First visit: Jun 2025
After Des Moines, we were pretty much done with digging for the trip. If we had gone for another day, we for certain would have dedicated it to Omaha and Lincoln. But there simply wasn't time, and we drove around both cities. Kearney is a convenient stop in the middle of Nebraska. I stayed here for a similar reason on my journey from Denver to Winnipeg and Regina back in 2011 (as noted in the Crawford review).
Food: Nebraska Ale Works is what I call a "craft tavern". Essentially the same as a brewpub except instead of their own beers, they bring in a variety of other craft beers. The best of these focus strictly on the state they're in. And that's precisely what Nebraska Ale Works does. So I was able to try two additional breweries from Nebraska while enjoying an excellent meal. As I like to do, Italian food tends to be a good choice at these places. Oftentimes better than the Italian restaurants themselves. And that's exactly what happened here. For as much as we had been stuffing our faces on the trip, I surprised myself by eating almost all of that pasta without feeling bloated. The homemade meatballs were excellent, great texture and flavor. Good red sauce, slightly bitter. Pasta was cooked a tad more than al dente. The bread was great too - crispy and buttery. I believe Mrs. RJG settled on another hamburger (not photo'd nor did I make a voice text), something we rarely eat at home, so I think that's why she had so many of them!
Location: This used to be Old Chicago, and unbelievably that's where I ate in my one prior trip to Kearney! So I've been to the building twice but the restaurant only once haha. Forgot to photo the building. Our hotel was a three minute walk away. Love when that happens!
Food: Nebraska Ale Works is what I call a "craft tavern". Essentially the same as a brewpub except instead of their own beers, they bring in a variety of other craft beers. The best of these focus strictly on the state they're in. And that's precisely what Nebraska Ale Works does. So I was able to try two additional breweries from Nebraska while enjoying an excellent meal. As I like to do, Italian food tends to be a good choice at these places. Oftentimes better than the Italian restaurants themselves. And that's exactly what happened here. For as much as we had been stuffing our faces on the trip, I surprised myself by eating almost all of that pasta without feeling bloated. The homemade meatballs were excellent, great texture and flavor. Good red sauce, slightly bitter. Pasta was cooked a tad more than al dente. The bread was great too - crispy and buttery. I believe Mrs. RJG settled on another hamburger (not photo'd nor did I make a voice text), something we rarely eat at home, so I think that's why she had so many of them!
And that was it for the trip! On our way home to Colorado Springs the next day, we stopped by RJG favorite Taco John's in Colby, Kansas for lunch. I updated that entry already.
6/15/25 (new entry)
6/2/25
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