I know what you are thinking... Vidlak sounds like someone connected with the Russian or Polish mafia, and his family cafe is just a front for his nefarious activities. You aren't far off at all.... just kidding!

What Vidlak's Family Cafe is basically Village Inn (think Denny's for you guys on the coasts) on crack. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE diners... a wide variety of choices and breakfast available anytime is a winner in my book. Vidlak's delivers the goods! They have breakfast, ranging from your basics such as omelets and pancakes to more exotic stuff like benedicts and quiches, as well as a wide range of sandwiches and burgers.

Pictured is the "Steak and Stack," which consisted of a nice 7 ounce steak, 2 eggs, 2 "German Pancakes" (basically super hash browns) as well as 3 fluffy "Dollar" pancakes (miniature versions of their massive pancakes.). Everything was awesome... the eggs were cooked just the way I liked them, the steak had minimal gristle and was cooked perfectly and the pancakes were amazing.

The best part of the meal definitely had to be the price tag. All the pictured food, plus a similar combo for Laura and two cups of coffee cost less than $20, including tip!

It was very filling, and I even had room for pie afterwards, but one quick glare from Laura told me pie would have to wait for another day.

Ah yes the Taj, my favorite Indian place in Omaha. I like this place because when I'm too lazy to cook my own curry at home, I can something just as good (ok, maybe even a little better) here.

Not only is the food good here, it isn't outrageously priced! Ordering something similar from other Indian places in town will almost certainly be $3-5 more, and that adds up quickly.

The thing I love most about the Taj is their naan and their tea. They have several different kinds of naan (the garlic is super yummy), and the chai is amazing.

Pictured above is their Madras curry, with a plate of naan in the background. It wasn't as hot as I would have liked it to be (which was probably a good thing for Laura, my roommate and the people in the unit next to me), but it was still very good. I like my curry very thick so that it sticks to you ribs, and this curry did just that.

There is Mexican food, and there is Tex-Mex food. Jonesy's Taco House is neither! If there was a category for grease, velvetta cheese, pounds of meat and awesomeness, than Jonesy's would be it!

This little gem is tucked away at 60th and Woolworth, right next to the Trackside bar. I love this place because not only is the food great and the price is superb, but it has loads of character. If you go during lunchtime, you see the full spectrum of people , ranging from students, blue collar workers, corporate suites and everyone in between. My roommate Fat Greg also aptly pointed out that our waitress there bore a striking resemblance to Dex of Star Wars: Episode one fame. Bonus points!

Pictured above is their 2 enchilada and a taco combo, which I like to call the "Gut Buster." It is easily close to over 2 pounds of food, and that is before they add the rice, beans and enchilada sauce. I can eat a lot of food, and even I was hard pressed to finish just the one enchilada and taco. I ended up taking the other enchilada home as well as some of the worst stomach cramps I have had in a long time. I could feel the taco and enchilada just sitting in my stomach bubbling for the rest of the day and most of that night. The odd thing was I did not feel better until I ate the leftovers. At least the grease made it travel through my digestive system relatively quick.

Totally worth the experience!

During this week's visit to Sechwan Sunrise, we discovered that some girl actually drove through the front window, taking out the entire wall! Pictured above is Laura sitting in front of what remains of said window, only all boarded up. Do not panic though, the kitchen's ability to pump out tastiness has NOT been affected!

Much to my joy (and as much to Laura's dismay), I discovered that our very own Oakview Mall has its own Dim sum shack at the food court! It's tucked away in the back near the Gap, but it's kinda hard not to miss if you walk by because of all the steam baskets on the counter.

They offer all kinds of dumplings, as well as bao (steam buns filled with awesomeness) , bubble tea and even sushi! I had a nice chat with the owners (Mr. and Mrs. Lin), and I found out that they are from China, but they learned to cook in Taiwan. They were both very passionate about their food and we probably could have talked for hours, but there was eating to be done!

Pictured on the left is one of thier combo meals. For around $7 you get 4 dumplings (I got shrimp and pork), 2 bao (BBQ pork ftw!) and a large bubble tea... not bad at all. The dumplings were ok (to be fair it was near the end of the day), but the bao were extremely good... like I was back in China town eating from the street vendors good. The bubble tea was an excellent way to wash everything down. I think the only way it could have been better if they had the Thai flavor, but you can't have everything.

I was very impressed and told the Lins that they would be seeing me much more in the future, and I'm sure they will. I'm looking forward to trying out the rest of their menu.

