The sergeant receives a good review
Staff Restaurant Review
Emily Prendergast
Sgt.
Peffer’s Café Italian looks, from the street, like a stereotypical
hole-in-the-wall fast food restaurant.
Located on 1501 North Saddle Creek, the restaurant is easy to
miss, as it’s in the midst of a jumble of road construction, do-it-yourself
carwashes and, of course, the drive-in liquor store.
Emerging from a cloud of eerie fog, the Sgt. Peffer’s neon sign
still burns brightly, 
although
the place isn’t all that much to look at with its limited parking and tiny,
box-like appearance.
Looks, however, can be deceiving.
At the risk of sounding cliché: don’t judge a book by its
cover. Upon entering Sgt. Peffer’s tiny dining room, it is apparent that
the owners have painstakingly chosen the array of Beatles memorabilia lining the
walls, tastefully mixing them with Italian décor. Although the dining
room is, in fact, tiny, it has a quaint, almost cozy quality about it that
makes it quite appealing.
Named in memory of the Beatles’ hit record and song, Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band, the restaurant has been a family favorite in Omaha
since it’s opening in 1988. The menu wittily proclaims “Coo Coo Ca Chew
On Our Unbelievable Cuisine.” And they’re right-- the food’s great.
Sgt. Peffer’s offers a wide selection of menu items, including
pastas, seafood, chicken, salads, sandwiches, pizza and vegetarian options for
reasonable prices. All entrees are served with soup or salad and the
Sgt’s incredible homemade rolls. Network staffers recommend the Chicken
Milano, a baked chicken breast on spaghetti with onions, garlic, mushrooms and
broccoli tossed in a creamy alfredo sauce for $8.25; the Ricotta Tortellini and
Shrimp, a cheese tortellini and shrimp in alfredo sauce for $8.25; and the
meatball sandwich, a toasted hoagie bun with meatballs, tomato sauce and
mozzarella cheese for only $4.75.
Sgt. Peffer’s is a good place for an intimate gathering of friends
or family. The menu proclaims that the
restaurant is open “8 days a week,” and phone-in and take-out orders are
welcome. Daily luncheon specials are
served daily from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, so it would be a great place to go on
open campus days. No matter what their food tastes, the menu has something to
please everyone. Sgt. Peffer’s, to quote the Beatles, is “guaranteed to raise a
smile.”