Welcome to the inaugural Omaha Food This Week recap where I go eat great food/attend culinary events and write about it. This week- National Gumbo Day with Shuck’s Fish House & Oyster Bar and The Market House’s Fall Menu Party.

Monday, October 12 was National Gumbo Day. To commemorate, Shuck’s offered Gumbo Flights Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A friend and I decided to stop by during Happy Hour Monday and try the full flight (five types of gumbo).

Shuck’s original- a go-to for many at Shuck’s. Nice flavors from the seafood and sausage, not too spicy.

Turducken- not a huge fan of dark roux and the combo of duck and turkey with the chicken made the gumbo very heavy. Overpowered any spice that was present.

Alligator- a runner-up,the alligator was done well and reminded my friend of chicken. Great choice if you’re burned out on the original.

Root Vegetable- my least favorite of the night and the only one I didn’t finish. Very bland and a too thick consistency even for gumbo.

Crawfish- by far my favorite of the night. Nice pieces of crawfish and spice. The lighter roux lets the crawfish really shine.

Thursday October 15 The Market House had a Seasons Soiree to celebrate their Fall Menu. They had selections from the menu as well as tastings from Zipline Brewing and Dark Horse Distillery.

I tried both the Copper Alt amd Nut Brown from Zipline. The Copper Alt being their most popular, it’s a smooth ale/lager hybrid. I was pleasantly surprised by the Nut Brown. Not too dark and a very smooth finish.

The Dark Horse Distillery samples included their Reserve Bourbon Whiskey, Reunion Rye Whiskey and Reunion Barrel Strength. While I loved the Barrel Strength my favorite was the Rye, perfect for a strong Manhattan or Old Fashioned.

  
And now for the menu bites-

Deviled Farm Eggs (salmon roe, house bacon, fleur de sel)
Possibly the best deviled eggs I’ve had in a while. The filling was straight forward, no mayo or sauce to make it runny or too sweet. The combo of salmon roe and fleur de sel gave it a distinct saltiness but the bacon did get a little lost.

Baby Romaine (smoked oyster dressing, brioche, grana padano)
A deconstructed play on the Caesar salad the individual romaine leaves looked a little “meh” at first. After one bite, however, it was hard to not eat the whole platter. The smoked oyster dressing was divine and a perfect substitute for sardines, giving the “salad” more depth.

Mussels (red curry, sweet potato, leek, grilled peasant bread)
Full disclosure– I’m not the hugest fan of mussels. One too many rubbery-renditions have put me off them. In spite of this, The Market House put a dent in my disdain. Super soft with the right amount of chew the mussels benefited greatly from the curry. The true draw for this dish was the curry sauce. Super creamy and subtly spicy, you get grilled peasant bread for dipping. I ended up eating just bread and sauce at one point, not being able to resist sopping it all up (despite my dislike of soggy bread. again touche MH). If Market House sold this sauce in a saucer with bread I’d visit every weekend.