dante

wow! best pizza in omaha. my wife and i hit dante yesterday on the recomendation of a co-worker who used to live in italy...we were not disappointed. this is authenicitalianpizza..while most americans are used to what we get from the big chain pizza places they may not appeciate this style of pizza...i say it by far the best in omaha..beautiful thin crust and quality toppings, the sauce is simply superb., and being made in the wood fired brick oven imparts huge flavor to the crust and pizza it's self...and while the toppings may seem be be light on quantity, believe me the flavor is full and out of this world...we can't wait to get back there and we plan to bring our friends and family so they too can enjoy this treasure of omaha....the so called #1 pizza place in omaha should come see how real pizza is made at dante!

very nice and somewhat fancyitalianrestaurant, they have all the essentials on their menu to make them a legitimateitalianestablishment such as a variety of lemon cello's,italianbeers and authenticitalianwines. i have heard their pizza is very very good coaching to traditional fashion however the one we had was slightly burnt i was very happy however with my pasta and our service.

the best real pizza in town. craving realitalianthin crust pizza? look no farther. i am not a dessert person, but i always try to make an exception when there. mama mia!

i've eaten here a few times. it is a nice modernitalianrestaurant in the shops of legacy. it's basically a place to grab some gourmet pizza, but they also offer some other tasty selections.

zucchini fritti - these are very very tasty. i am a huge fan of zucchini fritti almost everywhere it is served. unlike the zucchini sticks or thick zucchini slices you are probably used to having fried. these are almost as thin as potato chips. they are very tasty and my only complaint is they should give you twice as many.

meatballs - a few jumbo meatballs served as a small plate or appetizer. they are very good meatballs covered in a delicious marinara.

bolo joe - this is, essentially, their house bread with a mound of their delightful bolognese sauce on it and some grana padano (anitaliancheese related to parmigiano reggiano, but younger). a tasty small plate to be sure.

pappardelle bolognese - their bolognese sauce is amazing. skip the pasta. just fill a huge bowl with bolognese and i will eat with a spoon like a good stew. their homemade pasta is very tasty, but i think they got the shape wrong. it does not want to stay on your fork. it is a combination of it being both too short and too wide.

the neapolitan pizzas are what people come here for. it's the big draw. crust on them is superb. it's just the way i love pizza crust. sauce is simple. i prefer mine a bit more spiced and i also prefer more sauce on my pizza than this place gives you. i've had a few different selections of their pizza...

margherita - simple and good. this is sort of the "cheese pizza" of the pizza snob world.

giuseppe - good, but the "papa's sausage" is just too overpowering. it's all you taste when you bite into this pizza. they need to use less or find a less potent sausage. also, it doesn't take like theitaliansausage you're probably used to having on pizza. i'm not a big fan of other types of sausage on my pizza as i don't think the flavors meld well.

oma-za - essentially, this is the giuseppe with mushrooms instead of peppers. they list it a few notches down on the menu and change the order in which the ingredients are listed in order to make it look unique, but it's essentially a giuseppe knock-off. it's good, but has the same problem with the over-powering "papa's sausage."

service is friendly. i haven't encountered any pretentiousness in my visits here. they always ask if i have reservations when i walk in, but i never do and i still am seated immediately. granted, i don't go when they're slammed. as with all things, ymmv.

restaurant is clean and well-maintained. parking is shared with all of the other businesses in the shops of legacy, so it can be a challenge to find a spot during peak business hours.

local organic salad greens in late fall?. now, as the nighttime lows dip below freezing, how are the salad greens?

we grow them in rich organic soil in iowa. currently, i grow the hardiest greens outdoors, uncovered. beet greens turn smaller, thicker, sweeter and a deep dark red or brownish red, corresponding to lower daily sunlight. swiss chard leaves are smaller, deeply curled and almost crunchy. the colors are more intense and varied. the baby leaves of collards, kales and mustards are protected from frost by terraces. these are more hardy, smaller and sweeter, from the stress. cilantro, spearmint,italianand curled parsley continue to grow and thrive uncovered. they will all be covered by december.

less hardy greens, being pak choy, bok choy, dae cheong chae, 3 mizunas, ho mi, staghorn mustard, garnet mustard and southern mustard, 3 arugulas, baby turnip greens, several lettuces, carrot top, baby beet green, radish sprouts, baby broccoli leaf and baby kohlrabi, baby cabbage and mache' are under our low tunnels, covered in clear plastic, under hoops made of 10' sections of old heavy gauge wire mesh cattle panels. the sun warms the greens in daytime, the frost is held at bay in nighttime and the snow rolls off, further insulating the soil from freezing.

so, enjoy the bright colors, the varied textures, the richer tastes and the nutrition from our nishnabotna naturals certified usda oganic salad greens.


-----29 sep, 2012-----

my birthday dinner. we supply the salad greens to dante. two days after my birthday, chef nick strawhecker served us a memorable feast.

we started with the margaetha pizza. it is simple, plain and very tasty. i think the fresh mozarella, made in restaurant from curd supplied by a local family-owned dairy and the "inferno" oven are the reasons.

later, we got a wood slab with variousitalianmeats and cheeses. this is not available, to my knowledge anywhere in omaha. you need to try that. it was fabulous.

i like what they do with my salad greens. the dressing matches the array of different sizes, textures, colors, tastes and aromas of our organic greens.


