, I was told by a friend who worked at an audio store in Omaha that I had to try out a relatively new place called Brewburgers. I happened to be out in Omaha recently and stayed at a hotel right next to Brewburgers. It was an easy walk across the parking lot to the restaurant. I even met up with an old friend who was working just down the road from the place and he joined me for a sandwich and a few beers.
Brewburgers pretty much sums up what the restaurant is all about - burgers and brews. They have a somewhat extensive beer list at the restaurant and feature over a dozen specialty burgers including a "build your own" burger where you can name your own toppings, cheese or sauces. But their most famous sandwich is called the Old Fashioned - Montreal-style Jewish smoked beef brisket, thinly sliced and piled on Rye bread. You can also get either Havarti or Swiss cheese on it if you like.
Brewburgers is housed in what was the old Nebraska Beef steak house - a place that I ate in many times in the past, but hadn't been in there for quite a while. The steak house closed in 2005 and the building sat idle for over two years. Montreal native Yves Menard bought the building in 2007 and renovated the restaurant into somewhat of a sports bar/restaurant. Menard is well-known in the Omaha area as he is the chef/owner of Charlie's on the Lake, a nice upscale restaurant that I've been to a couple times before, but, once again, have not been there for a number of years.
Growing up in Montreal, Menard remembered the great smoked brisket sandwiches the Jewish deli's would make - places like Schwartz's Deli and the recently closed Ben's De Luxe Delicatessen. He always wanted to bring that style of sandwich to Omaha. Brewburgers opened in October of 2007 and the sandwiches were an immediate hit. They cure the brisket for up to five days in a combination of water and spice brine. They then smoke the brisket for an hour and a half every day in their smoker behind the building, then they put it in the oven at 250 degrees for three hours. After that, they put it back in the refrigerator to cool overnight and then they serve it the next day.
Brewburgers is very well lit, but other than a number of sports logos and a few televisions put on the walls, it didn't look much different from the old steak house. The hostess seated me in a booth - a very uncomfortable booth that looked like it had been chewed up by a knife. The bar area was close by and there was a local loud-mouthed idiot doing his very best "Larry the Cable Guy" impression. Only, I don't think it was an impression as much as it was the guy just being an idiot. I had a couple three Boulder Buffalo Gold beers while I was waiting for my buddy to show up as he got off work around 8:30. My waitress asked me if I wanted to get any appetizers while I was waiting, but even though some of the things on the menu looked interesting, I was fine with the beer.
My buddy showed up and he said, "This is the first time I've been in here." I told him that another guy I know had told me about this place and I had to try the Old Fashioned sandwich. He looked at the menu for the description and he said, "Oh, that's sort of like a reuben. I think I'm going to get a burger instead."
He ordered the Maverick burger - they take chopped onions and mix it in with the beef patty - then they top it with jack cheese. He got cole slaw as his side. I got the Old Fashioned with swiss and got a side salad with peppercorn ranch.
It wasn't long before his burger and my sandwich came out. Actually, there wasn't much to my sandwich. It was a basic beef brisket sandwich with swiss cheese on rye. But the taste was very good - I could taste that they cured the beef brisket in all-spice which gave it a sort of sweet taste, similar to a good corned beef. The meat was very lean and juicy and it was very tender. I made rather quick work of the sandwich as it wasn't all that big.
My buddy said his burger was "good" and it looked interesting. I decided that I needed to come back sometime to get a burger - something that I could make from the listing of toppings, cheeses and sauces they offer.
I thought the Old Fashioned sandwich at Brewburgers was good, but a little expensive ($8.95) for what it was. While doing some research for this entry, I found that Guy Fieri from The Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" visited the place and had a segment on Brewburgers Old Fashioned sandwich. You can see it on You Tube by clicking here. He was impressed with the sandwich, but I don't know if the one he had was as the same sized as what I had. But overall, Brewburger's Old Fashioned sandwich was pretty good. I will try the burger the next time I'm in. If it's good, I'll be sure to let you know.
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