As a Hilton Honors Diamond member, I usually get free breakfasts during my stays at Hilton properties. When Cindy and I were in Omaha for an extended weekend, we passed up the opportunities for free hotel breakfasts and went out on our own. On a soggy Sunday morning, we checked out of the Embassy Suites in the Old Market and ventured up the streets to a bakery/restaurant called WheatFields for breakfast.
The Old Market WheatFields is one of three locations in and around the greater Omaha area. Ron Popp grew up on a farm near Dow City, IA and wanted to have a restaurant that replicated the hearty breakfasts he had as a youth. Ruth Popp had been a military brat following her father all over the world as he worked for the United States Air Force. After ending up in Omaha and getting together with Ron Popp, she brought a wealth of bakery recipes that she picked up from the different places she lived as she was growing up. The Popps were first involved with The Garden Cafe in Omaha, beginning in 1985 when they opened the restaurant until they were ousted by investors during a messy bankruptcy in the mid-90's. The Popps are involved in the FarmHouse Cafe bakery and restaurant in Omaha, opening that place in 1997.
The Popps opened their first WheatFields in 2000 in the One Pacific Place boutique mall on the west side of Omaha. They eventually opened WheatFields Express at the corner of 12th and Howard in the Old Market (see map) in June of 2009 in a space that was also a small European-style cafe and bakery. Later in the year, they converted the space to a full service WheatFields cafe in addition to the bakery.
We had contemplated walking up the street to Wheatfields as it was only two blocks from the hotel. But a steady rain had developed and we decided we'd better drive. Finding that it was a popular place, even on a Sunday morning, we were lucky to find on street parking just across 12th on Howard St. There was a small line to eat in the dining room as the outdoor sidewalk seating was closed because of the rain. We were lucky we got there when we did (just after 9:00 a.m.) because the line was out the door by the time we left later on.
While waiting for our table, it gave me time to take a look at all the fresh baked breads and pastries WheatFields had to offer. They had a special on Czech-style kolaches that day - $1.00 each. About the only other place I've seen kolaches on a regular basis is in Cedar Rapids, IA. Both Omaha and Cedar Rapids share a deep Czech heritage.
They also had turnovers, sticky buns and large cinnamon rolls. They had just taken this large pan of a dozen big cinnamon rolls out of the the oven and into the case when I was standing there.
It was less than a 10 minute wait in the bakery area of WheatFields when our name was finally called. We were led to a large booth in the corner of the restaurant. The hostess left off breakfast menus for us and not long after that our server, Sonja, came over to greet us. Perky and outgoing, she was immediately likable.
The dining area at the WheatFields in the Old Market is not large, but we didn't feel cramped. The place had a multi-national feeling to it. In addition to Czech pastries, WheatFields had the French name of bakery - boulangerie - on it's front window. And there was a German phrase on one of the walls of the dining room that roughly translates into "food and drink keeps the body and soul together." With the Czech, French and German influences, it was an interesting nod to European-style food.
Looking through the menu, I knew we were going to have problems with what we wanted to eat. They had waffles, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, souflees, quiches, egg scramble plates, French toast made with ciabatta bread - the list went on and on.
I was torn between a couple things - the waffle with blackberry butter sounded good. But I was also looking at Bjorn's Croissant - one of their large croissants that I was drooling over in the bakery case before we were seated, grilled with two scrambled eggs and cheese with bacon. The Dungeness eggs Benedict featured two crabcakes on top of English muffin halves and topped with green onions, asparagus, tomatoes and the hollandaise sauce. They had "create your own" omelettes that featured over a dozen different types of vegetables you could add to the omelette, as well as a dozen and a half different types of cheese, and then nearly ten different types of meat or seafood you could add to the omelette. Everything sounded just great.
Sonja came to check on us and Cindy wasn't ready to order. So I ordered up a blueberry kolache and an orange caramel sticky bun in the meantime. Sonja brought them back to me and while the kolache was very good - filled in the middle with a fresh and tasty blueberry filling - the orange caramel sticky bun was to die for. It wasn't very large and it was done in a couple bites for me. Now, I'm a sucker for the orange danish rolls that you get in the can, but the orange caramel rolls at WheatFields have officially spoiled me. It was unbelievable in taste. When Sonja came back to check on us to see if we were ready to order breakfast, I told her weren't quite ready. But in the meantime, bring out two more of the orange caramel sticky bun.
I had pretty much narrowed down my choices to a couple - the waffle or an omelette - but Cindy was still having trouble. After Sonja had dropped of the two sticky buns, she came back once more wondering if we were ready to order. Cindy apologetically said to her, "I'm sorry I'm having so much trouble. There is just so much to digest in this menu!"
Sonja said it wasn't a problem in the least and as she walked away, Cindy said to me, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm having so much trouble. I just need to figure out what I want and order it." She was looking at getting the strawberry and banana crepe, the quiche special that they had that day, or the veggie cheese omelette.
When Sonja came back, she asked, "Ready?" Cindy was determined that she would be ready. She ordered the quiche special that day that was filled with peppers, asparagus and tomatoes. A side of the creme brulee hash brown potatoes came with it as well as a side of baked apples. She hadn't been eating potatoes as part of a diet she's been on, but she was intrigued by the creme brulee hash browns.
I asked Sonja if it were possible to get some fresh blueberries on top of the waffle. She said it would be no problem. I got a side of bacon with the waffle. As we waited for our breakfast to show up, we noticed the bakery area filling up with more and more people, fully realizing that we came at a good time to beat the 10 a.m. breakfast rush.
When our food came out, I was ready to eat. True to her word, Sonja had the cooks put fresh blueberries on my warm and golden brown waffle and more blueberries came in a side container. The waffle also came with WheatFields in-house-made black raspberry butter.
Cindy's quiche was a large and fluffy wedge with the veggies mixed in. The creme brulee hash browns were in a dish next to the quiche and I couldn't wait to get a few bites of that.
There wasn't much they could do with a basic waffle - and I knew that. That's why I had them put the blueberries on it. The blueberries were plump and fresh and gave the waffle a nice fruit kick in taste. The black raspberry butter was also a nice addition to the waffle. It had a sweet and sour taste to the butter and I made sure I slathered the concoction on top of the waffle. Overall, it was a pretty good waffle.
Cindy was very happy with her quiche. It appeared to have good sized chunks of veggies mixed in the baked eggs. She said not only was it good, it was very rich.
But the thing I was looking for was a bite of the creme brulee hash browns. While I didn't get the taste sensation of a creme brulee with potatoes, the rich creaminess of the sauce with the potatoes was actually very good. There was almost like a little crust on top of the hash browns and each bite yielded this wonderful taste of freshly grated potatoes and a cream sauce. The creme brulee hash browns were the highlight of the meal.
WheatFields wasn't cheap - our breakfast was a bit over $40 bucks with a nice tip from Sonja who kept making sure we were taken care of. Cindy suggested I get a to-go pan of the orange caramel sticky buns, but I was afraid they wouldn't make it back home. Other than it being a little pricey for breakfast, I couldn't really complain much about the meal. The waffle was a waffle, but the blueberries were fresh and tasty, as was the black raspberry butter. Cindy liked her quiche and the creme brulee hash browns were top notch. I can see why WheatFields would be a popular place for breakfast on the weekends in the Old Market. While it wasn't a great breakfast, I don't have much - if any - to complain about the place.
40 bucks is a little steep for breakfast even with a tip. I couldn't afford to go to a place like that if I wanted to take my wife and kids. Maybe they charge those prices to kee pthe riff raff out.
Mike
Posted by: Mike B. | August 07, 2013 at 07:49 AM