Excerpts from the review printed 1/18/2008 “Warm Colors, Southwestern Flavors Help Downtown Restaurant Feel Like a Hearth BY NICHOLE AKSAMITWORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER On a perennially dark stretch of 12th Street, the sign for the new Stokes glows a soft ember-orange. It's not too bright or too big. But it has all the allure of a fire on a cold winter evening. It says: This is exactly where you want to be. The restaurant snuggles into the northeast corner of 12th and Howard. And, although its brick Old Market space (former home to Crawdad's furniture shop) has more inherent charm than the original Stokes, the decor keeps the same theme: New Mexico meets Napa Valley meets Pier 1. Ditto for the menu. Although specials differ from place to place, the menu's the same as the original Stokes': predominantly southwestern, with glimmers of French, Asian, Italian and American. And, based on two recent visits, the southwestern fare and the wines are what shine. On a Saturday night the week after Christmas, a friend, his sister and I called ahead to get on the wait list. (We'd called several days before but were told they weren't taking reservations past 6 p.m. that day.) Although it was bustling when we arrived, there was no line. Oak barrels stacked on their sides formed a partial wall near the entrance, screening a long rustic wood table for 12. Giant sticks in an oversized pot stretched toward 16-foot-high ceilings. Any walls that weren't brick or glass were painted desert red or roasted-corn yellow. Colorful glass-block lights dangled over a rectangular bar topped in copper the color of an old penny. Half-walls rimmed in steel scrollwork, cut into an Aztec or Mayan pattern evocative of cave paintings, helped divide the room. Tall-backed, hand-carved mesquite chairs gave our table the enclosed feeling of a booth. It wasn't exactly quiet, but nearby tables were at different heights to help minimize the noise. And the sound was more cocooning than headache-inducing. Although there were two flat-screen TVs in the nearby bar area, a little Mayan mama in that metal scrollwork thoughtfully screened them from our view. Thoughtful, too, was the wine list - approachable and loaded with interesting and insightful picks from Napa to Bordeaux. The appetizers, served on hot Fiestaware plates, hit the spot. Black bean and sweet corn taquitos were crunchy, salty and a little sweeter than I expected, but a good match with either of the house salsas: a fiercely hot and acidic salsa verde and the smoky red chipotle-tomato. Even more memorable was the shrimp scampi ciabatta - two slender slices of grilled ciabatta bread, topped with juicy sautéed shrimp in a garlic-herb-olive-oil sauce with diced tomato and capers that added just the right amount of piquancy….” “The Mayan fire linguine … was considerably better than the sum of its parts: a large bowl of pasta in a habanero-buttermilk-cream sauce, dappled with tomato and cucumber dice and topped with a smoky, grilled chicken breast. My first bite, a bit of cucumber I thought would ease me gently into the dish, was a fiery revelation. ‘Cool as a cucumber’ did not apply, and I absolutely loved it. The dish was even better with a generous glass of Gianluca Viberti Nebbiolo - a lush Italian red that not only withstood the linguine's heat but seemed to dance fruity circles around it.” “…we had the rich, dark, slightly bitter flourless chocolate cake and the night's two dessert specials: a creamy, chocolate-mint pot de crème and a lemon sabayon tart that chef John Ursick later said were inspired by California chef Thomas Keller. The tart was like the best lemon bar you've ever had: a creamy, not-too-sweet, pure song of lemon that melts on the tongue. It had a similarly disintegrating crust made with pulverized walnuts. My friend, who makes a delicious lemon tart himself, declared it divine.” “A weekday lunch for two was more universally satisfying - and easier on the wallet.The barbecue chicken sandwich was tasty: a big moist grilled chicken breast, crisscrossed with bacon, served with a smoky-spicy-sweet barbecue sauce and lots of green-leaf lettuce on a big, almost-square white bun. Hand-cut french fries were skinny - about a third the thickness of the usual thick-cut fry - and flavorful, if not particularly crisp.But the clear favorite was a Christmasy-looking plate of steak and mushroom enchiladas.The lunch portion was three small enchiladas, topped with white and red sauces, chives and bits of red radish. A mound of chunky guacamole lay to one side, a mound of tomato salsa on the other. The flavor roller coaster began with a blast of lime. Then came creamy, peppery, smoky, gooey and meaty sensations as my teeth sank into tender beef tips, a sort of mushroom ragu with a hint of rosemary, melted Monterey Jack cheese and a sultry red-brown ancho-cream sauce. That filling lunch ran us $36 with tax and tip. And it included a Dos Equis beer served in a tall, thick, green-lipped Mexican glass, and an imported Mexican Coke, which tasted sweet and fizzy and reminded me of the little glass-bottle Cokes I'd get from my grandpa's mechanic shop when I was a kid. We left humming, ‘Yum, yum, yum.’”
