Editor’s note: Ground Zero annually visits restaurants outside of Lincoln during July.
SEWARD -- Nate’s on the Nine is located at the Seward Country Club, but owner Nate Steinbach wants diners to know the usual country club rules don’t apply here.
“It’s been going pretty well,†Steinbach said of his first year in business, “but our ultimate struggle has been letting people know that we’re open to the public.â€
Membership is not required, and, unlike the old days, there is no dress code, which got me out of the doghouse with my wife. I hadn’t told her of our destination until we were on the road, and she felt she had underdressed for the trip.
Steinbach opened Nate’s in July 2014, moving from Omaha to return to his “hometown†and raise a family.
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The 33-year-old grew up in Garland and graduated from Seward High School, marrying his high school sweetheart, Lisa, who works for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. They have a 4-year-old daughter, Amelia.
Steinbach’s first kitchen job was in Garland, as a dishwasher at the then-J&B Steakhouse. Later he worked with his eldest brother, Tim, who was a chef at Lincoln’s Green Gateau. All three of the Steinbach boys are in food service today. Tim now is the food service manager at SilverRidge, an assisted living community in Gretna, and middle brother Jon is part of Nate’s staff.
Prior to opening Nate’s, Steinbach trained at a culinary school in Oklahoma City. Employment in Omaha included working for Guckenheimer, a restaurant management and catering company, and as a sous chef at the Holland Performing Arts Center.
Nate’s specializes in American grill fare, with gourmet burgers and sandwiches, and an after-5 p.m. menu that includes steaks, buttermilk fried chicken and cedar plank salmon. Steinbach said he plans to introduce new lunch- and dinner-only menus in August.
Food
I went to Nate’s specifically for the buttermilk fried chicken, which was extremely reasonably priced -- $11 for two pieces of white meat, three pieces of dark meat or four wings. It came with a choice of two sides. Though the chicken was breaded in seasoned flour, I found I needed to add a little more salt to it.
My wife’s gourmet burger, though, was spot on with its seasoning. She ordered The Nine’s ($10.50), which featured smoked ham, a fried egg, smoked cheddar cheese, provolone and Heinz 57 sauce. It was so big, she could eat only half of it.
Nate’s grinds its burgers in-house and hand patties them to 6 ounces. In this case, the burger had a distinct delicious pepper taste to it.
Not surprisingly, the chicken and burgers are among the restaurant’s best-sellers, Steinbach said. The cedar plank salmon ($14.50) and weekend prime rib ($15.95 for 8 ounces, $20.95 for 12) also are popular.
Nate’s features a brunch buffet on Sundays, costing either $10.50 (before 11 a.m.) or $12.50 (after 11 a.m.), with discounts for kids. The brunch includes an omelet station and made-to-order Belgian waffles. Grade: A-
Atmosphere
The restaurant is located on the top level of the Country Club, and while Nate’s concept is casual, its setting is semiformal, with white tablecloths, servers clad in black and nicely plated food.
Nate’s features a bar and a dining room. You will be asked where you would like to be seated. The dining room has no TVs. It’s also a bit cramped, with servers sometimes brushing up against tables as they pass.
The biggest draw here is the view. Large windows look out onto the golf course, and with all the rain we’ve had, the course is green and gorgeous. Grade: B+
Service
We dined on a semi-busy Thursday evening and found the restaurant running smoothly. Our three courses -- appetizer, entrees and dessert -- arrived in a timely manner. Our server was friendly and open to questions. We quizzed her about the buffet table, which was set up for one of the club’s leagues, but was available to diners.
Just one, nitpicky thing here that I’ve seen at other restaurants. When serving beer or soda in a can or bottle, please bring it with a glass. Some diners prefer drinking from a can or bottle; but others do not. Our server brought our bar order before filling our water glasses, so I used my water glass for my beer and requested another glass for water. Grade: A-
Specialty diets
The menu features no vegetarian fare, though some of the salads could be served without meat. There is a handful of appetizers, but your best bet is one of the $3 sides, which include homemade kettle chips, potato salad, coleslaw and broccoli slaw. I enjoyed the potato salad as a side to my entree. It was heavy with mayonnaise, eggs and dill. Grade: C-