Omaha, Nebraska: "Le Bouillon" Translates To "Salty Food" ... BOOAH!

Le Bouillon

1017 Howard Street

Omaha, NE 68102

Old Market, Downtown

Phone number: (402) 502-6816

Website: lebouillonomaha.com

Prices: $$$$

Not good. How this place averages four stars with 170+ reviews on Yelp is beyond me.

As I always say before a review of a French restaurant, "I love French food", but I did not even like Le Bouillon.

We came with a party of 12 from a conference at UNO as well as 2 last minute add-ons, but staff refused to add an extra table at first, making us squeeze into four small tables pushed together with just two small baskets of bread for 14 very cramped people. They told us that they were "fully booked", but less than half the tables were occupied all evening and a glass walled room with two giant tables sat empty next to the entrance. They finally got a clue and brought an extra table jusr before the first course arrived.

The server asked immediately what we wanted to drink, but there was just one, very extensive (at least 20 pages of small print - hundreds of options), wine/drink list for 14 people on the table. There were only a couple of wine options offered by the glass starting in the $9-$10 range and most bottles were well over $100 a pop with several approaching $1000. Feeling perplexed by the poor start, we stuck with water.

The server then dropped a rather heavy butter knife on my arm as she was setting the table for the first course. Things were spiraling downhill fast. They had no moules (mussels) or escargots (snails), focusing their menu on the Raw Bar instead (no thanks - I do not eat un/undercooked animal flesh), so we passed on appetizers. 

"Where's the beef?"

Beside a couple of $9-$13 soups and salads, everything had meat/fish (my wife prefers to eat vegetarian whenever possible), so the only options to her liking were the Le Bouillon Burger ($14) and the Croques Monsieur ($16). The only things that peaked my interest were the Wagyu Hangar Steak ($26) and the Cassoulet ($21), so she went with the croques monsieur and I the cassoulet. Hers came with a bit of salad and mine with nothing, so we both, unfortunately, ordered a side of Frites (fries) with Aioli ($6).

The croques monsieur had two huge, thick slices of egg battered toast, but barely a hint of ham and cheese. It was so salty that my wife could barely finish half. My cassoulet came out with the top burnt, so I mixed it up only to find mostly white beans and a couple of small pieces of ham and bacon. There were no noticeable "garlic sausage" or "duck" as advertized on the menu and it was also very salty, so I gave up after trying to eat half of my $21 white bean casserole. The fries looked very nice, but were very thin and crispy (almost burnt), hard to eat with fork or fingers, and EXTREMELY SALTY. All other attendees had similar complaints of salty food and fries.

When they cleared the table, nobody wondered why so much food remained on all of our plates, so I mentioned to the server how salty the food was, especially the fries, so they removed them (just the fries) from the checks. At $42+ for water, half of a salty sandwich, and half a bowl of salty bean soup (minus the soup), this was one of the poorest values in recent memory.

CombatCritic Gives Le Bouillon 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My WALL OF SHAME ... BOOAH LE BOUILLON!

One Bomb Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Le Bouillon on Yelp

Title: Omaha, Nebraska: Le Bouillon Translates To "Salty Food" ... BOOAH!

Key Words: Le Bouillon, le, bouillon, French, restaurant, Old Market, old, market, menu, Omaha, NE, Nebraska, Portland, Yelp, YouTube, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

"CombatCritic", "TravelValue" and "BOOAH" Are Protected Under U.S. Copyright Laws And Are Exclusive Property Of 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic - All Rights Reserved

Omaha, Nebraska: Second Verse, Same As The First (Only Worse) ... I'm Henry The 8th I Am.

Courtyard Omaha Downtown/Old Market Area 
101 South 10th Street
Omaha, NE 68102
Phone number: (402) 346-2200
Website: marriott.com/omacy
Prices: $$$$

I should have known we were in for more misery when I found out their FREE SHUTTLE stops running at 11pm (we were arriving at the airport at 11:30pm), so we had to bounce for a $24 cab (plus tip) ride to go a couple miles (10 minutes). When I questioned the operating times, their customer service agent's response was "take a cab", not "sorry". We were also told that the FREE SHUTTLE would take us anywhere we wanted to go "between 6AM and 11PM", but when we asked for a ride to the conference we were attending a couple miles away we were told "sorry, that's too far, we only cover a 1 mile radius".

Have to walk in, step to the side and close door if you want privacy

Is That Seat Just Old Or Is That Something Else?