New Bar and Grill Stokes Up the Heat
By Jim Delmont
Omaha World Herald Staff Writer
“Stokes is a new grill and bar, with emphasis on the bar – which dominates the middle of the new room carved out of the old Clark’s location in the Miracle Hills shopping area at 114th Street and West Dodge Road.
The bar is huge, a good place to kibitz, with a variety of specialty beers on tap and nightly wine specials. J.W. Dundee Honey Brown beer, Sierra Nevada pale Ale, Boulevard, O’Dell’s, Portland Haystack and others are available, too along with bottled beers and a full bar line.
Stokes, which has an industrial black ceiling with whirling fans, is popular with young people and does a brisk lunch business. The emphasis is on Southwestern food, wood-fired. Hot seasoning abounds throughout the menu, with familiar Mexican items and some not-so-familiar items heated with spices and chiles, rubbed with garlic or otherwise taste-elevated.
Consider: fiery shrimp drizzled with sizzling, hot chipotle oil; Wrapped Fire – habanero-marinated tenderloin with red potatoes, charcoaled onions, sweet peppers and Monterey Jack cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla with spicy green chile and adobo sour cream; blistering Red Chicken – New Mexico chile-crusted breast of chicken stuffed with rice, mushrooms and garlic cream sauce with mild green chile potato; Mayan Fire – hot, spicy blackened chicken on white and red chile linguini, tossed with an habenero chile cream sauce. You get the idea.
There are a lot of appetizers, and the prices aren’t much lower than many of the entrees, so customers can mix and match entrees with appetizers or dine on appetizers alone.
The barbecue sauce here is little different a honey pecan barbecue sauce. It comes with the chicken quesadilla and with the grilled chicken sandwich.
We tried the goat cheese marinara a boat of smooth, tangy tomato sauce with streaks of melted goat cheese, served with a slab of warm, toasted bread. There were good flavors here. The Santa Fe steak soup was hearty. Various items come with tortillas, and the house tortilla is soft and not too thick, unlike the stiff, cardboard-style tortillas showing up on some local menus.
The basic Stokes salad is large. It is made up of mixed greens (including endive and romaine), with roma tomato bits and spicy croutons and is served on a tortilla. The ranch dressing is tasty, and you can also get a spiced Caesar, habenero vinaigrette or sweet pepper dressing.
We tried several beef items. The Tenderloin New Mexico with rounds or medallions of beef that were tender and: flashed: with New Mexico chilies and black pepper. The meat came with a delicious wild mushroom stew – a rich, flavorful gravy and the best thing I tasted all evening, plus a green chile filled with mashed potato.
The garlic-painted rib-eye steak was also tender, served with lively rounds of horseradish potato and zucchini and squash slices.
The choice tenderloin in the tenderloin Caesar hoagie was cooked to order. It was grilled and rolled in cracked pepper, served in a thick, lemony Caesar dressing that resembled a hollandaise sauce, on a hoagie with lettuce, tomato and a green chile potato on the side.
Far and away the best dish of the evening was Sharon’s Chicken Enchiladas, a delicate, heady chicken and Chihuahua cheese melted in three flour tortillas, swimming in roasted green chile cumin sauce that was complex and delicious – served with red rice and cowboy beans. There is much more on the menu, including some pastas, a smoked prime-rib sandwich that sounded interesting, chiles rellenos, grilled salmon and chicken preparations, a roast pork loin with cranberry-chardonnay-cherry stuffing and more.
