Sebastian's Table - Lincoln, NB

On our way through Lincoln, Nebraska, we stopped primarily to look at the Nebraska capitol building. From the capitol we noticed St. Mary's Catholic Church across the street and had a nice visit there, then drove by the Nebraska Cornhuskers football stadium. When I was a boy I used to watch a lot of Nebraska football games on tv. They were one of the top teams then so their games were on regularly. It was a thrill for me, even now, to see the outside of the stadium and peek in and catch a glimpse of the field. I note that BYU played Nebraska in Lincoln just this past Saturday and won with a Hail Mary with no time left on the clock.  

Nebraska capitol building

St. Mary's Catholic Church

University of Nebraska football stadium. One of the great football venues in the U.S. I saw one reference to at as a "cathedral" for football.  

In scouting out a restaurant in Lincoln, I decided on Sebastian's Table, a "farm-to-table tapas" bar with Spanish, Mediterranean and American influences. It was rated no. 6 out of 554 restaurants in Lincoln on Trip Advisor. It is downtown, not too far from the capitol and not far from the University of Nebraska campus. 

We were not particularly hungry, but I'd been looking forward to eating here and wanted to try at least a few items. The best dish was Moroccan trout, the most unusual trout preparation I've ever had. It consisted of a steelhead trout with preserved lemon, nigella seeds, almond, cinnamon and sour cream. The cinnamon was not overpowering, which was one of my worries when we ordered it, it was moist, had great mouth feel, and the combination of ingredients worked very well. A 5 star tapas. 

Moroccan Trout

One of their signature dishes is hazelnut Brussels sprouts. We like Brussels sprouts anyway, so had to try it. It was inundated with hazelnuts, more than I would have chosen, but Judy loved them. It had piquillo peppers, red, but sweet with no heat and orange gastrique, a reduction of orange juice, vinegar and sugar. The Brussels themselves were seared, a little chewy and full of flavor - and there were lots of them, more that the two of us could eat. Another very good tapas, although not quite the same level as the trout. 

Hazelnut Brussels sprouts

The cantabrian cheesecake with mulberries was one of the more unusual cheesecakes I've had, fairly stiff, an unusual flavor, and with mulberries, a great add-on. It was good, not great.

Cantabrian cheesecake

The mushrooms and pork, with pork belly, was disappointing. The pork belly was very bland, the serving was fairly small and over-priced in my mind. It was not a dish I would recommend or try again. 

Mushrooms and pork

In general, from our sampling, Sebastian's Table showed creativity, use of unusual ingredients and combinations of flavors, all things I appreciate about good a restaurant.