Western Burger draws them in

Some folks in major metropolitan areas might think driving 75 miles for a steak sounds crazy, but many of you reading along will nod your heads in agreement when I say, “I would easily drive an hour for a good steak supper.” And regularly do!

And without that little mileage addition, not a single Certified Angus Beef (R) brand-licensee pops up in my area. Expand the search and viola, it leads Cozad and Gothenburg residents to The Cellar Bar and Grill in Kearney, Neb.

Last fall I sat down with owner Mike Hendrickson and operations manager Stacey Plautz to chat about the destination restaurant for people in greater Nebraska. (Including me and my family!)

Clearly beef is their main attraction, as 65% to 70% of their sales in any given year are beef entrees. Some of their most popular specials include their sirloin night and Prime Rib on the weekends, but they may be best known for their burgers and homemade onion rings. Both come together in the Western Burger, which is made with fresh-pattied CAB chuck, topped with American-Swiss cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce and their homemade onion ring.

That popular customer favorite recently won the consumer choice award in the 2013 “Nebraska’s Best Burger” contest, sponsored by the state’s beef council.

None of this surprises me in the least, because I can’t remember a time that we’ve gone into The Cellar and my husband hasn’t carefully looked over the menu and then settled on that burger, again. (No sense in being adventurous—the man knows what he likes!)

They were ineligible to win the overall title, as they won the inaugural “Nebraska’s Best Burger” honor in 2011. That’s determined via online nominations to narrow the pool to five, and then a panel of judges selects the final.

“We had buses come out with people from Omaha wanting to try that burger,” Plautz says. They sold 310 in one day.

I hope they’ve called in extra cooks, because as folks wrap up calving and take a Saturday night off before planting season starts, many in this area will head to The Cellar. A 75-mile drive that Mike and Stacey are confident they’ll leave saying was worth every mile.

“We don’t comp meals because of the quality of the product,” Mike says. “If you look at a ticket and there was a problem on it, you know it wasn’t the beef.”

Stacey adds, “We don’t think twice when customers ask about our beef; we know that we offer a quality product that our servers can be proud to take to the table each and every time.”

To read the full story on The Cellar, check out the “spotlight” in the March Angus Journal.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

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