Update: Apparently these guys have a website here, and according to it you can call ahead with your order so you can just come to pick it up... I love it!

My Uncle and fellow foodie Danny wanted to take my brother, Laura and I out to lunch before we left the DC area, so we decided to hit up this Vietnamese place in Falls Church called the Four Sisters. He had read about it in a magazine that the Washington Post put out that listed that top restaurants in the area, so we figured it was worth a shot.

Two words: FREAKING AMAZING!

The place was very cool... it looked like a really fancy restaurant with the all the decorations, lighting, music, etc. The first good sign I saw walking in was it was packed, not just with people, but packed with Vietnamese people. The next good sign was the menu was in both Vietnamese and and English (double bonus!).

We started off with the shrimp toast (the magazine said that is what they were famous for), which was very good. Even though it was deep fried and whatnot, it was soggy or greasy at all. I had vermicelli with shrimp and scallops (shown above), which was excellent. My brother had my usual choice at Vietnamese places (buon thit nuong), but he didn't finish it, so I got to eat off of his plate as well, and that was also very good. To polish it all off, we had 2 very large bowls of this dumpling/rice noodle soup which was out of this world.

For the quality and amount of food we got, it was very well priced (even though I didn't pay a dime... thanks Uncle Danny!). I will be definitely be stopping by next time I'm in the area!

I LOVE Lent... for some people Lent is a hassle, but for me, it basically a seafood holiday! Case in point, this garlic/butter shrimp pasta my Mom made for Friday's dinner. The shrimp were actually more like prawns. This is one of two pots of this stuff, and although you can't see from this angle, its a pretty deep pot. I must have had like 4 plates of this stuff, and it was amazing.

What do you need for a awesome evening? Let's see:

-Tacos
-Margaritas
-M&Ms
-Scantily clad women throwing themselves at our favorite aging rock star

If you were able to say yes to all of those, then you must have been at Jacob and Miriah's house with us. Always an awesome time!

Quiet possibly one of the greatest places on Earth.. what a way to start out the New Year!

For a mere $24.99, you have access to all you can eat pretty much everything, but living in land-locked Nebraska, I chose to attack the seafood. This is one of 3 buckets (which really isn't that much when you consider that crabs and mussels have a lot to them that you don't actually eat) that I filled up with the shells of shrimp, crabs and mussels. I could have easily stayed there and filled up 3 more buckets, but between my Mom and Laura, they were ready to go home after a mere 45 minutes. I really need to go back with my Uncles... they appreciate a good buffet!

The only thing better than Indian food is homemade Indian food! This was probably the best meal I have had on this entire trip... hands down. We had "butter chicken", daal, cauliflower, and curried shrimp. I think I embarressed my parents and Laura because of how fast I ate my first couple of plates, but it was so good!

This picture really doesn't do the spread justice... Mrs. Nomorosa is basically the Filipino Martha Stewart, and she made this really awesome meal of salmon, a pasta dish with scallops, and the most amazing roast beef I have ever had. I'm glad that they are Filipino as well, because they ate as much as I did, meaning I didn't look like a total pig!

My parents took us to this micro-brewery near their house called Hops. The food was so-so (I guess living in Omaha has made me a steak snob!), but the beer, especially the Flying Squirrel, was very good!

The bread/rolls that they serve here are the best part of the joint... they are more like buttery deliciousness that just melt in your mouth.

My Mom is the greatest... she threw together this awesome spread for my graduation party at their house. She went all out, even going with massive plates of shrimp, sushi and even a chocolate fondue station!

For those of you who don't know, the Seven Corners area in Falls Church is basically Vietnam. There is a huge shopping center there called New Eden where everything is Vietnamese. My parents took Laura and I there for some shopping, and of course food!

Laura was initially freaked out by her first encounter with Char Siu, or Chinese BBQ pork... the numerous ducks also hanging in the window did not help either:

After grabbing the essentials like Melon soda, shrimp crepes, steamed porked buns and other delicious snacks, we sat down for dinner at one of the numerous restaurants in the center.

WOW. The place had the best Vietnamese food I have ever had... I can't remember the name of it (I'm still kicking myself in the nuts for not grabbing a card/menu), I do remember what it looks like so if I'm ever in the area I will definitely make a return trip!

