Generations of Nebraska families have known Johnny’s Cafe as a steakhouse classic.
Now it’s getting an honor that cements that classic status nationally.
The 103-year-old South Omaha steakhouse was this week named a James Beard America’s Classics restaurant, an honor that only one other restaurant in Nebraska has received.
The Beard Classics award is part of the annual James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, which function as the Oscars of the food world.
Classics winners are “institutions that reflect local character … and serve as an enduring anchor for their communities by serving delicious food across many years,” said the Beard Foundation press release announcing the winners.
Roughly 100 restaurants nationally have won the award since it was first given in 1998. And only two have been from Nebraska: Johnny’s and Sehnert’s Bieroc Cafe in McCook, known for making homemade versions of the thing now often called a Runza.
Food writer Sarah Baker Hansen has written two important stories about Johnny’s for Flatwater.
And last year, as part of her Steak Town USA series, she revisited Johnny’s with photographer Joshua Foo. While judging its steaks, side dishes and desserts, she wrote about its timeless charms.
If you’d like more food stories and photos like these, Baker Hansen’s food stories appear twice monthly in our free Thursday Omaha newsletter and our free Friday statewide newsletter. Sign up to receive one of those email newsletters here.
