food – RegeNErate Nebraska

WINNEBAGO RESTAURANT SPECIALIZES IN NATIVE EATS AND OFFBEAT TREATS

by Laura PriestNovember 6, 2023 on

In a small restaurant located inside the Ho-Chunk Plaza, Reggie Frazier makes some of most mouthwatering food on the Winnebago Reservation.

So, what’s on the menu? On a recent Friday, it was an Alaskan Po’ Boy Sandwich, served with a zesty Cajun sauce and a Creole-inspired cole slaw that was the midday special.

“The Po’ Boy is one of the most popular lunchtime offerings,” Frazier, who owns R-EATZ, a 504 Ho-Chunk Plaza café with his wife Rita, explained. “It’s almost as popular as our Chinese Beef and Broccoli or our Pulled Pork Nachos.”

Wait, New Orleans-style Po’ Boys, Asian cuisine and South-of-the-Border fare? That wasn’t what we were expecting from an eatery inside of the Native American Reservation in Northern Thurston County, Nebraska.

FROM DISHWASHER TO BUSINESS OWNER, ENTREPRENEUR COOKS HIS WAY TO THE TOP

by Laura PriestNovember 18, 2022 on

Ciro Cortez has worked in the restaurant industry since he was a 16-year-old dishwasher in California. Four months later, he was promoted to kitchen assistant, then to cook, and he kept rising through the culinary ranks until he was a chef in charge of an entire kitchen.

After becoming an expert in preparing cuisines including Argentinian and Italian, Ciro owned two restaurants in Florida. He sold those and was looking for a new opportunity when his daughter invited him to Nebraska.

“My daughter told me there were good-paying jobs and I should give it a try,” said Ciro. “Within two weeks, I was working at the meatpacking plant and I started selling burritos there. The people I worked with at the plant liked them very much.”

Today, he owns The Yellow Taco Truck, in Nebraska City, Nebraska, which specializes in food from where he grew up in Mexico.