Steak Town USA: Steakhouse checks every box, then checks a few more

When a waiter dressed in a smartly pressed, forest green workwear coat heads toward you pushing a cart overflowing with steaks, you know you’ve got it good. 

Downtown Omaha’s 801 Chophouse offers diners several such moments, like when you’re able to select a bone-in prime filet right off that cart of meat. Or choose your dessert at the beginning of the meal because it’s made to order and takes at least a half hour to bake. 

Or order a one-pound loaded baked potato. 

801 is expensive, in fact  the most expensive dinner we have had so far as part of this yearlong SteakTown USA series. It’s certainly high-end. But it also delivers an evening that checks every single box on the classic steakhouse experience list. And then it checks a few more that you never even thought of. 

Service is a big part of the 801 brand, assistant general manager Tawni Grages said during a post-dinner interview.

The steakhouse, part of a Midwestern chain based in Des Moines, also has nearby locations in Kansas City, Denver, Minneapolis and St. Louis. “We want you to walk through the door and feel like you kind of stepped back into time,” Grages said. 

That includes the level of service, the old-school decor, the staff’s more formal mannerisms and uniforms and even tiny, lovely touches like the notebook and pencil on every table. That’s a detail from a bygone pre-cellphone era where people actually wrote things down during the course of a meal, business dinner or otherwise.

Many of the staff members at Omaha’s 801 have been here a decade or more, and many regular diners have a favorite server who they ask for by name. Those diners come year after year to celebrate weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. And each time, Grages said they expect a certain level of service. 

“When we say we’re going to be the best in Omaha, we have to have the best servers in Omaha,” she said. “It’s like building relationships. I like to think we execute it every time.” 

I immediately recognized our server,  David Eckler, who recently moved to 801 after being at V. Mertz for many years. Any dinner with Eckler at the helm is always a pleasure. He guides a diner knowledgeably through any menu, with suggestions for the best dishes. A certified-level sommelier, he is also always willing to suggest a glass of wine that might pair nicely with your meal. He did both for us. 

The restaurant serves everything we’ve been trying on our yearlong Steak Town quest. That includes the fantastic signature 801 Manhattan, which is a touch sweet but lovely, and one I have long enjoyed.

The Negroni, too, pleased my discerning Campari lover with its balanced flavor and presentation, complete with a retro gold-and-black swizzle stick. 

The “colossal” shrimp cocktail fits its name, with cold, firm shrimp and plenty of zingy cocktail sauce. I think both the cocktails and the shrimp are the best we have had since our visit to the Committee Chophouse earlier this year. 

The onion rings, in contrast, aren’t your average steakhouse situation. Instead, their breading is almost puffy, with a consistency similar to a savory funnel cake, the onion nestled inside. Though the menu describes them as beer battered, I didn’t get much of that flavor. When everything else is so good, I think I’d skip these next time. 

The dining room is dim and gold-hued, that color scheme punctuated by the softly glowing, candlelit tables and the 801 signature: the giant, gleaming bull sculpture that towers over the room. It’s bold and masculine and not shy about either. 

The restaurant was packed on a summer weekend night when we visited, as it often is during the summer, particularly during big summer events like the College World Series and the Berkshire Hathaway conference, Grages said. It also gets particularly busy during the holidays, when the restaurant gets fully decorated with lights and garlands. 

My unscientific calculation on the night we dined put the dining room at roughly a 3-to1 ratio of men to women; I think it’s a regular spot for business dinners and meetings, and I’m sure the masculine vibe of the room plays into drawing that crowd. 

Every location of 801 has a golden bull, Grages said, but Omaha is the only one to have a miniature train running on a rail above the bar. Each of the train cars represents an Omaha-based company. 

Let’s get to the reason all those guys (and the two of us) are in the dining room: the beef. 

I ordered a special filet off the steak cart, a 12-ounce bone-in, wet-aged filet, a version I don’t see often and wanted to try. Matthew ordered the wet-aged ribeye. 

The kitchen puts serious care and technique into these pieces of beef. Unlike some others we have tried this year, these two steaks arrived seasoned and cooked exactly as we ordered. The beef was fatty and succulent. The filet in particular was mouthwateringly good, with a crisp sear on its exterior and an interior so tender it could be cut with a butter knife. It is the best one I have had so far. 

The restaurant’s beef is all Midwestern raised and corn fed – sometimes in Nebraska – then gets butchered in Chicago, said Tyler Miller, who has been on the 801 staff for a decade. The kitchen dry ages the meat in house for at least 28 days.  Its best known local beef supplier is Morgan Ranch, based in the Nebraska Sandhills. 

The A5 wagyu, which is served at an eye-widening $36 per ounce, comes directly from Japan, he said. Diners who choose it must order at least four ounces, making the smallest portion clock in at $144. (Too rich for our blood.)

The side dishes we ordered — the aforementioned one-pound baked potato and a side of macaroni and cheese — had no particular unusual flair. They were, however, perfectly done. 

The potato, its skin crusted with visible flakes of sea salt, comes topped with huge chunks of pork lardon, melted cheddar cheese and chives. A sidecar of a ramekin each of whipped butter and sour cream is on the side. It is huge. It is impressive. It is very good. 

The same goes for the creamy, garlicky macaroni and cheese, with its rich mornay sauce, melted cheddar and finish of savory, salty, crunchy Parmesan-spiked bread crumbs. 

I have a deep memory of my father baking a chocolate souffle when I was a kid; he baked it again for my 40th birthday. When I saw a made-to-order version on the menu, I knew I had to try it. You must order it early if you plan to do the same, as it takes about 45 minutes to make. 

Served with a homemade chocolate and white chocolate sauce and a berry compote, it is rich, airy and just-sweet, a baking feat created out of patience and air. 

From the first sip of that Manhattan to the last bite of decadent souffle, a meal at 801 represents the classic steakhouse. The meal will include surprises, including a bill that for the two of us crossed the $300 mark before tip. It will also include plenty of delight. 

To put it simply: This is, without question, some of the best beef in Omaha. Hands down.