Hello, steak lovers. It’s Sarah Baker Hansen, back this week with my latest story in the yearlong Steak Town USA series.
For Omahans, I think several steakhouses in town could be called “legendary.” Brother Sebastian’s is one of them. What started as part of a 1970s dining trend — theme restaurants — has somehow endured in west Omaha for nearly 50 years. Former owner Loren Koch, who died in 2023, sketched out his original idea for a monastery-themed steakhouse on the back of a pizza box. How has it lasted so long?
It turns out the answer to that question is by not just sticking to the monastery theme (how I love the Gregorian chants that play in the restaurant’s parking lot) but also keeping the menu straightforward and simple. I called their steaks the best in Omaha when I wrote about Brother Sebastian’s last, in 2013, and I think that praise holds when it comes to the absolutely delectable 12 ounce St. Thomas cut filet. Yeah, I know the cut takes some guff. But I absolutely love it, and this is surely one of the finest, if not the finest, versions of it in the city.
I took a deep dive into the legend and lore of the restaurant this month, and there are some great stories to tell that owner Scott Lurry, who has worked there since 1980 and bought it in 2023, was thrilled to share. I’m now thrilled to share those stories with you.
Hope you enjoy the latest in the series as much as I do. Read it here (or click the photo above).
Sarah Baker Hansen is an award-winning writer who has covered Omaha’s food scene for more than a decade. She posts restaurant reviews and food news on her blog, sarahbakerhansen.com.
April’s Omaha art scene has something for everyone. From international textile artists to autobiographical sculptures and paintings. And that’s only a fraction of the exhibitions and events across our great cultural community.
“Everyday”: an exhibition of 365 art gifs by ZWAIN
“Absurdity will sustain us and bad art will save us all,” goes the motto of award-winning multimedia artist, ZWAIN (aka Zach Willard). The Omaha-based artist created 365 gif-based animations over the course of 23 days late last year, giving us one for every day of 2025. Come explore and be inspired by these quirky, experimental, digital motion studies in BFF Omaha’s mobile MaMo Gallery as part of their April First Friday!
– When: Opening reception: Friday, April 4, 6-10 p.m. Artist Q & A: Saturday, April 5, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
– Where: MaMo Gallery – south lot of PETSHOP, 2725 N. 62nd St., Omaha
“Full Circle:” Mary Zicafoose & Jane Carney
Chicago-based multi-disciplinary artists Carney and Zicafoose met while attending St. Mary’s College in Indiana. Years later, Gallery 1516 brings these amazingly skilled and accomplished artists “full circle” with an exhibition of all new paintings, prints and textile works.
– When: Public Opening: Friday, April 4, 6-8 p.m., Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday-Sunday noon-4 p.m.
– Where: Gallery 1516, 1516 Leavenworth St., Omaha
Thomas Wharton: “of an Alcove”
This month, Wharton reinterprets the Japanese tradition of tokonoma, a traditional alcove of display. By placing this structure outdoors, Wharton documents the passage of time through the four seasons in Sioux City, Iowa. I look forward to seeing these large-scale photographs as they subtly challenge the viewer with a clever subversion of vantage point.
– When: Opening reception: Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday noon-8 p.m., Sunday noon-6 p.m.
– Where: The Garden of the Zodiac, 1042 Howard St., Omaha
VIY: “I HAVE A LOT TO SAY BUT I WON’T”
Project Project presents VIY’s first solo show: “I HAVE A LOT TO SAY BUT I WON’T.” This immersive installation is made from personal materials collected from the past five years of the artist’s life. Viewers are invited to touch and interact with these vessels and consider the stories and history they hold.
– When: Friday, April 11, 6-10 p.m.
– Where: Project Project, 1818 Vinton St., Omaha
Kristin Pluhacek: “A Little Thing, Round as Any Ball”
Perhaps the most skilled pastel and charcoal illustrator in the region, Pluhacek blends elements of abstraction with the natural world. Witness her ever evolving mark making techniques in a new series of drawings inspired by her backyard garden.