-----25 sep, 2011-----

pizza and salad. you can't do better than adding one of nick's signature salads to your pizza.

they are all usda certified organic by the iowa dept. of agriculture and land stewardship. the content of the mixture varies, but always includes delicate lettuces, basils, carrot and beet greens, mustards and seasonally, microgreens or spinach. we have a 3 day rule. use it in 3 days, or we exchange. it is all delivered the day it is picked.

nishnabotna naturals
oakland, iowa

www.nishnabotnanaturals.com

great food. dantes is one of the places which i always recommend out of towners to visit. the food is a bit on the expensive side but if you are looking for qualityitalianfood, this is the place to visit! i know most of the people that visit go immediately for the pizzas, but one of my favorite dishes here is a field green salad. all of the ingredients are locally sourced and you can definitely taste the difference. i have never been disappointed by any of the dishes i have ordered here.

bestitalianin west o. we were shocked at the quality of this place when we went to check it out during omaha restaurant week. greatitalianpizzas, fantastic cheese selection, good wine (though it is not 50% off on thursdays and sundays as their website said), homemade limoncello, and an elusive ricotta cheesecake that has never been available the 3 times we've been there, but that we're dying to try.

family owned business that is pretty authentic italian, delicious, and definitely worth traveling west for!

amazing food service and local ingredients. the wife and i being downtowners took the trek out to the shops at legacy to try dante's pizza on the claim of a coworker that it was the "best pizza in omaha" i was not disappointed. we were happy to see the interesting menu that had greatitaliandishes, neat pizzas and local produce!

we had the salumi and formaggi, a soup, and a great sausage pepper pizza. the salumi and formaggi was a great choice and i highly recommend it! the wine selection is good here and the waitress can actually pair wines and beers. staff was prompt and accommodating even on a busy saturday. manager was great at damage control when we had to move tables because of a large party and even paid for our first round of drinks. our waitress was professional and friendly and gave good recommendations.

all being said if your in the mood for a change of pace and want a great relaxed experience with local foods. dante's pizza is by far one of the best restaurants in omaha.

no words for how bad this pizza was. i preface this by saying that this is anitalianstyle pizza that is not a typical pizza, but i've been to italy and had it there, and know what it's supposed to taste like. this is absolutely the worst pizza that i have ever had in my life. it was tasteless, the crust was like charcoal, and then i bit into a piece of chicken that was all gristle and could not continue. my son's lips were black from the burnt crust. add to that it was unbelievably expensive, and you can picture what kind of experience we had there. i was stunned at how bad it was. the waiter was nice, and the management was apologetic and tried to make it up to us, but that could not make up for the worst pizza i have had in my 48 years of life. save your money and go to your local grocer's freezer section and pick up a jack's frozen pizza. you'll be getting a better pizza than dante's.

where's the flavor?. i can't count on one hand the number of people who told me that dante is the place to go for pizza in omaha. eventually we made the trek out to far suburbia to check it out. we were very disappointed in what we found.
the restaurant itself is vaguely industrial in appearance, broken into several dining areas on two levels. nothing to write home about in the looks department.
we decided to eat outdoors, where at least the air was fresh. i ordered the margarita pizza with prosciutto as a $2 add on. my husband chose the casarecce bolognese pasta (the menu said it was beef, pork and red wine). that sounded like it would have a bright, bold flavor, which is what he was in the mood for.
we also ordered a bottle of barbera wine.
our server was friendly and service times were not a problem. our wine was delicious, and served in big beautiful glasses. so far, so good.
my request for a side dinner salad to go with my pizza was rebuffed ("we don't serve salads like that"), which marked the start of the downhill spiral to come. everything at dante is a la carte, which is fine, but what gives with not even offering side salads with dinner?
when the food arrived the pizza looked and tasted great, although it was overcooked a bit, with some of the crust burnt. but the huge disappointment was the pasta, which contrary to 2,000+ years ofitaliancooking was as lifeless in appearance as it was totally tasteless. we both agreed we had suffered through better meals in hospital cafeterias. bolognese sauce should be taught in "italian cooking 101," and i have no idea how anitalianristorante could screw this one up.
upon bringing the problem of the pasta with the missing taste to the attention of the waiter the pasta meal was taken off the bill, after a visit from the manager, who offered to substitute a dessert. we opted instead to head to the yogurt place up the way.
the restaurant was 2/3 full on a friday evening. you obviously can get a good meal here, but it apparently is up to the fate of what is on the menu (which apparently changes daily) or who is cooking the day of your visit. lacasa pizzearia has much more consistency for my money.

updated february 2011: we stopped in for drinks and dessert one friday evening. the gelato was good, as was the french pressed coffee. service was friendly.

food: 6 (out of 10)
atmosphere: 7
service: 7
value: 7

alex volterri. i am italian, i know pizza. this is the best pizza in town. theitalianfood is also authentic, great owners.


-----26 apr, 2010-----

clothing mfg. i am from florence, italy, dante has the best pizza in town by far, i have tried pitch,california pizza and all the so called pizzerias in omaha, none of them compares to dantes,nick has the closest toitalianpizza, i should know. alex volterri

bestitalianfood in omaha. i visited dante the week of their opening and i have a strong feeling the restaurant will be a 'destination restaurant' in omaha (think m's pub, la casa) with characteristics of hipness similar to a baby blue or boiler room. the pizza is great but i enjoyed the pasta even more. the menu is very imaginative, which is nice to see, especially in west o. i met the chef (nick is his name i think) and i learned that he has been training and planning for this restaurant for years, recently moving from philadelphia to omaha. omaha is lucky to have him and his new restaurant.

definite "a list" restaurant!. quality and choice of food very authentic and superb! wide selection ofitalianwines.