This restaurant obviously has some good culinary ideas. The Mexican dishes seem the best, along with grilled chicken, appetizers, salads and some of the sandwiches. The roast pork loin would be high on my list at a second visit, as would the garlic shrimp pasta and the wild mushroom appetizer.
Desserts include a root-beer float, chocolate hazelnut pudding, cheesecake and Bananas Fargo.”
Culinary Pros Name
Names
By John Draney
“My absolute all-time favorite – it is without any doubt the best food in town – Stokes Grill & Bar. Every single bite has layers of flavor. It’s not monodimensional and they back it up with probably the most carefully chosen wine list I have ever seen.”
Napkin Notes: Totally Stoked
By Cindy Klein
“Chef John Ursick likes southwestern style cooking. So much so, he has traveled from Chicago to Phoenix studying what makes this unique and most delectable cuisine one of the most sought after types in the world. As Ursick learned, the secret is in the (proverbial) sauce.
He secured dozens of cook-books, listened to his teachers, and conducted countless trial-and-error experiments before coming up with a menu that rightly brings the spice of the southwest to the Midwest at Stokes Grill and Bar.
Upon entering Stokes, the tastefully simple décor is immediately recognizable as authentic southwestern artwork brought from Mexico and Arizona by owner Gayle Carstens.
Stokes offers a wide variety of unique dishes from steak to seafood to pasta, all exquisitely prepared with a distinct southwestern flair. Many of the dishes include wood-fired foods cooked over a grill, fueled with hard and fruit woods.
‘It’s a really intense heat so it seals in the flavor of anything that is cooked on it. The hickory wood that we use adds a nice smokiness to the food,’ said Chef Ursick.
The list of appetizers is long and varied, featuring items such as Fiery Shrimp in Hot Chile Oil and Goat Cheese Marinara. Both are nice additions to Stokes’ happy hour featured Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. A decent selection of red and white wines including a weekly-featured specialty wine is available by the glass or bottle. Imported or domestic beer is available as well as champagne, liqueurs and the usual spirits.
Throughout the week Stokes features lunch and dinner specials. For the remainder of the summer, Urisck plans to capitalize on the fresh fish that is now available.
My select dinner special was the Firecracker Mahi Mahi with tangerine-cilantro glaze served with asparagus, zucchini and red rice. I also sampled my companion’s selection; Marble Canyon Pork Chops served with a very tasty mild green chile potato. Both were excellent and the presentation superb. Served on black flatware the opposing colors of the food enhanced the well-prepared dishes.
‘My presentation is intended to get lots of contrasting colors and textures and flavors,’ Ursick said. The plates were chosen because of their solid complexion and; really enhance the different things that are featured in the dishes.’
Open since February 17th (1997), Stokes is definitely a one-of-a-kind place. Chef Ursick is adamant about maintaining the quality from which it began. ‘That’s my main goal. That is what is most important to me the consistency and the quality.’ But he has no intention of offering the same ol’ same ol’. ‘We try and stay a little progressive and ahead of the game as far as culinary trends go.’
Chef Ursick admits that Stokes won’t appeal to everyone. Yet the variety of interesting southwestern flavors and dishes speak for themselves as was evident by the crowd and fifteen minute wait for a table. Stokes has a solid business luncheon crowd and a devoted dinner crowd with many regulars. It attracts a friendly clientele and is a good place to meet people.
The main attraction though is the food and is well worth a few miles to experience. To get it this good otherwise, you might have to drive a thousand, ‘It’s an adventure, it really is,’ said Ursick.”
Diner’s
Choice Reader Favorites
The
Best of Omaha
Best
Meal Under $25
“Stokes has the art of Southwestern and traditional Mexican cuisine down pat. This restaurant’s most popular dinner items are versatile, ranging from a smoked chicken quesadilla appetizer to a spicy wrap called ‘Wrapped Fire’ to the more expensive Dos Equis Filet, a beer marinated tenderloin. Sharon’s Chicken Enchilada though is the joint’s best-selling food. The restaurant’s dinners turn out so good because Stokes utilizes some of the ‘highest quality food you can get in Omaha and the attention to detail we take in everything we make, makes us popular with the diners. Everything is made from scratch,’ Chef John Ursick said.