The Grey Plume (Omaha)
[December 24, 2010]
By Jack Jackson
The Grey Plume has much promise and could soon be one of the best restaurants in Nebraska, but some opening-week gaffes kept it from being truly excellent. I visited twice over lunch, and had several items.
First, the place is a nice place. The service is very friendly. The first trip there, I wanted some of the Heirloom Potato Soup, but they had run out by 1pm. So I had the pulled-pork BBQ sandwich with roasted baby potatoes and split a Rabbit Sausage Pizzette. First annoying thing is that they put water glasses on your table and then ask if you want water, as if it’s something you shouldn’t do. I hear it’s related to them being a “green” restaurant. It’s fine to go green, but just pour some water. And stop asking me if I want more when my glass is less than half full. Just pour out some water. I’m sure if the Grey Plume wastes some tap water now and then, the planet Earth won’t shrivel up and die.
The first visit, the meal came also with a slice of fresh pumpernickel bread. I’m not a fan of pumpernickel, but I ate it and it was good with the high-quality butter served. As for the entrees, there was a slight timing issue when they tried to serve our table. This is a restaurant that tries to serve all of the plates at exactly the same time with a bunch of servers. Maybe I’m not fancy enough for it, but I really couldn’t care less about such pomp.
The Rabbit Sausage Pizzette was shared at our table, and while I certainly enjoyed it, I thought the crust ended up a bit soggy from all of the ingredients. I would prefer a crispier crust, and I’m not sure I’m a fan of rabbit sausage, but overall it was a good presentation.
My entree, the BBQ sandwich, was ultimately a miss for me. The pulled pork was of course high quality, but I can make some pretty good pulled-pork sandwiches at home, and the sauce it came with was certainly not amazing. Biggest issue: the bun it was served on was soft in the middle, but hard on the outside. The result: each bite taken forced most of the meat out of the back of the sandwich and it was pretty messy.
A consistent problem, at least both times I’ve been, is that the roasted baby potatoes are undercooked. They were chunky, nearly impossible for me to poke with the tines of my fork. I ended up eating them a bit like French fries with my bare hands, but I gave up because undercooked potatoes just don’t do it for me.
A couple of days later, I managed to arrive early enough to get a bowl of the Heirloom Potato Soup. It was pretty amazing. It was creamy but not too heavy with an amazing taste. The only issue I had was that it had a roasted baby potato wedge in it and it was again undercooked. Of note was the bread that day, a baguette with some rosemary inside. It was Really Quite Nice.
I also had the Pappardelle Pasta, and I wish I could make such thin pasta at home. The cream sauce was amazing, and I really enjoyed it. Three missteps here, though, were: 1) a pickled carrot that was so acidic that it just didn’t match the rest of the dish; 2) another goddamn undercooked baby potato wedge; and 3) a disappointment that there wasn’t any lamb meat. The menu item listed “Dakota Harvest lamb” as an ingredient, and I sure didn’t see or bite into any (and I ate the whole thing, because it was pretty good). Maybe it was some kind of lamb foam that I inhaled unsuspectingly?
I’d like to see some pepper grinders and maybe a small bowl of fleur de sel to add to the dishes. Being a super-taster, I like more salt in my dishes than most.
But overall, this restaurant will no doubt get over these early missteps and be a great place to eat for a long time.
