Entrees are made from scratch at Ollie & Hobbes, where salmon risotto is on the menu.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Salmon risotto paired with a firecracker shrimp appetizer at Ollie & Hobbes.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Lincoln, NE - 1/5/2022 - The firecracker shrimp appetizer (L) and pork schnitzel entree at Ollie & Hobbes, 2940 Pine Lake Road. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Jason Kuhr and Tyler Mohr completely went in a different direction with their second restaurant in Lincoln.
The owners of jtk, the fine dining restaurant in the Haymarket, opened Ollie & Hobbes Craft Kitchen in November 2020 in SouthPointe Pavilions, where Panera Bread used to be. Ollie & Hobbes is a casual restaurant geared primarily to families.
“Fine dining is a niche market,†Kuhr said. “With Ollie & Hobbes, we were looking to appeal to a broader customer base.â€
The Lincoln location is the second Ollie & Hobbes in Nebraska. The duo opened the first in 2017 in Papillion. Kuhr also is co-owner of Charred Burger + Bar, which recently opened its second location and first in Lincoln. It sits across from Ollie & Hobbes at SouthPointe (I’ll write about it soon!).
Kuhr has been a part of Lincoln’s food and beverage scene since 2001, when he owned and operated the O Street college bar Main Street Cafe after graduating with a finance degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He sold the bar more than 10 years ago. He opened jtk in 2007, elevating Mohr from employee to ownership along the way.
Kuhr’s latest endeavors exemplify where he’s currently at in life. He’s a father now, with three kids ages 10, 8 and 4. Ollie & Hobbes combines great food for mom and dad with an entertainment element for kids. The dessert menu, for instance, includes decorate-your-own-cookie and build-your-own-ice-cream-sundae options.
In naming the restaurant, Kuhr said the management team put together three to five pages of words. While picking up after his kids, Kuhr came across Ollie in the title of a children’s book. Hobbes, of course, is an homage to the popular comic strip “Calvin & Hobbes.â€
“We put them together, and liked how it sounded,†Kuhr said.
Food
Ollie & Hobbes is a “craft kitchen,†meaning entrees are made from scratch. “We’re not baking our own bread, but we do as much (from scratch) as we can,†Kuhr said. The menu features a mix of beef, chicken, pork and seafood entrees with a selection of burgers and sandwiches.
It reminds me of a gastro pub, which is known for its gourmet comfort food. The menu includes two kinds of risotto (salmon or grilled chicken), two pasta dishes (alfredo and baked pasta with Italian sausage), steak pomme frites and a pork schnitzel. Portions are hefty and prices are reasonable, ranging from $13 to $20.
The menu includes three gourmet burgers and seven specialty sandwiches, including a Philly, a shrimp po’ boy and barbecue pulled chicken. They cost between $9.50 and $10.
On our visit, we started with baked meatballs ($10) from the appetizer section. Large enough as an entree, the dish featured five meatballs smothered in cheddar and mozzarella cheese, parsley and marinara sauce and served with garlic bread. It came out of the kitchen piping hot. The semi-spicy marinara sauce gave it a bit of a kick.
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For entrees, I enjoyed the pork schnitzel ($14) and my wife, Rebecca, had the southern fried chicken sandwich with seasoned fries ($9.50). The pork tenderloin was hand-breaded with Panko bread crumbs and served atop pan-fried potatoes, onions and spinach with a homemade lemon vinaigrette. It was a tasty, but filling meal. I took half of the potatoes home with me.
Rebecca’s chicken featured a crispy, but not greasy breading and a homemade garlic aioli. Sandwiches and burgers are served with seasoned fries. A house salad, soup, onion rings or truffle fries were available, too, for $1 or $1.50 extra.
Overall, it was a satisfying meal and a great price. Our food bill was just $37, the price of one entree at some restaurants. Of course, Ollie & Hobbes’ goal is to provide an enjoyable family dining experience without breaking the bank. Grade: A-
Service
The bartender, Jasa, did a bang-up job as our server. It was a weeknight, so she worked the tables in the bar while making drinks for the entire restaurant. She made us a terrific and reasonably priced strawberry Moscow mule ($6) and old fashioned ($7). The kitchen also was up to the task. Our appetizer arrived just minutes after ordering, and our entrees followed a short time later. Grade: A
Atmosphere
Warm and contemporary are good words to describe Ollie & Hobbes, with tan, brown, black and yellow as colors inside rooms with large windows and heavy wood tables and chairs. The restaurant sits on a corner of the mall, so when you enter, the dining room extends on a diagonal to your left and the bar to your right. The dining room has booth seating with nifty pendant lighting, while the bar is a mix of small and large tables. Two big-screen TVs sit behind the long bar. With multiple hard surfaces, including the floor, it can get a little noisy when busy, especially in the bar area, where tables are close together. Grade: A-
Specialty diets
No menu items are strictly vegetarian, including the grilled cheese sandwich and macaroni and cheese entree, which list bacon as an ingredient. Leave out the bacon and you’re good to go.
The sandwich ($9.50) features a mix of cheddar, mozzarella and Swiss cheeses with tomato on a rosemary focaccia. The “Grown Up Mac & Cheese†($13.50) boasts a cheddar, parmesan, blue cheese and mozzarella cream sauce with peas, toasted bread crumbs (for some texture) and green onion.
The menu also includes a Caesar salad ($8.50), a tomato basil soup ($4/cup, $6/bowl), parmesan truffle fries ($9) and tomato garlic bruschetta ($9).
Ollie & Hobbes doesn’t have a gluten-free menu, but has gluten-free options. Check with your server on how items are prepared. Grade: C+
Lincoln's most requested restaurants
Jamba Juice
Einstein Bros. Bagels
Church's Texas Chicken
Jason's Deli
Hard Rock Cafe
Peets Coffee
Dave & Busters
Shake Shack
Bob Evans
Potbelly Sandwich Works
Cafe Rio
Portillo's
Giordano's Pizzeria
P.F. Chang's China Bistro
Uno Pizzeria and Grill
Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits
Joe's Crab Shack
Jack in the Box
Bennigan's
Big Mama's and Papa's Pizzeria
Taco Cabana
Hardee's
California Pizza Kitchen
A&W
White Castle
Tastee Inn
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In-N-Out Burger
Waffle House
The Cheesecake Factory
Jeff Korbelik is the winery manager at James Arthur Vineyards, former Journal Star features editor and author of "Lost Restaurants of Lincoln, Nebraska."
Dining Out
Ollie & Hobbes Craft Kitchen
Address: 2940 Pine Lake Road
Specialty: American grill
Atmosphere: Casual
Payment: Cash, major credit cards
Cost: Entrees, $13 to $20; burgers and sandwiches, $9.50 to $12
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Phone: 402-328-2829
Web: ollieandhobbes.com
Social media: Facebook
Notes: Parking, alcohol, takeout, online ordering, children’s menu, happy hour (3-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, all day Sunday), party room
Lincoln, NE - 1/5/2022 - The firecracker shrimp appetizer (L) and pork schnitzel entree at Ollie & Hobbes, 2940 Pine Lake Road. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star