Winding its way through the urban canyon of downtown Omaha, between skyscrapers and a well-worn sidewalk, is the savory aroma of Block 16’s sandwich lunch special – smoky, spicy blackened chicken with bacon, fig jam, hot honey, camembert and blue cheeses and arugula on grilled sourdough. Eleven a.m. is fast approaching, and a line will start forming soon, but the owners, Paul and Jess Urban, aren’t worried.

Sharing good food based on their best memories with friends, family and the community is what they’ve spent their whole lives doing. It’s how they met. It’s what they aspire to do every day in their zero-waste, locally sourced, farm-to-table food paradise.

It is about a six-minute walk from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conservation office to the downtown location, found at 1616 Farnam St., for visiting eaters Laura Deck and Mike McKeon. The pair sits down for lunch at Block 16 every few months and they come prepared. Today McKeon orders the Belgian Smash2 Burger: double-smashed wagyu patties, brown butter compound melt and raisin jam among other fixings. He asks for a stack of napkins. “It’s a little messy, but worth it,” McKeon says. The carefully crafted blend of flavors is too good to waste.

Another guest sat at an adjoining table leans into his meal but didn’t get the memo that one should not try eating an order of Omaha Fries and the gouda-dripping Block Burger. The fries came smothered with wagyu sloppy joe, Dorothy Lynch dressing, crushed Doritos, cheese curds and green onions. “The fries are meant to be shared,” Jess says. She is right: Sharing would have been better.

At two other tables is a group of 13 remote workers with First National Bank. The loudest one, senior analyst Nathan O’Toole, shares with his fellow workers the one reason Block 16 is not just messy, but famous: Alton Brown.

Brown, a nationally known food critic in print, online and TV, wrote in USA Today and on social media that Block 16 offered the best hamburger in America. That’s a mighty big claim. The burger – the Croque Garcon – offers a sunny-side-up egg as a runny culprit. There is also mustard, truffle mayo, ham, cheese and green onion atop a one-third-pound burger, which rests on a ciabatta roll.

Paul said his phone did not stop ringing for six months after Brown’s promoted the restaurant. To this day, people still visit the Omaha eatery because of Brown.

Alton Brown isn’t the only critic to take note of Block 16. Among the Urbans’ other notable accomplishments, the pair was selected as 2023 semi-finalists for James Beard Awards in both the restaurant and chef categories, a rare feat. Only 19 other Nebraskans have received nominations since 2008.

But for the Urbans, an award coveted by chefs the world over is one thing; building a local legacy with neighbors and partners, all while keeping things environmentally friendly and innovative is another.

 

Family Ties

Both Paul and Jess have roots planted deeply in food-loving families. A treasured Urban family photobook stars the matriarch of Paul’s family: the late Martha Hornung. His Belgian ancestry grandma often invited her family to her home. Together they gardened, prepared meals and ate.

As the pages of the book turn, thoughts turn from the deepening lunch rush to those memories of Grandma Martha’s kitchen – radishes and green onions from the garden, fried chicken in the skillet and rye bread from the oven.

And plum dumplings, Paul said, made with a specific type of plums that can only be found in the fall. “A couple of weeks out of the year we’d have 300 of them,” he said. “Everybody was in the kitchen then. We’d make the dough, we’d boil the plums, and we’d have a big meal.”

Likewise, Jess grew up in the kitchen, surrounded by a family of Ukrainians and Italians. “They were entertainers,” she said. “There was dancing, laughing, storytelling, playing, and it was always exciting to see what we were going to eat.”

The Urbans want their food to be a shared experience, much like the feel of Grandma Martha’s kitchen and Jess’ family dining room. The main hall of Block 16 is equipped with eight-foot-long tables on wheels, right alongside tables for two. On one wall of said hall is a work of art so large that it stands alone. Paul calls it the “Ultimate Family Meal.” It portrays Paul’s sister, his mother, culinary friends, a local food critic and others – all gathered at one long table filled with food and wine. Omaha artist Watie White photographed the friends and family and sketched them.

Friends even helped pick the restaurant’s name. “Our favorite name was Public House,” Paul said. “But Jess’ dad said, ‘You’re on 16th and Farnam. Just put your location in your name.’ So, we did.”

 

Keeping it Green

The Urbans want Block 16 to generate zero waste, and as a result, nothing in the kitchen is wasted. Diners can help by using a clean-up station that includes a sink to pour leftover drinks. There are also containers for plastic and glass recycling and compost. Leftover food from both the kitchen and dining room is composted by Hillside Solutions of Omaha, and the compost fertilizes the beds in the greenhouse on the Urbans 10-acre farm in the Loess Hills of neighboring Iowa.

The couple welcomed a geothermal greenhouse to their farm in 2022, based on a kit from Russ Finch’s Greenhouse in the Snow in Alliance. The berm side of the Urban greenhouse is below ground, and the earth helps regulate the temperature year-round.

Uniquely, and as a testament to the will and innovation of her culinary chops, Jess has bravely planted a banana tree. Bananas grow best in the tropics, within 30 degrees north and south of the equator. And at 41 degrees north, the Loess Hills are a far jaunt from the normal growing zone. But it’s forever summer and the tropics in the Iowa greenhouse. The air is sticky and warm, and raised beds on the right produce arugula, mixed lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and peppers – all things that will later show up in food at Block 16.

Paul and Jess’ two young daughters, Evelyn and Greta, are often found just outside the greenhouse door, having set up a small, black metal bistro table with an umbrella and chairs. The forced-air greenhouse interior can get a little too warm for comfort in summer, and besides, there isn’t much room inside to get too rowdy.

Inside the home, on the Urbans’ dining room table is a molybdenum steel Japanese chef’s knife, still in its packaging. The knife is a gift from Paul and Jess to the girls, with clear instructions: they can use the knife to prepare a meal, but only when parents are present. In the future they’ll be helping create sweet memories in the kitchen, just as their parents did.