Home to the beloved Miller & Paine cinnamon rolls, Lincoln boasts a restaurant history rich with delicious food and unique stories. Tony and Luigi's, once considered the city's premier restaurant, grossed just $6.50 on its opening day in 1945. Legendary Nebraska football coach and athletic director Bob Devaney made the Legionnaire Club his home away from home. Paramount Pictures chose K's Restaurant to film scenes for the Academy Award-winning Terms of Endearment because of its Norman Rockwell-like atmosphere, and touring musicians didn't realize that the Drumstick was named for a fried chicken leg until after arriving to perform. Author and longtime Lincoln Journal Star restaurant critic Jeff Korbelik remembers the Star City's most memorable eateries.
Jeff Korbelik wrote about restaurants for more than twenty years at the Lincoln Journal Star. Previously, he spent ten years as a sports journalist for the Grand Island Independent and Lincoln Journal Star before switching gears and joining the features staff at the Journal Star as an entertainment reporter. Since 1998, he covered dining, performing arts, television and radio for the newspaper. He served as features editor from 2012 to 2018 before pursing another opportunity.