CHEESEBURGER! CHEESEBURGER! CHEESEBURGER! Take-Out Joint Brings the Beef

eople of a certain age (and serious fans of comedy) will remember Saturday Night Live’s recurring Olympia Café skit during which Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi played salty, acerbic line cooks who routinely yelled, “Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger!” The joke was that no matter what hungry customers ordered, a cheeseburger was all they were going to get.

While that’s not entirely true at the simply named “Cheeseburgers” restaurant, I can’t help but think of that skit every time I dine there. Although cheeseburgers are one of the few menu items, this is where comparisons to the fictional greasy spoon end. Cheeseburgers may well be a self-described “take-out joint,” but it offers 100% certified Angus beef (“never frozen”) burgers that are far from greasy and very close to perfect.

As well they should be. When a restaurant names itself for the food it specializes in, it better deliver. For the most part, Cheeseburgers does.

With locations already established in the Blackstone District and Millard, the new kitchen at Regency Landing expands Cheeseburgers, a locally owned and operated franchise, into Blue Sky Patio and Pickleball, which touts itself as “Omaha’s first bar, patio, and pickleball concept.” My dining companion and I settled on this location for our sampling venture, and discovered that Blue Sky also includes a well-stocked bar and a Noli’s Pizzeria.

The humble restaurant has no pretensions to be anything other than what it claims: a quick turnaround kitchen with a limited menu that features several varieties of cheeseburgers—seven, to be precise—as well as three iterations of hot dogs (“party,” chili, and corn), an assortment of fried chicken (in finger and sandwich form), and “munchies.”

Within the menu, there are infinite ways to garnish, build on, and embellish a burger, with options including Cajun mayo, sautéed mushrooms, BBQ sauce, bacon, chili, and more. Prices are modest, ranging from $6.75 to $9.75, although almost $10 for a cheeseburger accompanied by no sides may seem steep to some. Meatless patties are available, but when visiting a place built around burgers, vegetarians and vegans might want to consider a pizza at Noli’s instead.

To the food: dining companion settled on The Nation, two beef patties topped with American cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, onions, and 1000 Island dressing sandwiched in a three-part toasted bun. She added a fried egg to the well-seared patties, which resulted in a jammy creaminess that elevated the overall flavor. I opted for The Jalepeño and Cream Cheese version, which also featured double patties. The hot burgers contrasted against the cold cream cheese to make for a pleasant combination, and the fresh—not pickled—jalapeños provided a pleasant, crunchy kick of spiciness. My burgers had full, rich flavor, but were slightly dry. Fortunately, the cream cheese compensated.

“Munchies” varied. The fried pickles and onion rings, both heavily breaded with light seasoning, were table favorites. The deep-fried coating provided plenty of satisfying crunch, which gave away to warm, moist centers. In both cases, the batter complemented the sour, salty pickles and vibrant, sweet onions, lending to an ideal balance of flavors. A dill dressing came on the side for dipping the fried pickles and created an addictive combo of dill-on-dill pickle. The French fries were more lackluster and tasted like standard crinkle cut fries taken from the freezer before being placed into the deep fryer. They were passable, but didn’t come anywhere close to the fried pickle chips or onion rings.

Although our drinks remained on the “dry” side (a rich, creamy chocolate malt and a pop), this fare is ideal for chowing down with an ice-cold beer (all the better if waiting for a pickleball court to become available).

In sum, Cheeseburgers is an ideal spot for a hearty indulgence, a beefy burger, a restaurant that lives up to its name and delivers what it promises.

Cheeseburger!

Cheeseburger!

Cheeseburger!

For more information, visit ineedcheeseburgers.com