FINICKY FRANKS OMAHA MENU FULL

She has anchors in her husband – “He will never let me give up on an idea” – and daughter-in-law Stephanie, who waitresses there – “We mesh like no other.” radishes, onions, peppers, tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, cilantro, basil, parsley, et cetera.

Her own urban farm-garden at her 11-acre Hills home supplies kale, bok choy, peas, green beans, cucumbers. She decides daily specials by whim, weather, season and what diners tell her they’re craving.

The moderately priced menu also includes crab cakes, a veggie stir fry, a seafood enchilada, a spinach-mushroom enchilada, a Reuben sandwich, a pork tenderloin sandwich, wood-fired pizzas, scratch soups, crafted salads and various wines, draft beers and cocktails.Ī small patio offers an outdoor seasonal dining option. She serves it all on a buttered brioche bun with choice of add-ons and sides. Grilled red onions add a sweet, creamy bite.

She hand forms full 8 ounce patties of 80 percent lean Angus beef accented with sea salt for a medium grill on the flat-top. People tell her her burger is “hands-down” the best in town. “That piece of meat is like a filet – a little more marbling but not much. It’s just like the lakeside meals you make with fresh caught fish.”įor her succulent steaks, she uses teres major cuts (shoulder blade) from a local purveyor. Served with twice-cooked Yukon gold potatoes and fresh cole slaw. I keep it as simple as can be with a light coating of homemade bread crumbs. “It brings people from all over the place. The Walleye at Finicky Frank’s is a feast for the eyes first, then the soul. She’s open to good ideas wherever she finds them. Years reading recipes and food books, finding new ingredients and ways to use them, fortify her culinary arsenal. The same confidence and drive that convinced Kenny to be a restauranteur infuses her cooking approach. It’s a neighborhood place but both loyal followers and newbies come from near and far. If there’s a snafu with a dish, she personally addresses it. It just follows me.”Īs time allows during service, the plain-talking Kenny engages diners about their meal or makes small talk. Anything I can get my hands on, found objects or ingredients, I repurpose. “Art flows in everything I do,” said the self-taught Kenny. The laid-back, curated ambience extends from the art on the walls to the music overhead to the soul satisfying, un-rushed food coming out of the kitchen. The result is a cozy spot with a not too heavy black and white tiled motif. The restaurant soon outgrew its snug confines and seven years ago the couple expanded into the adjacent bay – doing a total makeover. “They are kind of foodies for the most part out this way.

They found kindred spirits among the local gourmands, small growers and urban farmers, thus making her farm-to-table practice a welcome fit. Then she and husband Brian Kenny, who manages and tends the bar and repairs anything that breaks, opened in one small bay of their present 9520 Calhoun Road location.

The first version of Finicky Frank’s – named for a persnickety Ponca Hills neighbor – folded at the Forgotten Store. It was a hit but when she couldn’t swing buying the building to renovate, she looked elsewhere. I guess I always had been, but didn’t realize how good it could be,” she said.Īfter moving to Omaha in the late 1990s, she worked factory line shifts and flipped houses, saving enough to open her first eatery, the soup-salad-sandwich Center Street Cafe. She stretched herself in the kitchen to the point she made her own cheese, butter, bread, noodles. Then, almost on a dare, she poured her creativity and love of good food into cooking. As a stay-at-home wife and mother, she raised the kids, maintained a home and made art (dried gourds became a medium). The Salina, Kansas native worked the family farm growing up, gaining an appreciation for fresh-natural-local even though things often got overcooked by her elders. Chef-owner Kesa Kenny sticks with quality ingredients and keep things simple to create five-star comfort food. Originally appeared in April 2018 issue of The Reader (Finicky Frank’s stands apart from North Omaha restaurants with its farm-to-table commitment and casual-meets-fine dining balance.

FINICKY FRANKS OMAHA MENU FULL

Finicky franks omaha menu