I thought our room last year was small, but this one was even smaller. We were told that we were getting a "larger guest room", but you could not even sit on the toilet without closing the door first, that's how small the bathroom was. I would hate to see the "smaller guest room", but maybe I did ... it had a bunch of towels and soap in it. They did not have Fox Sports on cable (42 channels ... wow!), so we could not even watch Game 1 and 2 of the MLB ALCS in our room. The carpet in the room was also stained and the wallpaper in the bathroom very obviously dated ... UNSAT!

This will have been the last time we stayed at a Marriott, in Omaha or anywhere else for that matter. If you read this Marriott, go ahead and close our Rewards accounts, we will not be using them.

They did extend a late checkout and gave us a lift to the airport, although they refused to make an appointment, making us wait out front in the cold until the bus returned at an unknown time from a previous trip. These were the only things that saved them from a 1 Bomb rating and a spot on my dreaded WALL OF SHAME.

CombatCritic Downgrades Courtyard Marriott Downtown Omaha - Old Market To 2 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better ... BOOAH Marriott!

Two Bombs Equates To

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Courtyard Omaha Downtown/Old Market Area on Yelp

Title: Omaha, Nebraska: Second Verse, Same As The First (Only Worse) ... I'm Henry The 8th I Am

Key Words: Courtyard Marriott, downtown, Omaha, NE, Nebraska, courtyard, Marriott, Old Market, old, market, hotel, accommodation, room, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value,  review, Yelp, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: Tango Uniform = "Tits Up" 

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic - All Rights Reserved

Omaha, NE: Quaint, But Small - Worth A "Short" Visit

Omaha's Old Market

Omaha, NE 68102

Old Market, Downtown

Website: oldmarket.com

Nice area, old refurbished buildings, restaurants and shops, but the area only covers about two square blocks. 

We expected to spend several hours in the Omaha's spotlight and most publicized feature, but after 45 minutes to an hour, we had seen pretty much everything. So do not get your hopes too high although it is a quaint area of town.

We had dinner at Jackson Street Tavern and were not particularly impressed (see my review), but "Chloe" at Joe's Collectibles (in the alley behind Jackson Street Tavern - enter from 12th Street and follow the signs - also reviewed) was the highlight of our visit. The mounted police were also very friendly, posing for photos with them and their beautiful horses.

It is worth a visit, but do not set your expectations too high or you may be disappointed.

Read Chris S.'s review of Old Market on Yelp

CombatCritic Gives Omaha's Old Market 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: Omaha, NE: Quaint, But Small - Worth A "Short" Visit

Key Words: Old Market, old, market, downtown Omaha, Nebraska, Jackson, street, antiques, Chloe, Joe's, dog, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurants, shops, review, Yelp

Translation for Civilians: Charlie-Mike = "Continue Mission"

Omaha, NE: Pool Closed, Ice Machine Ten Floors Below, It Was All Downhill From There

Courtyard Omaha Downtown/Old Market Area

101 S 10th Street
Omaha, NE 68102
Downtown
Phone number: (402) 346-2200
Website: marriott.com/omacy

We got a "discounted rate" for a conference we attended, $94 plus tax and $8/night for parking brought the grand total to $240 for two nights. I guess $120/night is better than their normal $159 to $179 rate for the small room they call "deluxe".

The pool was closed and the ice machine ten floors from our room, so that should tell you something about our stay. The room was nice enough, but they do not even have FS1 available, so I had to watch the Dodgers vs Nationals NLDS game on my tablet over Wi-Fi.

The room was nice enough, but small considering that the receptionist had "upgraded" us as Marriott Rewars members. It was the smallest room on the floor with virtually no view unless you count the massive Hilton across the street.

The hotel is centrally located and you can walk to the overrated Old Market area four blocks away, but when you figure in having to pay for breakfast, the high rate, and extra for parking, this Marriott is not a great value.

CombatCritic Gives Courtyard Omaha Downtown/Old Market Area 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Courtyard Omaha Downtown/Old Market Area on Yelp

Title: Omaha, NE: Pool Closed, Ice Machine Ten Floors Below, It Was All Downhill From There:

Key Words: Courtyard Omaha Downtown, Old Market, 10th Street, Marriott, courtyard, Omaha, NE, Nebraska, rewards, 68102, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, hotel, accommodation, review, Yelp

Translation for Civilians: BOHICA = "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"