One final post from our recent trip to Nebraska. I regret not posting about my second of two meals at The Boiler Room but the photos did not do the dishes justice and I was partially on the clock. This second of two meals included the four best dishes I have ever eaten from Chef Kulik including Saunders Farm rabbit loin that had been meticulously butchered as well as an extremely delicious whole wheat bucatini dish that would put most American restaurant pastas to shame. One final regret is that I did not post from Bread & Cup in Lincoln but I'll get to this on my next trip back to the homestate.

The Grey Plume is the long anticipated first restaurant of Chef Clayton Chapman. Chef Chapman is an Omaha native and has put in some time with Chicago's Tru and with Chef Laurent Gras. Chapman resurfaced in Omaha as V.Mertz's executive chef with guns blazin' and wowed guests there for a short time with a Tru-influenced multi-course tasting menu. That was just a warmup.

The Grey Plume is a well-conceived space in Omaha's new Midtown development with clean lines and a modern design. I've now dined at the Grey Plume five times for lunch since its December opening and have made brief dinnertime appearances though I have yet to experience the full TGP dinner service.

The TGP lunch menu is short and concise and-like the Boiler Room-features the areas best organic food purveyors including heritage pork from TD Niche, Wagyu beef from Majinola and produce from Bloomsorganic and Blacksheep Farms.

Chef Clayton's cooking is technique-heavy and reflects his training with a lot of touches on the plate. Sometimes there are a few too many touches for my liking and often a few too many ingredients in his dishes but the cooking is from scratch and honest and never veers into the absurd arena of cocina de vangaurdia or anything like that.

Standouts from my recent visit included house charcuterie, a delicious potato soup, braised rabbit pizzette and an agnolotti dish with black trumpet mushrooms and local asparagus. These dishes are compact with ingredients but flavors remain clean and-for the most part-delineated. The one thing I can say for certain is that TGP will be a better restaurant next year than it is today and that Chef Chapman's cooking will evolve into something very personal, refined and undoubtedly magnificent as time goes by. I am really looking forward to watching his evolution.

Wines at TGP were initially selected by a Chicago consultant and the original list seemed to be more about ideas than great producers. I believe the program is now on sound footing with sommeliers Joy Patton and Haley Dale making the selections. Joy and Haley are full of enthusiasm and hungry for knowledge and the wine list now feels more alive with more interesting producers and more interesting wines to choose from.

Coffee is roasted in house on a beautiful San Franciscan coffee roaster (a hobby of Chapman) and is served as French press. Bread is baked in house and has been very good on most visits. Service is excellent.

The Grey Plume
220 S. 31st Ave., Ste 3101
Omaha, NE 68131
402-763-4447
www.thegreyplume.com

Tom S., the great Jura enthusiast and old wine drinker, had originally planned his annual Jura blowout known as the "Hobbits Dinner" (I do not know why he calls it the Hobbits Dinner) for the spring but moved it to the fall. We've also been exchanging e-mails about the wines of Philipp Wittmann who, along with Keller, are helping to raise the profile of the Rheinhessen.

We met at Tom's favorite restaurant last night for a sort of Arbois/Wittmann mashup. Tom supplied the two Arbois wines which were both quite old and from a now defunct négociant named Louis Cartier. Such disparate wines can be a challenge for any restaurant to cook to and Chef Kulik and his staff at The Boiler Room did a great job of adjusting the menu so the wines would show their best.

We tasted the 1949 Louis Cartier Arbois Blanc first and decided to roll with it for the first course: crudo of escolar, radish and lovage. While this was not such a successful pairing, the wine on its own was simply spectacular. Very fresh with an oxidative profile that seemed to be harmonious and complete rather than a distraction. Very complex with a distinctive black truffle quality that I've only previously encountered in very old and well-stored top-quality white Burgundy.

The 2007 Wittmann Riesling Aulerde Grosses Gewächs was my wine of the night. Stunning structure and length. Gorgeously complex with something Beth described as an orange oil flavor and Tom S. described as pink grapefruit. Grosses Gewächs wines like these are some of the most exciting dry white wines being produced in the world today and I am completely flummoxed by the lack of attention they receive in the United States.

The Wittmann was paired with croquette of tête de cochon with mustard seed and an English pea purée. A jaw-dropper of a dish and a fine pairing.

The 2001 Wittmann Riesling Spätlese Aulerde was paired with Fusilli pasta with botarga and mint. A constant theme throughout all of the Wittmann wines was a certain herbal note and this was really set off by the mint in this dish. Though a bit weird, this pairing ended up working really well on a lot of levels.

The final savory pairing was a 1945 Louis Cartier Arbois Rouge. I am really surprised that a wine like this (we believe it was mostly based on Poulsard) can have this much color, sweetness of fruit, and weight at over 60 years of age. Floral, complex and a pleasure to drink. Paired with rabbit leg and spinach sformato with a dusting of dried and smoked morel mushroom powder. A dish that had a few too many ingredients for my taste but was really seamless with the wine.

Wittmann and Klaus-Peter Keller share some of the same vineyards in the southern part of the Rheinhessen near Westhofen in the Wonnegau region. Westhofen is a few kilometers inland from the banks of the Rhine and far from the famed Roter Hang area where Gunderloch long producer their fabulous Nackenheimer Rothenberg Rieslings.

One specialty particular to Wittmann is his Albalonga. The 1998 Wittmann Westhofener Steingrube Albalonga BA was our final wine. Albalonga is a Silvaner and Rieslaner hybrid which is rarely seen. It makes outstanding sweet wines with very high acidity and lush texture. It is a wine that is way too young to consume but way too delicious not to drink.

Lincoln was so beautiful last week--warm rain, sunshine, and lush green fields--it almost makes you forget the subzero winters there. Almost. We killed some kolaches (apricot!) and picked up radishes and greens from the downtown Farmer's Market. Melissa Clark had an article about roasted radishes a couple of weeks ago so I tried that one night, which was really good. My favorite is just is a plain radish sandwich--paper thin slices with salt on buttered toast. My Auntie introduced us to kale...chips? It's simple, just kale leaves sprinkled with sea salt and olive oil, oven-dried until it's crispy. What else, what else. Our friends at Cultiva opened a new shop on 11th street--it's only seven days old! I brought back their single origin Amaro Gayo. Bin 105 is almost two months old--and it's already the best shop in town--super grand opening on June 10.