– When: Friday, April 11, 5-8 p.m., Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. until April 26.
– Where: Anderson O’Brien Fine Art in Midtown Crossing, 3220 Farnam St., Suite 2101
Field of Lily’s “Little Black Girl Memoir”
The Union for Contemporary Art brings us Lily Stennis-Vinson’s autobiographical solo exhibition. This recent graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s bachelor of fine art program explores her experiences growing up in North Omaha through a variety of three-dimensional and two-dimensional media, as well as poetry. Don’t miss this powerful multi-disciplinary show!
– When: Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 1-8 p.m., Friday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., until April 19.
– Where: The Union for Contemporary Art, 2423 N. 24th St.
— Bart Vargas is a visual artist, educator and advocate based in Omaha, Nebraska. He publishes a weekly list of local arts, culture and entertainment events on social media, and operates an international studio with his wife Bekah Jerde.
Billy Joel once sang “There’s a new band in town, and you can’t get the sound from a story in a magazine” — but this is a blurb in a online newsletter, so let me tell you about my favorite band (and their upcoming free show!). An indie folk/punk rock band from Chicago, Settling Houses is now the hottest local band in Omaha. With songs like “Never Better” and “Good Things,” they sing about real life issues, using folk melodies married with raw punk energy. My personal favorite, “A Short Song about a Watermelon,” makes me laugh every time when they sing about how a rotten watermelon ruined their whole week.
Settling Houses is playing a free show with another local artist, Erik Nordstrom, this Saturday, at the Myrtle and Cypress Coffeehouse Conservatory location. I’ll be there! You should be too!
— Han McClelland Wagoner, Nebraska Journalism Trust
John Ewing and Jean Stothert will vie for mayor in Omaha’s May general election. Mike McDonnell, who built a campaign around streetcar frustrations, fell to third despite outraising Ewing. In the race to represent District 2 on the Omaha City Council, former councilman Ben Gray and business development leader LaVonya Goodwin advanced from the pool of nine candidates that included incumbent Juanita Johnson.
Both Omaha mayoral candidates support moving the city’s elections to align with federal dates, KETV’s Aaron Hegarty reports. Staggering the votes has led to much lower turnout in the odd-year local elections. About 23% of registered voters turned out for Tuesday’s primary compared to 75% across Douglas County for the presidential general election, according to Douglas County election data.
A judge denied bail for a 19-year-old charged with murder, assault and other felonies following a shootout that killed 15-year-old Shalamar Davis Jr. and injured another near Benson, WOWT reports. Davis’ family held a vigil last week to honor the Burke High School sophomore. Others have used the shooting to call attention to gun violence. A 20-year-old woman was also charged as an accessory in the shooting.
Comedian and Omaha native Amber Ruffin got nixed from the White House Correspondents dinner after calling the Trump administration “a bunch of murderers” on a podcast, the Associated Press reports. The association’s president said he wants to make sure the dinner highlights journalists’ work and not “politics of division.”
Heartland Pride’s corporate sponsorships have taken a dip this year, according to KMTV’s Hannah McIlree. The organization’s vice president believes politics and fear of backlash for supporting the LGBTQ+ event have led to less funding.
U.S. Rep. Mike Flood told KETV he’s looking into the canceled Omaha weather balloons. The congressman plans to speak with government officials about the grounded forecasting technology.
We missed this last week but U.S. News & World Report ranked Omaha the hottest housing market in the nation. The site went in depth into how we topped Austin, Houston, Charleston and Denver through a combination of job growth, economic development and a reduced cost of living.
Pope Francis appointed a successor to Archbishop George Lucas who resigned after turning 75 years old, a requirement of canon law. Rev. Michael McGovern of Illinois will be Omaha’s sixth archbishop and oversee more than 230,000 Catholics here once he’s formally installed on May 7, writes Kevin Cole at the Omaha World-Herald. (You may need a subscription to read the OWH story)
Correction: Last week we wrote that designer Kelli Molczyk resigned from Buckle on March 21. She resigned March 21, 2024.
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity