Mr. T and I ventured to Inna's Pirogi today, located on O Street near Centennial Mall between Oso and Abloom. It opened its doors just yesterday. I know very little about the cuisine Inna's offers -- so little, in fact, that I'm ashamed I can only call it "Central or Eastern European" -- so don't expect any comments from me on the cafe's authenticity. But I do have a couple observations I would like to share:
First, Inna's is a small, locally-owned restaurant. The owners have wisely kept everything fairly basic: a simple interior, simple decorations, and a simple menu. In spots it's a little too simple -- there was no soft background music, for example. But overall the simplicity is an asset, not a liability.
The menu (PDF) is fairly limited, but it does include a nice selection of breakfast items, lunch/dinner entrees, and soups. I'm especially excited about the breakfast items, since Downtown offers very little in the way of breakfast dining options.
As I mentioned above I know nothing about the style of cuisine Inna's is going after, and I think Mr. T knows only slightly more, so the following is intentionally brief. The food is presented very nicely on "real" plates (as opposed to paper or plastic), and it was served to us only two or three minutes after we ordered. Mr. T commented that his guliash ($6.95) was "kind of bland". The guliash was meat in a brown gravy served over rice. I had the zrazy ($6.95), a pork meatball stuffed with eggs and parsley and covered in gravy, and served with potato wedges and garnish. I found it very tasty, and I happily cleaned my plate, with the exception of a couple pieces of cucumber.
Overall, I'm rooting for Inna's, but I'll be brutally honest: I give it three months, tops. That's not because of anything wrong with the restaurant, mind you. Rather, I just don't see Lincolnites giving Inna's enough business in its current location to keep it afloat. History has shown that small, independent, ethnic-but-not-Mexican restaurants have a hell of a time surviving in Lincoln. Here's hoping history is wrong about Inna's.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
I went there for lunch today and it was closed. Not a good sign.
Yeah, I noticed the “closed for repairs” sign on Tuesday. Is that still up? If they’re gone for good already, I’ll be very disappointed to have been right about their inevitable demise. Tis a shame.
Share your thoughts with the community.
Commenting is no longer permitted on this post.