Dining Notes

HEY, SANTA: STOP AT BRIX

°Brix, the wine-centered store-and-more at the former Wild Oats store at Village Pointe, should open just in time for Christmas.

Majority owner Dan Matuszek had hoped to launch earlier this month but now is aiming to open the retail side — a 12,000-square-foot wine, beer, spirits and gourmet grocery store — on or about Dec. 21.

A wine bar and large dinner meeting space on the “hospitality side” should open about four weeks later.

“It's a very, very detailed project,” he said. “And we just got behind.”

Good things may come to those who wait: What's planned for the space near 168th Street and West Dodge Road isn't your average liquor store and bar.

Matuszek said the retail side will have a Barnes & Noble/Starbucks-type vibe and a huge selection of wine, beer, spirits and gourmet items (such as sliced-to-order charcuterie, a wide variety of cheeses, imported and custom sauces, spreads, condiments, pastas and crackers) to complement the beverages. It also will have a central wine counter where you can taste before you buy.

The adjacent 7,000-square-foot wine bar and meeting space (with room for 60 to 70 for dinner meetings) will feel more like an Old World wine cellar, he said. A large Enomatic wine preservation system will allow the bar to offer up to 64 wines — even the most rare and expensive ones — by the glass or the ounce.

Chef Glenn Wheeler of Taste restaurant is planning a menu of 15 to 20 hot and cold made-on-site tapas or sharable small plates for the wine bar and custom menus for special events in the meeting space. Matuszek (who worked more than two decades at E&J Gallo Winery of Modesto, Calif.) said he's hired Marc Sherman (former longtime co-owner of Omaha's Spirit World and an ex-store manager for Cost Plus World Market) to help him with the wines. “We've got 60 years of wine experience between us,” Matuszek said.

And Brent Udron, longtime beer guru at Beertopia has signed on to manage what stands to be the region's largest specialty beer department (with a selection of more than 800 brews).

About the name: °Brix is a measurement used in wine-making. Named after Austrian scientist Adolf Brix, it describes the degree of soluble sugar in a liquid. The juice of a given grape, for example, might measure 15 degrees Brix.

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BOSNIAN SANDWICH, BELGIAN FRITES

Chef Dario Schicke has added a dish from his native Sarajevo to a slightly expanded lunch menu at Dario's Brasserie, his Belgian-French eatery in Dundee.

Pljeskavica (pronounced plee-eska-veetsa) is sort of a Bosnian cross between a burger and a gyro. At Dario's, it's a lamb and beef patty with three cheeses, served on a grilled pita with a yogurt-cucumber dressing, a roasted vegetable relish called ajvar and a side of Belgian frites.

The restaurant near 50th Street and Underwood Avenue has also tweaked its hours: It's now open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and for brunch (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and dinner (5 p.m. to 10 p.m.) on Sundays. It's closed on Mondays.

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REASON FOR THANKS

The Shucks Fish House & Oyster Bar near 168th Street and West Center Road celebrated its first anniversary Tuesday.

Considering its start in the middle of a recession, owner Greg Lindberg said reaching the one-year mark is a major milestone. The restaurant celebrated with specials all week.

Next week: Ryan's Bistro is marking its one-year anniversary in a space where three other restaurants weren't so fortunate.

The bistro near 177th Street and West Center Road will celebrate the occasion Tuesday with free drink tickets (one per person) and a $49 four-course dinner starting at 6:30 p.m. For reservations, call 614-2202.

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SEASONAL SUDS

Beertopia, Crescent Moon, Huber-Haus German Bier Hall and Max & Joe's — the beer-loving neighbors near 36th and Farnam Streets — host their third annual holiday and winter beer fest this weekend.

From 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, home-brewers, local brewpub representatives and commercial beer distributors will answer questions and pour samples of more than 75 seasonal brews.

Previous years' offerings have included spiced, fruited, smoked, heavy and hoppy ales, lagers, porters, stouts, lambics and more — and a tasting-notes sheet that doubles as a beer-geek's Christmas wishlist.

Cost is $30 at the door or $25 in advance at Beertopia and Crescent Moon. The price includes a tasting glass and unlimited 2-ounce samples of the featured beers. For information or to reserve tickets, call 905-2603.

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TIRED OF TURKEY?

Le Voltaire is flying in some special guests for dinner next week: 100 live lobsters from Maine.

The French restaurant near 156th Street and West Dodge Road plans lobster-and-Champagne dinners on Tuesday and Wednesday. Cost is $25 per person and includes a glass of French Champagne and a 1-pound lobster, as well as rice and vegetable side dishes. The regular menu also will be available. For reservations, call 934-9374.

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RECIPES FOR A CAUSE

Local chefs — and Nebraska families of premature infants and babies with birth defects — share their recipes in “Spice of Life,” a new cookbook from the Nebraska chapter of the March of Dimes.

The spiral-bound book has about 200 recipes ranging from baked beans and egg strata to lemon confit. Local chefs who donated recipes include Clayton Chapman of Spencer's for Steaks and Chops, Leo Fascianella of Pasta Amore and Jason Hunter of Charleston's.

The book sells for $15 and may be ordered from the March of Dimes office by calling 496-7111. All proceeds benefit the local chapter.

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'BIG JOE' WINS

If you're wondering how the local culinary student and his friends fared at the “Big Joe” pizza-eating challenge at Frank's Pizzeria last weekend, Zach Born offered this succinct report: “We had three teams; all failed miserably.”

Born said the best of the two-person teams only got about halfway through the 30-inch, 12-pound, $75 “Big Joe” pie. “We all agreed that if it was anything that did us in, it was the grease from the pepperoni,” he said. “No amount of napkins could adequately soak it up.”

Born said he had fun trying. And, though his wallet was emptier, his stomach was adequately stretched for Thanksgiving.

— Nichole Aksamit

Got restaurant news, questions or tips? Call food writer Nichole Aksamit at 444-1069, or e-mail nichole.aksamit@owh.com. Dining Notes runs Fridays.

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