Aditi: Now, this is a special post. I am honored to present Special Guest: Funny Person and aspiring TV Writer Queen: Samantha Lauber! Sammi and I have always been twitter buds and she has been a long-time supporter of my food blog ventures. So we teamed up to go on a food adventure and write a review! Here we feature my love for brunch food and Sammi’s undeniable charm and wit. Read on, friends!

As I was perusing on Yelp to find a brunch spot, we were looking for something we hadn’t tried before. We settled on Railcar. Sammi replied “I LOVE RAILCAR,” so it was decided, we would go to Railcar.

Sammi: As the woman making the essential final decision, I do think it is important to point out that my previous experience with Railcar was outstanding. I believe that they have a talent with meats, particularly those that Aditi would not be comfortable eating. Also, I was hella schwasty because my father and I got some sort of pink punch in a fancy carafe. Carry on, Aditi.

Aditi: Now, this spot is really far away. Its only 25 minutes on the highway, but that can be a pretty big trek for Creighton kids. Its located in a surburb-style strip mall, but the decor and vibe on the inside feels like it belongs in the Old Market. Wood everywhere, string bulb lights, and a beautiful wine fridge. They were even playing the Shrek marathon, so thats a plus!

Sammi: Shout out to Shrek for giving us a conversation jumping-off point.

Aditi: Now, Sammi and I weren’t in a rush, but this place had exceptionally slow service. It took a full two hours to order, get our food, and pay – and for a restaurant in a suburb strip mall, it should not take that long. The lighting was also terrible, which contributed to the awful quality pictures and us blinding ourselves when we eventually walked out of the place.

Sammi: I will also note that we originally had someone who seemed to be a real waitress, and after about twenty minutes of her not coming back to us, had someone dressed differently than all the waiters (I assumed she was a manager or hostess of some sort). She reminded me of a helicopter, in that she hovered a lot and called me “honey.” Helicopters are always calling me “honey.”

Aditi: We started off with a croissant, which we promptly devoured, seeing as both of us were starving. It was soft and flaky, served with a lot of butter, which was much appreciated. The waitress was kind enough to bring us a second roll after she noticed the piece we were served was slightly burned. You bet we ate it anyways!

Sammi: Note: any restaurant that provides me with a croissant instead of boring normal not-flaky bread immediately goes up a full letter grade.

 

Aditi: We decided to get the Chilaques (breakfast nachos), the Chicken and Waffles, and a single Lemon Ricotta pancake on the side. It took over 40 minutes to get us those dishes, which seemed excessive. Thank god I had the charm and wit of future tv-writer to keep me company!

Sammi: This is the great part about me. I can take really serious conversations about politics and policy and life and adolescence and make them irrelevant with a sassy quip to close the topic.

Aditi: Let’s start with the chilaques. They were corn tortilla chips topped with al pastor shredded chicken, cheese, a fried egg, salsa, avocado, and creme fraiche. The spice on the chips was awesome, it lingered on the mouth and was really out of the ordinary for a typical brunch fare. However, it was definitely missing something. The avocado was a good cooling agent, but it needed some fresh veggies, tomatoes, or something to counter all the spiced chips. There was really no balance whatsoever.

Sammi: I sat waving my hand trying to figure out what this chip spice was. It felt kind of like those Fruit RollUp sheets that you stuck on your tongue for 45 seconds to get a fruit tongue tattoo, but without the fruity relief that the RollUp would have given. I am weak when it comes to spices, and spent the rest of the meal trying to subtly wipe my running nose.

Aditi: Next was the Chicken and Waffles. Now, this is where they really went wrong. They put country gravy and maple syrup on top of the fried chicken and waffle. And a fried egg! One, I do not like gravy on chicken and waffles. Two, if you want to do gravy, pick either gravy or syrup, not both. Three, please specify that there is sausage in country gravy! As a poor innocent red-meat-avoiding-customer, I do not enjoy biting into my food and finding mystery meat that I don’t eat. Please see the below quote. Its funny.

Sammi: Here’s the thing. I am a bit of a food racist. Dark meats and light meats do not mix. Hybrid dishes must outline themselves as hybrid dishes. I need a registry, I am the Donald Trump of separatist dishes. So when I was given a chicken and waffle, expecting…a chicken and waffle…and instead saw an attempt at breeding a sort of biscuits and gravy/chicken and waffle monstrosity, I was shocked. I had hope, and then I cut into it, and then Aditi was given sausage, and then I was sad. Choose gravy OR syrup! Choose chicken OR sausage! Give me a composed, clear dish or give me death. 

Aditi: On top of that, the waffle had literally no flavor. Seriously, Brandeis dining hall waffles were better than this. We certainly did not finish this dish, really disappointing. The waitress noted this as her favorite dish…which was just wrong. Find a better one.

Aditi: Lastly, the saving grace was the lemon ricotta pancake. It featured ricotta cheese and lemon zest in the pancake, soaked in maple syrup and topped with a few fresh raspberries. The presentation wasn’t that impressive, but the pancake had a nice lemon flavor. It was juicy and flavorful. I thought it was a little on the eggy-side, which is weird for a pancake. Regardless, this was the only dish we felt like finishing.

Sammi: I wanted more raspberries and cream on this, but I also wasn’t going to complain because the lemon was well-balanced, the pancake was moist, and it was charmingly crisp on the top, which made me think they may have broiled it a touch or had an in-house dragon for crisping purposes. I kept coming back to this pancake.

Safe to say, our expectations were shattered. Sammi says, “And not in a good way, like the glass ceiling!” The prices aren’t bad, but this mediocre-at-best-quality was certainly not worth it. The balance of the dishes were off, their menu was not clear, and the flavors missed the mark. The menu is so promising, but they fall really flat. Not worth the drive, not worth the money. The only redeeming factor about this experience was the splendid company of soon-to-be-famous Sammi Lauber. At least I had that.

Sammi: A small consolation prize, but consolation nonetheless.

The Bottom Line:

Mediocre food, decent atmosphere, slow service. Meh.

Cone Rating: 

Price Range: $$ (10-20 per person)

Location: West Omaha, NE

Internet: Railcar Website, Yelp