Good Russian food in Omaha...

[Omaguest]

Is there a good place in Omaha to get good Russian food, i.e. Borscht, Vareniky, Stroganof? If someone knows a good restaurant, please reply!
-Thanks!

[annad]

Sadly, not that I know of.  The Bohemian Cafe on 13th Street has borscht on occasion, but I think it's seasonal or rotates as a soup of the day.  There is a Lithuanian Bakery restaurant at about 74th & Pacific; however having lived in Lithuania for a year, I would say it's more generically eastern European rather than Lithuanian.  I believe they also offer borscht seasonally.  There is a Russian grocery store in the Lincoln haymarket area that has some hard-to-find imported foodstuffs, but there's no restaurant associated with it.  Oh, there is a Lithuanian bakery in South O that makes good bread - probably the closest you'll find to authentic - Russian rye bread is different than LT but it's better than nothing.

[Omaguest]

Thanks for the advice! Hopefully as Omaha diversifies, it will attract more ethnic attractions such as this.

[prairiekerry]

Not a restaurant, but the Tobacco & Phones 4 Less on 42nd and Grover has a small section of imported Russian and European foods. So does Red Square in the Old Market.

[Seth]

I just remarked to my wife today how odd the pairing of tobacco and phones was for a store.  Now that I know they sell Russian food, I can't possibly think of a stranger selection of retail goods anywhere.

[Guest]

Seth, if you have ever been to a small town in Eastern Europe, you'd know that tobacco, phones and food are integral parts of all small shops! Haha. Anyone know how to meet other Slavs (ie, Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, etc.) in Omaha? I KNOW (I hear) there are other Slavs here, but except for the occasional overheard conversation at Marshall's, I cannot seem to find them!! I am actually American, but lived in the region for years and LOVE the culture, people, etc. I have three older adopted sons from the region as well. I desperately miss having Slavic friends around! Any suggestions? - Kelly

[ricko]

I'm sure there are random Slavic immigrants that live in the area, but if you have access to a time machine and can travel back 50 years, I could give you a walking tour of South Omaha's Slavic neighborhoods---Polish, Czech, Croatian, and Lithuanian.  Most emigrated here between the 1860's and 1940's.  Many of my high school classmates (especially the Lithuanians) didn't speak English until they went to grade school, and most still spoke Lithuanian at home as a first language. You might want to visit St. Nicholas Orthodox Church on Harrison St. in South Omaha.

[nativeomahan]

I believe that there is still a Romanian Church somewhere in the vicinity of 20th and Martha.  I have friends who are of Romanian ancestry here in town, and my co-worker used to work in Romania for the (shhh!) CIA back in the Cold War era.  He still speaks Romanian, but seldom has reason to around here (he is 100% Irish Catholic).

[lisanstan]

I work with a woman from Moscow. Ill ask if there is a community of Russians lurking in Omaha.

On another note, I've been on this board for over five years and i can't believe I'm still "new to the neighborhood".  There should be an automatic upgrade for time served.

[Admin]

It is actually based on posts - not on time registered - but I see your point - I will have to change some of the wording for one's status level.

[Guest]

I did know that status is based on number of posts. I will always be new to the neighborhood since im more a lurker than poster.  

On another note, I will always be grateful for this forum for helping me find a dentist when we moved to Omaha 5+ years ago. Not only is he only 1.5 blocks from my house but he's a great dentist too! Shout out for Dr Carlson on 52nd and Leavenworth.

[Garrett]

Hej! Jestem polskim!

Hahaha does that answer your question if there are any Slavs? I also know quite a few Russians... oh and something quick though, Lithuanians and Romanians are not Slavs. Romanian is actually a Romance language, meaning its related more to Italian, Spanish and French than Polish and Czech. And Lithuanian belongs to the Baltic group.

Anyway, if your looking for Slavic food there is always the Bohemian Cafe for some good Czech food. But culturally, for the most part, we kinda just diffused into the community. I know other Poles, but I'm the only one who can actually speak Polish fluently. Russians do have a small community though.

[src3collector]

Hej axel! Ja tes jestem polskim!  

I'm just visiting though, I actually live in dallas but am from detroit.  I'm guessing from your answer there aren't any bakeries?  Being fat tuesday tomorrow I would drive hours to get my hands on some real paczki's!  I've been searching online for some time this evening and have come up empty handed so far.  Unfortunately my former evil stepmother made some killer homemade paczki's but her being my former stepmother and evil makes it tough to get the recipe, lol.  I may just have to try out a recipe I found online.

[chaoman45]

Well, I would have said "Terror Free Oil" if it was still open. They probably had more Russian food than the rest of Omaha combined. Otherwise, no. You're stuck with Mexican, Chinese, and Mexican imitation.