Pictured above is a plate of BBQ pork, along with shrimp and scallops. Underneath it all is vermicelli. It was amazing... I ate everything on my plate! We also had these spicy-salty tiger prawns that were also equally amazing. I was literary talking about how good this place was the entire ride home, much to the dismay of Laura and my parents. The only way they got me to shut up was to buy me a very large Bubble Tea!

I have seen this place in the Old Market for months now, but never really had the opportunity to eat there, so when Amy and Alyssa asked if I wanted to go there for lunch, I jumped at the opportunity!

We started off with the fried pickles, which were actually very addicting, even more so than potato chips. They came with this black-pepper horseradish sauce that complimented them very well. Even though it was deep fried, the grease was minimal, making it that much more enjoyable.

For my main course, I had the Pitchfork Ranch Meatloaf (pictured above). I'm a sucker for meatloaf, and I got really excited when I saw it on the menu. It was glazed with this sugar-chipotle sauce, which was amazing. Throw in some mashed potatoes with gravy and you have the perfect comfort food. I got the lunch size portion, and it was very filling, so I can only imagine what the dinner sized portion will get you...

Everything was reasonably priced, which is also a plus in my book. I really think Laura would enjoy this place a lot since a lot of the stuff is what she considers "regular food!"

For those of you who follow "The Office" on NBC, I'm basically on the party planning committee for our office. Part of being on our Spirit Committee is planning for our Christmas party, and that included helping plan the menu, which I gladly volunteered to lend my expertise!

The Press Club is a very swank place, located at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city. They have a very impressive menu to go along with their impressive location. I started out with a Lobster Bisque, and then had a Prime Rib French-Dip sandwich (pictured above) which was amazing. I don't know if it was because the meal was free, really good or a combination of both, but it literally melted in my mouth.

We were fed an assortment of deserts which were equally impressive... I really like the Torte.

All I can say is I can't wait for our Christmas party!

UPDATE: Our party here never happened due to budget cuts... it sucks I know, but hey, at least I got a free meal out of it!

This past Friday I went to La Casa for lunch. I have always driven by their sign (a midget playing a banjo), and for some reason I have always thought of this place as a Mexican joint. As it turns out, it's actually Italian-American food!

Pictured above is thier Pizza/Pasta lunch special. I got a slice (actually a sqaure) of pie (Canadian Bacon, olives, onions and peppers) and Cheese Ravoli with this really amazing sauce (I can't remember exactly what was in it, but it was good!). I also had a really nice salad with this really thick dressing that would be perfect for chicken wings.

I think the service was pretty decent too... I only saw the bottom of my ice tea once, and even though my food was a little late, it was ok. I suspect it is because I was Asian (all the minorities were corralled into the back corner in the restaurant), but that is for another day!

I think this place is definitely a keeper, as the price and food quality is right. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other things on the menu.

For those of you who have never been, this is my favorite place to eat in Nebraska. Period! I eat at this place so much that the owner doesn't really even need to ask what I want to order and I never pay for drinks. In fact if I do a "to go" order, I usually get free tea and soup while I wait!

Pictured here is their Bean Curd (Tofu) Sezuan Style and Chicken Lo Mein. The bean curd is really good over steam riced. It's nice and spicy, and totally worth the really bad gas I get from eating it! The Lo Mein is another staple which gets devoured quite regularly.

I can't wait for my brother to move back to Nebraska, because we have already planned to have a standing meeting here every Sunday!

I have never had a bad meal here (and as much as I eat here, that's saying something!).... when a place is good on your stomach and your wallet, it's full of win!

Went to this little hole in the wall place for lunch... it was really good and super cheap! For like $7, I got a bowl of the best chicken noodle soup I have ever had, 3 pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and ice tea! That was a steal! The chicken was cripsy on the outside but nice and moist on the inside.

A nice bonus was the majority of the wait staff had most of their teeth, which is a rarity for small places like this!

I got really bad gas after eating this, even caused another coworker to blame one of my farts on another coworker, but it was totally worth it. Next time I really want to try one of the pies I saw there.

The "To-Go" specials looked ideal for a picnic or a party, so I will definitely keep this place in mind!

Amy and Brad called me over and asked if I wanted some smoked salmon. At first I thought it was some illegal substance reference, but they smoked the salmon pictured above... it was amazing!

I was kinda surprised that I had give the skin to the dogs, as thats like the best part, but it was still super good. Brad challenged me to eat most of it, which I accepted!

In fact, I think I demolished it with room to spare!