WSJ DINES, DISHES ON OLD MARKET
V. Mertz and La Buvette netted a review in the Wall Street Journal on Halloween, part of the newspaper's “Hungry in the Heartland” series.
Writer Raymond Sokolov praised the Old Market duo's locavore tendencies and described them as “two of the heartland's better restaurants, places wandering epicures will want to put on their wish lists.”
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THE DON CHECKS OUT
It's looking less likely that the Don Carmelo's Pizzeria near 35th and Farnam Streets will reopen as a Don Carmelo's.
A post on craigslist.com Sunday advertised a cash-and-carry sale of its equipment, everything from ovens and tables to pizza pans and silverware, starting this past Wednesday.
Owner Vincenzina Magistro could not be reached. Calls to the restaurant's sometime operator, her son John Magistro, went to a full voice mailbox. A visit to the eatery Thursday found it locked and dark, with equipment and furniture visible. The previously posted signs suggesting a temporary closure and new management had been removed.
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SIGNS NOT REQUIRED
A company apparently has been trying to sell signs about employee hand-washing to local restaurants with the suggestion that the signs are required by law.
George Hanssen, food division administrator at the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, said letters sent to some Bellevue restaurants cite a section of the 2005 federal food code that was never adopted in Nebraska.
In a note forwarded to a Douglas County food safety listserv this week, Hanssen said that although such signs are encouraged, they aren't required. And most local health departments, as well as the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, offer them for free.
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CHICKEN AND THE SEA
Shucks Fish House & Oyster Bar may need to add another title to its moniker: chicken shack.
Chef Jon Dye is adding several new chicken dishes to the seafood-centric menu at both Shucks locations next week.
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DARK NEW BREW
Nebraska Brewing Company is ready to release Black Betty, a new reserve stout it has been aging in oak whiskey barrels for six months.
The dark, high-alcohol brew adds oak, whiskey and age to the chocolate and coffee flavors of Nebraska Brewing's previously released Russian Imperial Stout.
The Papillion brewpub will sell a limited number of 750-milliliter bottles for $19.99, starting Tuesday.
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HUSKER DEAL
Ryan's Bistro is offering free appetizer platters from 6 p.m. until halftime of this Saturday's Husker football game, which will be shown on the restaurant's big-screen TV. For reservations, call 614-2202.
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TASTY EVENTS
If you act fast, you can still get a ticket for the Ron Sailors Gourmet Extravaganza, which takes place from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight at the Omaha Press Club. The event raises money for scholarships at the Institute for the Culinary Arts at Metropolitan Community College. (Sailors, who died in 2002, was the first graduate of the college's chef apprenticeship program.) The event includes live music and a feast prepared by chef instructors, culinary students and local chefs. About 70 tickets, priced at $40 each, remained as of Thursday. To reserve yours, call 345-8008.
Prestige World Class hosts a five-course Trinchero Family Estates wine dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Cost is $49 per person, not including tax or tip. For reservations, call 614-7660.
TV food celebrities Andrew Zimmern (host of “Bizarre Foods” on the Travel Channel) and Duff Goldman (pastry chef and star of “Ace of Cakes” on the Food Network) will be in Des Moines next week, as part of Iowa's Premier Wine & Food Expo on Nov. 13 and 14. More than 100 exhibitors will display their wares at the Iowa Events Center, which also will have a sampling zone featuring hundreds of wines, beers and spirits. Cost is $20 for one day or $35 for both days. For more information, visit www.wineandfoodexpoiowa.com.
The Dundee Dell hosts a holiday wine sampling from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 14. Participants can try more than 40 wines, among them food-friendly reds, sparkling wines and wines with chocolate, ginger and other holiday flavors. Cost is $20 per person, which may be applied to bottle purchases during the event. If wine's not your thing, the Dell plans Belgian beer tastings at 4 p.m. Nov. 15 and 7 p.m. Nov. 18. A local home brewer leads the tasting of eight Belgian beers. Cost is $25 per person.
— Nichole Aksamit
Got restaurant news, questions or tips? Call food writer Nichole Aksamit at 444-1069, or e-mail nichole.aksamit@owh.com. Dining Notes runs Fridays.
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